Chapter 16 #2
“It is your head either way. Follow me.” The aide-de-camp set a brisk pace despite his short stature, navigating the corridors with ease.
He passed by the Queen’s guards without a word, leading the two women into Her Majesty’s private chambers.
He knocked on a closed door, and after a muffled voice granted him permission, he strode into the room and announced their arrival.
“The Duchess of Atholl and the Marchioness of Normanby are here, as you requested.”
Charity and Selina entered, took one look at the Queen’s expression, and dropped into curtsies so deep they nearly hit the floor.
“Get up.” The Queen struck the floor with her cane with such force that the crack could be felt up Charity’s legs and spine.
Her face blazed crimson, her lips drawn back from her teeth in a snarl that was almost animal.
The lace at her bosom trembled with her heaving breath.
When she spoke to them, her words whipped through the air.
“What have you done, and why am I learning about it first from Marian Fitzroy?”
Charity composed her reply, carefully avoiding the words Lady Fitzroy had leveled in her accusation. “Lord Fitzroy has evoked his right as guardian and brought Lady Lark back to his home.”
“I see.” Queen Charlotte smiled at her then, but it was a hideous, terrifying spectre. “And I presume he came to this decision and acted upon it immediately afterwards? For I cannot imagine you would plot such a thing and not tell me about it in advance.”
“Your Majesty, if I may?” Selina interposed, neatly diverting the Queen’s ire.
“Lord Fitzroy’s sole thought was for his sister’s safety, and he seized the first moment that offered itself.
In truth, it was little better than an improvisation, born of our uncertainty over when mother and daughter might be parted.
Only those strictly necessary were informed.
Any wider confidence would have been folly. ”
Queen Charlotte’s grip on her cane tightened. “Are you suggesting I might have told Lady Fitzroy?”
Selina’s lips curved in the faintest smile.
“No, ma’am—never that. But the walls of Buckingham House and the Palace alike are not famed for their discretion.
Eyes and ears abound where one least expects them.
” She flicked her eyes backwards, reminding the Queen of the footmen stationed at the doors behind her.
Charlotte’s eyes narrowed. Then she banged her cane again to get everyone’s attention and ordered her servants from the room.
“It would not be the first time I have heard that there is a rat or two living in my palace. But it does occur to me to ask, Lady Normanby, how you know that fact as well. One wonders if you may have availed yourself of those outlets of information.”
The marchioness gave the Queen a cat’s paw smile. “Long have I been of the opinion that in our world, information is the only currency that matters, Your Majesty, and I should like to do business with you.”
Charity sucked in a short breath. Selina had said much the same to her, right before adding a warning not to let other people pick her pockets. Now she could see how that bargain played out. Because that was what Selina was offering the Queen—a chance to bargain.
And the canny queen Charlotte knew it too. “I would like the names of the servants pedalling my secrets.”
“A list I could furnish, Your Majesty.” Selina inclined her head, her tone silky. “Yet I might suggest that, in my experience, the names matter less than who is purchasing their information. Such knowledge might be turned to your advantage.”
The Queen’s brow smoothed out. “I am open to further discussion about how one might benefit the other, Lady Normanby. Let us delve into this matter later—after we have dealt with the problem you have created for me.”
Selina looked surprisingly unruffled by her statement. Charity wondered what the marchioness was thinking. She held her tongue as the two of them sat in the indicated pair of chairs near the Queen.
“Tell me, what do you make of Lady Fitzroy’s choice to parade herself here?
” Charlotte speared them each with a glance.
“She is far too shrewd not to grasp that she will find no champion in me. Which leaves the question of what mischief does she hope to stir by placing herself so boldly in my sight?”
“You mean, beyond the discord she intended to create?” were Selina’s blithe words.
“She was not here to gain an ally, Your Majesty, but to strip us of one. You,” Charity added. “She gambled that you did not know about Perry’s intentions. Likely, she was hoping to make you angry enough with us that you would try to force us to give Lady Lark back.”
And judging by the Queen’s closed expression, had come close to succeeding. Recognition of that unspoken fact flitted across Charlotte’s face.
