by Jenny Frame
She was mesmerized. George had never seen or imagined anyone as beautiful as Bea. She was her perfect dream of what a woman should be, shining with goodness and blessed with the kindest heart she had ever encountered. Not that she had as much experience as her ladies’ man of a brother, but plenty had tried to catch her eye through university, and her mother had tried to introduce her to many eligible young ladies. But seeing Bea in this moment made George realize exactly what she’d been waiting for.
Sofia nudged her daughter. “Your Majesty? George.”
The Queen was knocked from her private vision. “What?”
Queen Sofia pointed quickly to the next approaching guest.
“Oh, sorry, Mama. I was lost in my thoughts,” George whispered.
“Yes, and I can tell exactly what thoughts you were lost in, my dear.” Queen Sofia smiled knowingly.
George extended her hand to the guest and said, “Good evening. It’s wonderful that you could join us.”
After a few more had passed, it was finally time for Bea to be announced. George felt her mouth dry up. Get a grip on yourself.
Moments later the page announced, “Miss Beatrice Elliot.”
Bea gave the Queen a deep curtsy, and when George took her hand, she was sure she could feel electricity pass between them. “Good evening, Miss Elliot. I am so glad you could join us. Have the staff been looking after you?”
“Oh yes, Your Majesty. Thank you.”
George beamed with happiness. “Jolly good. Let me introduce Queen Sofia, the Queen Mother.”
“Hello, Miss Elliot. I’ve heard a great deal about you from the Queen. I look forward to talking to you later.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.” When Bea looked unsure of what to do next, George stepped in and said, “If you go through to the reception room, my brother will meet you there.”
As she watched Bea walk off, she ached to be with her, to escort her. She should be with me.
*
Bea felt like she had met hundreds of people, despite the fact there were only eighty guests. As soon as she entered the reception room, she was approached by a smiling Prince Theodore. Bea liked him very much; he was a great deal more laid back than George, but she supposed they had different demands placed upon them.
At the moment she was meeting the siblings’ cousins, Lady Victoria and Lord Max Buckingham. Like George, they were both tall and well built, although unlike George and Theo had fair hair.
“Delighted to meet you, Beatrice. Do call me Vicki, and this one here is Max. We’ve never thought he was serious enough to be a Lord.”
Max laughed and gave his sister a playful swat. “Don’t listen to her, Miss Elliot. We are very happy to meet you though. Our elder brother Julian is schmoozing with Princess Eleanor, so you’ll need to meet him later. George has told us a great deal about you.”
“She has?” She needn’t have been nervous about meeting George’s family. They were warm and welcoming, not like she’d imagined at all. On the other hand, she had a sick feeling at the thought of Princess Eleanor. She hadn’t been introduced and had only seen her from afar, but the long-legged brunette looked like a model.
“Oh yes. You’re the anti-monarchist.”
Bea almost died of embarrassment, but the three royals didn’t show any discomfort or anger; instead they looked amused. “Well, yes. Queen Georgina and I have a lively debate on the matter, but she has shown me that there is another side to the story.”
“Good old Georgie,” Theo exclaimed. “Granny challenged her to persuade Bea here of the merits of monarchy.”
She watched them laugh together. They seemed a close family. Coming from a small family, she envied George her brother and cousins.
“I understand you’re staying on tomorrow, Miss Elliot?” Vicki said.
“Yes. The Queen wanted to show me around.”
Vicki took her hand and said, “Do get George to bring you to the stables. Our mama and I run them for the Queen.”
An older gentlemen walked over with a bright smiling face. “Will you introduce me, Vicki?”
“Of course, Papa. Miss Beatrice Elliot, this is our father, the Duke of Bransford.”
“Pleased to meet you, sir.” Bea said nervously.
“A pleasure, Miss Elliot. Her Majesty has told us a great deal about you. My wife, Princess Grace, is eager to meet you as well, but she’s off talking horses with some person or another. I’ll find you after dinner to introduce you, if I may?”
“Of course, sir.” The duke smiled and left her with Theo.
Theo pointed over to the doors to the banqueting hall where the royal fanfare was struck up by the ceremonial guard. “We better look lively. It looks like we’re under starter’s orders.” Theo offered Bea his arm and guided her to the doors and said, “If you follow the line through the doors, a page will conduct you to your seat. We have to enter with the Queen and Queen Mother, but I’ll see you very soon.”
Bea smiled at the Prince. “Thank you, Your Royal Highness. You are very kind.”
“Not at all. My sister wishes you to be very comfortable here, so I am at your service.”
Bea found her seat, but everyone remained standing while the royal family, led by the Queen, entered the banqueting hall in procession, to the tune of the national anthem.
The dinner was spectacular, and although they had not spent any time together as yet, she could feel the Queen’s gaze upon her often. She would smile in return before the Queen would go back to chatting with the prime minister.
After the meal was finished a strange droning sound could be heard. Before she could ask, Theo said, “Oh God. Here come the bloody pipers.”
The massed band of the Pipes and Drums of the Black Watch entered the room and marched round the table. The glasses and cutlery shook at the loud noise. George had a smile on her face. Theo rolled his eyes. “My sister insists on keeping up this tradition even though everyone under the age of forty hates it. She loves this infernal music just like Papa did.”
