The King Without a Heart Read online

  “It is difficult for us to think what our people can do and nothing grows that is easy to export.”

  Darius spoke as if it worried him and then added quickly,

  “But of course there is nothing you can do about it, Miss Brooke, and I should not be troubling you or your cousin with such matters.”

  By the way he spoke, Titania knew he was thinking it would be quite useless to discuss this subject with Sophie.

  She had been aware when Sophie appeared after her seasickness that Darius had looked at her eagerly and had even gone out of his way to talk to her whenever he had an opportunity, but he soon learned that Sophie never listened to anyone unless they were talking about her and her own concerns.

  After three or four attempts to tell her about the country where she was to live, Darius had given up.

  The procession moved slowly on and Titania could see that many of the children lining the route were poorly dressed. Some wore no shoes and were bare-footed and others had torn and ragged clothes which hardly covered them.

  “Are you a poor country?” she asked Darius, thinking it was a question that she should have asked him earlier.

  “We never seem to have enough money for our needs, but it is not anything that can be easily changed. I have talked to the King about the problem, but like everyone else he cannot think of anything we can export. We can only just manage to feed ourselves.”

  ‘There must be something,’ Titania thought and wished her father was with her.

  She remembered how he had made suggestions to countries they visited about improving their wealth and prosperity and often they had followed his ideas and found them very successful.

  She thought that the Crown Prince with German blood in him would be ambitious enough to want Velidos to stand out amongst the other small Balkan States.

  However she had gained the distinct impression that he was too busy enjoying himself to worry about the poor and unemployed.

  ‘Perhaps I am being uncharitable,’ she corrected herself, ‘but I fear that Sophie will find him a very self-centred man who will not trouble unduly about anyone except himself.’

  At last they reached the Palace and Prince Frederick led Sophie up the long flight of marble steps covered in a bright red carpet with the rest of the procession following closely behind.

  Titania found the fountains enchanting and the flowers growing around them were more colourful than anything that could be seen in an English garden.

  But when they entered the Palace, Titania was somewhat disappointed.

  It had been cleverly sited with a magnificent view over the City and the mountains in the distance, but the furnishings were rather dull and ordinary. There were not the many beautiful pictures and treasures of china and silver that she had anticipated.

  She had been in quite a number of Palaces one way or another and most of them, especially those in India, had been filled with treasures that thrilled the eye and which she had often longed to possess.

  In contrast this Palace seemed almost austere and then she remembered that the last Queen had been German.

  Now she understood that everything she was seeing fulfilled all necessities, but there were no frills or furbelows to delight the mind and the imagination.

  The party proceeded to the Throne Room, where a large number of guests had gathered to greet the Royal party.

  Prince Frederick took Sophie onto the raised platform in the middle of the room and when everyone was seated, he made a long speech of welcome.

  There was nothing very original in what he said, Titania thought. He made it quite plain how clever he had been to win such an important bride from England with the approval and blessing of Her Majesty Queen Victoria.

  He next added many flattering words about the Duchess and her aristocratic family and indeed it would have been more appropriate if he had not made it quite so clear that it was he who was bringing them to Velidos. In fact he was expecting Velidos to be very grateful to him.

  It was a long speech and, as he droned on and on,

  Titania thought he was being extremely tedious, but it was worse still for Sophie who did not understand a word of what he was saying.

  It was not surprising that her cousin looked bored and started to fidget towards the end of the speech.

  Finally Prince Frederick brought the account of his achievements to an end and he bowed delightedly to the polite applause from his captive audience.

  Next the Prime Minister made his speech of welcome and he was followed by several other dignitaries. By this time Titania was feeling really sorry for her cousin.

  They were all speaking in a language of which she had only learned two words and these she had already uttered when the child had presented her with a bouquet.

  Titania, however, was delighted to find that she could understand everything being said. Even so she considered that the speeches were too solemn and certainly far too long.

  At last the interminable speeches came to an end and Titania was wondering what would happen next.

  Then there was a fanfare of trumpets, a door opened at the end of the Throne Room and two Equerries appeared.

  It was obvious from the fanfare that the King was coming to receive his brother’s future wife.

  Titania watched eagerly for his appearance.

  From the way Darius that had talked about him pouring over his books and having withdrawn himself into a world of his own, she had believed he would be small and rather insignificant.

  To her surprise the King was tall, broad-shouldered and very good-looking.

  He was dressed in quite a plain uniform in contrast to the Crown Prince’s, wearing a white jacket with just two glittering diamond stars on one side of his chest.

  As he processed into the Throne Room, the men bowed and the women curtsied and then he stepped up onto the platform.

  Prince Frederick introduced him first to Sophie and next to the Duchess, but there was no question of Titania being presented. She was left sitting in the background beside the two elderly Ladies-in-Waiting.

