Caroline the Queen

by Виктория Холт

  Did they think he was a child still?

  If they did, he would soon disillusion them.

  ‘I have no intention of waiting another year, Lamotte,’ he said.

  ‘What will Your Highness do?’

  ‘I’ll think of something. It’s time I was married for one thing. I should be producing a family ... a legitimate family. After all it will be for me to provide England with a future king. I want to try my skill on the battlefield. In fact I want them to understand I am no longer a boy. If they don’t act soon, Lamotte, I promise you I shall. There is my cousin, Wilhelmina. We should be married by now.’

  ‘You think your father will agree to the match?’

  ‘But it was arranged by my grandfather. Wilhelmina and I would be married by now if he hadn’t died. My Aunt Sophia Dorothea wants it.’

  ‘It will depend, of course, Your Highness, on your uncle the King of Prussia and your father the King of England.’

  ‘Everyone knows that my uncle of Prussia is a madman.’

  Lamotte was silent and Frederick burst out laughing.

  ‘Oh come, Lamotte, you don’t have to be cautious with me. You know how he treats his family. I should imagine Wilhelmina will be glad to escape. She will look upon me as her rescuer and she’ll love me for that alone.’

  The Prince was gazing dreamily ahead. The boy had very romantic notions, Lamotte thought.

  ‘Why should I wait! ‘ cried Frederick suddenly. ‘Poor Wilhelmina! What will she think of me? Doubtless she is waiting for me to come and rescue her and take her away from Berlin ... for what a hell that must be. My uncle is brutal to them both ... I don’t know how they endure it. They say he thrashes them with his own hands—my cousin Fritz and Wilhelmina. I’ll swear she is waiting for me to come and take her away.’

  ‘She will know, Your Highness, that everything depends on the whim of her father ... and yours.’

  ‘Oh, these parents! Why should they rule our lives when we are of age? I tell you this, Lamotte: I am going to marry my cousin Wilhelmina and there shall be no more delay.’

  ‘I don’t see how, Your Highness ...’

  ‘Of course you don’t. But I’ve thought of a plan. I am going to Berlin and if necessary I shall carry off my cousin. I shall bring her back to Hanover and together she will come with me to England.’

  ‘You think she would agree?’

  ‘Have you forgotten that in the first place she will escape from that hell on earth and in the second by marrying me she will become Princess of Wales. And you ask if she will agree!’

  ‘So Your Highness plans to go to Berlin.’

  ‘Not just at first. First I shall send an ambassador ... a secret ambassador. How does that strike you, Lamotte? He shall travel to Berlin and find a way of sounding the Princess Wilhelmina, and the Queen.... The ambassador will tell them that I intend travelling to Berlin and that if the King of Prussia and the King of England won’t give their consent we shall do without it.’

  ‘And how do you think the Queen will respond to that?’’My dear Lamotte, she wants this marriage more than anything in the world. It was her idea in the first place that there should be a double marriage plan. Wilhelmina for me and my sister Amelia for her son Fritz. Her daughter to be Queen of England in due course and her niece, my sister Amelia, to be Queen of Prussia. It will keep the two crowns in the family. That is her plan and she longs to see it put into practice. There will be no opposition from that quarter.’

  ‘And you think your ambassador will succeed in this mission?’

  ‘I am sure he will. He has never failed me before.’ ‘So you have chosen him.’

  Frederick smiled. ‘Certainly. You will begin making your preparations to leave at once, my dear Lamotte.’

  * * *

  Lamotte was uneasy as he came into Berlin.

  It was all very well for Frederick to assure him that he had been given this mission because he was a trusted friend. There were times when it was safer not to be on too intimate terms with Princes. This was a delicate mission and it could so easily go wrong; and those who had been commanded to help carry out such missions were often blamed.

