Виктория Холт - The Captive of Kensington Palace

So not a word about Conroy. That could come later.

‘Does Victoria understand the position?’

‘Not exactly. She is aware that some great destiny awaits her but she is not quite sure what.’

‘I daresay she has a shrewd notion,’ Leopold smiled affectionately. ‘She is a clever little minx.’

‘I would not have her talk of the possibility. She is so … frank.’

Leopold nodded. But not so indiscreet as her mother.

‘Everyone should take the utmost care,’ he said pointedly. ‘This is a very delicate matter. And I believe Cumberland has his spies everywhere.’

She shivered. ‘I believe he would stop at nothing.’

‘She is guarded night and day?’

‘She sleeps in the same room as myself. Lehzen sits with her until I come to bed. She is never allowed to be alone. I have even ordered that she is not to walk downstairs unaccompanied.’

‘I suppose it’s necessary.’

‘Necessary. Indeed it’s necessary. You know those stairs. The most dangerous in England, with their corkscrew twists and at the sides they taper away to almost nothing. It would be the most likely place that some harm would come to her.’

‘I have Cumberland watched. He wants the throne for himself first and for that boy of his.’

‘But he can do nothing. He comes after Victoria.’

‘And there is no Salic law in this country as in Hanover. But Cumberland would like to introduce it.’

‘He could not do such a thing.’

‘I do not think the people would wish it, but often laws go against the people’s wishes. You know he is Grand Master of the Orange Lodges. I heard that one of their plans is to bring in a law by which females are excluded from the throne.’

The Duchess put her hand to her be-ribboned bosom.

‘It could never be!’

‘I trust not. But I tell you that we should be watchful. William is an old fool; he’s almost as old as George. His health is no good. He suffers from asthma, and that can be dangerous. Moreover, it is just possible that he’ll follow his father into a strait-jacket. They are taking bets at the Clubs that William will be in a strait-jacket before George dies.’

The Duchess clasped her hands. ‘If that should happen …’

‘A Regency,’ said Leopold, his eyes glittering.

‘A mother should guide her daughter.’

‘Her mother … and her uncle.’

The prospect was breathtakingly exciting.

Leopold said: ‘I have been offered the Greek throne. But I have decided to refuse it.’

His sister smiled at him. Of course he had refused it. What was the governing of Greece compared with that of England? When oh when … ? Just those two old men standing in the way. One on his deathbed – although it must be admitted that he was always rising from it, rouging his cheeks and giving musical parties at the Pavilion – and the other a bumptious old fool tottering on the edge of sanity and who was not free from physical ailments either.

It was small wonder that the marriage of Feodora and the pending indiscretions of her brother Charles were of small moment compared with the glittering possibilities which could come through Victoria.

Sir John Conroy, hovering close to the drawing-room, was disturbed. He was always uneasy when Leopold was in the Palace. Leopold was his great rival, for the Duchess’s brother had marked for his own role that which Conroy had chosen for himself. Adviser to the Duchess. In the Saxe-Coburg family Leopold was regarded as a sort of god; he it was who had married the heiress of England, although a younger son and no very brilliant prospects to attract; he had won not only the hand but also the heart of the Princess of England and would have been to all intents and purposes ruler of that country. The Duchess was completely under the spell of her brother.

Hypochondriac! growled Sir John. But he had to admit that for all his brooding on imaginary illnesses Leopold was a shrewd man. Sir John, who made it his business to be informed on everything that might affect his career, had learned that there was a possibility of Leopold’s accepting the Greek throne. That had been joyous news; and when Leopold had refused no one could have been more sorry than Sir John Conroy. He had to accept the fact that Leopold intended to rule England through Victoria, and that was precisely what Sir John wished to do. But how could he hope to influence the Duchess while her brother was beside her?

A lover should have more influence than a brother; and Sir John had always been able to charm the ladies. Lady Conyngham was prepared to be very agreeable; and the poor old Princess Sophia was always excited when he visited her; as for the Duchess, she was devoted to him. One would have thought, in the circumstances, that all would have been easy; but Leopold was no ordinary brother. And Leopold had shown quite clearly that he did not very much like the friendship between his sister and the Comptroller of her household.

What was Leopold saying now? He, Conroy, had made sure that the Duchess was aware of her brother’s affair with Caroline Bauer. That would make him seem slightly less admirable, more human. Leopold was a sanctimonious humbug and it was not surprising that the King could not bear him.

Still, the Duchess did depend on his bounty. It was shameful the way she was treated. Even the King, who was noted for his chivalrous behaviour towards all women, expressed his dislike of her. As for Clarence, he spoke disparagingly of her publicly. But then no one expected good manners from Clarence.

While he hovered close to the drawing-room the Princess Victoria appeared with Lehzen.

Victoria was saying: ‘I do hope dearest Uncle Leopold will not be too upset because I was not at the window. He has come early. Oh dear, how I wish I had been there.’

‘I daresay His Highness will understand,’ said Lehzen.

This adoration of Leopold was really quite absurd, thought Conroy.

A sneer played about his lips. Victoria noticed it and did not like it. She had come to the conclusion that she did not really like Sir John. There was something about him that disturbed her. It was when he was with Mamma. Sometimes when he was with Aunt Sophia too; and there were times when his eyes would rest on Victoria herself speculatively.

She had never spoken the thought aloud but it was in her mind. She did not like Sir John.

‘Have you something on your mind?’ The sneer was very evident. He never treated her with the same respect as she was accustomed to receive from the Baroness Späth – and Lehzen who, for all her sternness, always conveyed that she was aware of her importance.

‘I did not care to keep my uncle waiting,’ she said coldly.

‘He hasn’t waited long. You were here almost before the summons came.’

‘If I wish to be here, I shall be,’ she said in her most imperious manner.

But Sir John Conroy was not to be intimidated as a music master some years before. Doubtless, she thought, he will report this to Mamma and say that I was arrogant and haughty. But if I wish to be arrogant and haughty, I shall be.

‘Ha,’ laughed Sir John, ‘now you look exactly like the Duke of Gloucester.’

What a dreadful thought! The Duke of Gloucester. Aunt Mary’s old husband and cousin. Silly Billy, they called him in the family; he was looked on as rather stupid and now that he had married the Princess Mary, had become a difficult husband.

‘I have always been told,’ she said coldly, ‘that I resembled my Uncle, the King.’

‘Oh no, no. You’re not a bit like him. You grow more like the Duke of Gloucester every day.’

She swept past, with Lehzen in her wake. Sir John laughed but with some misgiving. It was silly to have upset the child just because he was angry about Leopold. Old Lehzen too! She was no friend of his.