by Cheyenne
Caroline knew they whispered of her. ‘Let him go,’ she said to the Baroness
de Bode. ‘He’s a pleasant enough young man but not for me.’
The Baroness said: ‘He is the son of the King of England.’
Caroline pouted. ‘The second son.’
‘Good Heavens, is Your Highness hoping for the Prince of Wales?’
Caroline turned away with a laugh. Let them think so. Let them imagine her to
be ambitious. She was ambitious— for a home with the man she loved and a large
family of happy children.
And she was in love.
Under cover of dusk she slipped out to meet her Major. He was a little
alarmed— for her, of course. He had declared frequently that he did not care what happened to him.
‘Silly man,’ she cried fondly. ‘My father understands me. He knows he could
never force me into marriage. He will let me marry where I will.’
Then if this was so why not disclose their plans to the Duke? That was what
Caroline thought; but Major von Töbingen begged her to keep their secret a little longer.
She gave way. But, she warned him, not for long.
He was there waiting in the shadows— tall, mysterious in his long cloak.
She threw herself into his arms and hugged him in the unrestrained manner
which while it delighted him alarmed him too.
‘I have a present for you, my dearest,’ she said. ‘It’s a token.’
She gave him the large amethyst pin which she had had made for him from
one of her rings.
‘I shall expect you to wear it— always,’ she told him.
She began to talk rapidly of the future. She would speak to her father and they
would be married.
‘It will never be,’ he told her in despair. ‘They will never allow a princess to
marry a mere soldier!’
‘A mere soldier! You— a mere soldier! There is nothing mere about you. I
love you, do you hear. I love you. That means that my father will give his
consent.’
He whispered that they must speak quietly or they would be overheard.
‘Let them hear!’ Her voice rang out. ‘What does it matter? I want the whole
Court to know. Why should they not? I have made up my mind.’
She was exuberant and impatient. Marriage with her Major would be perfect
bliss, she told him.
‘Children— do you want children? But of course you do. Dear little children.
All our own. Every time, I go to the village to see my adopted ones I say to
myself: They are lovely. I adore them. But soon I shall have little ones of my own.
I cannot wait. Why should I? I am no longer a child. I must speak to my father— I must— I must— I will! ’
But he begged her to wait a little longer and because she loved him she
agreed.
————————
Major von Töbingen was seen to wear a big amethyst pin. Sometimes his
fingers would stray to it and linger there lovingly. The Princess Caroline
constantly contrived to be where he was; and her eyes were seen to rest on the
pin. It was her gift to him, was the general comment.
It was impossible not to be aware of the Princess’s emotions. She had never
been one to hide them at any time; and Caroline in love was at her most emotional row like the Princess to reject the Princes of Orange and Prussia and to show the Duke of York quite clearly that she had no wish to marry him— and then to fall
besottedly in love with a major in the Army.
The rumours grew fast. She was already with child, it was whispered. Well, it
wouldn’t be the first time. That other occasion was recalled when during a ball an accoucheur had to be called to the palace.
A fresh scandal was about to break.
Madame de Hertzfeldt consulted with the Duke and as a result one day not
very long after she had presented him with the amethyst pin, Caroline went to
their usual trysting place where she waited in vain for her Major.
————————
He had gone, and when she had demanded of his fellow officers where he was
they could not tell her. He had been there one morning and by afternoon had
disappeared. There was simply no trace of him.
She had stamped her foot; she had raged. ‘Where? Where? Where?’ she had
cried
But they could not help her.
One of them suggested that her father the Duke might be able to explain.
She went to her father’s apartments, Madame de Hertzfeldt was with him, and
they were expecting her.
‘My dear child—’ began her father and would have put his arms about her but
she cried out―
‘Where is Major von Töbingen?’
‘Major von Töbingen’s duties have taken him away,’ said the Duke gently,
‘What duties? Where?’
The Duke looked surprised. Even his dear daughter could not speak to him in
that manner.
‘Suffice it that he is no longer with us.’
‘No longer with us! I tell you I shall not be satisfied with that. I want to know where he is. I want him brought back. I am going to marry him. Nothing—
nothing— nothing— is going to stop me.’
The Duke looked at Madame de Hertzfeldt who said gently: ‘Caroline, you
must realize that a princess cannot marry without the approval of her family.’
‘I know nothing of other princesses. I only know what I myself will do. I will
marry Major von Töbingen.’
The Duke said: ‘No, my dear, you will not.’
She turned on him. ‘You said that I should not be forced to marry against my
will.’
‘I did; and you shall not be. But I did not give you permission to marry
without my consent.’
‘So you have sent him away.’
