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    Hide and Seek For Love
    Hide and Seek For Love
    Hide and Seek For Love
    Ebook180 pages2 hours

    Hide and Seek For Love

    By Barbara Cartland

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    Intrigue and imminent danger await the young men brave enough to join 'The Great Game', the political conflict between the British and Russian Empire, and Captain David Ingle is one the bravest as he saves a Fort in India from attack, disguised as a Muslim Holy Man.
    Returning to Calcutta, David is congratulated by the Viceroy for service to his country, but warned that the Russian agents he thwarted now threaten his life. More importantly his grandfather, the Marquis of Inglestone, has died in an accident and the family title and estate is his.
    Excited at returning to England to see Ingle Hall and the lovely grounds he remembers from boyhood, he is horrified to discover that his eccentric grandfather had become a miser and allowed the estate to fall into disrepair, refusing to spend a penny on it. Even more oddly, he had withdrawn the large family fortune, in coinage, from the bank and hidden it.
    David finds Ingle Hall dilapidated and without any servants. The only ray of light is discovering the presence of a distant cousin, Bernina Falcon, and her nanny.
    Bernina is beautiful, young and very innocent, and they grow closer daily as they hunt together for the hidden treasure.
    Just as they are exhausting their search, a girl from David's past in India arrives, Stella Ashworth. She is stunning, sophisticated and very interested in David - now she knows he is the Marquis. Determined to get her man, Stella will stop at nothing to get a ring on her finger.
    With threats from the Russians, pressure from Stella and the constant fear of poverty and letting down the village that rely on him, David is beset on all sides. The only person that offers him constant support and encouragement is Benina, but will that be enough to save Ingle House and all that live and work there?
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBarbara Cartland Ebooks ltd
    Release dateAug 14, 2012
    ISBN9781908411372
    Hide and Seek For Love

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      Book preview

      Hide and Seek For Love - Barbara Cartland

      Cartland

      CHAPTER ONE

      -

      1872

      A bearded and disreputable figure in the tattered dress of a Muslim Holy man moved into the deserted cave with a sigh of relief.

      He had been walking for miles and was desperately tired.

      At the same time he knew that he had to climb out of sight before he was observed.

      He looked around the large cave.

      He realised that if he climbed to the far end of it, he would not only be well out of sight but also above the people coming after him, who he wanted to overhear.

      He was, in fact, a British officer – Captain David Ingle of the Sixth Bengal Native Cavalry Regiment.

      Like many other Officers he had joined what was considered the most exciting, but dangerous, Secret Service in the whole world.

      During the last twelve years British intelligence had realised that the Russian Empire was expanding to take over the small Caravan towns and the Muslim Khanates that lay between their Southern border and the frontier of Northern India.

      One by one they were falling to the fearsome Cossacks, who always spearheaded the advance of the Russian troops.

      In 1865 the great walled City of Tashkent had been forced to submit humbly to the Czar, and three years later it was the turn of Samarkand and Bokhara to face humiliation and defeat.

      Now the Russians were creeping closer and closer to India’s weakly guarded North-West Frontier and British Empire territory.

      Despite the Czar’s repeated assurances that he and the Russians had no hostile intentions towards India the British, both at home and in India, were becoming increasingly concerned.

      It was already known that several of the Czar’s most able Generals had drawn up a plan of invasion.

      As the threat to the British Empire intensified more and more young Officers were prepared to risk their lives – in fact quite a number of them had already died.

      They undertook increasingly dangerous journeys in disguise to report on Russian movements as well as to try to win over the allegiance of weak and suspicious Khans.

      A large number of the players in this strange secret struggle, often referred to as ‘The Great Game’, were professionals – Indian Army Officers and the political Agents sent by their superiors in Calcutta to glean information of every kind.

      But some were volunteers and these amateurs were no less capable.

      Disguised as Muslim Holy men and Buddhist pilgrims, they had succeeded in secretly mapping thousands of square acres of previously unexplored territory.

