In the Shadow of a Queen, page 12
Alix was all smiles, and her complexion glowed, making her look ethereal. She was pregnant again, and despite Mama’s comments about pregnant women not attending balls, here was Alix. She didn’t even appear to be wearing a maternity corset.
Inside Marlborough, the gaslight created a glittering halo about the room. Dancers populated the center of the ballroom, moving in sync to the steps that Louise could do with her eyes closed.
Heads turned, whispers were spoken, and Louise knew some of them were about her. But she didn’t mind, not right now. She was here. She was out. She was an adult woman. At last.
She wouldn’t be dancing with anyone new and exciting. Everyone who asked her was an acquaintance and a member of the royal line. It wasn’t so bad to be partnered with an older man, one of the cabinet ministers, was it? Or with one who’d apparently not danced in a while? Louise felt like she was a step and a half ahead, but she tamped down her frustrations with her dance partners and decided that she should be happy to be at the ball in the first place.
Her eyes caught Helena’s, who was dancing with an aged ambassador Louise couldn’t remember the name of. The two sisters’ gazes caught, and Louise was sure that Helena was about as unexcited with her dance partner as Louise was with hers.
The supper dance was next, which Louise and Helena both had to sit out. Royals weren’t allowed to dance the supper dance since the dancers were to sit through supper together, and Louise and Helena had to eat supper with other royals. Louise knew she was different than most of those in attendance, but she’d never felt so different until now. Staying with her mother and siblings in their palaces and holiday homes had kept her away from seeing what she was missing.
And now she was seeing it. The gaiety, the chatter, the switching of partners, the planning of future outings—all of which Louise could never be a part of as a princess.
Loneliness was a strange thing for a young woman to feel when she had so much and was surrounded by so many.
Chapter 14
“Dearest Arthur, I write you a line or two whilst we are still on board. I was so sad at leaving you yesterday, the last I saw of you was when you were surrounded by all those ladies and Colonel Du Plat behind you. What a quantity of people there were, but I was pleased to see that Mama did not mind it very much. . . . I have had nothing to do this morning so I have been drawing the sailors, and Leopold was delighted with them. My head aches very badly and this letter is very stupid so I give you a reason why it is so. I shall write again and tell you how we feel after having slept two nights in the train.”
Letter from Princess Louise
to Prince Arthur, HMY Victoria and Albert, August 9, 1865
August 1865
Louise, age 17
coburg was beautiful in August, and Louise had found many things to sketch. Mama had insisted they make another trip to Germany for a very significant meeting, plus the unveiling of a statue of their father. All of her siblings had come, and Coburg was overrun with royals and courtiers. Being away from the social events of the season was a relief to Mama, but Louise felt a bit mopey, knowing the fun that Sybil was having without her. Even though Sybil was an acceptable close friend, Mama still hadn’t let Louise attend Sybil’s come-out ball.
Louise sat in Rosenau—the childhood home of her father—at the bedroom window, sketching. Outside the Schloss garden was in bloom, with roses and delphiniums everywhere, burgeoning the air with their heady, sweet scents. Instead of sketching flowers, she’d been sketching the scenes from their travels on the royal yacht. Particularly the sailors. She wondered if she dared create a sculpture of a sailor. No. Not even she would be that courageous. Women sculptors were relegated to sculpting women, children, or animals. Never the male body. When she’d told Arthur about her latest series of sketches, he’d teased her about enjoying the yacht voyage too much.
“Loosy, are you going to sit around all day?” Leo tapped on her partially opened door.
Louise looked over at him. He was twelve now, and he’d been more than healthy the past few months. Nothing could make her happier.
He folded his arms and leaned against the doorframe. “Let’s go on a ride together before the sun sets.”
“Are you sure you’re up to it, little brother?”
His eyes sparked. “I’ll race you to the stables.”
