With Victoria's Blessing Read online

  ‘Unfortunately, my friend, her parents do not agree.’ He fished a letter from his pocket and put it on the table in front of Richard. ‘This will explain.’

  Richard snatched it up and skimmed through it. ‘She has been forbidden to see me or communicate with me.’

  ‘Well, she has already disobeyed one of those instructions,’ Freddie said, nodding at the sheet of paper in Richard’s hand.

  ‘Yes, and prepared to disobey the other. I have only to say the word and she will come to me.’

  ‘But you are not going to say the word, are you?’

  ‘No,’ he said gloomily. ‘How can I? It will ruin her reputation.’

  ‘And your career. Don’t forget that.’

  ‘I wish in a way we were at war and could see some action, then I might distinguish myself and earn a promotion. Instead of that we are required to sail to Calais and bring back the queen’s bridegroom.’

  ‘Perhaps after that, we’ll be ordered to join a battleship or a cruiser and sent off to far-flung places. Will she wait for you, do you think?’

  ‘She says she will but I cannot hold her to that, can I? She is young and her parents are sure to bring pressure to bear for her to marry someone they consider more suitable.’

  ‘Then I suggest you do not answer that letter. She will get over you all the quicker if she hears nothing from you. And so will you. It is a lost cause, my friend.’

  Richard gave a huge sigh. He suspected his friend was right, but he had the gravest difficulty in accepting it. He was convinced he and Emily were made for each other and somehow or other a way had to be found for them to be together. The trouble was no matter how often he teased his brain with it, no solution came to mind.

  ‘Come on, Dick,’ Freddie said cheerfully. ‘It is not the end of the world. Let’s go to Boodles and play a hand or two. That will take your mind off her.’

  Richard knew nothing would take his mind off Emily for very long, but he agreed. Anything was better than moping, and Freddie was good company and might be persuaded to take a reply to Emily through his sister. It was no good going to Green Park. Emily had said she would not be there.

  They left the hotel and made their way from Oxford Street down Duke Street, but as they reached Grosvenor Square, Richard suddenly turned left into Upper Brook Street.

  ‘Hey, where are you off to?’ Freddie asked, grabbing his arm.

  Richard shook him off. ‘I’m going to see if I can catch a glimpse of her.’

  ‘Don’t be a fool. You will only make it worse for yourself.’

  They were approaching Lynne House when Emily came out accompanied by Margaret. They were both wrapped in warm cloaks with fur-lined hoods and were each carrying books. Richard stopped, waiting for Emily to acknowledge him. She stopped too. They looked at each other without speaking for what seemed an age, each trying to convey with their eyes and expression alone what they were feeling: love, despair and hope all mixed together. And then she smiled briefly and lifted the hand that held the books hanging from her wrist by the ribbon which bound them, before moving on. Not a word was exchanged.

  ‘She is going to Hookhams.’ Richard did an about turn and set off for Old Bond Street with Freddie in his wake.

  Once in the library it took a moment or two to locate Emily; she had managed to conceal herself behind a bookcase and was pretending to study a book on exotic plants.

  ‘Emily,’ he whispered, coming up behind her. ‘I received your letter.’

  ‘Then you must know I have been forbidden to speak to you.’ She was trembling, not only because she was not accustomed to disobeying her mother, but because of his nearness. His breath was tickling the back of her neck and sending the most extraordinary messages to the rest of her body.

  ‘Is it the end between us?’ he enquired in a hoarse whisper. ‘Is that your wish?’

  She turned towards him. ‘No, Richard, how could you think it? But do you think you can be patient until after the queen’s wedding? When everything has quietened down and Mama is not so stressed, I will speak to her again. If she knows how determined I am, she will change her mind.’

  ‘Of course I will wait, is that not what I have been saying?’ he said. ‘It will be worth it to have you as my wife in the end. In the meantime I shall contrive to better my own lot, even if it means coming out of the service and doing something else. I hate all this hole-in-the-corner way of doing things. It goes against my nature, but it is better than nothing.’

