The Summer Queen

by Margaret Pemberton

  There were times – and this was one of them – when May was sorely tempted to tell her mother what the true situation had been, and of how dishonourably and appallingly Frank had behaved towards Maudie. Again, she thought of how devastated her mother would be if she were to know what the true situation had been, and so she fought the temptation. Far better that her mother was disappointed in Maudie than that she ever learned the truth about Frank’s treatment of her, and of his involvement with a much older, married woman.

  As her mother popped a mint humbug into her mouth and mercifully fell silent, May wondered if the nameless woman in Frank’s life had perhaps joined Frank abroad, although she couldn’t possibly have joined him immediately, because when they finally received a letter from Frank, it was one telling them he was staying with some of their father’s Württemberg relations who had a summer villa in Switzerland on the south side of Lake Constance.

  A few weeks later had come a postcard from Cannes, and then one from Monte Carlo.

  ‘Monte Carlo,’ her father had gasped, poleaxed, and had fallen ashen-faced into an armchair. ‘Blackjack, baccarat, roulette! The boy is going to be ruined! And if we have to pick up his gambling debts, we are going to be ruined.’

  When May had given Dolly an unedited account of what had led to Frank’s exile, his reaction had been simply to say, pale with shock, ‘God, what a fool Frank is! If he’d married Maudie, she would have been the saving of him. As it is, he’s ruined his life – or is well on the way to doing so.’

  It had been an opinion that May had fully agreed with.

  On her arrival at Marlborough House, and escorted by a footman, May made her way to a small, little-used drawing room that Maudie had made her own.

  As soon as she entered it, Maudie ran towards her and hugged her hard. ‘You’re a life-saver, May Teck. Just the fact that, when I’m with you, I don’t have to pretend not to be heartbroken is worth its weight in gold. You have no idea how tiring pretending can be.’ They moved across to a chintz-covered sofa and, sitting down, she said, ‘What’s the latest news from Frank, May? Is he still in Cannes?’

  ‘No. His last postcard was from Monte Carlo.’

  ‘Monte Carlo?’ Maudie managed a wry smile. ‘I’m glad he’s somewhere it’s easy to imagine him being. Frank and Switzerland were never an obvious match.’ Adjusting her ankle-length skirt, she curled her legs beneath her. ‘I know you think my continually talking about Frank, and asking where he is, is no help to my getting over him, and so I promise I’m going to stop asking you about him. I’d like to tell you some good news now, but all I have is bad news.’

  She gave May a few seconds to steel herself for what she was about to tell her and then said, ‘Irène and Heinrich’s little boy, Waldemar, has inherited the family bleeding disease. They were both so certain that he hadn’t, for there had been no long period of bleeding from his navel after birth, as happened with Irène’s brother, Frittie, who bled to death when he was three. After first having believed that Waldemar was free of the family curse, Irène and Heinrich are devastated.’

  May’s heart went out to both of them, but especially to Irène, who would see herself as responsible for having transmitted the disease to Waldemar. The Queen had been the first person in the family to be a known carrier, and although the disease bypassed three of her four sons, her youngest son, Leopold, had inherited the disease and had died of it. That only females were carriers of it, and that only males ever suffered from it, was the most sinister aspect of haemophilia and caused a great deal of anxiety among the women in the family, fearing they might pass it on to any children they had. It was a fear that only May – a second cousin to the Queen, and not a direct descendant – was mercifully free of.

  ‘And if that news isn’t bad enough,’ Maudie continued, ‘Granny Queen has said that because of Hélène’s Roman Catholicism, under no circumstances can Eddy marry Hélène, which really doesn’t seem fair, when both Papa and Motherdear are so happy at the thought of having Hélène as a daughter-in-law, and when Hélène’s parents are equally happy at the thought of having Eddy as a son-in-law.’

  May’s instant reaction was to be appalled at how crushed and shattered Eddy must now be feeling. Her second reaction was total mystification that such a reaction from the Queen hadn’t been anticipated by Eddy’s father. She could only assume that, like Eddy, the Prince of Wales had been under the impression that Hélène’s royal status meant the religious barrier was one that could be overcome.

