Текст книги "Queen in Waiting "

Автор книги: Jean Plaidy

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"Perhaps if you speak to the people they would listen,"

she said. "You could tell them that a man has been killed."

She looked down at the scene below. There was great confusion. The tableau on the stage had sprung to animation; the actors were climbing down into the pit; there were shouts and screams as people began rushing for the doors.

**There'll be a riot," said the manager.

The Prince stood up in his box.

"Good pipple," he shouted, "the trouble is over. A madman tried to shoot me. He has not done so . . . you see. We haf come here to see the play."

He was at his best, for no one had ever been able to call him a coward, and the thought that he had narrowly escaped death even stimulated him. This was what he always wanted to be: the centre of the scene, the hero of the occasion.

He stood there, waiting for silence. It came and all eyes were now on the royal box.

"The murderer is caught," he said. "And now there is the play...."

A man was being hustled out of the theatre and attention was divided between the scuffle and the Prince in the box.

"It is a goot play, eh, my frients?"

There was a short silence during which Caroline felt anything might have happened.

Then the people below began to take their seats. The actors climbed back on to the stage and the play continued.

The King walked in the gardens of Hampton Court discussing an exciting project. His ministers, Townsend, Walpole and Stanhope had never seen him so animated and Walpole was thinking that if the people of England could see him now and know the cause of his pleasure he would be less popular than ever.

"Now that all is orderly there is no need for me to be here. I can take a little respite. After all I have Hanover to consider. I must pay my brother a visit and see how he is faring."

Walpole and Townsend exchanged glances. If he went the affairs of the nation would be left in their hands, and what could please them better than that? In any case George had

«58 Queen in Waiting

never meddled extensively. He was not sufficiently interested in his realm to want to govern it.

"I can see no reason why Your Majesty should not pay a visit to Hanover," said Walpole.

"And does Your Majesty intend that the Prince and Princess shall accompany you?"

George was thoughtful.

"The Prince should surely remain in England as Regent," suggested Stanhope.

"RegentI" cried the King. "Never shall this be. You know the Prince. He will be wearing the crown by the time I return."

The ministers were thoughtful. "It is the usual procedure. Your Majesty. The Prince is of age "

"I care not. He shall not be Regent. The Prince is a fool."

"Then what does Your Majesty suggest?"

"I suggest that he is not Regent. That he has no power to govern."

"The people would think it strange."

"The people!" cried the King. "Why one of them tried to shoot him the other night."

"Proved to be a madman. Your Majesty. And the Prince's action in the theatre has made him very popular."

"What action?" growled the King.

"He was very calm; and they are saying that his behaviour– and that of the Princess—prevented a riot. He is very popular at the moment. And the Princess has been ever since she came."

"She is cleverer than he is. He is a fool; she is a she-devil."

The ministers looked uncomfortable; and the King for once was roused from his usual indifference.

"Oh yes, she must be watched. She is the clever one."

Walpole was inclined to agree. He would either have to be the friend or the enemy of the Princess of Wales if she became powerful. She would not, of course, while the King lived; but wise politicians planned ahead.

Already she had shown a desire to meddle in politics, and had hinted that she would like the post of Secretary of the Treasury for the husband of Mrs. Clayton, one of the women of her household for whom she had a great regard. Walpole

had no intention of allowing her to have the post for her friend; in the first instance she must not be allowed to acquire the power which friends in high places would give her; for the second he wanted the post for his brother Horatio.

"The Princess is perhaps ambitious," suggested Walpole, "and too ambitious to be content with merely social activities. It may be that she will attempt..."

He stopped; Stanhope was giving him a warning look but he knew very well what he wanted to imply.

"Attempt what?" asked the King.

"Attempt to make a circle ... a little court ... apart from Your Majesty's. It is not the first time it has been done."

Angry lights shot up in the King's eyes. "She would not dare."

"Not openly perhaps, Your Majesty. But it would not be good to have a rival Court. The friendship with Argyll, for instance "

"Dismiss Argyll."

There was silence. The King could scarcely order the Prince to part with a member of his own household. After all the Prince was adult, and heir to the throne; he had some say in the management of his own affairs.

