Текст книги "Sweet Lass of Richmond Hill "

Автор книги: Jean Plaidy

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Sheridan nodded. 'That.' he said, 'is why we need Charles James Fox who, while he will serve Your Highness with all

his power, will be mightily diverted to discountenance Mr. Pitt.'

Oh yes, even Maria had to agree that they needed Mr. Fox.

In an easy chair in his lodgings in the town of Bologna Mr. Fox stretched himself with ease. In a few moments Lizzie would come in with a dish of tea to revive him after his afternoon's nap. It was a pleasure to watch Lizzie move across the room. What a graceful creature she was! Italy suited her; and so did this wandering existence. She was never ruffled, and such an intelligent companion. Lizzie had all the qualities he looked for in a woman. Now if he had known Lizzie when he was a young man, and if at that time he had had the wisdom to recognize her qualities, he would never have led the life he had. But then it was due to his adventures with so many members of her sex that he was able to appreciate her. Perhaps, he thought, he would marry her one day. Why not?

This was the life. Politics? Well, yes, he had to admit that his greatest ambition had been to be Prime Minister; but that affair of the marriage and the Prince's deception had made him want to turn his back on Westminster. And so here he was in Italy—and what treasures of art, architecture and music he, and Lizzie with him, had discovered there! He believed this period of travel might well be the happiest of h& life.

Where should they go from here? When Lizzie came in with the tea they would discuss the next move.

He yawned pleasurably and here was Lizzie although it was not quite time and she was holding letters in her hand.

Letters? he thought. But he had left no address in England, his sole purpose being to get away. He had not even wanted to know what was happening there so he had asked that no news sheets or papers should be sent to him. So what could Lizzie be doing with letters?

She was as unhurried as usual as she said to him: 'They have tracked you down.'

'London?' he said.

She gave him two letters. 'There is a messenger outside. He

has been chasing all over Europe looking for you, he tells mc. He has lately come from Geneva and somehow traced you to this place.'

'Good God!' cried Fox. 'What can this mean?'

He was opening one of the letters. 'Burke,' he said. He read it through and handed it to her. The other letter was from Sheridan.

There was a brief silence and then he said: 'The King is ill ... seriously ill. So our young Prince will soon be king. You know what this is going to mean for the Whigs.'

'That Mr. Fox will lead them to power?'

He was grinning at her.

'But Mr. Fox said only yesterday that he was done with politics.'

'Mr. Fox, Madam, can now and then talk nonsense.'

'So I thought at the time,' said Lizzie. 'When do you wish to leave?'

'I shall answer these letters to tell them I am returning with all speed, then go, while you make the necessary preparations to follow me to London as soon as possible. There must be nothing to detain me.'

'Nothing at all,' said Lizzie, and left him.

The messenger departed with all speed and shortly afterwards Fox set out on his journey, leaving Lizzie to settle their affairs and follow. He was travelling through France when the news reached him that the King was mad.

This, he thought, will mean a Regency.

His eyes were already sparkling with the light of battle. He must press on with all speed. Lizzie would have been concerned for his health had she been here, for he was too impatient to be back to pause long enough to rest adequately. He arrived in London on November 24th, which meant that the journey had taken only nine days. Remarkable speed—but when Lizzie arrived she would see the effect it had had on him. But that was nothing. Once let him get to the House and he would show Pitt that he could not have all his own way while Fox was there to prevent him.

Mr. Pitt travelled down to Windsor. The Prince, who had returned from Bagshot, declined to see him, and Mr. Pitt therefore asked for an audience with the Queen.

Charlotte received him gratefully. It was the first time she had been included in any State matter and she was appreciative of Mr. Pitt's obvious respect for her.

He asked her questions about the King's condition and she answered as frankly as she could, for there was no possibility now of hiding the fact that the King was mad.

'Your Majesty.' said Mr. Pitt, 'the possibilities are that Parliament will decide that a Regency is necessary and the Prince of Wales will expect to be the Regent.'

'That, Mr. Pitt,' said the Queen firmly, 'is scarcely a state of affairs which would please me...' She amended that immediately to, 'which would please us.'

Mr. Pitt admitted this. 'I doubt that I should remain long in office.'

'And it is essential that you should, Mr. Pitt.'

The Prime Minister bowed his head. It was an acknowledgment that he and the Queen were allies and he decided to take the Queen into his confidence. 'If His Highness should attain the Regency,' he said, 'it will be necessary to restrict his power wherever possible.'

The Queen agreed that this was so.

