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  Because the Queen was quick-witted and disliked wasting time when it was unnecessary, she said now and her voice sharpened,

  “Who is asking for my help this time? I suppose I must listen to a tale of woe even though, as you know, my Lord, I am quite incapable of doing anything about it.”

  “That is exactly, Your Majesty,” the Earl replied, “what the Prime Minister said to me only yesterday when unexpectedly we received a visit from Count Yuri Unkar from Samosia.”

  The Queen knitted her brow.

  “Samosia?” she quizzed him. “Where is that?”

  “It is quite a small Principality, ma’am,” the Earl answered. “But, as Your Majesty will doubtless remember it is low down in the Balkans and nearer to the Aegean. It was where Your Majesty sent the British Battleships which successfully turned back the Russian Army.”

  “Of course I remember,” the Queen answered him sharply. “But, as I have told you already, my Lord, I have no more brides for the Principalities and they must learn to fight for themselves.”

  There was silence for a moment and then the Earl said slowly,

  “That is exactly what Mr. Gladstone said to me last night. But on thinking it over, because I am so sorry for the young Prince Ivor, who I happen to like very much, I suddenly remembered someone Your Majesty has clearly forgotten.”

  The Queen looked at him in surprise.

  “Someone I have forgotten,” she repeated. “But I have gone through all my relations and, of course, those of my dear husband most carefully. I really cannot find one more who would be ready to sacrifice herself to save a Balkan Prince.”

  “All the same, ma’am” the Earl said quietly, “it was nearly dawn when I suddenly thought of someone we had all forgotten.”

  The Queen looked at him again.

  He knew that Her Majesty was intrigued and that she was waiting for him to say more.

  He deliberately took his time before he spoke again,

  “Of course Your Majesty was very young when it happened and I daresay if your mother spoke of it at all it was not in your presence.”

  “Who are you talking about?” the Queen asked him firmly.

  At the same time the Earl realised that she was now very interested and in fact intrigued.

  He therefore took his time before he continued,

  “I am sure as a little girl nothing that could hurt or upset you was spoken of in your presence. Certainly not anything that caused a great deal of chatter and disapproval at the time.”

  Now the Queen was obviously thinking back into her childhood.

  After what was almost a poignant silence she said,

  “You have aroused my curiosity, my Lord, but I must admit that I cannot understand what you are trying to say.”

  “I am quite sure that Your Majesty has never given a thought to it since you became Queen,” the Earl went on. “But then the older members of Your Majesty’s family will surely recall the tremendous commotion and upset there was when your cousin, a handsome young man of twenty-seven, married beneath him and was then, to all intents and purposes, thrown out of the family.”

  Her Majesty drew in her breath.

  Then she gave a little cry.

  “Now I know who you are talking about. It is my cousin Prince Vladimir of Leiningen you are talking about, is it not?”

  “I am indeed, ma’am,” he confirmed, “and while Your Majesty has not seen Prince Vladimir since he left the family in disgrace, I can tell you that he is a very happy man and his marriage has been a very successful one.”

  The Queen looked at him as if she could hardly believe what he was saying.

  Then, in a very different voice from the one she had used previously, she said scathingly,

  “To an actress, to a woman who performs in public, that is impossible!”

  “Sometimes in life, ma’am,” the Earl replied, “the impossible becomes the possible. In this case I have never known a man as happy as Prince Vladimir. I know that neither he nor his wife have ever regretted that they were brave enough to snub Society and be married despite the fact that they would be isolated.”

  “You say that the marriage has been a success?” the Queen asked curiously.

  “A complete and absolute success. If Your Majesty would look back and perhaps talk to someone who was alive at the time, you will remember that Prince Vladimir’s wife was not, as was presumed at the time, a common girl, who wished to portray herself on the stage merely because she was pretty enough to please the men watching her.”

  The Earl paused.

  Then, as the Queen did not speak, he carried on,

  “She was a brilliant pianist. Because the music she composed pleased so many people, she was invited to play her own music in the theatre and, perhaps unfortunately, her piece was included in one of the most successful and the most talked about shows that took place in London at the time.”

  “It should have been impossible,” the Queen said with disapproval in her voice, “for a Prince of the Royal Blood to marry such a woman.”

  “That is just what your mother and a great number of other people said,” he replied. “But they did marry and they left London and, as far as I know, have never been back since.”

  “Then where are they now?” the Queen enquired as if she could not help being curious.

  “They have been living quietly in Devon,” the Earl told her. “As far as I can make out, they have never been anywhere near London since they left all those years ago immediately after their marriage.”

  “In Devon!” the Queen exclaimed. “How did you meet them, my Lord?”

  “On a brief holiday I took recently, when I stopped my yacht not far from Plymouth.”

  The Earl could see how intrigued the Queen was and he continued,

  “As I stepped ashore, I saw a man with a very pretty girl beside him. He was about to board a small ship that had just come into Port. After I had taken a second glance at him, I realised to my surprise that the man was Prince Vladimir himself.”