Before Louise could say another word, he took off down the hallway. Louise dropped her sketchbook, grabbed her shoes, and fled after him. They both came to an abrupt stop at the top of the stairs. The staff would certainly report them for running through the house. Germans were so fussy and strict. And boorish, especially the men, Louise had decided.
“Wait.” Louise sat at the top of the stairs and drew on her short boots, then laced them up. When she rose, she and Leo descended the stairs with practiced calm, not raising anyone’s ire with pounding footsteps.
Riding horses with Leo took her mind off the fact that tonight her sister Helena would meet Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg. He and his mother would be arriving at Rosenau this evening.
All was not well, though. Once Bertie had learned that Mama was in favor of the potential match, the family had been sharply divided. Vicky, Alfred, and Alice were all in favor of Christian. But since the Augustenburg family was a sworn enemy of Denmark, and therefore Alix’s family, that set the Prince and Princess of Wales against Prince Christian.
“Do you think she’ll like him?” Leo asked Louise as they slowed their horses atop a knoll. They’d been riding slowly about the gardens and hill for over an hour and needed to return soon to prepare for the supper.
Louise scanned the little River Itz below. “It’s hard to say with Helena. She wants to marry, though, and with Mama so critical of her appearance, I think she is more worried if Prince Christian will like her.”
“Do you think she’ll be picky with her decision? Or agree to the first man Mama approves of in order to have her own household?”
This was a very good question indeed. And one that went to the very center of Louise, for if and when Helena married, Louise was next in line to help Mama. And the queen’s stubbornness continued to clash with Louise’s own.
“Mama has made it clear that whoever Helena marries, he will have to live in England.”
“That narrows the field by a lot.”
Yes. Alice’s husband, Ludwig, had refused to live in England, and there was no way Vicky could have brought her husband, the Crown Prince of Prussia, to England.
Above all else, Louise would like to see her sister happy. “Oh, I forgot I told Helena I’d help her dress tonight.” She turned the horse around with a skilled hand. “She’ll be put out if I’m late.”
Leo’s gaze met hers as he turned his horse around too. “She’ll be surprised if you’re on time, that’s what.”
Louise smirked. She couldn’t help it if she was frequently late. There were so many things to do, and she was always running out of time.
“We’re all growing up, Loosy. Soon you’ll be searching out a husband, since Mama has reconciled herself to having Beatrice be the one to attend her in her later years.”
Louise laughed. “I’m in no hurry to marry. I can wait years and years.” It wasn’t that she didn’t appreciate the men in her life, but she’d just started to enjoy a little more freedom. Even though the court functions were all accompanied by family members, she couldn’t imagine herself a wife yet and, heaven forbid, going through childbirth to become a mother.
Although Vicky had married at seventeen and had a baby the very next year, Louise felt that sort of future for her was ages away. Besides, she couldn’t very well leave Mama when Beatrice was only eight years old.
Once they returned to the Schloss, Louise hurried to Helena’s room, where she found a flustered sister.
“Where were you?” Helena said. Never mind that Alice and Vicky were both there. “Can you fix these bows, Loosy?”
“Of course.” Louise’s face burned as she knelt and tied the limp bows into neat formations.
“Bertie’s threatened not to appear at dinner tonight,” Alice said, her tone worried.
“Bertie wouldn’t dare defy Mama,” Vicky pronounced, always the wiser and more exacting of the sisters. “He might bluster about it all, but he’ll be perfectly polite when it comes down to it.”
“Well, Bertie wants his opinion considered,” Alice said, “and not always dismissed out of hand.”
Louise noticed the distress on Helena’s face. “Let’s not worry about Bertie. He’ll come around.”
Helena touched the diamond earrings at her earlobes. “I don’t know about that. Even if he tries to make peace, it will be too late.”
Louise drew in a breath. What was Prince Christian walking into?
Alice’s face had grown tight, and Louise sensed that she’d talked to Bertie privately and was becoming more sympathetic to him. But what could any of them do? Mama had invited the prince and his mother. They’d be here in less than an hour.