4 I had been thinking of a joint Regency ... with perhaps Your Majesty as one of its members.'

The Queen's sallow face flushed a little. This was triumph such as she had never dreamed of. But she was not a fool. She did not believe for one moment that she would be allowed by Mr. Pitt or the Prince of Wales to exert her power over Parliament. But there was one way in which she could have perhaps as much influence as any; that was if she had the care of the King. Suppose this bout was like that other—as temporary as that. Why not! It was not impossible.

'I believe, Mr. Pitt,' she said, 'that it is better for me to take no part in politics but to devote myself to His Majesty. If I were his sole guardian for as long as this unhappy malady continues, I believe I could be of the greatest service.'

Mr. Pitt was pleased. The Queen was a woman of sound good sense. They could indeed be allies.

The Queen was frightened. She was never quite sure what the King would do. He terrified her because he called for her constantly. She had moved into a bedroom which was next to his and he seemed to have an obsession that his enemies were trying to separate him from her. All night long she would hear his rambling conversations, shouting at first, and then as his voice began to fail him growing hoarser and hoarser until just a vague whispering came from the other side of the wall. She would not forget that dreadful night when he had attempted to murder the Prince of Wales. He had always been a kindly man but there had been murder in his face that night, and after witnessing that violent scene she could no longer feel safe. What if he were to turn against her} That very night he had escaped from his equerries and come into the room she occupied and, holding a lighted candle in his hand, had drawn the bed curtains and stood there looking down at her. She had feared that he had come to set the curtains alight as he cried: 'Yes, you are still here. I see you are still here. I thought the Queen would be here. I know she would not desert me.' And then seeing the frightened face of Miss Goldsworthy who had come hurrying in from the adjoining chamber: 'Ah, my honest Gooley, you will take care of the Queen.' And he had taken Goolcy's arm and paced up and down the room talking, talking, talking, until she had thought he would drive her mad too. It had seemed so frighteningly long before they took him away.

Now his illness was accepted and the Prince was trying to take over his father's authority.

She could not understand her emotions. She hated the Prince. It was incredible. This was her son, the boy whom she had loved more than all the rest of the children put together. What had come over her?

It is because I longed for his love, she told herself, and all Julias done is to despise me.

But she would not allow herself to think such a thing. She was against him because he wished to usurp his father's powci.

Miss Burney came in and, standing before her, burst into tears. The Queen stared at this unusual maid of honour, and suddenly they were crying together.

'Your pardon, Madam.'

'There is no need to ask it, Miss Burney. I thank you. You have made me weep ... and I think it is what I needed.'

So they sat side by side and wiped their eyes and the Queen felt comforted.

* # *

'Mamma,' said the Princess Royal, 'Dr. Warren is here.'

'Dr. Warren. I have not sent for him.'

'So I thought, Mamma. But he has come and he is being most arrogant and Sir George Baker is not very pleased for he says that he is in charge of His Majesty.'

Tray send someone to this Dr. Warren and tell him that I wish to see him without delay.'

The Princess Royal did as she was bid and came back to the Queen to present Her Majesty with her snuff box. Absent-mindedly the Queen took a pinch; but there was no comfort in anything these days.

One of the pages scratched at the door and the Princess Royal bade him enter.

'Your Majesty,' said the boy, bowing low, 'Dr. Warren sends his compliments but regrets he is too busily engaged with his duties at this moment to wait on Your Majesty. He will do so at his earliest convenience.'

The page bowed low and obviously after having delivered such a message was glad to escape. The Queen's mouth tightened and she said: 'I can scarcely believe that I have heard aright.'

'Oh, Mamma,' cried the Princess, 'they arc saying that Dr. Warren is the choice of the Prince of Wales and that he is here to serve the Prince ... that he has the Prince's authority for all he does ...'

'Insulting the Queen, I daresay,' said the Queen grimly.

The Princess Royal sat on the footstool at her mother's feet and looked up at her anxiously. She too was remembering that dreadful scene at the dinner table when her father had attempted to murder her brother.

What will become of us all?' she asked. God alone knows,' answered the Queen.

Dr. Warren and the Prince had decided that the King should go to Kew.

'There,' said the Prince, 'lie will be restful. He was always fond of Kew. As for my mother,' he went on, 'I believe she should go to Buckingham House or perhaps stay at Windsor. The King is so clouded in his mind that he will be much better alone with the doctors.'

His brother Frederick agreed with him, and when his uncles Gloucester and Cumberland called they made it clear that they already regarded the Prince of Wales as the ruler.

He was gratified. No more would that mad old man dictate to him. No one should dictate to him; that was why he was going to teach the Queen a lesson for he was sure she still saw him as a little boy to be guided by his parents.

It was the Princess Royal once more who brought the news to her mother.