"Dismiss Argyll," repeated the King. "I will send an order to the Prince at once. Well, why are you silent?"

Walpole said: "Your Majesty, I doubt the Prince will agree."

"He will agree or face my displeasure."

A quarrel in the royal family—an open one this time. What effect would that have? The King's ministers considered the effect on themselves. Townsend was telling himself that the King would not live for ever; and when the new King came to the throne he would be more inclined to favour those who had been with him before he took the crown rather than those who hurried to stand in line when he did. If this was going to be a quarrel between King and Prince, perhaps the far-seeing man would take his stand beside the Prince.

Stanhope and Townsend were silent and Walpole said: "Your Majesty will know how to deal with the Prince, and when Your Majesty is in Hanover..."

"I'll not make him Regent. The care of the realm will be left in the hands of my ministers."

Not an unsatisfactory arrangement, thought Walpole. It was in the hands of his ministers now, for George's heart was in Hanover and he did not seem to care much how this country was governed—as long as the Prince had no hand in it.

Family quarrels were bad for a royal family, but very often offered advantages to ministers.

When Caroline heard that the King was going to Hanover she forgot her usual discretion. He would see little Fritzchen; and surely he would be made to understand how a mother felt about her only son.

She asked for an audience with the King which was grudgingly granted. George thought she should have kept away particularly in view of all the bother about Argyll.

When she came to hini he dismissed his attendants and looked at her suspiciously. Oh yes, he thought, George Augustus may be a fool but this one isn't.

He waited in sullen silence for her to speak.

"Your Majesty is going to Hanover and will see your grandson. Will you please tell him how I miss him here, how I long to see him and hope that you will soon allow him to join his father, mother and the girls."

"Unsettling," said the King shaking his head.

"But he will come to England ... in time."

"In time. Not yet."

"But he will be the heir to the throne "

George scowled. He did not like any reference to his death; one of the reasons for his great dislike of his son was because he was continually referred to as the next King, a title he could only take on his father's death.

"He has his duties in Hanover."

The mother took possession of the diplomatist, and Caroline cried out: "What duties can a little boy of nine have? It is cruel to keep him from his mother."

"You're hysterical."

"I am not." It was something of which she had never been accused; and it was undeserved. She was a natural mother crying out against an unnatural separation. "Like any mother I want my son."

"You are a Princess and know that Frederick has his duties."

"And how do you think he is growing up there ... without his family?"

"He has his guardians ... and his duties."

"You are hard."

George looked bored.

"You must listen to me."

He stared over her head. "There's nothing more to be said."

The colour in her cheeks hid the slight imperfections made by the smallpox; her auburn hair was simply dressed with a curl hanging on her shoulder. She was an attractive woman, with her magnificent bust accentuated by her small waist and her ample hips. Slie had a figure which George admired. In fact, had she not been his daughter-in-law ... But she was and there was no sense in involving himself. Not that she would allow herself to be involved.

All women are the same in the dark, thought George with a yawn.

"There is a great deal to be said," she replied. "I want my son to join his family. After all, he is my son."

"He's my grandson. He has his duties."

"I beg of you ..."

"You waste your time."

"Have you no heart ... no feelings?"

"No."

"Can't you understand how a parent feels towards a child...."

He yawned again, this time significantly. He understood very well how he felt towards his son. He despised the fellow; in fact there were times when if he were a more violent man he might have hated him.

"Frederick remains in Hanover," he said.

"I see it is no use appealing to you," she retorted; and for once her calm deserted her. She could not help it. She thought

of the birth of Fritzchen and how happy she had been; what plans she had made for his future; and how, even when this monster had given the order that he was to remain in Hanover, she had not really believed he would stay there for more than a few months.

*'He must learn to rule," said George.

"As you do?" she cried. "You do not rulel Your German friends rule ... Bernstorff, Bothmer and Robethon, helped by Townsend, Walpole and Stanhope. These are the men who rule England ... and you are content to let them do so. Yet Fritzchen with such an example before him must stay in Hanover to learn to rule. What do you think he is doing in Hanover ... learning to rule like his grandfather does?"

The King was astonished; so was Caroline.