  The King then made a very short speech of welcome to Sophie, wishing her every possible happiness in the new country to which she now belonged.

  Then as the King stepped down from the platform again the men bowed and the women curtsied.

  His Majesty left the Throne Room.

  When he had departed, Prince Frederick took over and he and Sophie led the guests into a large Banqueting Hall.

  There was plentiful champagne to drink the health of the bride and groom and a number of delicious dishes which Titania had never tasted before.

  Everyone who had been present in the Throne Room now wanted to meet Sophie and Prince Frederick introduced them one after another. They each had something extremely flattering to say to her, but only one in ten was able to speak a word of English.

  With the majority Sophie could only look blank and smile.

  ‘Of course she should have tried to learn the language,’ thought Titania.

  However it was too late now and she was quite certain that Sophie would make no effort once she was married.

  Titania remembered Darius had told her it was the King’s idea that he should travel with them in the Battleship to teach Sophie the language of the people over whom he ruled.

  She wondered now if he would be disappointed that Darius had been unsuccessful or more likely he was not really interested one way or another.

  She wished she could have had a chance to meet him later.

  She could see the Greek blood in him by the darkness of his hair and eyes and he was certainly taller than the average Greek, and that, she knew, must be due to Velidos.

  Looking round at the men in the Throne Room, she had seen they were nearly all well-built and broad-shouldered, something unusual in some of the Balkan States she had visited with her father.

  The men were not outstanding, while the women were extremely pretty, but there were not many women present at the Palace and Ti
tania supposed that the invitation had been for those who had important appointments, particularly in the Government.

  However, the few women she could see were certainly attractive and also quite well-dressed.

  There must be quite a number, Titania thought, whom Sophie would find as good friends and she hoped that her cousin would be wise enough to make herself pleasant to them.

  Sophie in many ways was like her father, considering that anyone who was not blue-blooded was hardly worth talking to.

  At Starbrooke only the most important people in London Society were invited to stay and most of her uncle’s friends were Dukes like himself or minor members of the Royal family.

  Titania had found the formal, rather pompous parties he had given for such guests extremely dull and she compared them with the parties her father and mother had given in different countries where they travelled.

  She had only been a child, but she could remember one all too vividly.

  A dinner-party had been given by a neighbour who owned a great deal of land and a number of gypsy families roamed freely over his estate. To amuse Titania’s parents, he had asked the gypsies to sing and dance for them after dinner and after the entertainments they had sat down with their host’s guests.

  They chatted away about their life and told the fortunes of those who wanted to know about their future.

  It had been a very exciting party and Titania thought she would always remember the music the gypsies had created with their strange instruments and the way they had sung and danced.

  She could not imagine Sophie and the Crown Prince enjoying anything like that.

  They would have thought it degrading to join in the strange parties her father had taken her to in Constantinople, where there was belly-dancing and Arabs showing the way they could fight each other without hurting any of those they challenged to a contest.

  Titania gave a little sigh.

  Any parties that were given at the Palace would, she was certain, be very correct and in fact very boring.

  Yet she knew that Sophie would doubtless be happy enough now that she was important. Every woman was curtsying to her and the men were kissing her hand reverently.

  *

  It was thus a relief when they could retire to their rooms because, as Prince Frederick said, “No one is to be tired tomorrow on my wedding-day!”

  ‘That at least,’ thought Titania, ‘will be an exciting event.’

  Even if, as she expected, Sophie would be making a tremendous fuss about everything and she would undoubtedly be run off her feet trying to please her.

  Her bedroom was comfortable and well-furnished, but at the same time rather dull, like the rest of the rooms in the Palace.

  Titania found that her windows overlooked the front and she could see the steps they had climbed to enter the Palace and had an even better view of the mountains in the distance.

  ‘I would love to ride nearer to those fabulous mountains,’ she wished and she was sure that beneath them there would be flat ground for her to gallop over, just as there had been Steppes in Hungary where she had ridden with her father.

  She gave a deep sigh.

  Sophie would not want to ride and there would be no question of her being allowed to do so.

  Once again her mind went back to Mercury and she wondered how he was and she was still thinking about him when there was a tap on her door and Martha put her head round it.

  “Her Ladyship’s screaming the house down for you, Miss Titania,” she told her urgently. “And as I can’t leave Her Grace, you’ll have to attend to her.”

  “All right, Martha, I will go at once, but, tell me, what do you think of the Palace?”

  Martha shrugged her shoulders.

  “It looks all right as Palaces go,” she said, “but if you asks me, I’d rather be in a cottage at home than in any swell building in a foreign country.”

  Titania laughed because it was just the answer she would have expected.

  Then she hurried into Sophie’s room which was only a few doors away from hers.

  “Where have you been?” Sophie scolded her angrily as she entered. “Surely you realise I need you. I have got to change and I have no idea what I am expected to wear. cannot understand a word the women say who are unpacking my luggage.”

