Perdita's Prince: (Georgian Series) (38 page)

*

But the visit to Windsor had its compensations.

At the dinner which preceded the birthday ball he found himself seated next to the lovely Lady Augusta Campbell.

The banquet was held in St George’s Hall and to accommodate the eighty members of the nobility who were the guests of the
royal family three long tables had been set up. At the head of one of these sat the King and Queen and at another the Prince of Wales.

Lady Augusta was young and charming and she talked gaily of the review in the Park which had taken place that afternoon as part of the birthday celebrations. The Prince talked to no one else and this was noticed – and not without some dismay by Lady Augusta’s mother, the Duchess of Argyll.

As soon as the banquet was over and the ball began the Prince danced with Lady Augusta and it was clear that he was reluctant to partner anyone else.

There were whispers and sly glances. He has finished with Perdita Robinson. Will Lady Augusta be the next? And what of Dally the Tall? Was she going to stand aside and see the prize snatched from her by this young inexperienced girl.

Lady Augusta was certainly a lovely creature. She lacked the art of beautifying herself which a woman like Perdita Robinson possessed; but beside the actress she would seem young and pure.

During the evening the Prince persuaded her to leave the ballroom and walk in the moonlit park, but when he attempted to kiss her she was a little reluctant.

‘Why?’ he demanded. ‘Don’t you know I have fallen in love with you?’

‘Oh yes,’ she answered. ‘I know that – or you have for me what passes for love. But where could it lead? My parents will never allow me to be your mistress and yours would never allow you to be my husband.’

‘Ah, my dearest angel, I am not so easily defeated.’

But she was firm, and although she was undoubtedly attracted by him she was not so much so that she would forget discretion.

The Prince was not going to lose heart because he had failed after one banquet and ball. He had a new excitement in his life.

He had amusing Dally; intriguing Mrs Armistead; and now he sought to add Lady Augusta to his reason for finding life enjoyable.

*

The Prince sat in his apartments at Windsor writing a poem to Lady Augusta Campbell.

Oh! Campbell, the scene of tonight

Has opened the wound of my heart;

It has shown me how great the delight

Which charms of thy converse impart.

I’ve known what it is to be gay,

I’ve revelled in joy’s fleeting hour,

I’ve wished for the close of the day,

To meet in a thick-woven bower.

He laid down his pen and thought of Perdita whom he had met not exactly in a thick-woven bower; but an inn room on Eel Pie Island could be as romantic.

When Lady Augusta succumbed to his pleading would it be the beginning of a great love affair, such as he had once believed there would be with Perdita?

He forced himself to believe it would be so. He was at heart romantic. Fox might imply that he would be much more content if he did not allow himself to become deeply involved with one woman; but he knew that it was something more than a passing appeasement that he desired. He enjoyed being in love, being ready to die – or at least renounce a great deal – for love.

So he would continue to write letters and poems to Lady Augusta and if she returned his passion he might insist on marrying her. The Argylls were a great family; but his father, he knew, would never consent to a marriage; it would be some plain German frau for him.

He shivered at the prospect and picked up his pen.

’Twas there that the soft-stolen kiss,

’Twas there that the throb of our hearts,

Betrayed that we wished for the bliss

Which love, and love only imparts …

He sighed, thinking of her beauty.

He did hope she was not going to remain aloof, insisting on preserving her virtue as Mary Hamilton had. In any case she, with Grace Elliott and Mrs Armistead, were helping him to forget Perdita; and that was what he wanted almost as much as Lady Augusta’s surrender – to forget Perdita completely, to forget her reproaches, her sacrificial sermons; he wanted to wash all memory
of Perdita from his mind for he was heartily tired of her.

But as the days passed it became clear that Lady Augusta would cling to her virtue.

‘There could be no future for us,’ she said. ‘Your Highness cannot imagine that my parents would allow me to become another Perdita Robinson.’

By such words she irritated him. The very thing he did not want was to be reminded of Perdita.

So he decided to give up the pursuit of Lady Augusta and devote himself to those ladies who appreciated his attentions. There was no doubt that Grace did – gay abandoned creature. Though she was not entirely satisfactory because she kept on her old lovers at the same time.

Mrs Armistead was perhaps the more comforting of the two. She was always so delighted with some small diamond trinket that he found pleasure in making her little gifts.

Perhaps Charles James Fox was right. It was better not to become too involved.

*

The King sent for his son to tell him that he had come to a decision.

‘I cannot give my consent to these proposed trips of yours.’

‘But why not?’ The King looked surprised that the Prince should address him so curtly. ‘I can see nothing wrong in visiting some of Your Majesty’s most highly respected subjects.’

‘I have a treat for you,’ said the King. ‘Something you will enjoy more than these rounds of draughty country houses.’

‘A treat.’

The King nodded smiling. ‘You’ll see, eh? Patience … a virtue, eh, what?’

The Prince was disgusted. Treats? As though he were a boy.

His frustration was strengthened when he reminded himself that he could not disobey the King and accept invitations which His Majesty did not wish him to.

It was maddening. Let him wait, thought the Prince, until I’m twenty-one.

*

The ‘treat’ which the King was offering his son as a compensation for refusing his permission for the country visits was a trip to the Nore.

When the Prince heard of this he was disgusted. This in place of those country visits where he would have been fêted and treated according to his rank, entertained lavishly and enjoyed good conversation and the company of pretty women.

But such was his position that it was useless to protest. The King had decreed that he should go and go he must.

The King and the Prince rode in their separate yachts down the river and were saluted by the ships they passed. Through Woolwich, Tilbury and Gravesend they went accompanied by numerous small craft and cheered along the way until they anchored in Sea Reach for the night. They set off again at five in the morning for Blackstakes; and here the King and Prince left their yachts and toured the dockyards, then proceeded to the Nore where they went on board Admiral Parker’s flagship.