'I have heard them discussing it, Mamma,' she said. 'They are going to take the King away from us.'

'Indeed they are not.'

'Oh yes, Mamma, they are. George has given orders that they are to prepare for the journey to Kew.'

'I will see the Prince of Wales,' said the Queen.

She went to his apartments where he received her coldly.

'What is this I hear about His Majesty's going to Kew?' she demanded.

'I and his doctors think it best.'

And I am not to be consulted?'

'No, Madam.'

'I think you forget that I am the Queen.'

'It is perhaps Your Majesty who is forgetful of my position.'

He was looking at her with the cold eyes of contempt. If only he had smiled at her even then, had asked for her help, her sympathy, she would have weakened. But of course he did nothing of the sort. He just stood regarding her arrogantly,

implying that she was of no account and that he was the master now.

'It is monstrous that you should propose to take the King to Kew without consulting me.'

'Madam, as you will not be going with him it did not occur to us to consult you. You are to live ... at peace either at Buckingham House or Windsor. You may take your choice.'

'How kind, how understanding of you to give me a choice.'

'Well, Madam, I wish to please if possible.'

'Enough of this. Where the King is there shall I be. You forget I am his wife.'

'Madam, my plans ...'

She snapped her fingers. 'My plan is to stay with the King and my place is at his side. I believe that His Majesty's ministers will agree with me, and would not take kindly to any plan to separate a sick husband from his wife.'

The Prince was silent.

She went on: 'It was suggested that, should there be a Regency, I should share in it, but I have said my place is to care for the King. Should I be ousted from that place, there might be another waiting for me. And if I was kept from my duty to the King I might take it.'

As she walked from the room he knew she was right and that he had been foolish to talk of separating them. He would have to give way.

The first round of the battle was a victory for the Queen.

The Prince left for Kew, having given orders that his mother and sisters with their attendants were to follow. The King was to come on later.

At Kew the Prince decided which rooms should be allotted to whom and actually wrote the names of the people who should occupy them over the doors.

The Queen's apartments were immediately above the King's and he decided that she could not occupy these for fear of disturbing His Majesty; therefore he selected a bedroom and drawing room for her which were not very commodious, but, as he said to his equerry, she would come so therefore she must

make do with what accommodation there was. As for some of her maids of honour, they would have to be content with the servants' rooms.

From one of the windows he saw his mother arrive, surrounded by her weeping daughters.

At Windsor the King paced up and down his bedroom and shouted: *Where do you wish to take me, eh, what? To Kew? I will not go to Kew. What should I go to Kew for if I do not wish it, eh, what? Tell me that! Kew ... I do not wish to go to Kew...' And so on in such a strain, his voice rising higher and higher until there was little of it left and he could only croak.

Colonel Digby reminded him that he had always been particularly fond of Kew.

4 No longer,' cried the King. 'I will not go to Kew. I know what you people are after. You want to shut me up there. Do you, eh, what?'

They only wanted him to be comfortable, they told him.

'You want to separate me from the Queen, eh, what? You are trying to take her from me. Queen Elizabeth ... She's my Queen...'

The equerries looked mystified until Digby nodded, remembering the King's glances at Lady Elizabeth Pembroke. The poor old man was very far gone if he believed he was married to Elizabeth Pembroke.

'The Queen,' cried the King. 'I want the Queen. You have separated us. Oh yes you have. You have taken the Queen from me. You have decided that she shall not be with me, eh, what?'

Colonel Digby said: 'Your Majesty, the Queen has gone ahead to Kew. She is waiting there to welcome you.'

'Eh, what? The Queen at Kew?'

Digby assured His Majesty that this was indeed the truth; and thus was enabled to persuade him to enter his carriage. And so the poor deranged King came to Kew.

The Queen watched the King's arrival. Oh, God, she

thought, is that poor shambling creature the King? And she thought of him as he had been when she first saw him: young, handsome in his way with his fresh complexion and his blue eyes, and kindly too, not letting her guess that he had married her with the utmost reluctance.

And now ... he had come to this. There was General Har-court and Colonel Goldsworthy with him, helping him in; she could hear his voice, hoarse and yet somehow audible; and she wondered if he had been shouting during the journey.

'Oh, Mamma. Mamma.' It was her daughter Augusta who was beside her, taking her hand and pressing it.

'My daughter,' said the Queen, 'your father has come to Kew. It is fitting that we should be together at such a time.'

Augusta began to cry. 'Everything is so different, Mamma. Everything is changed.'

'Yes/ agreed the Queen, 'I fear nothing will be the same again.'