Once Helena was primmed, laced, and ruffled, Louise went to her own room to dress. She’d be wearing something simpler, and in mourning gray, but she was happy for Helena, who’d shine tonight.
It didn’t take long to get ready, so Louise went into the library until it was time for dinner. Just as she found a book to browse through, Bertie strode in, tension rolling off his shoulders.
“Have you talked to Helena about what a fool she’s being?”
Louise opened her mouth, then shut it. Bertie wasn’t even looking at her but had stopped at the bank of windows. Gazing out of them, he clasped his hands behind his back. “This will be a catastrophe, Loosy.”
He turned then, his blue eyes piercing, but not completely focusing on her. “The London papers are already full of it.” He paced to a chair, then back to the windows and folded his arms. “What will it mean if Helena marries a member of the August family? How will it affect my own in-laws and their position on the Danish throne if our family forms this alliance?”
He rushed on, not giving Louise any chance to reply. “Helena marries this prince and then what? You’ll become the buffer between Mama and the rest of us. Is that what you want? Do you want to be the target of the newspapers that are unhappy with how Mama is neglecting her public duties? Papa’s been gone for nearly four years. Yet, the queen is running the country through her daughters, right after they’re out of the schoolroom. I am the heir to the throne, yet Mama refuses to include me in state affairs and has yet to ever inform me of cabinet proceedings.”
Louise ignored the barbs. “You’re still the Prince of Wales,” she said in as calm a voice as she could muster. “You’re still Mama’s heir. Everyone knows and respects that.”
“Respects?” Bertie gave a dry laugh. “They follow the queen’s lead. Don’t you see, Loosy? Mama will bring in a prince for her darling Helena, mandate that he live in England, then continue using Helena as a shield from the rest of the world. What do you think will happen?”
It was so obvious now that Louise couldn’t believe she hadn’t seen it before. “She’ll take Prince Christian into her confidence and elevate him as high as she can.”
Bertie nodded, his bloodshot eyes boring into Louise. “Now someone gets it!”
Louise curled her fingers tight. “Even if Mama gives him titles and property, you are still the heir, Bertie. It’s your birthright. And after you, it’s Eddie. No one can take that away from either of you.”
For a moment, Louise thought he’d argue with her. Instead, he exhaled slowly and closed his eyes. Louise waited.
When he finally opened his eyes, he said, “When Papa died, I felt crushed with guilt.” He lifted a hand. “I don’t need platitudes right now. But I was convinced I would work my way back into Mama’s confidence and good graces. That she would trust me again.”
“You need to be patient with Mama,” Louise said. “She is slow to warm up to things, as you know. Eventually she’ll have a better perspective about how our family should function.”
Bertie’s expression didn’t soften. “I used to believe that too. I used to believe that our family would be restored to something noble. Then John Brown came along and interfered all over again.”
Louise released a breath. John Brown had been Papa’s ghillie, but after his death, John had been brought into Mama’s household as the keeper of her pony. He quickly became a personal attendant. She’d already created two medals for him—the Faithful Servant Medal and the Devoted Service Medal. It seemed that she valued his opinion more than almost anyone else’s.
Bertie rubbed a hand over his face. “Nevertheless, as someday head of this family, I will do my duty tonight. I will meet Christian at dinner. I will shake his hand. Greet him as one royal to another. But I do not endorse a match between our families. From this point on, I can’t be involved in family matters. I have my own family to take care of.”
Louise swallowed down the emotion clogging her throat. Bertie had always taken her side in things. Life was always more lively when Bertie was around, and she loved Alix dearly. She didn’t want him to make himself scarce.
He crossed to the door and rested his hand on the latch. “I fear for our future, Loosy. Your future and mine. Wars are breaking out all across the Continent, and there’s a growing republican movement at home. The queen can’t afford to hide behind stone castle walls, ignoring her people who provide her living, and playing matchmaker with a family who are enemies to my wife.”