  Over his shoulder, Emily saw her companion, who had managed to go off to another part of the shop, returning. ‘Margaret is coming. I must go.’

  He lifted the back of her gloved hand to his lips and smiled a little wryly. ‘Adieu, my love,’ he whispered. ‘Be assured you are never out of my thoughts, no matter what.’ Then he turned on his heel and rejoined Freddie. ‘Come on,’ he said. ‘Let’s go to Boodles.’

  They spent the rest of the afternoon playing cards, at which Richard won a modest sum. It did not cheer him up. ‘Lucky at cards, unlucky in love,’ he said to his friend as he pocketed his winnings and returned to his lodging.

  The next day they were recalled to their ships and took the stage to Dover. He did not know that Emily had been summoned to Buckingham Palace, not by her mother but by the queen.

  Chapter Five

  Full of trepidation Emily made her way through the draughty corridors of Buckingham Palace to the queen’s sitting room, where Her Majesty was examining the lace of her veil which she had designed herself, and talking to her ladies, who sat or stood about her. Her mother, Emily noticed, was with her.

  The countess stepped forward. ‘Your Majesty, may I present my daughter, Emily.’

  Emily dipped the deepest curtsey she had ever made and then stood waiting for the queen to speak.

  ‘Lady Emily, I believe you are desirous of becoming one of my maids of honour.’

  It was not a question but a statement and Emily did not know what to say. She could hardly deny having any such desire and knew, with certainty, that her mother had engineered the interview. ‘It would be an honour, Your Majesty.’

  ‘Do you know the duties expected of you?’

  ‘Not exactly, ma’am.’

  ‘I am sure your mama will enlighten you. You will, of course, be in attendance at my wedding with the other maids, after the bridesmaids and Ladies of the Bedchamber. Your gown for this will be provided for you.’ She took a little box from the small table at her side and extracted a miniature of herself set in diamonds in the form of a brooch. ‘You will wear this at all times while you are with me, Lady Emily. It is your badge of office.’ She leaned forward and pinned it to the bodice of Emily’s gown. ‘Needless to say, any proposals of marriage you receive will be directed through me from the first. I trust you understand that?’

  ‘Yes, ma’am.’ Emily’s heart sank. Did the queen know about Richard? Was that what it was all about? How on earth was she to meet Richard if she had to live in the palace, where her mother could keep an eye on her? Everything was conspiring against her and she felt like rebelling.

  ‘If I approve of your choice of husband, then you will receive the usual dowry, but I do not expect that to happen in the near future. You are still very young.’ Said by a woman who was the same age as Emily. ‘I shall expect you to begin your duties on Monday.’

  The interview at an end, Emily curtsied again and backed out of the presence to rejoin Margaret in an anteroom. ‘I have to be a maid of honour,’ she murmured. ‘Three months living in this great barn of a place, three months at the queen’s command. How am I ever going to see Richard?’

  Margaret was not required to answer because the countess had followed her daughter. ‘Come with me to my room,’ she told Emily. ‘I will go over your duties.’

  ‘Mama, you knew I did not want this honour,’ Emily said as they went. ‘Is it your way of punishing me?’

  ‘Punishing you, child? It is not a punishment, it is a wonderful opportunity. I asked
the queen about it some time ago, but a vacancy has only now arisen and that rather suddenly. Her Majesty graciously remembered my request. You should feel elated. You will be part of the queen’s procession at her wedding and will see everything that goes on. The dress was made for your predecessor, but can easily be altered to fit you.’

  Emily followed her mother into her sitting room with Margaret a little behind them. The countess turned to her. ‘You may wait outside until Lady Emily is ready to return home.’ To Emily she said, ‘Sit down.’

  Emily obeyed and waited.

  ‘Your duties as a maid of honour are simple enough,’ the countess said. ‘You will attend the queen whenever she requires it between the hours of ten in the morning and five in the afternoon, and again in the evening until she dismisses you. You might be asked to converse with her, take walks, read to her and sometimes deal with her correspondence. You will share these duties with the other maids, but you must be ready for the call at any time. Is that quite clear?’

