William asked that the bullet which had killed Lord Nelson be given to him; it was brought to him by Nelson’s surgeon and he declared he would treasure it for ever. He had a bust made of the great sailor and kept it in his study at Bushy House.

He was sad for a long time and talked to Dorothy of Nelson and how he had been present at his marriage to Mrs Nisbet, that marriage which had not made Nelson a happy man for the rest of his life, as he had thought it would. But then he had not known he was to meet Lady Hamilton.

But the battle of Trafalgar which was so important to the country brought relief to William in his pecuniary difficulties.

The King sent for four of his sons and when they arrived at St James’s he received them all together.

William thought how feeble the old man was getting, and his speech was becoming even more rapid and incoherent. He glared at his sons with those wild protuberant eyes of his and watching him William could not help wondering whether the madness still lurked in him.

The two elder sons, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of York had not been summoned. The King was going to speak of their debts and those of the two elder brothers were so vast that this matter could bring but little relief to them.

William’s three brothers, who had joined the group, were the Dukes of Kent, Cumberland and Sussex.

The King glared at them. ‘I’ve had reports,’ he said, ‘reports I don’t like. Debts! Why are there these debts? Why can’t you live within your income, eh, what? Every one of you… Scribblers… lampoons. Criticism. It’s not good for the family. Don’t you understand that, eh, what?’

None of them spoke. They knew that the King’s questions were merely rhetorical. He would probably go through a list of their sins. They all led irregular lives, it seemed, except Cumberland. William could not remember any scandal about Cumberland. Perhaps he had not been discovered. But Kent had been living with Madame de St Laurent for years in much the same state of respectability as he himself maintained at Bushy; and Sussex had married without the King’s consent when he was about twenty and there had actually been a court case to prove that he was not married at all even though he had gone through the ceremony, because a marriage of a royal person under twenty-five without the King’s consent was no marriage in the eyes of the State no matter if it might be in those of the Church.

The King thought of them all and particularly William with that nice actress and all those children. Why did his sons have to be perverse? Why couldn’t the Prince of Wales be the father of a brood like that… a legitimate brood.

‘Too much talk about your extravagance,’ he said. ‘The people don’t like it. People can turn… against royalty. Look at France! What if it happened here, eh, what? It would be the fault of libertines and spendthrifts. You… all of you. With your debts and your women. What have you got to say to that, eh, what?’

Sussex began to protest that he had wanted to live respectably but the King said: ‘Don’t interrupt me. I’ve brought you here to tell you these debts must be settled… without delay… and then there must be no more. Now at Trafalgar we captured several ships and these have yielded us a certain sum of money. I have £80,000 which I am going to distribute among you four and it is for one purpose, understand me, eh, what? It is to pay off your debts, you understand? Not to be used for jewels and women… or banquets and drink and gambling. No, nothing like that. Those debts are to be paid. Understand, eh, what?’

They did understand. They would be delighted. It would not settle everything, of course, thought William, but creditors were satisfied with a little to go on with if it came from a royal duke.

He went down to Bushy in an excellent frame of mind. £20,000 to settle some of his debts. Moreover, recently Parliament had voted him an extra £6,000 on his income. He was better off than he had been for some time.

When he reached Bushy it was to find Dorothy there. He had not expected her so soon and when he discovered the reason he was alarmed.

She had felt too ill to go on playing and had decided she must have a short rest. The pain in her chest which recurred when she was tired had been worse than usual. And when she coughed there was a little blood on her handkerchief.

William was all concern.

‘You’re going to retire,’ he said. ‘We’re going to settle down, both of us. We’ll live quietly at Bushy. I have this extra income and I have to tell you why the King sent for me.’

Listening to the good news Dorothy felt better.

This was her dream come true. She would retire and devote herself entirely to the family.

Retirement was all that she had dreamed it would be.

Each morning she awoke to a sense of freedom; no more rehearsals, no more rivalries; no more long and tiring ‘cruises’, no more sighing as she forced herself into Miss Hoyden’s costume and worried whether she had put on more inches about the waist. Now she could grow fat at her ease. She was pleasantly plump, she decided; plump and motherly; and after all that was what she was now: a mother.

They had started a farm on the estate and William enjoyed it as much as his father would have done. The boys liked to make the hay and ride the horses round the fields, even milk the cows. They played games in which William joined – usually of a nautical character; though George who was all for the Army introduced a military note. Fanny, Dodee and Lucy came often to Bushy and were now beginning to regard it as one of their homes. William tolerated Fanny but was quite fond of Dodee and Lucy; and Dorothy was delighted to see how the two families mixed and behaved towards each other as brothers and sisters.

Fanny’s inability to find a husband still worried her; she had taken a house in Golden Square where the two younger girls lived with Hester still and she often made the journey there and stayed with them so that they should not feel that that was not her home too.

But it was Bushy she loved – Bushy with its gracious rooms and its lovely gardens and its noisy military and nautical FitzClarences. Even little Molpuss had decided on his career and toddled about in the sailor’s hat which William had bought for him.

William announced that on his forty-first birthday they would have an elaborate party.

It was a sunny day. William and Dorothy were awakened early by the young children coming into their bedroom, headed by Elizabeth.

‘Happy birthday, Papa.’

Molpuss, wearing his sailor’s hat, scrambled on to the bed and saluted his father. Dorothy lifted up little Augustus and they were all chattering excitedly about Papa’s birthday and the party.

‘You cannot have your presents yet, Papa,’ said Molpuss sternly. ‘George said we were all to wait until breakfast.’

William pretended to look disappointed which made Molpuss shriek with laughter; but Augustus put her arm round his neck and whispered: ‘Shall I go and get mine so that you can have it now?’

William whispered back that he thought he would wait for fear of offending George.

Dorothy, lying back with little Augustus in the crook of her arm, thought: This is perfect happiness.

They were up early to make sure that everything was in order by the time the guests arrived. William had spent a great deal on having new bronze pilasters fitted up in the hall and new lamps which hung from an eagle fixed to the ceiling. Several new adornments had been added to the dining room, including some beautiful lamps at the doors, of which he was very proud. ‘George will be interested in these,’ he said. ‘Not that we can compete with Carlton House or the Pavilion, but I think he’ll be impressed. The servants look magnificent in their new liveries.’

His brothers York and Kent had offered their military bands to play in the grounds and this offer had been gratefully accepted.

At five o’clock the party was opened by the arrival of the Prince of Wales, whose glittering presence added grandeur to any celebration. With him came his brothers York, Kent, Sussex and Cambridge and other members of the nobility. They walked about the grounds commenting on the excellence and tasteful displays of the flowers while the bands played Haydn’s Oratorio of The Creation.

This promenade continued for two hours when the bells rang for dinner.

The Prince of Wales had been at Dorothy’s side during most of the promenade and when the bells rang he took her hand and led her to her place at the top table in the dining room. He sat on her right hand and the Duke of York took the place on her left.

There could not have been any more obvious indication that in the Prince’s eyes Dorothy was his sister-in-law the Duchess of Clarence. William looked on with misty eyes at those two whom he loved so well engaged in pleasant animated conversation while he himself took his place at the extreme end of the table.

The discourse about the Prince of Wales continued witty and light-hearted while the most sumptuous foods were passed around and the bands continued to play in the garden just outside the open windows.

The Prince of Wales congratulated Dorothy on many of her performances and talked knowledgeably of the theatre so that it was a pleasure to discuss the merits of plays and players with someone of such discernment. She appreciated the more intellectual approach he could bring to the subject than William was able to; but looking at her lover at the end of the table she believed she was indeed fortunate to have won his affection.

The Prince wanted to hear about the children, particularly George.