There officers and men were presented to the King and the Prince and after these ceremonies, which were somewhat tedious in the Prince’s opinion, he and his father returned to their yachts. This, fumed the Prince, was his treat for being denied the ability to accept invitations when he wished. It was too humiliating. Particularly as before long what had happened was the talk of the town. A verse was circulated to commemorate the occasion.

The King and the Prince went to the Nore,

They saw the ships and main;

The Prince and King they went on shore

And then came back again.

The people were laughing at the King. Couldn’t he see it? And until the Prince was considered of an age to make his own decisions and cut himself free of his father’s control he would be laughed at too.

Returning to Windsor he went to the Magpie for the solace of Mrs Armistead’s company. She might lack the obvious beauty of Lady Augusta Campbell but she never irritated and she always knew how to soothe him.

No
grande passion
this – but eminently satisfactory.

Humiliation in Hyde Park

BILLS! EVERY DAY
they were coming.

‘Madame Duvernay regrets she must call Mrs Robinson’s attention to this long overdue account.’

Perdita frowned and read the long list of articles. That pelisse which she could have done without. The muff. The cloaks. The gowns … numerous gowns. They had all seemed so essential at the time. And Armistead had been so good at planning them.

Armistead! She did not wish to think of that woman. Traitor. Spy in her own house. Going off for
personal reasons
… which meant to the bed of the Prince of Wales!

Bills for wine. How could they have consumed so much? The poulterers, the butchers, the bakers … There was no end to it.

She started to attempt to add up the amounts but she was no good at it and it was so depressing in any case. And what good would it do to know how much she owed? There was one fact which she knew well enough now. She had not the money to pay them.

Oh, God, she thought. What shall I do?

There was Maiden, dear faithful Malden; he would be the Earl of Essex one day but he had no money now. He could not help her.

Cumberland?

‘Oh, no, never, never,’ she cried dramatically. ‘I would rather die.’

And then suddenly she was aware of the desperate position she was in and broke down and wept.

*

Lord Maiden called. He looked very anxious.

‘Have you any news?’ she implored.

He could only shake his head.

‘You have seen him?’

‘I have.’

‘And has he spoken of me?’

‘I’m afraid not.’

‘But that does not mean he does not
think
of me.’

Lady Augusta Campbell the elusive one; Dally the Tall the gay one; Mrs Armistead the cosy one … How could he tell Perdita that the Prince no longer needed her? And that all he asked of her now was that she should cease to bother him and forget him as quickly as he was forgetting her.

‘If I could but
see
him,’ sighed Perdita.

‘He will not see you. He was annoyed that you came to Windsor.’

‘I risked my life in doing it.’ Dramatically and with some embellishments she told the story of how she had crossed Hounslow Heath and had by a miracle escaped.

‘Surely if he knew I did that for him …’

Lord Maiden sighed. How could he tell her that all the Prince wanted was that she should go out of his life and stay out.

‘My dear lord,’ she said, ‘if I could only
see
him. You are close to him. You could do so much … if you would.’

‘You know there is nothing in my power I would not do for you.’

‘I know it. And you will arrange a meeting. If I could but see him
once
…’

She might be right, thought Maiden. She was very beautiful. Dally and the Armistead women were nothing compared with her. Nor was Lady Augusta. Surely he must be moved if he could see her looking as appealing as she did now?

And if he could bring them together again … if they could be happy together. And surely Perdita would have learned her lesson. Then they would both be very grateful to him.

‘Rest assured that I will do everything … everything.’

‘But you will speak with him?’

‘I will take the first opportunity, and if it is at all possible I will bring about that meeting.’

When he had gone Perdita felt greatly relieved. She thrust all the bills into a drawer out of sight and gave herself up to the contemplation of what she would wear for the meeting and rehearsed what she would say. She would not reproach him; she would be humble, pleading, assuring him of her complete submission and devotion.

She was sure then that he would find her irresistible.

*

A few days later Lord Maiden called again.

‘I have good news for you. The Prince will see you.’

‘My dear friend, how can I thank you!’

What should she wear? Lilac satin … pale green silk … one of the many dresses which had not yet been paid for? No need to worry herself on that score. All would soon be well. No one would worry her for money when they knew she was back with the Prince of Wales.

‘When is he coming?’ she cried. ‘I must have time.’

‘He will not come here.’

‘But why not?’

‘Er … I think it better if you were to come to my house in Clarges Street. The Prince could see you there.’

She took his hand and kissed it. ‘Oh, how can I thank you.’

His ardent gaze was enough to tell her how. But he could say nothing as yet, of course.

*

Surely she was as beautiful as ever. Hope had restored the beauty she feared she had lost. Her carriage rattled through the streets and she was happy for the first time since she had quarrelled with the Prince and been aware that she was losing him.

That should never happen again. She would be so careful. She would never reproach him again; she would be sweet and
loving and ever grateful for being given a second chance.

Lord Maiden received her with the admiring looks which he had never failed to bestow upon her. What a good faithful creature he was I Especially as by being her friend he incurred the displeasure of the King – and perhaps would risk losing the Prince’s favour if all did not go well between him and her. Dear, good faithful Maiden, who would even now have paid her debts for her had he been able!

‘His Highness is here,’ he whispered.

And he took her into his drawing room where, his back to the door, stood the Prince.

She stood waiting and he, being aware of her, slowly turned.

‘My … Prince …!’ she cried and went towards him, her hands outstretched.

As he took them and kissed them, great floods of relief swept over her.

‘I … I feel as though I am alive again,’ she said.

‘I am happy to see you,’ he told her. And taking her hand drew her to a couch where they sat side by side.