Selina made a subtle gesture to Charity, and Charity held her tongue.
“Time was of the essence, and it would have tipped our hand, ma’am, making the task far more difficult.
Do you recall when we talked about Lark’s marital prospects, back when the sovereigns arrived?
Last night, the duchess came up with a rather disturbing theory about Lady Fitzroy’s plans.
It had the unfortunate reek of probability. ”
This time, the Queen’s expression invited Charity to explain herself, and grateful for Selina’s support, she did—everything they supposed about Lady Fitzroy, the interference with negotiations with the Crown, and a chance to make Lark a princess.
Charlotte’s brows drew lower. “The audacity of that witch. Now I am doubly vexed that I did not know of your little ploy so I could not find a seat to watch the expression on Marian Fitzroy’s face when she realised what you had done.”
“For what it is worth, ma’am, we were also denied the spectacle.
Perhaps we shall get Lord Fitzroy to recount the moment for all of us.
All he told me before I hurried to get here was that the manoeuvre drew blood,” Selina murmured, her drawl wandering towards that of gossiping confidence.
“Is it not the most fitting end to strike back at Marian Fitzroy with her favourite weapon? Kidnapping?”
“Fine. Forgiveness for this stunt granted, if for no other reason than I refuse to hand that woman a victory.” Charlotte pegged them both with a stern look. “Do not keep testing my patience. Is that understood?”
Charity and Selina both bobbed their heads, and Charity marvelled at Selina’s deftness. Lady Normanby had both handled the Queen so adroitly she defused their sovereign’s anger, and she had also managed to give Charity the credit needed to restore herself to the Queen’s good graces.
“We may have an opportunity now. Lady Fitzroy will need Lady Lark returned. If I fail to assist her, what is her next move?” Charlotte asked.
“Would the Russians come to her aid?” Charity asked. She glanced at Selina. “This is more your area of expertise.”
“I doubt it. The footing would be tricky,” Selina murmured, rubbing her lower lip again.
“It will be a bluffing tactic at best. They will not want to disrupt talks over an English girl, but they might use the opportunity to cry insult for some other concessions.
It is far more likely that Lady Fitzroy will take Lark by force or intimidate Peregrine into giving her up.
“But putting Lady Lark aside,” Selina continued, “I do have one other concerning piece of information. Before I left for Hyde Park, one of my gossips came to find me. It seems that a certain Prince Nicholas paid a visit to Rundell, Bridge & Rundell. He specifically asked for something that would appeal to English tastes, Your Majesty.”
“The Russian prince visited the Royal Jewellers? Why would—” the Queen halted abruptly. “No. Surely not. You cannot possibly think he is attempting to court Princess Charlotte now that the negotiations with William are finished. Even his own people would be against it.”
“Would Lady Fitzroy have a hand in that? Does she think she could somehow broker such a match?” Charity asked, aghast.
“Unlikely. But she certainly might whisper such nonsense in the Grand Duchess’s ear,” Charlotte snarled. “The Grand Duchess should know better. Marriage is impossible. Prinny and I will not allow the princess to convert, and neither will the Russians allow Nicholas to abandon his church.”
Selina continued to look thoughtful. “But… perhaps marriage is not the prize at all. Let the princess entangle herself with some wholly unsuitable fancy, and suddenly she is loath to be bartered elsewhere again. England weakened, alliances delayed, two young hearts steered into folly for the sake of disorder? Now that is a game I can believe of those two.”
Charity would believe that of Lady Fitzroy, but to do something so mean-spirited to the princess sounded unlike the Grand Duchess.
They seemed to have something of a genuine fondness for one another.
Perhaps such a match wasn’t quite as impossible or as unsuitable as the Queen thought—at least not if the Grand Duchess was willing to throw her support behind it.
Or perhaps the clever Russian woman was more devious than she thought.
“The Grand Duchess was looking for Princess Charlotte today at Hyde Park. She said Nicholas was keen to speak with the princess,” Charity said reluctantly.