In moments of stress, all one's restraint fell away.

"You get too excited," said the King.

"Your Majesty's pardon."

The King nodded his head and Caroline was dismissed.

She went slowly to her own apartments. What a fool I was! she thought. He'll hate me now. I've shown my true feelings.

There was no point in pretending to be a docile wife and daughter-in-law now she had shown her true feelings. She would come out in the open and if she could not have her son, at least she would have her separate court; she and George Augustus would have their own friends, men of influence; so there would be the court of the Prince of Wales as well as the King's. And the Prince of Wales's Court would be that to which all men of intellect would want to belong.

She would send for Leibniz. But the King would not allow him to come. Still, she would attempt to get him over. Perhaps if the King refused to let her have Fritzchen he would give her her old friend as a consolation. As if George would care about consolation!

Still, it was open warfare from now on.

George was thinking of her, which would have surprised her: "Damn fine woman. A pity she's that fool's wife. He can't appreciate her. If she wasn't ... Oh, well, all women are alike in the dark. She's a she-devil too. We'll have to watch

her. George Augustus is nothing but a fool—but not that

one.

The whole Court was interested in the battle for Argyll.

*'He shall be dismissed from the Prince's household," said the King.

*'I only shall decide whom I keep in my household," said the Prince.

Caroline was beside her husband in this. "We will stand firm," she told him. "He must be shown that we demand some consideration."

Her petition that Leibniz be allowed to come to England was met by a blank refusal from the King.

"We don't want these intellectual men here. There are enough of them in England already. Besides he has work to do there."

Caroline was now firmly ranged against the King and this brought her closer to her husband. To quarrel with his father had always been a favourite pleasure of the Prince's and in the past it had been Caroline who restrained him. It was different now. She could not forgive George for separating her from Fritzchen in the first place and refusing Leibniz permission to come to England in the second.

"He cannot force you to dismiss Argyll," said Caroline. "All you have to do is stand firm. You have friends."

"Do you think they'll stand with us against the King?"

Caroline nodded.

"Who?"

"Mr. Prime Minister."

"Townsend! "

"He is playing for safety. He thinks of the time George II is on the throne."

Contemplating such a time always gave George Augustus the greatest pleasure.

"Ah, he is von clever man, this Townsend."

"And ve vill be clever too."

"I think I am, my tear."

She smiled at him. It would always be so. She must learn to

accept the fact that she was the one who made the decisions and he was the one who thought they were his.

*'Yes, of course you are. I think the King is very foolish. He does not govern. He dreams of Hanover ven he has this great country. He is fou."

"Let him be, Caroline. Let him be. All the better for me the more fou he is, eh?"

**A11 the better," she agreed. "So we'll keep Argyll, just to show him that if he keeps our son from us at least we can choose our own servants."

**I vill this show him," cried the Prince.

George felt more at ease discussing this family disagreement with his German ministers than his English ones. He would never be sure of the English; and he fancied his Prime Minister while not exactly supporting the Prince was trying hard not to offend him. There were three whom he could trust: BernstorfE, Bothmer and Robethon. His own countrymen on whose loyalty he could rely.

Bernstorff had worked for his father when he was in the employ of the Duke of Celle and it was largely due to him that George's marriage with Sophia Dorothea had come about. True, that marriage had been disastrous and George now wished it had never taken place, but at the time it had been the wish of George's father that it should, and it had been a most advantageous match ... financially. That Sophia Dorothea was a harlot whom he had been forced to put away was no fault of Bernstorff's. And when the Duke of Celle had died, after keeping an eye on his affairs for the benefit of Hanover, of course, it had seemed natural that Bernstorff should openly serve the House of Hanover which had been his real master for so many years. Bernstorff's fortunes were bound up in those of George I; therefore he could be trusted.

Then there was Count Hans Caspar von Bothmer; he had been very useful as George's ambassador at St. James's before his accession and it was due to his efficiency and diplomacy that George's arrival in England had come about so peacefully. Now he was able to advise his master on foreign affairs.

Jean de Robethon was a quiet man. A Huguenot who had found refuge in the German court, he was ready to serve efficiently behind the scenes. He never sought the limelight, but he was aware of what an important part he played—and so was George.

