Lord Rakehell

by Virginia Henley

  “Jolly good idea, James. I shall leave the planning to you.”

  James caught the amused glance Anne gave him, and he grinned back, knowing she was thinking, You walked into that one!

  The next day brought rain, and the Prince of Wales, prevented from his usual hunting, declared they would return to London on the morrow.

  James cautioned him that it would be seen as cutting the honeymoon short. Eyebrows would be raised, and speculation might become rampant.

  “I’ve had enough. Honeymoons aren’t what they’re cracked up to be, if you know what I mean, James.”

  Indeed I do know what you mean. The inexperienced Danish princess does not come close to satisfying your sexual needs.

  On extremely short notice, plans were made to transport the royal party back to London. Princess Alexandra’s trunks were packed hurriedly and she was at a loss to understand why the honeymoon had been abruptly curtailed. “We were supposed to stay until the end of the month. I hope the queen won’t think I found fault with her plans for our wedding trip to the Isle of Wight. I think this seaside estate is delightful.”

  “I’m sure Her Majesty won’t blame you, Alix. Lord Hamilton explained to her ladies that the Prince of Wales was eager to return to London to oversee some refurbishing at Marlborough House.” Anne could see that the princess was not convinced. “The real reason is that Edward is easily bored. He has a passion for hunting, and since the rain curtailed that, he wants to be off on his next passion, which is horse racing.”

  Anne was both right and wrong. When he returned to London, Prince Teddy was off on his next passion, but it wasn’t horse racing. The races didn’t start until the first weekend in May at Newmarket. It was another sport that he pursued the moment he returned to Marlborough House.

  “James, will you see that the Jermyn Street house is provisioned? Be sure there is champagne, as well as claret and sherry. Make sure there’s a box of my favorite cigars—oh, and by the way, I’d like a couple of keys.”

  Good God, he intends to commit conjugal infidelity on his first night back in London.

  “Yes, I’ll see that all is in readiness, Your Highness.” I’d better send a note to the florists to have roses delivered to Princess Alexandra. Flowers would never occur to Teddy.

  • • •

  While the Prince and Princess of Wales had been off on their honeymoon, their comptroller and his wife had taken up residence at Marlborough House. Anne was introduced to Lady Elizabeth, and she wondered how she would go about informing Alix that she had a lady-in-waiting who was not of her own choosing.

  “Your Highness, allow me to introduce Lady Elizabeth, who is the wife of Prince Edward’s comptroller, Sir William Knollys.”

  When Elizabeth curtsied, Alexandra took her hand. “I am delighted to meet you, Lady Elizabeth. I believe a comptroller approves all the expenditures. Will you be acting as my comptroller?”

  “Good heavens, no, Your Highness. Sir William takes care of all that. I am here to serve you in any way I can.”

  “Do you think you could help me with my correspondence, Elizabeth? While I’ve been away, the post has brought dozens of letters addressed to me, and I haven’t had a chance to open and read them yet.”

  “I would be delighted, Your Highness. I warrant that most of them will be supplications from various charities.”

  “Oh, I hadn’t realized. It will be such a privilege to be in a position to help those less fortunate than myself. You can pass on the requests to Sir William for payment.”

  “I shall start reading the letters today. Then once you select the charities you wish to donate to, I’ll present them to my husband, and write letters to the ones you decline.”

  “Oh, I won’t decline any of them, Elizabeth. When I have been given so much, I feel it is my sacred duty to be generous.”

  • • •

  The following day, Princess Alexandra received a summons from Queen Victoria to present herself at Buckingham Palace. With trepidation in her heart, Alix showed the note to her favorite lady-in-waiting. “Will you accompany me, Anne? I’m afraid I need your moral support.”

  “Of course, I’ll come. But you must be prepared to go into Her Majesty’s presence chamber alone. They likely won’t admit me. Try not to let Victoria see that she intimidates you.”

  “Whatever shall I wear?”