  Maudie said, ‘Eddy and Hélène are discussing the situation with Papa now and, when they have finished doing so, they will be joining us. Eddy says you are so clear-sighted he thinks you may be able to suggest a way round their difficulties. Have I to ring for some tea and biscuits? Or, as it’s such a hot day, would you prefer iced lemonade?’

  Suppressing with difficulty the longing for a small whisky, May said, ‘Lemonade would be lovely, Maudie.’

  When she had rung for the footman and asked for iced lemonade, Maudie uncurled her legs, saying, ‘The only shred of good news is that Granny Queen is being very supportive of Georgie’s intention to ask for Missy’s hand in marriage, the minute Missy turns sixteen.’

  May remembered how flirtatious Missy had been at Marie-Louise’s birthday party, and how Ducky had ridiculed the idea of Missy feeling about Georgie as he did about her.

  ‘I think,’ she said cautiously, ‘that Aunt Marie may have other plans in mind for Missy.’

  ‘Well, if she has, they won’t count for much. It’s Granny Queen who has the last word where royal marriages are concerned.’

  As Maudie finished speaking, Eddy and Hélène walked into the room, arm-in-arm and pale-faced.

  Maudie sprang to her feet. ‘I told May you would be joining us. I’ll ring for more lemonade.’

  May stood up and Hélène slid her arm from Eddy’s and walked quickly across to her.

  ‘Dear May, it’s so very nice to see you.’ She took both of May’s hands in hers and squeezed them tightly. ‘Eddy thinks you may have some ideas as to what we must do, in order to persuade the Queen to allow us to marry.’ Her blue, black-lashed eyes glittered with tears that she was trying to hold back. ‘Eddy and I love each other so very much and we are willing to do anything – anything at all – in order that we can marry.’

  May had never before felt herself to be in such an embarrassingly difficult situation. Because of her own secret feelings for Eddy, she wanted to do everything she could to further his happiness, and nothing was more certain than that marriage to Hélène would achieve that aim. It was obvious Hélène genuinely loved him and wouldn’t be marrying him out of a sense of duty, as would Mossy, or any other royal candidate the Queen might propose.

  Her problem was that she didn’t want him to marry at all. While he was still single she could cherish the daydream of Eddy one day having romantic feelings for her. And if she wanted to continue with that daydream, she should now say that she couldn’t think of anything that could possibly help them. But at the sight of Hélène’s distraught face and the despair in the set of Eddy’s shoulders as he walked over to the drinks cabinet, she knew, even as the thought came, that it was one she would never act on.

  Eddy poured himself a shot of brandy and said, ‘The letter Hélène’s father wrote to Cardinal Manning received an unoptimistic reply, May. According to him, the law that prevents an heir to the throne from marrying a Catholic could only be overturned with the agreement of both Houses of Parliament – and according to my father, that is as likely as pigs flying.’

  An emotionally drained Hélène sank exhaustedly into a nearby armchair. ‘And so, short of changing my religion, or Eddy stepping out of the succession, we don’t know what to do next. Eddy thinks you may be able to help us, May, for he says you are wonderfully sensible and clear-sighted.’

  It wasn’t the mundane way in which May wanted to be thought of by Eddy, but it was better than him not thinking of her at all.

 
‘What did the Queen say, when the two of you told her you wanted to marry?’ she asked, struggling to think of a way out of the impasse.

  ‘We haven’t spoken to her ourselves.’ Eddy downed his brandy and walked over to Hélène’s chair, then put an arm lovingly around her shoulders. ‘Once I told my father I wished to marry Hélène, he was so pleased he took it upon himself to tell Granny immediately.’

  May’s disbelief was total. ‘But you have to speak to her yourselves! Once she sees how deeply in love the two of you are, she may well speak to the Prime Minister and some kind of a solution might then be found.’

  ‘Do you truly think so?’

  ‘Yes. I truly think so. Beneath her stern exterior, the Queen is very sentimental, and your father speaking on your behalf wouldn’t have touched her heart in the same way that the two of you going hand-in-hand to speak to her would do.’