After the music had finished the Queen stood and the room went silent. “I want to thank you all for being here this evening. My father, the King, would have been delighted by the support everyone has given to us since his death. One of the last things my father said to me before he died was…”
Bea saw the same look of terror on George’s face as she had the morning at the hospital. Her breathing became short, and she couldn’t force her words out. This was a panic attack and all Bea wanted to do was get up and help bring George back, but that was impossible. Some of the guests started to shift uncomfortably as they watched the Queen struggle.
George looked to Bea in desperation, and the young woman mouthed, Close your eyes and breathe.
Never taking her eyes off Bea, George began visibly to calm, and she spoke the rest of the speech as if directed to Bea.
*
Afterwards the guests were directed through to the library where a display of the royal collection had been set up as an after-dinner entertainment for the guests, while they enjoyed coffee. The curator gave the guests a short talk on the collection, and then the royal family mingled with the guests as they looked round the artefacts.
After several attempts, George finally was able to make her way over to Bea, who was standing with Theo and Lady Olivia.
“Miss Elliot, could I show you around.” George offered her arm, and Bea gladly took it. “Excuse us, Lady Olivia, Prince Theo.”
When they were out of earshot, George said, “I’m sorry it’s taken so long to have some time with you, Bea.”
“Not at all, Georgie. You have a lot of guests to attend to, and I’m not as important as these dignitaries around us.”
George stopped and looked Bea in the eye. “You’re wrong. You are very important to me.”
Bea seemed quite taken aback and unsure how to respond, so George took the initiative. “I would like to show you a few pieces of the collection that might interest you, but first, I wonder, cou
ld I introduce you to my granny, the Dowager Queen? Besides my mother, she is the other great influence in my life.”
“I would be delighted,” Bea managed to croak out, clearly nervous about meeting the family matriarch.
George led them to the side of the room, where Queen Adrianna sat with her childhood friend and companion Lady Celia, Countess of Warwick, and the Queen Mother.
The three women stood as George approached.
“Oh, please do sit, ladies.”
The Dowager Queen gripped a walking stick with a silver handle in the shape of a horse’s head and seemed to really rely on it as she lowered herself back down to the chair.
“Granny, Lady Celia, may I present my friend, Miss Beatrice Elliot. She works with the hospice charity I’ve become involved with.”
“Ah. The republican. Tell me, young lady, would you have us all beheaded in Trafalgar Square?”
Bea was struck dumb for a few seconds, while the three aristocrats around her laughed. Then, to George’s surprise, she retorted, “After the beautiful dinner I’ve just enjoyed, you are all safe for the moment, Your Majesty.”
Queen Adrianna snorted with laughter. “Oh, I like this one, George. She’s as sharp as a tack.”
After that Bea relaxed as they all chatted together, and George was delighted. When George led her off to look around, Queen Sofia said, “I think my daughter is besotted with that young woman.”
“Hmm. I rather got that impression, my dear,” Adrianna replied.
Lady Celia added, “She seems very nice, but she has a few things going against her. An anti-monarchist and from a working-class background. Has it ever been done? Surely only middle and upper classes have married into the family?”
“Remember the famous saying, Celia,” the Dowager Queen retorted. “There is no king who has not had a slave among his ancestors, and no slave who has not had a king among his. There’s nothing wrong with a bit of fresh blood. Do you agree, Sofia?”
“Indeed. I just want George to be happy like her papa and me. She’s toed the line her whole life, and behaved impeccably. I don’t want her to choose someone out of duty.”
Adrianna reached over and took her daughter-in-law’s hand. “Then I suggest we monitor the situation, and if they appear as close by the summer holidays in August, you invite her to Balmoral.”
Balmoral was the traditional testing ground for potential additions to the royal family. It encompassed everything that the royal family enjoyed—outdoor pursuits and community events, all done in the harshest of Scottish weather. The family believed if someone didn’t pass the Balmoral test, they didn’t have the character to join the family.
Queen Sofia nodded. “I think that would be wise.”
*
“Who is that common little tart draped over the Queen, Julian?” Eleanor asked angrily.
As soon as Julian had spotted the mystery blonde George was giving all her attention to, he had dispatched his wife Marta to find out more. “Just some woman from the charity my cousin has been working with. No threat to our plans.”
He looked up and saw his wife walking over. “Well?”
“They are the best of friends, apparently. They talk on the phone most nights, and she has privileged access to the Queen. Don’t worry though, Eleanor, I’m sure the Queen just finds her working-class ways amusing. At worst she would be nothing more than a mistress. George knows she must marry someone with breeding.”
Julian was worried though, because unlike him, George had no taste for mistresses. The Queen was just like the King before her; she believed in all the guff about setting an example to the nation.
If George did start seeing this woman, she would have only one intention. “Marta, I think it’s time we were introduced to this woman, and let Eleanor talk to the Queen. Follow me.”
Chapter Fourteen
George took great pleasure in describing the stories and history behind all the treasures on display, and from what she could tell, Bea was enjoying it.