  “Since Her Majesty is in perpetual mourning and expects everyone else to follow her lead, I would advise you to wear a gray dress. Since the summons says you are to present yourself at one o’clock, you’d better change now.”

  Alexandra opened her wardrobe. “I like this pale lavender gown, and it is an accepted mourning shade.”

  “Yes, it is one of the few dresses from your trousseau that complements your delicate complexion and shows off your lovely golden hair to perfection. For that very reason, I would advise you not to wear it. The queen already resents your youth and your slim figure; you don’t want your beauty and fashion sense to antagonize her.”

  Alexandra sighed, and reached for a nondescript gray.

  Anne smiled. “The dull and dowdy monstrosity is a perfect choice.”

  At exactly one o’clock, Princess Alexandra and Lady Anne stood waiting outside Queen Victoria’s presence chamber.

  Anne was not the least surprised when her sister Emily opened the doors. Her critical glance swept over the two females; then she addressed the princess.

  “Her Gracious Majesty wishes to see you alone, Your Highness.”

  “Thank you, Lady Emily.”

  Princess Alexandra looked serene, though she felt anything but as she approached the Queen of England. She swept into a graceful curtsy before the black-clad monarch, who was seated on a padded, gilt chair that resembled a throne.

  “Do have a seat, my dear. I cannot bear people to tower over me.”

  “Thank you, Your Majesty.” Alix sat down on the straight-backed chair indicated.

  “Your honeymoon journey was curtailed. Did you find fault with Osborne House?”

  “Not at all, Your Majesty. I found Osborne House delightful, and thoroughly enjoyed the Isle of Wight.”

  “Then why did you not stay until the end of the month?”

  “It was my husband’s decision, Your Majesty.”

  “The Prince of Wales often makes unwise decisions, though I commend you for honoring your marriage vows to obey.”

  “Thank you, Your Majesty,” Alix murmured.

  “Though we are in mourning and have withdrawn from public life, we will make an exception in your case, my dear. We will grant you an audience every month when you may present yourself to me here at the palace. We will set aside the same hour on the fifteenth day of the month.”

  Alexandra thought Victoria was using the royal we as if she were dispensing queenly favors. But her heart sank as she realized she was being sentenced to a command performance every month, where she would have to present herself for inspection.

  “That will be all.”

  When Alix rejoined Lady Anne, she murmured, “The monstrosity I’m wearing doesn’t compare with the monstrosity I faced in the Audience Chamber.”

  • • •

  Entertainment plans began immediately at Marlborough House. James hired a social secretary for the Prince of Wales and provided him with a list of titled young males and females of the nobility. The secretary’s sole job would be sending out invitations to the parties and drums, as they were now called, and keeping track of the number of guests who accepted, which likely would be every invitee.

  The curtailed honeymoon resulted in the inevitable whispers about the bride and groom and the state of their marriage, which in turn made some of the female guests who’d been invited conclude that Prince Teddy was ripe for plucking.

  The fashionable designs that Anne had sketched for dresses and gowns w
ere turned over to newly hired seamstresses, but because none of the garments could be finished for at least a week, Anne took Princess Alexandra to the London fashion house of Redfern’s.

  “I feel wicked selecting new clothes when I was provided with a large trousseau.”

  “But, Alix, you don’t like any of the outfits that were made for you,” Anne reasoned.

  “My trousseau cost more than my sister and I spent on clothes in our entire lives,” she murmured guiltily.

  “Then it’s high time you were indulged. A woman has so little control in her life; choosing her own wardrobe should be at the top of her list. Alix, not only will it bring you pleasure; it will give you self-confidence.”

  Alix smiled. “Self-confidence is exactly what the Princess of Wales needs.”

  With Anne’s help, Alexandra chose a royal blue evening gown as well as a pretty shell pink, and another in her favorite shade of pale violet. She selected four day dresses and a riding habit with a new narrower skirt complete with a slit to show off her boots.

