Being out of favour with the King as well as with the Queen, Chesterfield turned his attention to the Prince of Wales.

All Frederick wanted, he insisted, was his rights. He wanted an income commensurate with his position; and he wanted a bride. He was no longer a youth. How dared his parents keep him in this ridiculous position!

The Queen raged against her son to her daughters. He was so easily led. He was a fool; he was a liar; she wished that he had never been born.

Amelia listened to this and thought: The quarrel grows fiercer. But one day Frederick is going to be King of England and I and Caroline will be dependent on his bounty; a pleasant state of affairs that will be, for how will he feel about his sisters who have to be supported although they had never been very good friends of his?

Amelia went to call on her brother. He looked at her with suspicion which she quickly tried to disperse.

‘I want you to know that I’m on your side,’ she said.

‘What! ‘ demanded Frederick.

‘I think the King treats you badly. We all know how mean he is. He loathes spending money on us. He likes to spend it on show for himself, of course. Naturally you should have the same income at least that our father had when he was Prince of Wales.’

‘Who sent you to talk to me?’

‘No one. Do you think they would send me? They want to keep you away from Court. I want you to come there and ... stand up for yourself. There would be plenty to support you.’

‘The friends who support me don’t support Walpole ... so should I be welcome?’

‘You must be clever, Frederick. You must hide your rancour. You must get what you want through soft words not angry ones. Look at our mother. She always agrees with the King and gets him to do exactly what she wants.’

‘I tell you this,’ said Frederick. ‘I will never come to my mother’s drawing room because there is always one at her side whom I hate beyond all men.’

‘Who?’

‘Lord Fanny, of course.’

‘Oh ... Lord Hervey.’

‘I loathe that man. I don’t trust him. He deceived me once. He would deceive me again. No, I’ll never come to my mother’s drawing room while she keeps him at her side like a tame pet.’

‘He is her pet ... but scarcely tame. Don’t talk to our sister Caroline in that way. She adores him. She’s in love with him, you know.’

‘The folly of women.’

‘Yes, it is a little foolish. What hope is there for her, poor Caroline!’

‘Oh, to the devil with Lord Fanny and the whole Court. I have other things to do.’

‘Visit Miss Vane?’ asked Amelia slyly.

‘Well, her drawing room is more amusing than my mother’s.’

They parted—Amelia to go back to her apartments and Frederick to the house he had found for Miss Vane in Soho Square.

Lord Hervey met the Princess Amelia when she was returning from her brother. His large languid eyes fluttered as he looked at her.

I believe, thought Amelia, that he sees everything. He is a spy watching all so that he can write down what he sees and gloat over it afterwards.

‘How was His Highness?’ he asked.

‘My Lord Hervey is God,’ said Amelia, ‘all seeing. And surely all knowing. In which case is there any need to ask?’

‘No need at all,’ he replied. ‘For His Highness is in his usual state of bucolic appreciation of his own dazzling personality.’

‘Absolutely right, of course.’

‘And grateful to his kind sister, I hope.’

‘You hope nothing of the sort, my lord. For you know Fred would never be grateful to anyone ... except perhaps Miss Vane who has given him such a fine sturdy proof of his manhood. Or is it his manhood?’

‘I do not think Her Majesty would wish you to discuss such matters.’

‘I hope she would be as tolerant of me as of you, my lord. I could hope for no greater leniency.’

Hervey liked Amelia least of all the Princesses and he knew that his dislike was returned.

Her Majesty is gracious.’

‘I am sure she will lose none of her graciousness towards you when I tell her that one of the reasons why Frederick refuses to come to her drawing rooms—and causes such gossip by staying away—is because you, my lord, are constantly in attendance on the Queen.’

‘I am sure I have never done anything more deserving of Her Majesty’s gratitude.’

Amelia could think of no retort to that, so swept past him.


* * *

Henrietta suddenly had her wish.

It happened in an unexpected way. Lord Chesterfield had asked the Queen if she would speak to the King on his behalf. It was such a small favour he asked that it slipped Caroline’s memory.

Chesterfield, who had always believed that a man’s mistress must carry more weight with him than his wife, being on very good terms with Henrietta, asked her if she had the opportunity to mention the matter to the King.