  ‘Yes, Mama.’

  Emily returned home in the depths of despair. It seemed her loving relationship with Richard was blighted. ‘I must see him,’ she told Margaret in the carriage going home. ‘I have until Monday and then I shall be in servitude for three months. Oh, how could Mama do this to me?’

  ‘It is a great honour and you will be in the chapel to see the royal wedding. Think of that.’

  ‘I would rather be thinking of my own wedding,’ she said gloomily.

  ‘Cheer up,’ Margaret said. ‘It is not the end of the world.’

  ‘It seems like it to me. Margaret, will you take a note to Constance for me?’

  ‘If you insist.’

  The note enclosed one for Richard but it could not be delivered. Richard had been recalled to his ship.

  Chapter Six

  Prince Albert enjoyed a farewell banquet at home with his family on the twenty-seventh of January and next day left Gotha with his father, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg, and brother Ernst, in their father’s travelling carriage, bound for Calais and a new life. A string of other carriages followed, sent by Victoria for his retinue and luggage, which made an impressive caravan. In spite of wet blustery weather, he was fêted all the way with crowds of people in the streets and in the windows of houses, even on the rooftops, waving flags and handkerchiefs.

  When they reached Calais he found the Ariel and the Firebrand waiting for him. Both ships had been prepared so that he could choose which to use. In the event he went aboard the Ariel.

  It was obvious as soon as they left the harbour that it was going to be a rough crossing. The Ariel was tossed about by gale-force winds and mountainous seas, and all the passengers were seasick, including the royal brothers. Neither was able to sample the refreshments so painstakingly prepared for them and they remained in their cabins. The prince’s servants seemed incapable of doing anything to help their master and Richard found himself waiting on the young groom. He took a liking to the twenty-year-old who was approachable and grateful for anything that was done for him, including a seasickness remedy that Richard had used himself when he had first gone to sea as a cabin boy ten years before.

  He found himself in conversation with the prince, who was talking to him in an effort to ignore his heaving stomach. Albert did not say so, but it was obvious that he was exceedingly nervous about the wedding and, more especially, how he would conduct himself as the wife of England’s queen. He had been schooled in what was expected of him, but it was clear to Richard that the young man was not prepared to be a shadow of the queen and had very decided views on a number of subjects. He was going to need all his tact to be allowed to let his own personality shine through.

  He was interested in his new country and its ways and quizzed Richard in a strong German accent about his own life as a sailor and whether he found it congenial. Richard responded by talking about life in the Royal Navy and the ships he had served on, from cabin boy to midshipman to second and then first mate. ‘It is a slow climb,’ he said. ‘And the higher you go, the slower it becomes.’

  ‘I think it is the same for the consort of a queen,’ the prince said. ‘One must tread slowly and carefully. But with determination, one may succeed.’

  ‘I hope so, sir. I shall not be consort of a queen but I hope one day to be consort of an earl’s daughter.’

  ‘You are engaged?’

  ‘Unfortunately, no. Her mother, the Countess of Lynne, does not consider me good enough for her daughter.’ It was said with a wry smile. ‘And to be honest, that is undoubtedly the case, but it does not stop me wanting her. I must make my way up, and quickly, if I am to succeed.’

  ‘I am sure you will. But have you no sponsor, someone to speak for you?’

  Richard was aware, as was everyone else, that the prince’s marriage to Victoria had been engineered through their mutual uncle Leopold of Belgium. Would that he had a similar relation. And then he smiled. ‘I had an aunt, who married a German baron and went to live in Coburg several years ago, but I doubt that would carry much weight with the countess.’

  ‘Coburg, eh? Then I should know the gentleman. Tell me his name.’

  ‘Baron Mingen.’

  ‘Why, I know him,’ the prince exclaimed. ‘He is a distant relation of mine and one of my equerries. He is part of my entourage travelling on the Firebrand. Have you not met him?’