  ‘Then that,’ Eddy said slowly and with renewed hope, ‘is exactly what we’re going to do.’

  Maudie went on, ‘Granny Queen is at Balmoral. It’s an awful long way to go.’

  ‘No, it isn’t. If I thought it would result in my being able to marry Hélène, I’d happily walk barefoot to the ends of the earth.’

  ‘You look extraordinarily tired, pet lamb,’ her mother said, when May returned home to White Lodge. ‘I really don’t think it does you any good seeing so much of Maudie. However, Papa has exciting news for you. It’s so exciting that I think you should sit down and take a couple of deep breaths before he joins us and tells you it.’

  May was in no mood for news, exciting or otherwise. Accepting that Eddy was in love with Hélène had been one thing. Hearing the intensity in his voice when he’d said he’d walk barefoot to the ends of the earth to marry her had been quite another, and all she wanted was to go to her room and get her feelings under control in private.

  Removing her hat and taking off her gloves, she sat down at the large table around which so many family discussions had taken place – not least the discussion as to where, on the continent, they should move to, in order to fulfil the Queen’s request that they live more cheaply. Although they hadn’t realized it at the time, Florence had ended up being the happiest decision that, as a family, they had ever taken. She closed her eyes, overcome by the longing to be back there, living a carefree life within sight of the Arno once again at the golden-walled Villa I Cedri.

  ‘There you are!’ Her father erupted into the room as if he had been out scouring the country for her for hours. ‘And you are already sitting down? Good. Good.’ He seated himself opposite her, far more flushed in the face than was usual. ‘I have here,’ and he took a letter bearing a royal crest that May was unfamiliar with from his waistcoat pocket, ‘a formal request for your hand in marriage. Now, what do you think of that, May? Isn’t that a turn-up for the books?’

  It certainly was. The blood drummed in May’s ears. Who on earth was it who had asked for her hand in marriage? No one she could remember meeting had made any kind of overture towards her – and, intriguingly, the crest had most definitely been foreign.

  ‘Who is it who wants to marry me, Papa?’ She was filled with such hope she could hardly get the words past her lips, for it had to be someone uncaring of the fact that she had no dowry, and who was indifferent to her semi-royal status.

  ‘It is someone who will most certainly have your Aunt Queen’s approval and who, because of his nationality, has my approval also.’

  ‘Yes, Papa. But please. A name.’

  The Duke of Teck smoothed his hand across the heavy cream-coloured paper of the impressively crested letter. ‘He is a German prince, May. Ernst Gunther, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein.’

  She stared at him blankly. Among all the vast ramifications of European royalty, it was a name totally unknown to her.

  Seeing her bewilderment, her father said helpfully, ‘Ernst Gunther is the Kaiser’s brother-in-law. It is a very suitable match, Pussy-cat.’

  ‘And he is a nephew of Uncle Christian’s,’ her mother said. ‘Dolly tells me you danced with him at Marie-Louise’s birthday party.’

  As fast as they had been raised, May’s hopes crashed and died. She now knew who Ernst Gunther was. He was the uninspiring dance partner who had spoken not a word to her, and who had smelled unpleasantly of pear drops. If she accepted his proposal, she would no longer be an outsider in the royal European family circle, for she would become an integral part of Kindred Spirit Willy’s family life. Empress Dona would be her sister-in-law. She would have a home of her own, probably several of them. Her financial future – and her parents’ financial future – would be secure. In all likelihood she would have children.

  But for all of these blessings she would pay a very high price. She would live out her life with a partner she didn’t love. There would be marital intimacies to be endured with a man she found repellent.

  She remembered the passion in Hélène’s voice when she had said that she and Eddy loved each other so very much they were willing to do anything – anything at all – in order that they could marry.

  It was how she wanted to feel some day about someone; and she wasn’t going to settle for anything less. She pushed her chair away from the table and rose unsteadily to her feet. ‘Please thank Prince Ernst for his proposal, Papa, and tell him it is one I will not be accepting.’