This Henrietta did and thought no more of it.

It was shortly after the favour had been granted when Caroline, seeing Chesterfield at one of her drawing rooms, remembered his request and called him to her.

‘I am sorry, my lord,’ she said, ‘that I failed to mention your little matter to His Majesty. Rest assured that I shall do so at the first opportunity.’

‘Your Majesty is gracious,’ replied Chesterfield, ‘but there is now no need as Lady Suffolk has already put my request to the King.’

The King had come up as they were speaking and when he heard that remark his eyes bulged in the familiar fashion. He said nothing, but he was angry, for he hated it to be thought that his mistress interfered in any manner whatsoever with Court matters.

He was cool to Chesterfield who hastily retired and when Henrietta appeared, he ignored her.

He continued to ignore her and made unpleasant comments about her; and so uncomfortable was she that she begged leave to spend a little time in Bath for her health’s sake.


* * *

When Henrietta returned from Bath she made up her mind that she would speak to the Queen without delay and begged a private audience.

‘Your Majesty,’ she cried, ‘I have come to ask your leave to retire.’

‘Retire! ‘ cried Caroline. ‘My dear Lady Suffolk, why should you wish to do that?’

‘The King is irritated with me. He no longer wishes me to be here and, Madam, to tell the truth I no longer wish to stay! ‘

‘This is nonsense. The King is not irritated with you. As for myself, have I ever shown that I am?’

‘No, Your Majesty. If you had treated me in the same way as His Majesty has, I would never have dared appear in your presence again.’

‘You are very heated, Lady Suffolk. You should be calm and think clearly about this. Have you asked yourself how different your life would be if you left Court?’

‘Yes, Madam; and it is what I wish. I have served Your Majesties to the best of my ability for twenty years and now it is as though I have committed some crime in His Majesty’s eyes.’

‘Oh, fie, Lady Suffolk. You commit a crime! This is nonsense.’

‘The King could not behave so to me if I had not done something to displease him.’

‘Have a little patience and the King will treat you as he does the other ladies. You know the King leaves domestic matters in my hands and if you will wait a while I can assure you that you will be treated no differently from the other ladies.’

‘Madam, I do not see how I can be forgiven for an offence I have not committed.’

‘Fie again, Lady Suffolk, you talk like someone from a romance. Now you are too warm and not very respectful.

You will be sorry for this, I know. But I shall not give you permission to go, and if you leave it will be without my consent.’

‘Madam, I must go.’

‘Well, Lady Suffolk, will you refuse me this? Stay a week longer and we will talk of it again when you are less ... warm.’

Henrietta left the Queen in dismay. It was clear that Caroline was going to do everything in her power to make her stay.


* * *

When the week was over Henrietta told the Queen that she could not stay on as her position was far too uncomfortable.

‘You are the best servant in the world,’ said the Queen, ‘and it will grieve me to lose you.’

‘But Your Majesty has so many good servants,’ replied Henrietta. ‘And I know that Mrs Clayton will see that I am not missed.’

Henrietta vaguely noticed that at the mention of Charlotte Clayton’s name a shadow passed across the Queen’s face and she felt then, as she had felt so many times before, that there was some secret bond between them. But already her thoughts were far away at Marble Hill.

I shall go, she was thinking. Nothing on Earth will prevent me now.

‘Is your mind then made up?’ asked the Queen. ‘Yes, Your Majesty.’

Caroline was sad. She knew that this was more than the loss of a good servant. She would miss Henrietta, but what right had any person to command another to a life they did not wish for?

He is getting old, she thought. He will have done with mistresses. It will not matter. What has she been to him? A habit, nothing more. There will be little flirtations. Let him enjoy them. There is nothing to fear.

‘If you must go, my dear,’ she said sadly, ‘then my blessing goes with you.’

‘I must, Your Majesty. And I thank you for your goodness.’

She knelt and kissed the Queen’s hand.

And that very day Henrietta Howard left Court and went to stay at the house of her brother, Lord Hobart, in his house in St James’s Square until she could make her preparations to leave for Marble Hill.