As Will and Liza left the house, Liza glanced into another room. Inside sat eight dejected women around a long table, listening to another penitent read to them in a monotone. It sounded like The Book of Job. Liza understood why Annie preferred to sew.
Will took her arm. “Are you all right?”
Placing her hand on top of his, Liza told him what had happened upstairs.
“It’s a common enough story,” he said.
“Will, she asked for help, and no one would protect her. But there’s a lock on the door now. I’m safer because of Annie.”
He interrupted her. “If that bastard Conroy ever tries to interfere with you, I’ll kill him.”
She gripped his hand tightly. “Will, you mustn’t. I’m perfectly safe.”
But as they walked away from the Mary Magdalene House, Liza wondered how strong her lock really was.
2 August 1836 Excerpt from the Journal of Her Royal Highness Victoria
At a ¼ to 4 we went with Lehzen to Chiswick to the Children’s Friend Society. It was a most interesting and delightful establishment founded entirely by Miss Murray. It is for poor vagrant girls, who are received under the age of 15; and Miss Murray says they have never had a girl 6 months who did not become a perfectly good child. Miss Murray told us many curious stories of the depraved and wretched state in which many arrive and how soon they become reformed and good.
From Miss Elizabeth Hastings
to Mr. Richard Arbuthnot
7 August 1836
Kensington Palace
Dear Mr. Arbuthnot,
I am grateful for your forbearance regarding my outstanding obligation to Claridge’s Hotel. Your offer to hold my belongings for six months before selling them to satisfy my debt was extraordinarily generous.
However, Her Royal Highness Victoria of Kent is of a different mind. She is certain only a heartless management would sell an orphan’s only mementos of her parents for the repayment of a minor debt. Her Royal Highness insists I have misunderstood your terms.
The Princess and I would be beholden to you if you could clarify Claridge’s proposal. A letter addressed to me at Kensington Palace will reach me.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Hastings
From Mr. Richard Arbuthnot
to Miss Elizabeth Hastings
12 August 1836
Claridge’s Hotel
Dear Miss Hastings,
Claridge’s is pleased to extend you every accommodation. We shall hold your belongings indefinitely.
Please convey our best wishes to Her Royal Highness. Should the Princess ever require lodging for her distinguished visitors, Claridge’s Hotel is happy to oblige.
Sincerely,
Richard Arbuthnot
Manager
From Miss Elizabeth Hastings
to Mr. William Fulton
22 August 1837
Kensington Palace
Dear Will,
Unfortunately, I will not be able to accompany you to the theater next month. The Duchess has decided Victoria must tour the country. And where Her Highness goes, I go.
If this were the time of Queen Elizabeth, it would be a royal progress. The Duchess is planning cannon salutes and the use of the King’s barge. No doubt she’ll raise the royal standard at every house they visit! The King is reportedly apoplectic. Victoria feels the slight to him very much, but the Duchess has turned a deaf ear to her daughter’s protests.
The house has been so tense the Duchess cannot bring herself to speak civilly to her daughter. Although they share a room, she wrote the Princess a letter explaining the necessity for the trip. I thought you might be interested, so I’ve copied it and included it with this letter. Naturally, this is not for publication!
The Princess gave in, as she always does, but not graciously. We will be going to Oxford first. You can write to me at Chatsworth House.
Sincerely,
Liza
From the Duchess of Kent to
Her Royal Highness Victoria
Undated
…I am disappointed and grieved that you feel so averse to traveling , but nevertheless, you must try to recognize that it is of the greatest consequence that you should be seen, that you should know your country, and be acquainted with, and be known, by all classes. If the King was another man, and if he really loved you, he would welcome the tour.
Can you be dead to the calls your position demands? Impossible! Reflect—before it is too late…Turn your thoughts and views to your future station, its duties, and the claims that exist on you.
Mama
From Mr. William Fulton to
Miss Elizabeth Hastings
1 September 1836
London
Dear Liza,
The news at home is all about your so-called royal progress. Your Princess stays only with the richest and most powerful families. She would do better to spend some time with the common people who will also be her subjects.
Reports from Court say His Majesty is indecent in his wrath about the liberties the Duchess takes. Is it true the Princess was served her breakfast in a jeweled crown at Eaton Hall? Perhaps the Duchess hopes to make the King expire from outrage and ensure her regency that way?
All the royal gossip in the world cannot reconcile me to the loss of our day together. Please write, as it is a great consolation.
Fondly,
Will
6 September 1836 Excerpt from the Journal of Her Royal Highness Victoria
Oh! What a business was there, there!! The people, of whom there was a dense mass, insisted upon dragging us through the town & in spite of every effort which was tried to prevent them from so doing, they obstinately persisted…Not only through it, did they drag us, but round it, so, that we were detained exactly 1 hour & a ¼ in Lynn! I could see nothing of the town; I only saw one living, dense mass of human beings! We unfortunately drove over a poor man just as we stopped but he is not materially hurt, I hear.