  The Queen did not interrupt him and the Earl went on,

  “He was just as handsome as he had been when we were at Oxford together. He had still kept that youthful air which made one feel that everything that happened to him was exciting. He certainly appeared to be delighted to see me and we reminisced for quite a while about our time at University together.”

  “I understood at the time that he had disappeared completely,” the Queen said, “and no one knew where he was.”

  ”That is true, ma’am,” the Earl confirmed. “A great many people thought that he had gone abroad. As they said, it was the right place for him after marrying beneath himself in such a disgraceful manner.”

  He hesitated and then the Queen asked,

  “But they were mistaken?”

  “Very much mistaken as it happens, ma’am. They are, although it may be difficult to believe it, still blissfully happy and still thrilled with each other. In fact it would be somewhat difficult for me to say that I have ever seen two people happier than they are.”

  “How extraordinary!” the Queen exclaimed.

  “Of course now Prince Vladimir has a family, the eldest being a very beautiful girl called Linetta.”

  There was silence and then the Queen enquired,

  “Does my cousin still call himself Prince?”

  “They live in a very small village in the centre of Devon,” the Earl explained. “I think the people there know all about him and admire him as much as he was admired when he was one of the smartest and most popular young gentlemen in London.”

  There was a short pause before the Queen asked, as if she could not help herself,

  “And his wife?”

  “His wife is still very beautiful and I believe is still playing the piano brilliantly as she did in the theatre.”

  The Queen coughed and commented,

  “I cannot really believe what you are suggesting, my Lord,”

  The Earl smiled.


  “I knew that Your Majesty would guess without my telling you why we are talking about your cousin.”

  “How old is the girl?” the Queen demanded.

  “Linetta is twenty on her next birthday and not only as beautiful as her mother, but if I am to believe her father, she is just as talented.”

  “So she plays the piano too,” the Queen retorted. “Is she going on the stage as well – ?”

  “Most certainly not, ma’am,” the Earl replied and there was a sharpness to his voice.

  He composed himself a little before he went on,

  “Prince Vladimir has very decided ideas about his family. The boys, I understand, have gone to Eton, but are not using their title because it might prejudice people at the school in one way or another to treat them differently to the other boys.”

  “And the girl?” the Queen asked.

  “Linetta, I understand, is called Lady Linetta by the village people simply because her father’s friends call her that to save any embarrassment.”

  “And my cousin himself?” the Queen enquired as if it was an effort to do so.

  “He explained to me that he thought it would be a big mistake to be a Prince, especially as he had no wish for people to know the trouble he had caused in his family. So he merely calls himself Baron, which naturally is quite true as he is one as well as being a Prince.”

  “And his wife has been content with all this?” the Queen asked as if it did not seem possible.

  “She is content with anything as long as it makes him happy. That is why I can say quite honestly to Your Majesty that they are indeed the happiest couple that I have ever met and as much in love now as when they ran away together.”

  He was thinking as he spoke of the commotion the scandal had caused in the Royal family at the time.

  And how the newspapers had tried so hard to find out where they had gone and failed.

  Because Prince Vladimir had been so well known in the London Social world and continually written about in the Court columns, the idea of him running away with a girl in the theatre was, of course, a major sensation at the time and the gossips had a field day.

  It was the sort of news that was reported in detail in every newspaper at the time.

  Now, like so much in life, all the excitement had gradually died away.

  Prince Vladimir and his beautiful actress wife, once they had vanished from London, were eventually forgotten and no one asked about them again.

  As if the Queen knew just what he was thinking, she remarked,

  “And they were certainly extremely clever at hiding themselves away. They were even forgotten by my own family.”

  “But now I have found them.” the Earl replied. “It seems to me, ma’am, that Linetta is the perfect prospect for Your Majesty to now suggest as a bride for Prince Ivor of Samosia.”

  He paused before he went on,

  “After all she is a Princess by birth. I just cannot imagine that a stigma of any sort will be an obstacle after all these years have passed by when her father and mother have been out of sight and out of mind.”

  He gave a little laugh before he added,

  “Even I was rather surprised to see them alive. I felt almost apologetic for not having realised before how cleverly they had hidden themselves away and so had been forgotten by the Beau Monde.”

  There was a long silence before the Queen quizzed the Earl again,

  “Are you quite sure, my Lord, that there is no one else?”

  “No one knows better than Your Majesty,” the Earl told her, “that we have used up every one of your other relations and everybody in England who has enough Royal blood to intimidate the Russians.”

  Again there was a silence until the Queen said,

  “I think the only possible way that this girl could be offered to Prince Ivor is that she goes to Samosia without anyone in England knowing what is happening until the marriage can be announced as a fait accompli.”

  “I agree with Your Majesty,” the Earl answered. “That would make things very much easier for her and for Your Majesty to offer her to Prince Ivor.”