  Anne realized that she must go home to Grosvenor Square so that she could transfer most of her clothes to Marlborough House. I’ve been avoiding Mother, but I can put it off no longer. When the princess informed her that her mother, Louise, and sisters were coming to spend the day with her, Anne asked permission to take the day off. “When I return, I shall bring Lady Frances Hamilton. You will need more than two ladies-in-waiting, Your Highness. All the daughters of the nobility will be vying for such enviable positions, so you’ll be able to pick and choose.”

  “I will rely on your advice, Lady Anne. Her Majesty has sent me a list of suitable ladies. I know I’m being contrary, but I don’t want anyone Queen Victoria recommends.”

  “That’s not contrary, that’s prudent. You don’t want anyone who will carry tales to the palace, and neither does the prince, I warrant.”

  Anne asked her driver to stop at Hampden House on Green Street before he drove her home. She was greeted by Frances and the Duchess of Abercorn.

  “So it’s true, the newlyweds did curtail their honeymoon,” Frances declared.

  “Yes, they are back at Marlborough House and Princess Alexandra is in need of another lady-in-waiting, if you are free to come today.”

  “I can’t wait. You must tell me all the juicy details of the wedding trip.”

  The duchess warned, “Frances, darling, you must be absolutely discreet and not bandy gossip about the princess.” Lady Lu winked. “Of course you must tell me.”

  Anne smiled. “I’m on my way to Grosvenor Square to pack my wardrobe. Entertaining has already begun. Invitations have gone out for a dinner to be held Friday night as a welcome-home party. Frances, you will need all your evening gowns and fancy clothes. I’ll come back for you this afternoon.”

  John Claud arrived in the drawing room and when he saw who their visitor was, without ceremony he picked her up and swung her around. “Anne! You kept your promise to visit the moment you returned to London. Did you miss me?”

  I must discourage him from such possessive behavior. “It’s been less than two weeks. You act as if I’ve been gone for months. My duties left me no time to miss anyone.”

  “Why is it fashionable for ladies to affect an aloof attitude to the opposite sex?”

  “So we don’t get ‘picked up’ and have to give gentlemen a ‘set down’ perhaps.”

  “You’re in a bantering mood. Tell me all about the Isle of Wight.”

  “I’m on my way home to get my clothes, John Claud. But I’ll be back to get Frances this afternoon. Perhaps I’ll see you later.”

  “No perhaps about it . . . I shall be here.”

  “That’s what I was afraid of,” Anne said dryly.

  John Claud frowned and his mother chided, “You have no sense of humor, my dear.”

  “I see nothing funny.”

  Lady Lu, Frances, and Anne looked at him and said in unison, “We do,” and the three females enjoyed a good laugh at his expense.

  Back in the carriage on the short ride to Grosvenor Square, Anne’s mood underwent a drastic change. Her amusement was replaced by apprehension about seeing her mother with her newfound knowledge about the secret affair. Once again she began to conjure excuses. She is in love. The affair has been going on for two decades. Mother was forced into an arranged marriage with a much older man. How can Leicester allow her to take such risks? He should be shot!

  Anne stepped out of the carriage and told the driver he could wait in the courtyard.

  She ran up the front steps and opened the door with her own key. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Jenkins. If he was there, there wasn’t likely to be any dalliance afoot.

  “Welcome home, Lady Anne.”

  “Thank you, Jenkins. I’m here to pack my clothes. I’ll be off again shortly.”

  She didn’t go directly to her own chamber, but entered the drawing room.

  “Anne, darling, I’m so glad you arrived home early. It will give you a chance to say good-bye to Montagu. He joins his regiment today.”

  Her grinning brother was wearing the distinctive green uniform of the Rifle Brigade.

  Anne’s glance swept over him. “You look very smart, indeed. I’m here to pack most of my clothes; then I’m stopping to get Frances before I return to Marlborough House.”

  “I’ll come with you. I can’t wait to show off my uniform to John Claud.”

  Anne’s mother noticed the dark smudges beneath her daughter’s eyes. “I’ll come and help you pack, and you can tell me all about the honeymoon.” She summoned a servant and asked that a couple of trunks be brought down from the attic.