To these three the King now turned in this quarrel with his son, for as he said he did not trust the English. They were out for gain. By God, he thought, I never knew such men for looking after their own pockets. He didn't trust them; while they bowed to him and swore allegiance they were weighing up how much longer he was likely to live and wondering how they could curry favour with the man who would be George II.

So now the King called his three German friends and advisers to his private chamber and there they were closeted to discuss the imminent journey to Hanover and the recalcitrance of the Prince of Wales.

"If he thinks he is going to play King while I'm away he's mistaken," said George.

"Depend upon it," replied Bernsorff, "he will make full use of his opportunities."

"He is a fool," said the King.

"The Princess is no fool," added Robethon.

"That's true enough. But they shall have no power."

"It will be necessary to take this before the Parliament," Bothmer suggested.

"Oh these English and their parliaments! " cried George.

"Of which Your Majesty is head," Bernstorff reminded him.

"We must act carefully," cautioned Robethon. "And one of us should remain behind to watch what is happening in Your Majesty's absence."

The King looked at his three friends; he saw the apprehension in their eyes for they were as homesick as he was and the longing to see Hanover again was great.

"It's true," he said.

Bernstorff he must have with him; Robethon was too useful a man to leave behind. As for Bothmer, he had been the ambassador at St. James's and was the diplomat who understood

the ways of the English far better than the others. There could be no doubt who should be the one to remain and act as spy on the Prince of Wales.

They all knew it.

Bothmer said: *'I should be the one to remain."

George nodded. That was all; but it was a recognition of a good servant. He was not a man to forget a friend any more than he would forgive an enemy—he could be as loyal as he was vindictive.

It was agreed then that Bothmer would remain.

"Your Majesty must insist on the dismissal of Argyll," said Bernstorff, for his ministers always respected the King's custom of not wasting time on a matter which had already been settled.

"It seems it is not so easy," replied George.

"There is a way," put in Robethon.

They were all looking at the clever one who worked in the shadows.

"Make a condition," said Robethon. "If the Prince does not please you in this matter of Argyll you recall your brother, the Duke of Osnabriick, to act as Regent."

George, taken aback, stared at his secretary and the other two caught their breath. They turned to the King to see his reception of the news.

"You think these English would allow that?"

"They will not have to. The Prince will give way to your wishes over Argyll."

"But to bring my brother here! " George was thinking of his youth when he, the eldest of a family of brothers was hated by them all because they were jealous of his inheritance. Bring Ernest Augustus to England I Let him act as Regent! He saw trouble there.

"You would never have to bring your brother here. Your Majesty. The very mention of his coming would so alarm the Prince that he would agree to do whatever you asked of him to prevent it. No, it is a threat merely. Let me see that it reaches his ears as a rumour—that is all. If it does not have the desired effect well then, we shall have to allow him to keep Argyll. But it is not good for Your Majesty to be flouted. We have

beaten off the Jacobites; we cannot allow the Prince to triumph over the King."

George grunted; then he slapped his thigh.

"All right," he said, "we'll try it. But I'd rather keep Argyll in the Prince's service than have Ernest Augustus here."

"If Your Majesty will leave this little matter to me, I will see that it reaches the Prince's ear ... unofficially."

The Prince stalked up and down his apartment, his eyes bulging with rage while Caroline did her best to calm him.

"And you think ve can be calm! This is an outrage. Bring my uncle to England! Vat vill the people think? That I ... the Prince ... am not capable enough to have the charge of this country?"

"He vill not bring your uncle here."

"But this is vat I hear. I hear they are vorking out their plans. He ... and his Germans! The English vill not haf it. They vill vant their Prince."

"Of course. This is a threat ... it is no more."

"But I tell you this: they are planning it. Bernstorff that man ... I do not trust. I tell you the English vill not have."

"Of course they vill not have. They vill say 'Ve vill haf the Prince. Ve love the Prince. He is von brave man.' They vill remember how you acted in the theatre."

George Augustus's face lightened at the memory. "No." he said, "the people vill not haf."

"But," went on Caroline, "the King may bring his brother here. Ve cannot say vat the King vill do."

