Love at the Tower by Barbara Cartland

planned, or indeed, next week either.
    I cannot say why, but I would ask you to await my further instructions.
    I will write to you again in due course when I have need of your services.
    Yours, Robert Hampton .”
    â€œOh!” she cried out loud.
    She climbed into bed feeling heavy of heart.
    â€˜What has occurred to make him change his mind?’ she wondered, as she stared up at the ceiling. ‘Is Ellis in trouble again and the Earl has been forced to sort out the matter?’
    The more she ruminated about it, the more worried she became.
    â€˜Has he been taken ill or perhaps a relative has died and he has only just received the news?’
    Even though she was feeling exhausted all manner of thoughts persisted in crowding into her mind.
    And the last picture she could see before she drifted off to a deep sleep was of the Earl’s handsome face – his bright blue eyes burning with simmering emotion.

CHAPTER SEVEN
    But the Earl did not send for Robina the next day or the day after that.
    If it had not have been for her growing sense of uneasiness, she might well not have worried quite so much that she had somehow either caused him offence or he had decided that he no longer required her services.
    Laura did not make life any easier for her either by following Robina wherever she went.
    â€˜Must she keep such a close eye on me?’ thought Robina angrily, as she spied her standing on the terrace, looking down the garden, while she sat by the fountain.
    It had become one of her favourite places to sit and think and now her stepmother was making it very difficult for her to relax.
    â€˜I hope that she is not about to come and give me yet another lecture about Lord Drury,’ she muttered, as her stepmother came walking towards her.
    â€œRobina!”
    â€œYes, Stepmama.”
    â€œI have had a letter from Lord Drury. You are most fortunate as he is prepared to forgive your bad manners and has expressed an interest in visiting us for dinner again. As it is your mother’s anniversary this weekend, I shall leave it until next week before I invite him again.”
    â€œVery well, Stepmama.”
    â€œAnd have I your promise that this time you will be cooperative?”
    Robina hung her head – she had no wish to see the man ever again, but she also did not wish to tell a lie.
    â€œI will be present at dinner,” she responded after a long pause. “I promise you.”
    Laura appeared satisfied with her assurance and left without another word.
    â€˜Am I to be hounded by her for desiring a choice in this matter?’ mused Robina, as she dropped her hand into the cool water. ‘Oh, Mama! I wish you had not died! You would not have forced me to marry against my will.’
    Robina knew that she was utterly powerless.
    As her father seemed uninterested in her feelings, there was really nothing she could do.
    â€˜If I go against him, then I will risk losing his love altogether. I want to be a dutiful daughter, but how can I when that path leads to utter misery for me? If I was his son, would he be seeking to force me into marriage?’
    But if she had been a son, perhaps Robina would not have had the same struggle with her stepmother for she would not have been considered as a rival for her father’s affections.
    â€˜Such is the lot of mere women,’ she reflected and, not for the first time, she wished she had been born a boy.
    Robina stayed by the fountain for some time, lost in thought.
    She did not see her stepmother going out in the new brougham.
    *
    Later she decided to write to Hortense Lamont.
    She went up to her bedroom, pulled out a sheet of paper from the drawer and began to write in French.
    In the letter she asked if she could come and stay indefinitely should her situation not improve.
    â€˜There, it is done! If necessary I will voluntarily remove myself to France. I shall take Nanny with me and we shall find ourselves a small apartment to live