  When they were alone in her bedchamber, her mother asked, “Are you feeling all right, Anne? You look pale. Is anything wrong?”

  Anne opened her wardrobe doors and, pretending to survey her clothes, thought about bringing up the delicate subject of her mother’s infidelity. I can’t do it. I don’t want to see the trapped look on her face when she realizes I know her shocking secret.

  “I’m perfectly fine, Mother. There’s so much to do at Marlborough House. The Prince of Wales is entertaining Friday night, and the gowns that the queen chose for Princess Alexandra are dreadful. They neither make her look good nor feel good. We spent hours yesterday at Redfern’s; then I stayed up late sketching some new designs.”

  “Is the princess difficult to please?”

  “Not in the least! Alix and I are extremely compatible. She’s a little shy, but not around me. She’s very sweet and unspoiled, and likes to laugh. I taught her how to drive a carriage at Osborne House, and soon I’ll persuade her to venture into Hyde Park.”

  “The honeymoon was rather brief. Does she seem happy in her marriage?”

  “She doesn’t talk about her husband, but I know she isn’t in love with him.” Anne began to fold her garments and put them in one of the trunks the servant brought.

  “How sad. My heart goes out to her.” Her mother opened a dresser drawer and started to pack Anne’s pretty undergarments.

  Afraid her mother would declare how intolerable a marriage without love could be, Anne spoke up quickly. “Well, Teddy isn’t exactly the most gallant bridegroom. He was off hunting every day, and after dinner played billiards until midnight. He gets bored easily and when the rain curtailed his hunting, he decided to return to London.”

  “The princess wasn’t allowed to choose her husband. It was an arranged marriage and she will have to find her happiness in other things.”

  “Other things?” I hope you’re not suggesting she find a lover.

  “Her home, and children, not to mention all the royal estates she can visit.”

  “Of course.” Anne smiled. “And I’ll get to visit them too.”

  It was two hours before all her belongings were packed. Shoes and fans had to be matched with
her gowns and day dresses; her jackets, coats, and cloaks were packed with riding skirts and boots; then she had to sort through all her hatboxes.

  “I’ll get Montagu to help carry these trunks down.”

  “You’ll likely find him in the library, where your father’s tallying the lambs born at Gopsall. It will give you a chance to say good-bye to your father.” She sighed heavily. “The house will be so empty once you and Montagu leave today.”

  “Well, I’m not off to Outer Mongolia. I shall be home quite often, and I’ll make sure you are on the invitation lists.”

  “That will be lovely.” Her mother embraced her. “I shall miss you fiercely.”

  Anne’s arms tightened about her and she whispered, “I love you, Mother.”

  The carriage pulled up in front of the house and Jenkins and Montagu loaded the large trunks and an extra piece of luggage that held her small jewel case, and her sketching pencils and watercolors she used for designing fashions. Anne’s thoughts were still with her mother. I’m such a coward. I should have broached the subject and listened to what she had to say.

  She got into the carriage and Montagu jumped in and closed the door. I have to tell him. Her lips trembled and she pressed them together trying to find the right words. He has every right to know. She took a deep breath and plunged in. “Montagu, I have something to tell you. And it’s going to come as a shock. Your real father is Leicester Howe.”

  Dead silence filled the carriage.

  Then Montagu said quietly, “Yes, I know.”

  Anne gasped in surprise. “How?”

  “Leicester told me when I turned eighteen, but I’d suspected for many years.” His voice was somber. “How did you find out, Anne?”

  “I . . . I’m shamed to speak of it.” She hesitated, then found the courage to tell him. “After you left for Gopsall, I came home to get some things. I . . . overheard them in Mother’s bedchamber. She thanked him for getting you into the Rifle Brigade.”

  He took hold of her hands and looked into her eyes. “Anne, you must never breathe a word of this. Mother’s life would be ruined.”

  “I am well aware of the horrendous scandal it would cause. I know it happened over twenty years ago, but they are still lovers. How can Leicester put her at such risk?”