From Miss Elizabeth Hastings
to Mr. William Fulton
6 September 1836
Norfolk
Dear Will,
I have little time to write. We’ve just arrived in Norfolk and I am required to help the Princess change her clothes for the 5th time today. But during our travels, in a town called Lynn, a man was run over by the Princess’s carriage. I haven’t been able to hear how he fares. Can you look into the matter for me?
Fondly,
Liza
From Mr. William Fulton to
Miss Elizabeth Hastings
18 September 1836
London
Dear Liza,
I regret to inform you Mr. Josiah Smith, in his eagerness to view the elusive Princess, ventured too near her carriage’s wheels. He was killed instantly. The common man should be wary of interrupting the royal progress!
I hear the King was furious the Duchess demanded royal salutes from the men-of-war and the forts along the Solent. He has ordered all the popping must cease. Finally, in a state of great excitement, he prohibited the firing of royal salutes to any ships except those that carried the reigning sovereign or his consort. Somehow, I think the Duchess will find another way to harass the King.
Please write again soon. Your letters are a poor substitute for your presence, but I will be grateful for any word from you.
Fondly,
Will
From Miss Elizabeth Hastings to
Mr. William Fulton
28 September 1836
Oxford
Dear Will,
We are leaving Oxford today. The crowd waited for hours to hear Victoria speak, but her mother insisted on speaking in Victoria’s place in her dreadful English. The day was not a loss for all: Sir John Conroy was presented with an honorary doctorate in civil law. No doubt this was done at the Duchess’s prompting, since I cannot imagine in what way Sir John has earned such a prize. The Duchess is keeping him sweet since their hopes for a regency grow dimmer every day.
The Baroness Lehzen tells me Sir John has set his sights on becoming Victoria’s private secretary. As I understand it, this is a role that demands the sovereign have the utmost trust and confidence in the bearer of the title. I do not think much of his chances.
Today I accompanied Victoria to the Bodleian Library. She was shown the notebook in which Queen Elizabeth did her Latin exercises. Victoria has been inspired and vows to study harder. I wish we were going home soon as the Princess does not look well. She has lost her appetite (no small thing for a Princess who loves her food) and is so fatigued she nearly fell asleep over dinner at Holkham. This travel is too much for her.
Will, since we’ve left Kensington, I’ve seen so many different kinds of British people. In the Midlands, the coal miners were actually black with soot and the children were dressed in filthy rags. But the Oxford streets are filled with black robed undergraduates filled with high spirits and academic excess. Perhaps there is an opportunity for your printing press in the diversity of the British people? Each one of these groups needs a newspaper for their special needs. I could write the articles for distressed gentlewomen!
I look forward to seeing you when we return. Next we go to Ramsgate for the autumn but I will return to Kensington by Christmas.
Fondly,
Liza
25 September 1836 Excerpt from the Journal of Her Royal Highness Victoria
I am much tired by the long journeys and the great crowds we have to encounter. We cannot travel like other people, quietly and pleasantly, but we go through towns and crowds and when one arrives at any nobleman’s seat, one must instantly dress for dinner and consequently I never rest properly.
From Miss Elizabeth Hastings
to Mr. William Fulton
30 September 1836
Ramsgate
Will,
A brief note is all I have time for. We arrived in Ramsgate this morning. The town was all assembled for a triumphant arrival, but the Duchess disappointed them by entering town through a little used entrance and going directly to the house.
I am troubled by the Princess’s fatigue. The Baroness Lehzen is worried too. I will write when I can.
Liza
From Mr. William Fulton to Miss Elizabeth Hastings
18 October 1836
London
Dear Liza,
It has been two weeks since I had a letter from you. There is a rumor the Princess is seriously ill. Please write and let me know you are well.
Will
From Mr. William Fulton
to Miss Elizabeth Hastings
26 October 1836
London
Liza,
It has been three weeks. I pray you, write to me. My sources hint the Princess is on her deathbed with typhoid fever. I have seen what the fever can do to those who care for its sufferers. Your duty to the Princess is not worth your life.
In your absence, I have discovered how very much your welfare touches my heart. Please take care of yourself until you come back to me.
Very fondly,
Will
From Miss Elizabeth Hastings
to Mr. William Fulton
5 November 1836
Ramsgate
Will,
This has been my first opportunity to write. Your sources were unexpectedly accurate. The Princess nearly succumbed to typhoid. The Baroness and I nursed her night and day these last three weeks. The Duchess, like an ostrich, preferred to believe Victoria was malingering and refused to call in a doctor until it was almost too late. We all knew the diagnosis—after all there are only so many causes of high fever and that scarlet rash—but the Duchess refused to acknowledge the danger. She never even visited her daughter once. The Princess told me once the Duchess had her inoculated against the pox. At one time, her daughter’s welfare meant everything to her. Alas, the Duchess has lost her way. If she’s not careful, she’ll lose Victoria for good.