Bertie stalked out of the library, leaving behind tangible tension in the room.
Louise had seen the excitement in Helena, she’d felt the support from Mama, and she’d also seen the fear in Bertie’s eyes. What would become of them all?
She waited until the last possible moment to descend for dinner; she needed the time to compose herself and to make a few decisions. It struck her that Helena had the upper hand because Mama found the match suitable. So if Helena decided she liked Prince Christian well enough, then Bertie’s opinions would be left in the dust.
Leo joined her outside the library. “I heard Bertie cornered you.”
“He shared his opinions,” Louise said. “I agree with him, but it’s still up to Helena. We know Mama will support her since she arranged this meeting in the first place.”
Leo looked like he wanted to say more, but they were too public now as they walked down the stairs.
Vicky entered the great hall. Louise wished she would have brought her older children with her. Since this was a shorter trip, Vicky hadn’t brought all five—just the youngest, baby Sigi.
“Well, Loosy, what do you think?” Vicky threaded her arm through hers.
“About what?” Louise would never tell her sister that her English had become accented from speaking so much German in Prussia.
“Helena and Prince Christian, of course.”
Louise’s ears were still burning from Bertie’s declarations, and she didn’t want Vicky to use Louise as part of her argument. “Helena can make up her own mind.” That was true, to an extent. “If Mama is pleased, then there is little any of us can do or say.”
Vicky chuckled. “Right you are, but once Helena marries, you will have Mama’s ear.”
Louise swallowed down the dread. Helena fielded letters from their older siblings when they were in a dispute with Mama over something. Now, Vicky wanted to be assured Louise was her ally.
“If Helena agrees to marry Christian,” Vicky continued in a confidential tone, “and he agrees to live in England, as Mama will request, then that leaves you more options to marry. There’s more than one eligible Prussian prince who might interest you.” She tapped Louise’s arm and smiled. “You’ll live close to me. What fun we’ll have.”
Fun wasn’t how Louise would ever describe Vicky. More like fussy and domineering.
Louise had been in the presence of plenty of Prussian men. Royal and nonroyal. She’d never found anything remotely “interesting” about them. They were all boorish, stiff, opinionated. Only interested in their own conversation. Not to mention Louise had to fight not to wrinkle her nose when she was around Prussian men. They smelled bad, like they’d never heard of bathing with soap and water. Plain and simple, Louise wouldn’t marry a Prussian.
But right now wasn’t the time to express her decided opinions on the matter. They had an Augustenburg prince to meet.
Louise and Vicky followed Leo into the drawing room where Prince Christian stood in the middle of the room with his mother. He was certainly older than Louise had expected—his hairline had already begun receding. His eyes were kind though, and perhaps that was the more important attribute.
Helena hadn’t arrived yet, but Bertie and Alix were there, along with Alice and her husband, Ludwig. Affie walked in next, and introductions were made all around. Bertie moved away from the circle, keeping his hands behind his back and his face expressionless. Louise knew he was making a great deal of effort to not say anything contrary.
Then Mama entered, dressed in all black. Helena and Bea walked in at her side, both wearing gray—not even this occasion had relaxed Mama’s standards of mourning dress.
Christian bowed to the queen first and responded in kind to her greeting. But his eyes strayed to Helena, and his gaze swept her appearance.
As for Helena, her blush from earlier had returned. She extended her hand and murmured a greeting. She looked so serious that Louise wanted to tell everyone a funny story to bring about the smiles again, but she was gratified to see the prince smile. And it reached his eyes, which told her it was genuine.
Could Prince Christian love Helena? Could their match be a happy one? Would Helena agree to marry him? Surely he hadn’t come all this way not to propose, unless there was something truly off. The way they were stealing glances at each other and the smile that continued to play on the prince’s lips told Louise that neither of them were opposed to each other based on appearance.