She felt her lips tremble uncontrollably and Augusta seeing her emotion said: 'Mamma, may I sleep in your bedchamber tonight? I will have a small tent bed put up and I promise not to disturb you ... only to be a comfort.'

The Queen pressed her daughter's hand. 'It is strange,' she said, 'that Queens should pray for sons. It is daughters who are a comfort to them.'

Immediately on his arrival in England Fox arranged to meet the Prince at Carlton House. The Prince received his old friend with tears in his eyes.

'By God, Charles, it is a relief to see you here.'

'And a relief to be here, Your Highness.'

'I had feared we should never find you.'

'As soon as I knew my services were required I came at full speed.'

'And Lizzie?'

'She is following. I doubt her return will be long delayed.'

'Now to business, Charles.'

'Indeed so, Your Highness. I hear there is a little improvement in His Majesty's general health.'

'That's true.' The Prince spoke almost ruefully and added quickly: 'In his state his death would be the best possible solution for himself more than any of us. I cannot tell you how mad he is, Charles. A raving lunatic.'

'Sad, very sad. And likely to remain so?'

'Dr. Warren thinks so. The other doctors hold out hope of his return to sanity. But they arc doubtless primed by the Queen.'

'Her Majesty shows unusual spirit.'

'She has changed ... completely. Now she has given up bearing children I believe she fancies herself as a powerful influence on the country's affairs.'

'She could have some influence, Your Highness. We should not lose sight of that.'

'She seems to have formed an alliance with Pitt.'

'Then we must indeed be watchful of her. Your Highness, we need Portland's assistance. It would be helpful if you could forget your quarrel with him.'

The Prince scowled. 'He showed himself to be no friend of mine over that matter of my debts.'

'Nevertheless, Your Highness, we need him.'

The Prince was silent for a moment. 'Very well,' he said. 'Shake him by the hand and tell him that I hope everything that is past may be forgotten between us.'

'Excellent,' murmured Fox.

'I will ask Maria to receive him at Pall Mall.'

Fox was silent. Would Maria receive Charles James Fox?

Oh, curse the woman! The pity of it was that the Prince had ever become influenced by her. She was the reason for his exile; she could now be his biggest enemy.

'Maria will see that Portland forgets his grievances,' said the Prince with a fond smile.

That may be, thought Fox, but how will she behave towards me?

At least the quarrel between the Prince and Portland would be mended and that was the first step forward.

Now, he explained, they must see that the Regency passed to the Prince with all the powers of kingship, for they could be

sure Pitt would do everything in his power to curtail the Prince's.

Maria had arrived from Brighton with the Sheridans whose own house was now occupied by the bailiffs.

'Guests,' declared Sheridan, 'whom we can scarcely call welcome.'

Maria, who had herself, since her association with the Prince, suffered from the visits of such 'guests', was sympathetic.

'You and Elizabeth must stay with me until something can be done to dislodge your guests,' she told Sheridan, who was delighted at the prospect.

In his bedroom in the magnificent Pall Mall house he discussed the future with Elizabeth.

'A temporary embarrassment, my love. When the Prince is Regent, when we are in power, there'll be a very important place for me in the Government. Make no mistake about that.'

'Will it pay our debts, Richard?'

'My dearest, who is going to worry about the debts of the ... er ... what shall it be? What post would you choose for me?'

'I would choose that of the solvent man.'

That made him laugh. 'Elizabeth, you have no spirit of adventure?'

He took her by the shoulders and looked into her face. Now she could see clearly what dissipation had done to those once handsome looks.

Oh, Richard, she thought, where are you going?

She released herself and made a desperate effort to restrain her fit of coughing.

Maria was concerned by Elizabeth's pallor and Miss Pigot made one of her special cough mixtures for her. Maria was very fond of Elizabeth. Sheridan was witty and amusing and she believed a good friend of the Prince, but it was Elizabeth whom she loved.

The Prince had asked her to receive the Duke of Portland

and she had sent an invitation to him which he had been delighted to accept, and he had shown his appreciation of her intelligence by discussing the situation with her. After that he had called several times and he, Sheridan and sometimes the Prince had had discussions together.

It would have been useful, Portland had implied, if Fox could have joined them.

It is one thing I will not do, Maria had decided. I will never have that man in my house.

The Sheridans came into her drawing room. Delightful guests, she thought. Sheridan so entertaining; Elizabeth so charming.

'We have half an hour before my guests are due,' she told him. 'Pray be seated, Elizabeth, my dear. Did you take Pig's potion? You will be in her black books if you did not.'

Elizabeth assured her that she had taken the evil-tasting concoction. 'And I have not coughed since.'