Sir John, his prospects declining along with Victoria’s health, visited every few hours. Last week I returned from the kitchen in the middle of the night to find him in the Princess’s chamber. He was twisting her arm to make her sign a letter appointing him her private secretary. His nerve knows no boundaries. I tore the letter from his hands while the Baroness called for help. He knows now I am his enemy. But the King’s health is so poor and Victoria is so near to her majority—only six more months—I do not think he can harm me.
Mademoiselle Blanche, the Duchess’s lady’s maid, a sly boots if ever I met one, has condescended to inform me all the servants have a holiday the day after Christmas. Will you meet me at Kensington Palace at noon?
Do not think I am insensible to the concern you showed in your letters. I was very touched.
Until Christmas,
Liza
5 November 1836 Excerpt from the Journal of Her Royal Highness Victoria
Dear good Lehzen takes such care of me and is so unceasing in her attentions to me after my illness that I shall never be able to repay her sufficiently for it but by my love and gratitude. I never can sufficiently repay her for all she has borne and done for me. She is the most affectionate, devoted, attached and disinterested friend I have and I love her most dearly. I feel that I gain strength every day.
18
In Which Liza Receives an Intriguing Offer
The day after Christmas was a perfect English winter day. Icicles glistened from the evergreens in Kensington Gardens. The Round Pond sparkled with icy splendor. Gentleman in elegant long coats skated gracefully while ladies, cocooned in ermine, admired from sleds on the ice. Several ladies who were not afraid of exercise skated with the men.
Liza wore a winter coat of dark maroon wool, a cast off from Victoria. The crisp air was intoxicating, especially after the stuffiness of the Christmas celebrations at Kensington Palace.
“Will, why is today called Boxing Day?” Liza asked.
“In some houses, employers put Christmas money in a box for the servants.” Will, dressed in his handsome green velvet coat, looked prosperous and confident.
“Not the Duchess of Kent.” Liza wrinkled her nose. “She’s too stingy.”
Will smiled and placed her gloved hand firmly on his arm. “I’m just glad you’re back from Ramsgate. When I heard there was typhoid, I was frightened for you.”
Pulling up her collar to hide the blush warming her face, Liza reassured him. “I was fine. It was the Princess who was so ill.”
“Is she fully recovered?”
Liza laughed. “Are you asking me as a reporter or my friend?”
“Does your answer change?” he countered.
“She’s much better, but she nearly died. And Sir John’s treatment of her made it worse.”
“Forget the scoundrel. She didn’t sign his letter. Once she’s Queen, she’ll be done with him.”
Liza couldn’t forget those long weeks in the Princess’s sickroom or the night Sir John tried to force Victoria to put herself in his power. “But Victoria—”
“Liza, stop talking about them. This is our day.” Will turned to look at her and shaded his eyes from the dazzling sun. “Your red coat makes your hair look like spun gold.”
“Victoria’s lost her beautiful hair—we had to cut it all off.” Liza twirled one of her own curls around her gloved finger.
“Vanity, thy name is woman!” said Will.
“For her whole life, she’s been told her hair is her best feature—and now it’s gone!”
“It’ll grow back,” Will said. “There are worse problems.”
“Her fairness is gone though,” Liza said. “She’ll be a brunette from now on.”
“Alert the royal portraitist!” cried Will in mock alarm.
“Stop!” Liza slapped his arm. “It’s a tragedy for any girl.”
“Liza, if you mention the Princess again, I’ll throttle you. I’ve been waiting for months to see you.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Will.” Liza brushed a lock of hair away from her forehead.
“Kensington Palace is like an ornate birdcage. We flit from one perch to another, chattering about the same things over and over again. I forget what freedom is.”
Will led her to a small stand where a man was renting ice skates. “Shall we?”
Liza nodded eagerly; she knew she was a pretty skater. Will helped her strap the metal blades onto her shoes and led her on to the ice. To her great pleasure, Will skated as well as she did. They glided across the pond, attracting appreciative looks from the other skaters.
“Did you enjoy Christmas?” Will asked.
“We ate well, but it was a lot of work. Victoria’s mother received guests all day; Victoria received carriages full of gifts. We needed three tables to display it all. And every table had an evergreen tree.” Liza sighed. “It reminded me of home.”
“I heard the royal family decorates dead fir trees.”
“Don’t the English have Christmas trees?” Liza asked. “In Germany we always did.”
“A waste of a good tree, if you ask me. A better use would be to make paper. They’re trying to see if wood pulp can be used instead of rag.” He neatly dodged a slower skater.
“No one could ever accuse you of being sentimental.” Liza pulled away from Will and spun, her full skirt flaring out around her. He caught her up and they circled the pond several times. Breathless, but happy, they sat down on a small bench. Will pulled a small package out of his pocket.
Prisoners in the Palace Page 18