The Victory (25 page)

Besides, anything remotely connected with naval matters
was difficult for her and Chetwyn to discuss comfortably.
After a brief, awkward pause, Lucy resolutely changed the
subject. 'Hicks said you meant to dine here?'

‘
If you have no objection.' Chetwyn eyed her curiously, and suddenly smiled. 'Dear Lucy, you are longing to know
why I am here, but are just too polite to ask. Five years ago
you would not have hesitated. Are you growing up at last?'

‘
You are in a whimsical mood,' she observed with a frown.
‘Well, what are you doing here? It's early for you, for
London.'

‘
Great things are afoot. Haven't you heard? We are certain
to have a new government before long. You know that the
King is ill?'

‘
They were saying at the inns that he has gone mad, like
before,' she said.

‘
He caught a chill while reviewing troops in the rain — he's
been indefatigable in taking the salute, you know, ever since
last summer — and that cause an inflammation, which
brought on his old symptoms. And then what should Adding
ton do, but call in the Willises!'

‘
What, those men who practically imprisoned and tortured
him the last time? But I thought he said he would have
nothing to do with them ever again?'

‘
So he did, and made the Royal Family promise they would
not be allowed near him. Fortunately, Cumberland and Kent
were on hand, and barred the door to them, so Addington
sent them away, and called in another doctor, from the insane
asylum. His methods don't seem to be much different. He
soon had His Majesty in a strait-jacket, and the Prince has
had just as much difficulty as ever in finding out what his
father's condition really is.'

‘
Addington's the man for making himself unpopular, it
seems,' said Lucy.

‘
And without the King's support, he has hardly a friend in
the world. At any rate, there have been flockings to Carlton
House, and reconciliations all around, and the Prince is
planning to recall Pitt and make up a government with him
and Fox and Grenville — a strong team, if it comes about, to
take the war into the enemy's camp.'

‘
The King will never accept Fox,' Lucy said. 'I suppose the
Prince is hoping for a Regency. So what are you doing here,
Chetwyn?'

‘Have I not just given you reason enough?'

‘
Yes, but I mean what are you doing
here?
Why here and
not Ryder Street?'

‘
Because I'm hoping very soon to have some guests to stay.
You won't have any objection to company, I hope? I know you
enjoy playing hostess, and you do it very well.'

‘
Guests to stay here? Who? It's such a small house, I hope
there won't be many.'

‘
Just one to begin with — Robert Knaresborough. Later I
expect his mother will want to join him.’

Lucy stared, aghast. 'Oh no, Chetwyn, how could you? Not
that dreadful woman! She'll drive me mad. You can't be so
cruel as to foist her on to me.'

‘
Do you feel so strongly about it? Very well, I'll tell her we
haven't enough room here to make her comfortable. When
she wants to come to London, I'll get Roberta to invite her.'

‘How callous you are! Poor Roberta.'

‘
Oh, she won't mind. But you've no objection, at any rate,
to having Robert here?'

‘
Lord, no!' Lucy said, too grateful to be spared Lady
Serena to object to anything. let him come for as long as he
likes, so long as he doesn't bring his mother.’

Chetwyn gave a small, closed smile, and stood up. 'Thank you, Lucy. Well, I had better go and dress for dinner. If you
would like to go to the theatre, or the opera afterwards, I shall have no objection to escorting you in that gown. It looks very
well to me.’

Lucy could only stare in astonishment as he walked with a
light step towards the door. As he reached it, she found her
voice.

‘Chetwyn!' He turned enquiringly. 'Who was it, who took my horses out at Wolvercote? You didn't say.'

‘
Didn't I? Oh, it was Robert, of course. You needn't worry;
he rides beautifully, and he has such hands as even you would
not object to.’

*

Lucy found Robert much improved: still very shy, but not
overwhelmed nor awkwardly embarrassed; and when he had
gained a little confidence in her company, she found him
occasionally worth talking to. He evidently admired her
husband enormously, and Chetwyn treated him with an
amused and fatherly affection which Lucy thought quite
pretty to see.

After the first few days, she was not much troubled by
either of them. When Chetwyn was engaged on business, she
sometimes took Robert riding with her in the Park, and was
able to observe for herself that he rode quite nicely and was
not heavy-handed, though she did not think his horsemanship anything out of the way. Sometimes all three of them went to
the Opera or a ball or a rout, and once Chetwyn made up a
party to go to Vauxhall, to eat the ham-shavings and listen to
the orchestra. Robert had never been there, and Chetwyn's
design seemed to be to shew him all the sights, but usually he
did not bother Lucy with them.