  Would it be possible for Frederick to marry without the consent of his father? He supposed so if the King of Prussia gave that consent; and if the King of Prussia knew that it was against the wishes of the King of England that his son should marry Wilhelmina he would most certainly approve of the match; for nothing could give the King of Prussia more pleasure than the discomfiture of the King of England.

  Yes, it was indeed a delicate mission. And how best discharge it?

  Frederick had sworn that he would give Lamotte three weeks to prepare the way before he himself left Hanover for Berlin; by the end of the time he expected Lamotte to have found out what his reception would be—but, he had pointed out emphatically, he intended to come in any case. If they were prepared to welcome him all well and good; he would come and marry Wilhelmina. If not he would come in secret and elope with her.

  The Prince must be welcomed to Berlin, thought Lamotte. An elopement would be disastrous; in any case Wilhelmina might decide against such a measure. Lamotte was not as certain that she was as eager for the marriage as Frederick was.

  Lamotte had a friend who was a chamberlain to the Queen of Prussia and to this young man, whose name was Sastot, he decided to present himself. If Sastot could arrange a meeting with the Queen that would be the best move because of one thing Lamotte was certain: the Queen of Prussia was as eager for this marriage as Frederick himself.

  But the affair must be kept an absolute secret for it could be disastrous if a hint of what was happening reached the ears of the King of England.

  He presented himself at Sastot’s residence telling the servants that he was a nobleman travelling for pleasure and had just arrived in Berlin so thought he would call on an old friend.

  Sastot was delighted to see him and when they were alone together Lamotte asked him if it would be possible for him to obtain an interview with the Queen.

  ‘A gentleman travelling for pleasure wishes to be presented to the Queen! What are you thinking of, Lamotte. You know that’s not possible.’

  Lamotte sighed. ‘I feared not. I shall have to disclose the nature of my business for I have no doubt that that will secure me an interview.’

  ‘Your business? What business is this?’

  ‘You must keep this secret. If it became known why I am here the whole plan would founder.’

  ‘I can’t wait to hear.’

  ‘Now, Sastot, you swear secrecy?’

  Sastot swore.

  ‘I come from Frederick, Prince of Wales.’

  ‘I guessed it.’

  ‘He is impatient for marriage with the Princess Wilhelmina and as his father seems to have forgotten his existence he has decided to take steps on his own.’

  ‘I don’t think there will be any difficulty in my obtaining an interview for you with the Queen if that is your mission.’

  ‘But remember, Sastot, the most absolute secrecy. If this became known the King of England would certainly take action and heaven alone knows what the King of Prussia would do.’

  ‘Lock his daughter away and starve her to death most likely. On the other hand I heard him shout at her only last week that it was time she married and stopped being a burden to him.’

  ‘Poor Princess! She will be devoted to the Prince if he rescues her from that. So you will go to the Queen without delay, tell her I am here, and impress on her the need for speed.’

  ‘I will. She will be delighted.’

  * * *

  Guessing his mission, Queen Sophia Dorothea could scarcely wait to receive the ambassador from Hanover.

  If this marriage could come about it would be wonderful. It had always been her most cherished ambition; and once it was completed she would have Fritz married to his cousin Amelia and Amelia would come here in Wilhelmina’s place when Wilhelmina went to England. What better arrangement could the
re be?

  Poor Wilhelmina, she had suffered a great deal from her father’s violence. Her shoulders were still black and blue from the blows he had given her only a few days ago. She always wanted to cry out: Don’t stand there, Wilhelmina, looking indifferent. It only makes him worse. If you’d only whimper and cry he’d stop. He wants to subjugate everyone ... including me, and when he has he loses interest.

  Fritz suffered most from the King. Why the boy didn’t turn on his father astonished her. He could have put up a good fight, but he meekly accepted abuse and violence and longed for escape. Perhaps it was because this fearsome husband of hers was the King that they were afraid of him—all, of course, except Sophia Dorothea.