      David Ingle had jumped at the chance of joining The Great Game just a year after he had proved himself an excellent soldier.  Although still a young man, he was already on the list of Officers selected for early promotion.

      He had the reputation for being extremely lucky and he brought information back to Headquarters that they had never been able to obtain through anyone else.

      For him it was an excitement he enjoyed more than anything else.

      He had wisely learnt to speak Urdu fluently and picked up sufficient Russian to understand what his enemies were saying if he was able to make any form of contact with them.

      From what he had seen and heard on his missions, he was even more convinced than the Viceroy himself that India was in great danger.

      It required intense planning and far more attention than those at home were giving it if India was to be saved.

      Now he climbed up to the roof of the cave knowing that if discovered, he would undoubtedly die.

      Worse still he could be tortured before his head was finally chopped from his body.  

      He knew that the Russians were ruthless and would show no mercy to an enemy.

      He had been recruited to watch the Russian Cavalry and was currently concerned with what was happening at Fort Tibbee, a fort on India’s North-West Frontier, named after the village that originally stood there before the Frontier became a battleground.

      It was during a mission to several small independent States, lying to the North-West collectively known as Sind, that David had become suspicious that something sinister was being planned against Fort Tibbee.  

      So instead of moving on to his intended destination, he had hastily doubled back, trusting his intuition.  It had been a very hard and uncomfortable journey and he was dog-tired.

      Now he was in sight of Tibbee and he could see the British flag flying over the Fort.

      He was certain that, as everything seemed quiet, the garrison had not the slightest idea that anything unusual was likely to happen.

      There was one lesson that David had learnt in his many years of serving in The Great Game, and that was nothing was more dangerous than when the British Army thought themselves safe and were not looking for trouble.

      It was then that the Russians would send in a formidable force, usually the Cossacks.  Riding brilliantly, resplendent in their uniforms, the Cossack’s even commanded the respect of their enemies.

      David recognised that their equipment, training and morale were remarkable.

      Even he had been astonished by the hardiness of the Cossacks, who slept out in the snow in midwinter without tents and apparently were not perturbed by any obstacle.

      As a Cavalry Officer he was exceedingly impressed by the feat of one particular Regiment of Cossacks, who had captured an enemy fortress by galloping into it before the defenders could close the gates.

      That was sheer drama and the Russians were also clever enough to recruit their spies and their agents from amongst the Indians themselves, particularly among the tribesmen.

      The fierce tribesmen could be incited into making trouble and bribed to harass the British forces, whom they believed had no right to be in their country.

      So the British always had to be on their guard as small uprisings amongst the people could take place at any time and on any pretext.

      The Russians exploited every situation and sent in, as they had in the Balkans, men to stir up trouble and foster revolution where it was least expected.

      David had overheard a whispered sentence he was not supposed to hear and it had made him alert.

      The North-West Frontier had always been a bone of contention between the tribesmen and the British Army.

      The tribesmen resented any Fort built on land they considered theirs and hated being ordered about by British Officers.

      And the Fort was now in sight and it was his duty to convince those inside to be more on their guard.

      He realised that it was always difficult in the heat of India and when there was nothing very much happening to keep men alert and ready to fight at a moment’s notice.

      Having spent several days in a large Fort soon after arriving in India, he had learnt how very difficult it was for every man from the Commanding Officer down to the most recent recruit.

      Suddenly the word ‘cave’ snapped him out of his thoughts and he knew instinctively that those he could hear were referring to the cave where he was hiding.

      Casting a glance around he could see it was a large cave, probably appreciated by anyone sleeping out on the mountain, as it was a protection against the hot sun in summer and the winds and snows of winter.

      As he climbed as high as he could in the cave and realised that he could go no further, he was hoping that he would not fall asleep.

      It was certainly a danger, since he had walked all through the night and had only come within sight of Fort Tibbee as dawn was breaking.

      Disguised as a Muslim Holy man, he knew that he would be safe amongst the tribesmen.