She had her own circle and her own amusements, and
Major Wiske to escort her, but it was evident that Society as a whole was looking more kindly on her that season because she
and her husband were apparently reconciled. She and
Chetwyn gave several dinners and evening parties, he inviting
his friends and she hers, and they planned to give a ball later
in the season. He was pleasantly polite to her when they met, now, and their relationship was almost what it had been when
they first married. He never once, however, mentioned the
baby, and following his lead, she did not bring the subject up.

April brought showery weather, the first of the spring
greens, and Addington's resignation. The Prince of Wales
courted Pitt, who, however, did not trust the Prince's
professed friendship, and disapproved of his publicly expressed contempt for his father. May brought warm
sunshine, and a partial recovery to the King, who sent for Pitt
to form a Government, but refused to have anything to do
with Fox. Since Grenville and his supporters had previously
agreed not to serve unless Fox did, the old lines of battle were
drawn, with Pitt and the King on one side, and the Prince and
Fox in opposition on the other.

In the clear and sparkling days of early summer, the news
came from France that Buonaparte had declared himself
Emperor, and, in his usual way, had proceeded to have the
fait accompli
confirmed by plebiscite.

‘
Napoleon the first!' Edward snorted in contempt. He and
James were waiting for Mary Ann to join them to go in to
dinner. She had just returned from a three-week visit to
Scarborough with little Henry.

‘
I suppose it was the obvious next step, after making his
office hereditary,' James said.

‘
I can't understand why the French — particularly the
ministers — would accept the hereditary principle,' Edward
said. 'They were eager enough to get rid of their king.'

‘
Well, that's the point, isn't it? The one thing they don't
want is a return of the Bourbons. They believe a new dynasty
will keep the old one out. And, of course, more to the point, a
new emperor will need a new aristocracy!’

Mary Ann entered at that moment, wearing a gown of
dusky pink, which admirably suited her colouring, and pink
roses tucked into her bodice, and in her hair.

‘
So that's what you were doing out in the gardens earlier
on,' Edward exclaimed. 'What a pretty notion! How well you
look.’

Mary Ann glanced inevitably towards James, who gave her
a faint smile and said, 'Indeed, ma'am, it was worth waiting
for.'

‘Am I late?' she asked.

‘
Not the slightest,' Edward said quickly. 'We were just
talking about this business of Boney's. There was a very
amusing cartoon in the newspaper — did you see it? — of a
frog in a crown and ermine, puffing itself up to the size of an
ox.'

‘
Yes, it's a pity he is such a small man,' Mary Ann
commented. 'We saw him when we went to Paris — do you
remember, James? Quite a handsome young man, but very small. Somehow one expects a king to be tall.'

‘
And an emperor even more so,' James said, amused. 'He
should be six feet at least to wear the imperial crown.'

‘
I wonder he has chosen to be called emperor rather than
king,' Edward said, with an annoyed glance at his brother.
Why must he always tease Mary Ann, and make things
uncomfortable?

‘Because of his love of all things Roman, of course,' James
answered. 'He sees himself as successor to the Caesars,
conqueror of the world. Why, he even calls his battalions
legions, and gives them Roman eagles as standards; and when
he reviewed the troops at Boulogne, he dressed up in a toga
and laurel crown. He really is a ridiculous little man.'

‘
He proved himself a very able general, at any rate,' Mary Ann said quietly. 'I should not like to think of him marching
through England as he marched through Italy.'

‘
He'll never get as far as Dover,' Edward said, 'not while
our ships patrol the Channel. Ah, here's Ottershaw. Shall we
go in?' He offered his arm to his sister-in-law, and she laid a
gloved hand lightly upon it. 'I must say, it is very good to
have you back, ma'am. Dinner has become something to look
forward to again.’

Mary Ann only smiled at him, because she could not in
honesty say it was good to be back. She had enjoyed her
sojourn at Scarborough, the new sights and the freedom, and
the admiring glances other women with small children had
cast towards Henry's golden curls and blue eyes. She had
little pleasure at Morland Place, Edward's kindness not with
standing.

When they were seated at the table, James roused himself to say, 'Had you an agreeable time at Scarborough? Did the
sea air answer?'

‘
It did us both a great deal of good, I'm sure,' she said
calmly.

‘
It's a pleasant place,' he said, and met his wife's eyes for
an instant, amused at the hostility she could not quite
conceal. It was inevitable that she should have heard frag
ments of gossip over the years about James's former visits to
Scarborough for disreputable purposes. Only her dedication
to the cause of Henry's health could have persuaded her to visit a place with such associations.