  She smiled, remembering those occasions when he had come at her, arms uplifted, eyes ablaze with rage; and she would defy him, or perhaps pick up whatever object was nearest preparing to throw it at him—on one occasion there had been a knife. He had laughed at her, spat at her, kicked her stool across the room, and shouted: ‘You ... you with your puny strength! So you would fight me!’ Then he would laugh as though the idea was too ludicrous to be treated seriously, and stride out of the room.

  One thing she knew; he would never harm her. She was too important to him. In his way he loved her, odd as that might seem. And she—well at least she would find life dull without him.

  He supplied the excitement in her life; but to her children she was tender and loving; and because they had such a father, they turned to her and were devoted to her.

  She was contented; she had her wild mad husband who, she knew, could no more do without her than she could without him; and her two beloved children. There was no fear of the King’s encroaching on the affection they gave her. They loathed him. As for him he didn’t want love from them, only fear. He spoke of them to their mother with contempt. ‘Your daughter, Madam. Your Fritz.’ As thought he had had no part in producing them.

  Dear to her heart was her double marriage plan and she believed this would have come to fruition by now if her father had lived. But when George I died, the plan had been shelved, although he had promised that when he next came to Berlin his grandson Frederick should be betrothed to Wilhelmina and Fritz to Amelia. It would have been perfect. The cousins would have been well matched. She would have welcomed Amelia to Berlin; and she was sure that Caroline and George would have welcomed Wilhelmina to England.

  And then unexpectedly her father had died, and of course the King of Prussia and the King of England hated each other.

  Her brother—strange to think of George Augustus as the King of England—had always been a conceited little popinjay; and he could have his violent moments too. She laughed, remembering how he used to kick his wig round the room in moments of rage. But she did not remember his ever attacking anyone, so perhaps Caroline and his children were safe in that respect. And by all accounts Caroline knew how to manage him. She had always known Caroline was a clever woman from the days when she had first come to Hanover as her brother’s bride. They had liked each other then, but their acquaintance had been brief because very soon after the marriage of George Augustus and Caroline, she herself had married and come to Berlin.

  In England Wilhelmina would be happier than in Berlin, for she could trust her daughter with Caroline, and Frederick by all accounts was a young man rather like his father had been. If Wilhelmina was clever she would manage Frederick as Caroline managed George Augustus.

  Therefore the Queen gave immediate audience to Lamotte and when he stated his case she told him that nothing could please her more than to further this match; she would see her daughter at once and point out to her her good fortune.

  * * *

  ‘Wilhelmina, my child.’

  The Queen came quietly into her daughter’s apartment.

  ‘Oh, Mother!’ Wilhelmina rose and embraced the Queen. She was a tall girl, not beautiful, yet by no means plain; she had a bright intelligent face and at the moment it was softened by the tenderness she always showed towards her mother.

  ‘You are excited,’ said Wilhelmina, looking into her mother’s face. ‘What has happened?’

  ‘Such news! I am delighted. Oh, my poor sweet child, how it has grieved me to see you suffer.’

  ‘Oh ... father?’ said Wilhelmina with a shrug. ‘That is nothing new.’

  ‘I am always afraid that one day he will kill either you or Fritz.’

  ‘I don’t think so, Mother. We are after all good bargaining counters. I think he would remember that in time.’

  The Queen shuddered. ‘His rages are terrible. It would not surprise me if you are longing for the day you will escape from them.’

  ‘Escape?’

  ‘Well, my darling, you will marry one day.’

  ‘I suppose so.’

  The Queen smiled. ‘And perhaps that day is not far distant. There is one young man who is most impatient.’ ‘Who, Mother?’

  ‘Your cousin Frederick, of course.’

  ‘I ... I was afraid you were going to say that.’

  ‘Afraid?’

  ‘I know there was once a plan and that when my grandfather came here it was discussed.’

  ‘If he hadn’t died you would be married by now. I’ll swear.’

  ‘I don’t know, Mother. Sometimes I think even grandfather wasn’t eager for the marriages.’