  And ignoring her parents’ stunned disbelief, well aware that she had turned down the only marriage proposal she was ever likely to receive, May walked from the room, her only consolation being her certainty that she had made the right decision.

  Chapter Eighteen

  JUNE 1891, WINDSOR

  ‘I want to know everything that happened in detail, right from when, having acted on your suggestion, Eddy and Hélène spoke to Granny Queen themselves.’

  Alicky and May were seated in a quiet corner of Windsor Castle’s gardens. It had been a long time since they’d had the opportunity to exchange news and gossip face-to-face and even though they had kept in touch with each other regularly by letter, Alicky wanted a verbal account of Eddy and Hélène’s year-long battle to be able to marry.

  ‘But why?’ May was mystified. ‘You already know the final outcome.’

  ‘Yes, and you’ve been very good at keeping me up to date on all the family news, but it’s a lot different being told what happened, from simply reading about what happened. What was it Eddy and Hélène said that changed Granny Queen’s mind?’

  It was a scorching hot day and even though they had sought a patch of shade beneath a tree, both of them had their parasols open. May adjusted hers on her shoulder a little more comfortably.

  ‘According to Eddy, they went in to see her hand-in-hand, and he told the Queen very directly that they were devoted to each other, that they wished to marry and hoped she would help them.’

  ‘And all this after she had told his father that such a marriage was absolutely impossible?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Goodness.’ Alicky was deeply impressed. ‘Whoever would have thought Eddy would have so much backbone? I doubt if even Granny Queen’s prime minister would have the nerve to persist in such a way, after first having received a very definite royal refusal. And so was it then that Granny Queen changed her mind about things?’

  ‘No. She only changed her mind about consulting the government when Hélène said she would forsake her religion and become a Protestant if, in doing so, it meant she and Eddy could marry.’

  ‘I thought that very extreme of her.’ Alicky could be annoyingly self-righteous at times. ‘Totally committed as I am to Nicky, I would never give up my religion for him. When Mama contacted me from beyond the grave, she asked me never to forget my confirmation vows and it is something I will never, ever do, and Nicky would never ask it of me.’

  ‘Eddy didn’t ask it of Hélène, but the poor girl was so desperate, it was the only thing she could think of that might enable them to marry.’

  ‘I still wouldn’t have done it. Being a Lu
theran is far too important to me.’

  Having known Alicky for so long, May knew there was no give in her at all, once she had taken a stance on something. She also knew, from Alicky’s letters to her, that since her visit to St Petersburg, when she had decided that Nicky was the love of her life, there had been no opportunity for the two of them to meet again, and that no formal question of their marrying had ever been broached. If it was broached, Alicky being Lutheran when Nicky was Russian Orthodox would – unless Alicky was willing to adopt Russian Orthodoxy – be just as much of a stumbling block to their marrying, as Hélène’s Roman Catholicism had been, when it had come to her and Eddy wanting to marry.

  Deciding that nothing would be achieved by pointing this out to Alicky, May went on, ‘And although the Prime Minister still found objections to raise, permission might have been granted, but when Hélène’s father was told of what it was she was intending to do, he said the idea was impossible and that he wouldn’t give his consent to a marriage made under those conditions. And under French law, Hélène can’t marry without his permission until she’s twenty-five.’

  ‘And so Hélène went to Rome and threw herself at the Pope’s feet?’

  ‘And came away from the Vatican utterly defeated. Eddy had proposed that he relinquish his succession to the throne, marry Hélène, who would still remain a Catholic – all on the understanding that any children they had would be brought up Protestant and would retain their rights of succession. The Pope utterly vetoed the idea of children of a mixed marriage being brought up Protestant, and so that was the end of all their hopes. On her return to England, Hélène broke off their engagement and her parents have taken her abroad. I don’t think they’ll return with her until Eddy has reconciled himself to a royal duty marriage with someone of the Queen’s choosing – something he now has no option but to do.’ With difficulty, she kept her relief that Eddy wouldn’t be marrying Hélène from showing in her voice.