  ‘No. My aunt and he were married before I was born and lived all their time abroad. My aunt died last year.’

  ‘Then I shall see that you are introduced to him when we land. He might further your cause. Like me, he is in favour of greater ties between Germany and Britain.’ He paused. ‘I do believe that cure of yours is working. Already I am feeling a little better.’

  ‘I am glad to hear that, Your Highness.’

  His optimism was short-lived because the weather worsened as they reached Dover after five hours of buffeting, and entering the harbour was a hazardous undertaking. The waxen-faced prince was uplifted by the sight of the crowds gathered to welcome him, waving flags and cheering, their earlier animosity apparently dissipated. He took his leave of the crew, including Richard for whom he had a special word, and with an effort of will staggered up on deck and stepped thankfully onto dry land to acknowledge the applause of his well-wishers.

  The carriages were being unloaded to take him and his entourage to London, but before he left, he remembered his promise and sent for Baron Mingen and presented Richard to him.

  The baron was a portly man, sporting a dark beard streaked with white. He had a round face with apple-red cheeks and bright blue eyes, which reminded Richard of Prince Albert. He spoke only German but as Richard had a smattering of the language they were able to make themselves understood. There was no time for any more than the briefest of exchanges, because the coaches had been landed and readied for the onward journey. ‘Come and see me in London,’ the baron said. ‘We will have a long talk and you can tell me all about yourself. My wife, your aunt Matilda, often spoke of your dear mother and wished she had been able to see you. Alas, it was not to be.’

  ‘I am sorry for your loss,’ Richard said.

  The caravan of carriages had been re-assembled and the prince and his brother were ready to continue their journey, escorted by a company of the 11th Dragoons. Richard asked for and was given leave to return to the capital and took a seat on a public coach which, unable to overtake, had to follow in the wake of the prince’s entourage until they reached Canterbury.

  In spite of the dreadful weather, the prince was cheered all the way by the population who had come out to see them pass. In Canterbury it seemed the whole town was out to welcome him. He and Ernst stayed there that night and next day. Rested, though still wan from his sickness, he continued his journey, arriving at Buckingham Palace soon after four on the afternoon of the eighth of February to be greeted by his bride. There were just two days to the wedding.

  Chapter Seven

  The queen sent for two of her maids each d
ay to wait on her, but had not called upon Emily. Unable to go out, unable to see Richard, she had nothing to do but mope and dream. The other maids who were not in attendance gossiped over their embroidery, and Emily, for want of anything else, started a sampler. She was working on it when she was summoned to attend the queen and took it with her.

  All the arrangements for the wedding had been made, most of which were in the hands of the queen’s advisors and Ladies of the Bedchamber, but the queen had taken an active interest in everything down to the last detail. Today all she had to do was await the arrival of her bridegroom. If she felt any trepidation about this she did not show it, as she beckoned Emily to a seat beside her.

  ‘Lady Emily, have you settled in comfortably?’

  ‘Yes, thank you, Your Majesty.’

  ‘You have brought your embroidery, I see.’

  ‘Yes, ma’am. I was advised to have something to do with my hands if you wished to talk.’

  ‘Very sensible.’ When the queen smiled, her whole countenance softened and Emily found herself relaxing a little. ‘May I see?’

  Emily handed it over for inspection. She had sketched out the design: a crown with the names of Victoria and Albert and the date of the wedding on the top half, to be done in several different stitches. The names Richard and Emily were to go on the bottom half. There was no date, but a gap in which to put it. All four names were entwined with flowers.

  The queen studied it for some time while Emily wondered if she would be angry that the sampler of the royal wedding should also depict her own name and Richard’s. ‘Who is Lieutenant Richard Lawrence?’ she asked at last. ‘You have linked his name with your own.’

  ‘Yes, ma’am. I hope one day it will be linked.’

  ‘You know you must apply to me before that can happen?’

  ‘Yes, Your Majesty.’

  ‘Tell me about him.’