‘Caroline,’ said Madame de Hertzfeldt, ‘it was the only thing we could do.’
‘The only thing you could do. And who are you, Madam, to govern me? Be
silent! If I have to listen to my father, I will not to you. I shall not stay here.’ She began to pace the room.
She was like a tigress, thought Madame de Hertzfeldt. How peaceful we
should be if she would marry and go away from the Court!
The Duke was about to protest when Madame de Hertzfeldt signed to him not
to do so on her account. She was sure that they must try to reason with Caroline
gently. She was always afraid on occasions like this that Caroline’s delicately-
poised mind would over-balance and she knew what great grief this would bring
to the Duke.
The Duke said: ‘You must have realized the unsuitability of such a match.’
‘It is suitable because we love each other. What more suitable? Would you
have me make a marriage such as yours? Would you give me a mate whom I must
despise as you do yours?’
The Duke clenched his hands. She was shouting and he knew that her words
would be overheard.
‘Don’t try to silence me. You have taken my lover from me. He is good and
kind and handsome but that would not do. You would marry me to some ill-
formed monstrosity just because he is a royal. That would be suitable— suitable
— suitable―’
Madame de Hertzfeldt had slipped out of the room. The Duke guessed that it
was to take some action. In the meantime he tried to quiet his daughter.
‘Caroline, I will not have you shout in this manner. I will have you remember
your plac
e here. If I cared, I could arrange a marriage for you entirely of my
choosing. Do not imagine that because I have so far been lenient with you, I shall continue to be so. So much depends on your own conduct.’
That quieted her. It was true she was a little afraid of him. She did realize that she owed her free way of life to him‚ that she was not treated as so many
princesses in her position would have been.
‘Papa,’ she said, ‘I love him!’
‘I know, my dear, but it could not be. You must realize that.’
‘Why not? It seems so senseless! Why should we have to be made unhappy
when we could be happy, when we could have healthy children and bring them up
in a happy home.’
‘It is the penalty of royalty.’
‘But we ourselves make those penalties! Why? Why? Why cannot we be free?
Why do we pen ourselves in with our misery merely to preserve our silly
royalty?’
‘Pray do not speak in that way, daughter.’
‘So I may not even speak as I will!’ Her eyes flashed with sudden rage. ‘I will
not endure this treatment, I tell you. I will make my own life I will go and find him— I will renounce your precious royalty for the sake of love.’
Madame de Hertzfeldt had returned; she was carrying a cup. ‘Caroline,’ she
said, ‘you know you have my sympathy. Pray, do as I say.’
‘What is that?’
‘Drink this. It will help you to sleep for a while. You are distraught; and
when you have recovered a little from this shock you may talk with your father.’
For a moment it seemed as though Caroline would dash the cup out of
Madame de Hertzfeldt’s hand; then that tactful woman said, ‘You will feel
calmer. You may be able to convert him to your ideas— or even accept his.’
The hopelessness of her situation was brought home to
Caroline. The
walls of the apartment seemed to close in upon her. Shut in, she thought,
imprisoned in royalty.
————————
The Princess Caroline was ill. She would eat nothing; she could not sleep. She
lay hollow-eyed in her bed.
She had received a letter from Major von Töbingen in which he said goodbye
to her. He begged her to accept their separation which in his heart he had known
was inevitable from the beginning. She must not try to find him, for even if she
did— which was not possible— he could not marry her. To do so would be an act
of treason, she must realize that. He would never forget her. He would love her
until he died if she would occasionally think of him with tenderness that was all he would ask of life.
She wept bitterly over the letter and kept it under her pillow to read again and
again The dream of love and marriage with the man of her, choice was over. She
was listless‚ and they feared for her life.
It gave her a savage pleasure to see their concern. Her father came to her room
each day, he was very tender. If there was anything she wished for— except that
one thing which was all she wanted— she might have it.
‘Nothing, nothing,’ she murmured and turned her face the wall.
But she was grieved to see his unhappiness. He had been a good father to her;
and she loved him.
For his sake she ate a little and tried to feel resigned. And‚ after a while she
was well enough to leave her bed.
The Duke suggested a change of scene and she left Court for a while and
when she returned she was a little more like her old exuberant self.
But when Prince George of Darmstadt made an offer for her hand she refused
him.
‘Although I am not allowed to choose,’ she said firmly, ‘at least I am
permitted to reject.’
The Miracle
SHE was twenty-six. It was said of her: ‘She will never marry now.’
She began to think so herself. She was often in the houses of her father’s
subjects; if a new baby was about to be born she expressed great interest; and
each day she drove out to visit her children.