“Of course, there would be a lot more in the collection if it wasn’t for Oliver Cromwell and the English revolution.”
“Why?” Bea asked.
George pointed up at a painting of her ancestor Charles I. “After Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans ousted and beheaded Charles, Cromwell sold off hundreds of pieces of the collection to pay for his army and government. When the monarchy was reinstated, his son Charles II tried to buy back as much as he could, but some pieces were lost.”
George leaned into Bea and said, “I suppose that’s what you would have in mind for me, Miss Elliot?”
“What, behead you? No, you’re far too good-looking and handsome to lose your head.” Bea closed her eyes tightly, as if trying to hide. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t appropriate, Ma’am.”
George grinned back at her with glee. “I like it when you are inappropriate with me. No one else ever is. Please don’t change.” She thinks I’m good-looking and handsome. The thought filled her with joy.
“Excuse me, Your Majesty?”
George looked up to find her cousin Julian and his wife.
“Would you introduce us to your new friend?” Julian smiled, but it looked forced.
George groaned internally. Just when she thought she had Bea all to herself, her least-favourite cousin and his wife had to appear.
“Of course. This is Miss Beatrice Elliot, and Beatrice, this is my cousin, Lord Julian, Viscount Anglesey, and his wife, Lady Marta.”
“I’m pleased to meet you both.” Bea gave a very quick curtsy to them both.
Lady Marta looked at Bea like she was something on the bottom of her shoe, and it made George fume.
“It must be a dream for you to visit Windsor.”
“It is, Lady Marta.”
“Let us introduce you to the prime minister. It wouldn’t do to monopolize so much of the Queen’s time, now would it?”
“Now look here—” Before the Queen had a chance to do anything, Julian and Marta had whisked Bea off.
Bloody idiots. George didn’t want to make a scene in the room full of people, but she would have a chat with Julian about his disrespectful interruption.
“Hello, Your Majesty. We haven’t had the chance to talk yet.”
George knew by the accent who was talking. “Princess Eleanor. I hope you’ve had a pleasant evening.”
The princess gave a deep over-exaggerated curtsy, which gave the Queen an eyeful of her assets. It did nothing for George, who was annoyed that she had been so obviously manoeuvred into this situation.
“I’m glad to be here to spend some time with Your Majesty.”
George scowled and lifted a drink from the tray of one of the passing servers. “This evening was not about spending time with me. It was about remembering the King and thanking all those who have supported my family.”
“Of course. Would you show me some of these lovely things?”
George knew she had no choice but to be polite and go along with it.
*
Across the room Bea was talking with Bo Dixon. Viscount Anglesey and his wife had ditched her as soon as she was introduced to the prime minister. Under normal circumstances Bea would have been riveted, but she couldn’t help but be distracted by Princess Eleanor, giggling and laughing at whatever the Queen was telling her.
“She’s marvellous, isn’t she?”
Bea realized she had been caught staring. “Sorry?”
Bo took a sip of her drink and smiled. “Her Majesty.”
“Oh yes. Yes, she is.”
“I understand your position, Beatrice.”
“What position are you referring to, Miss Dixon?” Bea worried that the prime minister had noticed the adoring way she looked at the Queen.
“I’ve read about your background. Socialist, anti-monarchist, I believe you were at more than one demo through your university years, and I know about the tragedy that drives you.”
Bea was shocked at the information that Bo Dixon had. “Ho
w do you know all that? I’ve never met you before.”
Bo put a comforting hand on Bea’s shoulder. “I always make it my business to have as much information as possible. Don’t be alarmed, but when you are working so closely with the sovereign, a sovereign whose life has been threatened, it is my duty to know everything about you.”
“I suppose that’s true,” Bea said.
“I was like you. I have been a socialist all my life, Beatrice. Joined the Labour Party at university, took part in debates and rallies. I always thought it repugnant that the aristocracy still had a place in modern Britain. People who had titles and money because of an accident of birth. I campaigned for reform of the political system, to curtail the rights of the monarchy and the House of Lords. Britain is a democracy and power rests with Parliament.”
“Are you saying your opinion has changed, Prime Minister?”
Bo smiled while slowly choosing her words. “I would say softened my opinion is more apt. When I became an MP and started to take part in those ceremonies I thought silly and outdated, I saw them in a different light. You felt like you were taking part in history, something that has remained unchanged for centuries. It gives the people a feeling of continuity. Politicians may come and go, but British democracy will always remain unchanging, linked to a stable monarchy.”
Bea looked back over to where George was standing, explaining some work of art to the princess while she edged ever closer.
“My head and my heart are at war, Prime Minister. I have these ideals, these things I’ve always believed in, and then I’ve gotten to know the Queen and see what good things she does. She cares deeply about her people, and really works hard.”
Bo nodded. “We are blessed that the last few generations of the family have been decent people. No scandals like they’ve had in the past. When I became leader of the opposition I began to spend more time around the royal family at functions and state occasions. I found the King to be very knowledgeable on a wide variety of subjects, and very approachable. I haven’t known the Queen for long, but she seems to be very much her father’s daughter. Her popularity in the opinion polls is sky high, so I don’t see the people clamouring for a republic in our lifetime.”