      At the same time to be among them was to waste a great deal of time as they would ask him for his blessing, kneeling down in front of him to receive it and if he was not careful, they would tell him all their personal troubles.

      It was therefore only by running for the last mile or so before dawn broke that he had been able to reach the cave without being seen and, as he slipped into it, he had said a prayer of thankfulness that it was unoccupied.

      He could thus do what he intended and hide among the rocks where he could hear but not be seen and he had achieved this, but not without tearing his already ragged garments.

      His notebook, containing all the information he had gleaned with so much difficulty during the past month, was slightly torn.

      However, he was now well hidden in the cave and all he had to do was to wait.

      Despite his resolution not to fall asleep, his eyelids were drooping and his limbs became relaxed.

      Suddenly, he heard two men enter the cave below him and instantly with the acuteness of someone who has faced danger a dozen times, David was instantly vigilant.

      Then, as the man below spoke, he drew in his breath, hearing that he was a Russian.

      I suppose they’ll turn up, the Russian grunted in a thick voice.

      You can be sure of that, the other man answered.

      He did not speak again.

      But David was aware that they had sat down on one of the flat stones, which provided the only place they could sit on except on the rough floor itself.

      Then he heard that they were eating and as his own stomach was empty, he remembered that he had not eaten for a long time.

      The Russians ate noisily, belching occasionally, but not speaking.

      Then, just like a wave breaking on a stony beach, the cave was suddenly filled with tribesmen.

      It seemed as if they all entered in a rush and David guessed that there were twelve or more of them.

      For twenty minutes he could hardly breathe as with every nerve in his body he listened to what was being said, thanking God that they were speaking Urdu in a dialect that he was familiar with.

      They were taking instructions from the Russians, who, like he, had taken the trouble to learn the language of the tribesmen.

      Their orders were quite simple.

      They were to attack the Fort at dawn the next day and be very careful meanwhile to keep out of sight so that the British inside would not realise that they were even in the vicinity.

      As he listened and continued listening, David could not help but being impressed by the way the Russians gave their orders.

      They had clearly thought out every detail and made it absolutely clear to the tribesmen what they were to do and how they were to do it.

      They were planning to overpower the Garrison of Fort Tibbee by sheer weight of numbers.

      You must kill every man before they kill you, the Russian was saying.  And if you’re lucky, which I believe you will be, most of the men in the Fort will be asleep.

      He looked round him before continuing,

      Those on guard must be overpowered before they can shoot and raise the alarm.  Kill every man and when you’ve succeeded, clear out of the Fort and go back to your villages before reinforcements can arrive.  Then they will not know who has attacked the Fort or on whom they can avenge themselves.

      The tribesmen clearly understood.

      One or two asked questions, but on the whole they seemed happy with the Russian plan and were prepared to carry it out without seeing any particular difficulties.

      David knew that they had used just the same tactics many times before.

      As in the case of Forts that were overrun before the gates could be closed, there had been many cruel murders and assassinations for which no one had an explanation.

      As swiftly and stealthily as they had appeared, the tribesmen left, leaving a trail of destruction behind them.

      They were never very talkative, as David knew, and the two Russians were clever enough not to overload their minds.

      They had been given their orders and simply told when and how to attack the Fort and to lie low until the very last moment.

      When the tribesmen had gone, one of the Russians enquired to the other in his own language,

      Do you think they understood?

      I’ll answer that question tomorrow evening, the other Russian responded, but we’ve been quite successful with these tribesmen in the past.

      That’s true and the Czar’s been saying, I believe, that while we have done well in Southern Asia, we’ve not made much impact on India so far.

      The other man gave a laugh.

      I thought that he was keeping that one for the end, when he adds India to the Russian Empire!

      Listening to every word, David clenched his fists.

      For a good long time the Russian Empire had been steadily expanding at the rate of fifty-five square miles a day and he reckoned that this made over twenty thousand square miles a year.

      He remembered

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