She often thought of Major von Töbingen and wondered whether he had
married; the thought of his being the father of lovely children was almost
unbearable. Perhaps she had been foolish; since they would not let her have the
man she loved, it might have been wise to have taken one of those whom they
thought were so suitable. She might at least have had her baby by now.
She was more subdued than she had been. The affair with Major von
Töbingen had changed her. It did not worry her that there was scandal about her
and that many malicious people said that she was unmarried because she had led
an immoral life. They credited— or discredited— her with having given birth to
at least two illegitimate children and they quoted as proof the occasion of the ball when the accoucheur had come to the Palace and the time when she had left Court after the Töbingen affair. What did she care? She had grown listless about
such matters.
All the same she was weary of life at Brunswick. She was fond of her father,
it was true; but she was conscious of her mother’s jealousy of Madame de
Hertzfeldt and the latter’s toleration of the Duchess. It was an uneasy situation at the best and Caroline could enjoy no satisfactory relationship with either of them.
She began to grow a little morbid . I shall end my days at Brunswick, she thought, always longing for the children I never had. I have been a fool. I should have accepted marriage with one of the men who were offered to me.
Then the miracle happened.
Her father sent for her one day and all unsuspecting she went to him to find
her mother present. The Duke looked very solemn; the Duchess was needing all
the little restraint she possessed to prevent herself shouting the news to her
daughter.
But it was the Duke’s place to acquaint his daughter with the news and this he
did. ‘Caroline, I have something of great importance to tell you. I think it is very good news. I have a letter here from your uncle the King of England. The Prince
of Wales is asking for your hand in marriage.’
‘The Prince of Wales!’ A great joy came to her. She thought: I am not too late then. I waited and now I have the biggest prize.
‘It is a great honour,’ said the Duke. ‘Of course, the Prince is your first cousin and this is an opportunity which I am sure you will not want to miss.’
‘Of course you will not want to miss it.’ The Duchess could contain her
excitement no longer. ‘Think of it, Caroline, you’ll be the Queen of England.
Imagine it. You— Caroline— a Queen!’
‘Yes,’ said Caroline slowly, ‘if I married him I should one day be Queen of
England.’
Her father looked at her almost fearfully. He laid a hand on her shoulder and
looked into those eyes which could suddenly grow so wild. ‘I would never wish to
be rid of you or to send you away,’ he said gently. ‘But if you wish to marry,
daughter, you will never have an opportunity like this again.’
‘It’s true, Father,’ she said.
‘You realize it, do you not?’ cried the Duchess. ‘Oh, the Prince of Wales! My
dear, dear nephew! The First Gentleman of Europe. I have heard that he is the
most fascinating creature. And handsome— so handsome! Caroline, you are the
luckiest of young women— and when you think that you will soon be twenty-
sev
en. It is a God-given chance. I think I should write to my brother at once. I
think there should be no delay. I think—’
‘Madam,’ said the Duke coldly, ‘it is Caroline who is to marry— not
yourself.’
The Duchess opened her mouth to protest. It was humiliating— the way in
which she was treated. And before her children too. He would never speak like
that to the Hertzfeldt woman. Oh, no, her advice would be sought— and
considered.
She flashed her husband a look of hatred, of which Caroline was acutely
aware. It would be pleasant to get right away.
‘My dear,’ said the Duke, ‘you need time to consider.’
‘I have considered,’ said Caroline. ‘I will accept the Prince of Wales.’
The Duchess was clasping her hands in ecstasy. The Duke looked relieved. As
for Caroline she stood very still, in a mood of rare calmness.
‘My child,’ said the Duke, ‘you have made a wise decision.’
She looked at him steadily and then threw herself into his arms. His sternness
relaxed and he held her tightly. The Duchess looked on but she was not thinking
of them; she was seeing the wedding preparations; the marriage; and she was
exulting because this difficult daughter who had been such a trial to them was
now going to be the Princess of Wales.
————————
Caroline returned to her apartments and found there the Baroness de Bode
who had realized that something of great importance was afoot and since she had
seen the messengers from England, she guessed it might be an offer of marriage
for the Princess.
Caroline said: ‘Well, you have come to hear the news.’
‘I trust it is good news.’
‘That,’ replied Caroline, ‘I shall not be able to tell you until I am on my
deathbed.’
‘What does Your Highness mean?’
‘That only at the end of a marriage can one say whether it was good or bad.’
‘Marriage!’
‘Now do not look so surprised because you are not in the least. You guessed it
was an offer, did you not?’
‘From England?’
‘How strange that everyone should be more excited about my wedding than I
am.’
‘Pray tell me which of the sons of the King of England.’
‘The eldest, Madam. You should not be shouting questions at me in this