Page 105 of May I Have the Pleasure
“You are quite singular, madam. I shall take your caution under advisement, but I shall not go down easily. I am not to be intimidated by a princess of Sweden.”
“Do not worry, your grace. Who knows—you might even beat me, unlikely as that sounds.”
“I shall do my best.”
“I wonder why you have this disagreeable task. I imagine you owe the king a favour over some drunken wager you can barely remember, it is your turn in some obscure rotation of unpleasant tasks, or you simply drew the short straw.”
“I am afraid it was the latter, but I must say I am not in the least unhappy with this duty.”
“Let us get it over with then. Pray, proceed, while I ring for a dozen footmen to set up the backgammon board.”
“You sound a touch cynical, madam.”
“My second forced marriage is not going down all that well, sir. I used to call it impertinence, but it is taking on a harder edge, so cynicism is as good a name as any—perhaps, even bordering on misanthropy. May we begin?”
“By all means, let us proceed. Your husband became quite enamoured with the Four Horse Club whilst in London. Unfortunately, his opinion of his skill does not seem to have aligned with the actuality.”
“Why am I unsurprised? The man asked for my hand in marriage after only a single dance. Worse yet, he did so at my first ball after leaving mourning for my last husband. The heights of his vanity and arrogance were unparalleled, even for a prince.”
“I am curious why you accepted. I quite imagine you could have delivered the setdown of a lifetime to the impertinent whelp… ah, most distinguished prince. At the very least, you seem capable of delivering a firm and unambiguous refusal. You were widow to an Earl, who was among the finest of men, and not without consequence or powerful friends back in England.”
“Your opinion of my latest late husband, the prince, as well as my former late husband, the Earl, are in accord with mine. I appreciate your candour. Back in London it would be frighteningly outside the bounds of propriety, but here in Stockholm, I believe we can pretend ignorance of such niceties.”
“Ignorance is good. Ignorance I can work with. We could be the two most ignorant people in Sweden.”
“One can only hope, your grace.”
“So, if it is not rude to ask,whydid you agree to his proposal?”
“Well, that is the difficult part, sir. I said he asked for my hand in marriage after a single dance; but unfortunately, hedid not ask me.”
“HE DID NOT ASK YOU!! Who did he ask? Your father?”
“No sir, he asked the Prince Regent.”
“He asked Prinny! That is… that is… that is…”
“Yes, he asked the Prince Regent, and worse yet, he made it a condition of a treaty his courtiers had been negotiating for months, which apparently really put a bee in their bonnets. The Prince Regent accepted on my behalf, and nobody bothered to even tell me until I read it in the paper a week later.”
“EGADS!Astounding! You did not think to correct the record?”
“Do you think you could deny anything the Prince Regent of England demanded of you, your grace?”
“Probably not”
“I tried. I even managed to get an audience and state my case, clearly, intelligently, and forcefully.”
“What did he do?”
“Took probably his dozenth glass of wine andinsisted. He was not the least bit polite or subtle about it. I spent months talking to everyone I trusted, then everyone I knew, then everyone I was acquainted with. I talked to the dozen solicitors who work for me regularly, and another dozen. In the end, the Prince and Prince Regent dug in their heels and made some…threats…to people under my protection, so the deed was done. I have not the power to oppose one crown, let alone two, nor do I have the heart to harm others for my intransigence. The threats were… let us just say… severe.”
“I… I… do not know what to say. I am surprised this did not turn into a big scandal.”
“I was judicious in who I talked to. I have learnt over the years who to put my trust in, and I already feel I can include you in that lot.”
“It is my privilege, and you may depend on me.”
“Shall we finish your story?”