George Augustus stamped. "I vill not haf it."

"In time," said Caroline, "ve haf our own court ... our own friends. It is not yet. So far ve cannot be sure. So it is better to..."

George Augustus was staring at her.

"I do not think Argyll is vorth ve should make such trouble for ourselves."

"You mean ... ve give vay! "

"It is sometimes better to ... at the beginning, as you tell me.

He had not told her but he was ready to believe he had and it was the way to make him accept the idea. Caroline saw clearly that they could bring great trouble on themselves by clinging to a principle. What mattered now was that the Prince should have power when his father was away. That would give them the opportunity they needed to build up a court, to seek friends and supporters. It would be George Augustus's rehearsal for that day when he was in fact King of England.

He was hesitating.

She went to him and slipped her arm through his. He liked these little displays of affection between them.

**You vill be von great ruler," she said, "People do not understand this until you have had this chance to show them. This vill give you the chance. Many are already on your side. They do not like the King. He does not like them and makes no pains to hide this. They do not like. But you will be their hero. You will show them how much better ruler you are. Then if the King tries to rule you ... he vill not be able to because the people vill be vith you ... and it is at the last the people who decide who shall be their Kings."

He looked at his wife, but he was not seeing her. He saw himself riding through the streets of London, acclaimed by the people. It was true he was more charming than his father. Who could be less? The people cheered him in the streets. He was almost English already and his father would never be.

"Your father must not bring your uncle here," said Caroline. *'Ven the King goes to Hanover you must be Regent."

"It's true," he said, "Nothing must stop that."

"Nothing," she agreed. "Not even Argyll."

"Then ..." he began.

"You must go to your father. You must say you vish to please him. This you must say."

"I hate to do it."

"This I know. But as you say it must be done. If you say to the King: 'I vill give up everything to please you and live in amity with you. I vill as you vish part with the Duke of Argyll, then he can haf no excuse. The Regency vill be yours. It is a small price to pay for the Regency"

He stood still scowling, his heavy jaw thrust out giving him the sullen look which made him resemble his father.

"It vill be goot," she said. "You vill be as King. Who knows he may be away ... months ... a year or more. Then you vill show this pipples how much better king you vill be. Your court vill you have. Nothing vill be the same after that ... even ven he comes back. If he ever does. He is a fool. He loves Hanover better than he love England. Let him have Hanover. Let us make England for us."

The Prince nodded slowly.

"Go to him I vill," he said. "I vill tell him that I vill dismiss Argyll because it is his vish."

*'Go now/' she said. "Vaste no time. If he sends for your uncle it vill be too late."

The Prince went at once to the King, and Robethon was delighted with tlie success of his plan.

In spite of the fact that George Augustus had given way and the Duke of Arg)ll and his brother Lord Islay had been dismissed from their public posts, tlie King was still determined not to give his son the Regency.

He argued with his Council tliat the Prince was too irresponsible.

His German advisers were firm in their views that harm could come of giving the Prince too much power; the English ministers declared that the Prince being of age must necessarily take the Regency.

If George had not been so eager to see Hanover he would have abandoned the whole project; but he was so heartily sick of his new country and so fervently longing for his old, that he was determined to make the trip whatever the consequences. Moreover war was imminent—war which would involve Hanover and he wanted to make sure that if Hanover should need the support of England, Hanover should have it.

Marlborough, backed by his forceful wife, always ready to seek a way back to power, suggested that six men should be chosen who would support the Prince in his Regency and have

equal power with him. This idea enchanted Marlborough, for he saw himself as one, with four of his friends—possibly members of his family—who would sit in Council with the Prince and in fact govern the realm with the Prince as their mouthpiece. A project after his own heart.

But the days of Marlborough's glory were long behind him. Walpole and Townsend laughed at the Duke's temerity behind his back. The old man must be getting senile to think he could get away with that one! They smiled to think of him hatching it with Sarah—and being so unaware of the decline in their fortunes as to think such a suggestion could be anything but laughable.

Townsend, as Prime Minister, had made his decision. The King did not like him so he already had one foot in the Prince's camp and he had made up his mind that his support was going to the Prince.

