Pigot, her faithful friend and companion who had been with her when she had first set up house after her marriage to the Prince, came on to the balcony, fussing a little. The sun was bright but there was a keen wind. Wouldn’t Maria like a silk wrap about her shoulders?
‘Oh, Pig, you treat me like an old woman,’ she said, ‘or a child perhaps.’
‘People who sit in draughts behave like children,’ retorted Miss Pigot.
‘Sit down a moment and talk to me. Where’s Minney?’
‘At her lessons. She’s having difficulty with her essay. That’s why she’s been kept.’
‘Dear child. What a good little thing she is! Oh, Pig, how lucky I am to have her.
‘And lucky she is to be with you.’
‘Sometimes I’m afraid of too much happiness.’
‘Nonsense, Maria. What’s happened to you? Everything will be all right.’
‘But this case. It drags on and on.’
‘Cases always do.’
‘But what if they should win and take her from me?’
‘His Highness will see they don’t do that.’
Maria smiled. ‘You look upon him as a god, I think.’
‘Well, he is the Prince of Wales. God bless him. Now don’t you fret. Would you like me to bring a dish of tea?’
‘Wait until Minney joins me.’
‘That shouldn’t be long if I know Miss Minney. And it wouldn’t surprise me if His Highness was here at any minute. He’ll be putting in an appearance at the usual place, I’ll be bound.’ Miss Pigot laughed. ‘It always amuses me. The way he appears and no one sees him coming. Well, that’s our little secret.’
‘Such things are a constant delight to him. He’s a boy at heart – and always will be, I think.’
‘And what’s wrong with that? I must say when we heard you were to lose that nice little house right in his garden so to speak, I was a bit put out. But this you might say is even closer to the Pavilion even though it’s farther away. It makes it like part of the place and that’s how I reckon it should be. And what amazes me is how all the time it was being made there was no talk about it.’
‘He took Minney to the Pavilion the other day by means of the passage. She was delighted.’
‘How he loves that child!’
‘And she him.’
‘Well, who could help it?’
‘Pig, you’re a besotted old fool.’ Maria looked at Miss Pigot fondly. ‘And so am I,’ she added.
But why worry on a lovely May morning when everything seemed well, and below, the Steyne was gay with the colours of the promenaders’ fashionable clothes and every now and then one of them would look up and bow to the regal figure seated on the balcony. Maria Fitzherbert was ‘Mrs Prince’ to some who took the epithet from old Smoker, the man who dipped the Prince in the sea each morning, and to many others she was the Queen of Brighton, the true Princess of Wales although the Prince had married for reasons of State and the scandalous Princess of Wales was living apart from him at Montague House, and there was young Princess Charlotte to prove that Mrs Fitzherbert was not his legal wife, for how could he have married a foreign princess and produced a child who was heiress to the throne if that were so?
But these were matters which had been the cause of too much controversy and Maria was ready to take Miss Pigot’s advice and forget them.
And here was Minney – pretty dainty Minney come to the balcony, having escaped from the schoolroom for her hour with dear Mamma, as she called Maria; and, she thought fiercely, no one was going to stop her doing so.
‘Minney, my love, Piggy is going to bring us a dish of tea.’
‘That will be lovely, Mamma. What a glorious day, but shouldn’t you have a shawl?’
‘Piggy has just been scolding me for the same reason. Between you you will make an old woman of me.’
Minney ran inside and came back with a grey silk shawl which she placed about Maria’s shoulders.
‘Darling child, what should I do without you?’
There were lights of fear now in Minney’s eyes.
‘Oh, Pig, you treat me like an old woman,’ she said, ‘or a child perhaps.’
‘People who sit in draughts behave like children,’ retorted Miss Pigot.
‘Sit down a moment and talk to me. Where’s Minney?’
‘At her lessons. She’s having difficulty with her essay. That’s why she’s been kept.’
‘Dear child. What a good little thing she is! Oh, Pig, how lucky I am to have her.
‘And lucky she is to be with you.’
‘Sometimes I’m afraid of too much happiness.’
‘Nonsense, Maria. What’s happened to you? Everything will be all right.’
‘But this case. It drags on and on.’
‘Cases always do.’
‘But what if they should win and take her from me?’
‘His Highness will see they don’t do that.’
Maria smiled. ‘You look upon him as a god, I think.’
‘Well, he is the Prince of Wales. God bless him. Now don’t you fret. Would you like me to bring a dish of tea?’
‘Wait until Minney joins me.’
‘That shouldn’t be long if I know Miss Minney. And it wouldn’t surprise me if His Highness was here at any minute. He’ll be putting in an appearance at the usual place, I’ll be bound.’ Miss Pigot laughed. ‘It always amuses me. The way he appears and no one sees him coming. Well, that’s our little secret.’
‘Such things are a constant delight to him. He’s a boy at heart – and always will be, I think.’
‘And what’s wrong with that? I must say when we heard you were to lose that nice little house right in his garden so to speak, I was a bit put out. But this you might say is even closer to the Pavilion even though it’s farther away. It makes it like part of the place and that’s how I reckon it should be. And what amazes me is how all the time it was being made there was no talk about it.’
‘He took Minney to the Pavilion the other day by means of the passage. She was delighted.’
‘How he loves that child!’
‘And she him.’
‘Well, who could help it?’
‘Pig, you’re a besotted old fool.’ Maria looked at Miss Pigot fondly. ‘And so am I,’ she added.
But why worry on a lovely May morning when everything seemed well, and below, the Steyne was gay with the colours of the promenaders’ fashionable clothes and every now and then one of them would look up and bow to the regal figure seated on the balcony. Maria Fitzherbert was ‘Mrs Prince’ to some who took the epithet from old Smoker, the man who dipped the Prince in the sea each morning, and to many others she was the Queen of Brighton, the true Princess of Wales although the Prince had married for reasons of State and the scandalous Princess of Wales was living apart from him at Montague House, and there was young Princess Charlotte to prove that Mrs Fitzherbert was not his legal wife, for how could he have married a foreign princess and produced a child who was heiress to the throne if that were so?
But these were matters which had been the cause of too much controversy and Maria was ready to take Miss Pigot’s advice and forget them.
And here was Minney – pretty dainty Minney come to the balcony, having escaped from the schoolroom for her hour with dear Mamma, as she called Maria; and, she thought fiercely, no one was going to stop her doing so.
‘Minney, my love, Piggy is going to bring us a dish of tea.’
‘That will be lovely, Mamma. What a glorious day, but shouldn’t you have a shawl?’
‘Piggy has just been scolding me for the same reason. Between you you will make an old woman of me.’
Minney ran inside and came back with a grey silk shawl which she placed about Maria’s shoulders.
‘Darling child, what should I do without you?’
There were lights of fear now in Minney’s eyes.
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