  He looked thoughtful before he carried on,

  “To revive the old story of Prince Ivor’s elopement now would undoubtedly appear in the English newspapers and copied by the Press in the Balkans and perhaps even in Russia as well.”

  “Have you talked this possibility over with Prince Ivor?” the Queen asked him.

  The Earl shook his head.

  “The idea only occurred to me a few days ago when the Secretary of State for Samosia arrived at 10 Downing Street only to be told positively and truthfully that Your Majesty could not do any more than you have done already for the Balkan States.”

  “So you have not spoken of this to anyone else?” the Queen wanted to know.

  “No one at all, ma’am, and not even to her father, Prince Vladimir.”

  The Queen looked surprised.

  “You mean you did not suggest it when you were in Devon with them?” she asked incredulously.

  “Of course not, ma’am. I did not worry myself at that time with thinking about our own troubles. I was on holiday and it was delightful to meet an old friend I had not seen for so long.”

  He smiled as he continued,

  “We talked of Eton where we had been together, and Oxford where the Prince had distinguished himself at cricket, which endeared him to everyone in the University. We were great friends there as young men. We were both in the second eleven and always hoped that we would be promoted into the first!”

  The Queen laughed as if she could not help it.

  “I have always tried to understand that the game of cricket is far more important than anything else in your lives!”

  “Of course it is,” the Earl agreed. “But now, as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, I have to beg Your Majesty and Prince Vladimir if he agrees to save one more Principality from the dastardly Russians who needless to say are using their clever tricks to incite violence amongst the ordinary people and creating a situation when it will be impossible to stop them forcing their way into the country and taking it over.”

  “The Russians are really behaving appallingly!” the Queen exclaimed.

  “I do agree with you, ma’am. The only person who has been able to protect the Balkans against them is Your Majesty.”

  There was a long pause before the Earl said,

  “I could not help thinking it was almost a gift from Heaven when I came back to London to find the Prime Minister absolutely certain there was nothing we could do to help Prince Ivor and saying to everyone who suggested it that it was useless to bother Your Majesty for yet another relation.”

  The Earl knew well as he was speaking that he was playing a difficult and subtle card.

  He recognised that the Queen had a strong dislike of Mr. Gladstone.

  She had raged at him on more than one occasion and it would obviously be a pleasure for her to show him once again that he was wrong.

  The Earl waited expectantly as he saw that the idea was passing through her mind.

  At the same time he was well aware that she was remembering how angry her family had been when Prince Vladimir had fallen in love and had thought that nothing else in the world was of any consequence.

  ‘He was right,’ the Earl told himself. ‘But it would be a great triumph for matters of the heart if the daughter of a man who gave up everything that had been important to him for love should become, to all intents and purposes, a Queen.’

  There was a long silence.

  Yet it now seemed to the Earl as if the sunshine was deepening and becoming more brilliant than it had been when he entered the room.

  When at last the Queen spoke, it seemed to the Earl as if he had waited an eternity for her to do so.

  “What I suggest, my Lord,” she said slowly, “is that you go back to Plymouth where you found your friend and tell him that, if his daughter wishes to become the bride of Prince Ivor, I will then give her my
blessing and protection and she may proceed to Samosia as soon as it is possible to arrange suitable transport for her.”

  It was with an effort that the Earl prevented himself from cheering.

  As it was, he merely bowed a little lower than usual as he said,

  “Your Majesty is most gracious and understanding. I know in saving the people of Samosia from being overrun by the Russians that Your Majesty will have the gratitude of every person in that country and throughout the Balkans as well.”

  “I have one thing to add to what I have already said and it is very important,” the Queen declared.

  The Earl waited, hoping that she had not changed her mind.

  Then she said firmly,

  “No one is to know, my Lord, that I have given you my permission to go to Plymouth to see Prince Vladimir and to discuss this delicate matter with him.”

  She stopped for a moment before she went on,

  “It would be a great mistake if, by any chance, the Prince does not wish his daughter to undertake such a task and the newspapers then learn that we were obliged to tell Samosia that we could not assist them in any way.”

  The Earl bowed.

  “I understand, ma’am, and I think it is a very wise and sensible thing to do. And you can, of course, trust me implicitly. So I will take a little time off from my work to travel to Plymouth and will then be able to bring you back the answer.”

  “As you have already told me that speed is of the essence, I will let you proceed at once,” the Queen said. “I will be hoping to hear from you in four or five days, my Lord.”

  The Earl realised that she was working out in her mind how long it would take him to reach Devon.

  He thought that the quickest way would be to go by train.

  However, he did not say this as it was not pertinent how he travelled to Devon so long as he did.

  Instead he bowed once again as he said,

  “I can only thank Your Majesty for being so very understanding and to realise the importance of keeping the Russians firmly in their own country and well away from the Balkans.”

  “It is something they have no intention of doing,” the Queen replied, “but that is what you have to make the Prime Minister understand, although I would admit that it is a hard task.”