The Queen pointed a ringed finger toward Charity. “See that my granddaughter remembers her duty. She will listen to you, out of all of us. If necessary, pay a visit to the Grand Duchess as well. I will not tolerate even a whiff of scandal between the English and Russian royal heirs.”
Charity rose and then sunk into a curtsy, not rising until the Queen allowed her to do so.
“I must still speak with Lady Fitzroy, but I wish the two of you to listen in on the conversation.” Queen Charlotte growled, pointing at the next room. “Unseen.”
Charity went through the connecting doorway of the dimly lit room first, Selina right behind. Selina pulled the door shut, but caught the handle before it could latch, leaving a narrow slit through which they could see into the Queen’s sitting room.
Charity took a quick glance around behind her, ensuring they were alone, and then lifted her skirts out of the way so she could lower down to the ground. Selina leaned over her, and both women peeked through the gap.
The Queen lifted a bell from a side table and rang it. A footman appeared almost at once.
“Bring Lady Fitzroy to me,” she commanded.
A few minutes later, Marian entered, her curtsy carefully proper.
“I am very surprised by your accusations, Lady Fitzroy,” the Queen said at once.
“Your Majesty, I would not trouble you were it not so grave. Yet today, before all London, my daughter was taken from me. She was spirited away as though we were in some lawless quarter, and not under the Crown’s own eye.
I cannot think it augurs well for your reign if such affronts may be carried out openly,” Marian answered smoothly.
The Queen’s cane rapped once against the floor. “The Crown is not to be dragged into every domestic squabble. Whatever befell your daughter is a matter between yourself and your kin. It touches neither my reign nor my honour.”
Lady Fitzroy’s smile was thin. “Ordinarily I would agree, Your Majesty. Yet it ceases to be a private quarrel when the hand that seized my daughter belonged to your Diamond. When a lady-in-waiting to the Crown aids in abducting a child of the nobility, it cannot be called a family matter. It is a stain upon your household.”
“You speak boldly, Lady Fitzroy. But tell me, how is it that you know the name of any lady said to be involved? Because I have it on good authority that Lady Lark is in the hands of her legal guardian. Her brother—not the Duchess of Atholl.”
Lady Fitzroy’s eyes flickered slightly as she considered the Queen’s awareness of the situation. “When I made inquiries, several people informed me that the last person they saw my daughter with was the duchess.”
Charity took a slow breath.
“Were you there yourself, to see her kidnap Lady Lark with your own eyes? Or do you set the weight upon the whispers of the crowd? Because being seen talking to your daughter, Lady Fitzroy, is not the same as being complicit.”
Lady Fitzroy knew that this course was futile.
Charity watched as the woman trimmed her proverbial sails to catch a different wind.
“I had hoped that if I sought you out, Your Majesty, you would see the sense in helping restore my daughter to me instead of waiting for a scandal to erupt unchecked. Because to be taken by force, from an event attended by the Allied Sovereigns—well, I am sure the Russian cohort will take notice. The Tsar may even ask questions.”
The Queen’s silence was deliberate, impenetrable.
Lady Fitzroy’s smile was brittle, her eyes hard. “Would it not be simpler for all concerned,” she pressed, “to avoid such questions altogether? Perry has had his little jest. If he returns Lark to me, I am prepared to forget this ever occurred.”
“No.” The Queen’s single word cracked. “English law is quite clear. I see no reason why I, Prinny, or even the Tsar of Russia himself should presume to meddle.”
Marian met Queen Charlotte’s gaze directly. “The Russians will meddle, because they value us, Your Majesty. You would risk their ire over the interpretation of a law?”
“Lady Fitzroy, let me be plain. This is my nation. My laws. My people. If you expect me to bow before a foreign ruler, you will wait past your dying breath. I do not yield.”
And then—Marian’s mask slipped.
The polite, subservient lady vanished. Behind the lids of her eyes peered the monster.
“When one lacks the power to maintain their hold, they yield eventually,” she whispered. “Even queens.”
The Queen held her silence, the weight of it more crushing than any retort.
Marian’s lips twisted into a grotesque parody of a smile. Then without a by your leave, she turned, and swept from the room, leaving the air thick with menace.