He addressed the Council, telling them that there was no precedence for what was suggested. Never before when a Prince of Wales had been of an age to become Regent in the absence of the King had he been asked to agree that others should join with him. The Prince would be working in collaboration with the Parliament and that was according to the laws and customs of England.

"I will not have him Regent," cried George. *'This would give him too much power. He would have a position similar to that now held by the Duke of Orleans. This is a different matter. Louis XV is a minor, and the Duke is in all but name King of France. To be Regent at this time in France is to be King. It must not be so here. Regent he shall not be called. My son must not have the power of a Regent. His talents do not justify this."

The members of the Council were silent for a while; and then Townsend said: ''There is another title which was once used in England. It is Guardian and Lieutenant of the Realm. It implies a guardianship without the power of a Regent. Does your Majesty think this could be bestowed on the Prince of Wales? It would give him a title without great power. It would thus preserve his dignity while giving Your Majesty less cause for anxiety."

**I will look into this," said George. "I think it may well be what we need."

"Guardian and Lieutenant of the Realm!" cried George Augustus taking off his wig—a familiar habit when incensed– and first stamping on it and then proceeding to kick it round the apartment. "I am Regent. I vill be Regent."

"This is not bad," soothed Caroline. "Vait till he is gone ... just vait. That is all. Vat we must do is make this pipple love us. This ve can do. Ve vill have our court. It vill be as though ve are the King and Queen. And if anything goes wrong ... it is not your fault. You are only the Guardian of the Realm ... not the Regent. As soon as he has gone ve shall show the pipple how much more pleasant it is ven you are King."

"Guardian of the Realm! " growled George Augustus.

"Vat do the pipple know of that? Vat do they care? It is the pipple's love ve vant, George Augustus. It is friends ... Ve vill have our court. To it vill ve invite those who vill help us most ... and those who are not pleased vith the King. Never mind if they call you Regent or Guardian. This is your chance to show this pipple vat a King you vill be."

His scowl lightened; he picked up his wig and put it on his head. He stood on tiptoe; he looked in the mirror. He was already seeing himself as King.

"This is my chance, Caroline," he said. "That is how I see it. Guardian of the Realm! It is an insult. But vat does the name matter? They vill see, these dear good pipple, vat a King I shall be. They vill long for the day ... just as I do. And it vill come."

She smiled at him; she was growing more fond of him as time passed.

There was excited activity at St. James's, but no one was more excited at the project of leaving England than the King; he was almost jovial—a mood in which many of his subjects had never seen him before.

Mustapha and Mahomet were, of course, going with the

King; but they were not very pleased. Life in England had offered them far more than it had in Hanover. They had been able to give out many of the smaller posts in the King's household and they had quickly discovered how they could make a profitable business of this.

They had laughed together at the grumbles of the King's courtiers who asked: Who ever heard of a King who would have only two Turkish servants to assist him at his toilet? This had been a longstanding ceremony in the life of English Kings and this German had substituted two Turks for all the gentlemen who could have had lucrative posts in his household.

Just another crude habit of a coarse-minded King, said the disappointed gentlemen; but Mahomet and Mustapha had developed a talent for greed; so they were not pleased to be taken from the happy hunting ground.

Stanhope was uneasy. He was to accompany George to Hanover leaving Townsend and Walpole behind. He would, of course, have the ear of the King which was important, but how could he know what was going on in the mind of Townsend and the even more wily one of Walpole? What would they be doing while he was away?

The King's two mistresses naturally accompanied him—the Maypole and the Elephant. Kielmansegge was not eager to go; she had found lovers among the English and she was growing to like them better than the Germans. Moreover, in Hanover was their old rival the Countess von Platen, who would of course welcome George very affectionately—and even a man of habit as he undoubtedly was could not help being glad of a change.

And Ermengarda? A little while ago she would have been delighted to go to Hanover. That was when she was afraid for the King's safety. But why go now when the horrible Pretender had shown he could do nothing against the King and had scuttled back to France? Why not stay in England where life was really more comfortable and there were so many perquisites for those in favoured places? Oh, yes, Ermengarda would rather have stayed in England.