  Titania was glad to know that there was someone to help and she would not have to do it all herself. Then she asked her cousin,

  “What are we doing this evening? Has no one told you?”

  “I believe there is to be a dinner party,” Sophie answered, “but at what time and where I have not the slightest idea.”

  She gave a little scream of frustration as she added,

  “Surely you can do something. As you speak the language or think you do, you could ask what is going on.”

  “I will go and find out at once.”

  Titania stepped out of Sophie’s bedroom and saw with relief that one of the Ladies-in-Waiting was going into a room opposite.

  She ran across to her.

  “I am sorry to bother you, but my cousin has not been told what is happening tonight and she has no idea what she should wear.”

  “Oh, there is a big dinner-party,” replied the Lady-in-Waiting, “and I think they are hoping the King will come, although that is unlikely.”

  “And what should my cousin wear?”

  “One of her best gowns and of course a tiara on her head.”

  Titania ran back to Sophie’s room.

  When she told her what was happening, Sophie said,

  “Just what I had expected. At the same time an aide-de-camp or one of those men who hang about the place should tell me what is planned and what time the dinner-party will take place.”

  “I am sure there must be a programme of events somewhere.” Titania ran back into the passage again and now she found a rather harassed aide-de-camp hurrying up the stairs. As he held a piece of paper in his hand, Titania enquired of him as he reached her,

  “Is that by any chance a copy of the programme for Lady Sophie? She is worried as no one has told her what is happening this evening.”

  “I am sorry, I am very sorry,” answered the aide-decamp. “I expect I shall be told it is my fault. But no one could make up their minds about anything to begin with and then His Royal Highness Prince Frederick altered everything round at the last moment and we had to have it printed again.”

  Titania laughed.

  “I can understand your difficulties. It is what happens everywhere when there is a big party.”

  The aide-de-camp tried to smile.

  “I have been ticked off for being a nincompoop,” he told her, “and can only be grateful we do not have a wedding every day of the year!”

  “I expect this one will have to last you for a long time. Can I please have a programme too or like you I shall be in serious trouble.”

  The aide-de-camp looked at her as if he was seeing her for the first time and murmured,

  “I am sure no one could be angry with anyone who looks as lovely as you do.”

  He spoke in his own language and Titania smiled.

  “Thank you, kind sir, for the compliment. Equally as you well know there is nothing more exhausting than being late and trying to pretend one is on time.”

  “I will bring you everything that is happening the moment I know it myself,” replied the aide-de-camp. “And if you get the chance to sooth down Prince Frederick – he is in one of his tantrums.”

  Titania’s eyes widened for a moment, but she said nothing. She merely thought it was just like the Germans to rant and rave if anything went wrong and it must be the German blood in Prince Frederick which was making him behave in such a fashion.

  However, it was a mistake to waste time speculating and so she hurried back to Sophie with the programme.

  “And about time too,” snapped Sophie when she saw her. “Frederick has told me that if he has the chance he is going to make this country run more efficiently. But I understa
nd they are trying to prevent him from doing so, simply because they like their lazy easy way of going on.”

  Titania made no comment.

  She only thought, although of course she could never say so, that she disliked Prince Frederick and she was sorry that Sophie would have to put up with him for the rest of her life.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  The wedding day started badly.

  Sophie struck Titania with a hair-brush, because her hair under her veil was not as she wanted it.

  It was the first time she had ever done so and it made Titania angry, but despite her indignation she considered it was unwise to make a scene on this particular day.

  She therefore re-arranged Sophie’s hair and thought it was almost the same as it had been before.

  Then they went down to the hall, where the Lord Chamberlain was waiting to escort Sophie to the Cathedral as Prince Frederick had already gone on ahead.

  Sophie had said disagreeably while Titania was helping her to dress,

  “The King should have given me away, but he refused. I think it is rather degrading for me to have to put up with the Lord Chamberlain.”

  “It’s a pity Uncle Edward could not come,” Titania put in.

  “Papa would have hated every moment of it all,” grumbled Sophie, “because I am not being treated as grandly as he had expected me to be.”

  Titania could not think of her being received any more grandly as Sophie had been treated as the most important person present at every function she had attended so far and she would undoubtedly be the focus of attention in the Cathedral.

  But Titania had learned it was no use arguing with her cousin when she had made up her mind about herself and always insisted that she was right and everyone else was wrong.

  The Lord Chamberlain certainly looked resplendent in his robes and as he was a handsome old man, Titania thought that Sophie should be content.

  There was a splendid glass coach drawn by four white horses waiting to take her to the Cathedral and Titania followed as usual with the Ladies-in-Waiting, but not in the company of Darius.

  She now realised that Darius had been sent to travel with them on the ship as a very special concession on the part of the King, who believed it was essential that Sophie should learn the language of her new country.