  ‘My dear, he was just bargaining with your father. He wanted a bigger dowry for you.’

  Wilhelmina looked relieved. ‘That is something he will never get from father.’

  ‘Your father will have to do his duty.’

  ‘I didn’t know that he ever did that. He does what he wants not what is his duty.’

  ‘Your father!’ Sophia Dorothea raised her hands in an expression of incomprehension.

  ‘Since he grudges me my food it is scarcely likely that he will provide me with a dowry. And if I shall not be accepted without ...’

  ‘You despair too easily, my dear.’

  ‘I don’t know that I would call it despair. I do not wish to leave you, Mother.’

  ‘My dearest! But Princesses cannot stay forever with their mothers. You will have to marry in time and your cousin Frederick is a very impatient young man. He declares he is in love with you and refuses to wait any longer.’

  ‘Since he has never seen me, the first seems unlikely; and as he is not in a position to decide whether or not he will marry the second seems equally so.’

  ‘I have not explained. He has sent a messenger to tell me he proposes to come to Berlin and if your father will not consent, to carry you off.’

  ‘It sounds as though he is a very foolish young man.’ ‘He is a romantic young man who is in love.’

  ‘With a woman he has never seen?’

  ‘With his cousin of whom he will have heard a great deal. Wilhelmina, this is your chance. You will one day be Queen of England. Think of that.’

  ‘And never see you again?’

  ‘I shall visit you there.’

  ‘Papa will never allow the expense.’

  ‘And you shall visit us here.’

  ‘That would cost money too.’

  ‘Don’t be so glum, child. This is a wonderful opportunity. You will marry. You will leave this place. Oh, my dear, when I see the way your father treats you I could long for the day ... much as I shall hate parting with you. But you will have a good life. You will manage Frederick as Caroline manages your uncle. All you have to allow him to do is have his mistresses. He’ll ask nothing more. And you will go to your Aunt Caroline who is a sensible woman. I know that. I liked her when we were at Hanover together. She will tell you how to manage Frederick as she manages your uncle.’

  ‘It is not my idea of marriage, Mother.’

  ‘Oh, romantic notions! I should have thought life here would have long stifled those.’

  ‘Rather they have encouraged them. All marriages can’t be like yours and father’s.’

  ‘And you want one which is not like ours?’

 
; ‘As unlike as possible.’

  The Queen sighed. ‘My darling, you are wise in so many ways; it is only experience you lack. I tell you this: I am delighted with the prospect. And the fact that Frederick is impatient for the marriage pleases me more than anything else. Wilhelmina, I am so delighted. I shall at last see you settled and happy and at the same time see all my wishes realized. What greater joy could I ask. Why, you are crying.’

  ‘It is the thought of leaving you, Mother.’

  They embraced and Wilhelmina tried to hide the misgivings she felt. She tried to set aside her doubts as she listened to her mother’s explanations of what a glorious prospect lay before her.

  This was such a cherished dream of Sophia Dorothea’s, and Wilhelmina longed to please her mother.

  * * *

  The King came in while they were talking together.

  He looked at them through his little bloodshot eyes and cried out: ‘What plot’s this, eh? You look sly. Out with it. Your girl had better tell me what she has been up to, woman, or by God I’ll flay her till there’s no breath left in that slothful body of hers.’

  ‘We were merely discussing a little project.’ retorted Sophia Dorothea, always pert with him because to have showed fear would have put her into the position her son and daughter were in. ‘And I fancy even your high and mightiness might not be displeased with this one.’

  ‘Do you think she would ever please me? She sits about this place eating my food, drinking my wine. By God, when I think of what she costs me I wonder I keep her. Come here, girl.’

  Wilhelmina stood up. She was defiant, her mother noticed and that was better than cringing.

  Her father seized her by her hair and shook her to and fro. Wilhelmina’s face was scarlet but she kept her eyes lowered.

  ‘Don’t be impudent you slut, you whore, you lily livered spawn of a ...’