Perdita's Prince

The meeting at Kew

THE PRINCE WAS delighted, impatient and angry. The meeting must take place, but where? Never before had he raged so fiercely against the way he was treated. Here he was almost eighteen and a Prince of Wales and he could not freely arrange a meeting with the lady of his choice! Their meeting must be a secret in case it reached the ears of his parents.

He paced up and down his apartments, raging to Frederick and Lord Malden.

‘You remember where you used to meet Harriot Vernon,’ suggested Frederick.

‘I could never meet Perdita there.’

‘My house in Dean Street is at Your Highness’s service,’ said Malden.

The Prince looked hopeful. ‘That’s a better idea.’

‘But,’ said Frederick, ‘you could never go to Dean Street and it not be known. People recognize you passing through the streets. Moreover, it is too far. You would be away too long. There would be inquiries. What if the King decided to send for you as he did for that game of chess?’

The Prince looked in dismay at his brother. Frederick was right.

‘There is only one answer,’ he said. ‘She must come to Kew.’

‘To Kew, sir!’ cried Malden, aghast.

Frederick’s eyes were alight with excitement. ‘We shall smuggle her into the Dower House. She should come in breeches – her Sir Harry Revel costume … and no one would know who she was.’

‘It’s the answer,’ said the Prince. ‘Fred, you have talent.’

‘In breeches!’ cried Perdita, aghast. ‘That would be quite out of the question. I should feel so … indelicate.’

‘It would mean,’ Lord Maiden explained, ‘that you would not be easily recognized.’

‘And if I were? Imagine! The scandal! Oh no, no. I could not do it.’

‘It was the best plan we could think of.’

‘I could never do it,’ said Perdita firmly.

Finally it was decided that there was something in Frederick’s first idea. The meeting must be highly secret and the only safe spot would be out of doors. The Prince would at least have an opportunity of talking to his love, of clasping her in his arms and making plans for the future; and all he had to remember was that in three months’ time he would be eighteen, have his own establishment and then be free to come and go as he wished.

‘Your Highness has waited six months,’ pointed out Lord Malden. ‘In another three all will be settled to your satisfaction.’

The Prince retorted that he had no intention of waiting three more months for Perdita, but they would have a meeting in any case. Lord Malden was to go ahead and make plans without delay.

He came to see Perdita and looking at her with yearning eyes told her of the arrangements.

‘I will take you to Brentford and from there row you out to Eel Pie Island. There we will dine and after that I will row you to Kew Gardens where the Prince will be waiting for you.’

‘I am glad,’ she told him, ‘that you will be accompanying me. You will make me feel … secure.’

At this Lord Malden dropped to his knees and taking her hand covered it with kisses.

‘Madam, all these months when I have been pleading another’s cause I have been filled with a mad desire to plead my own.’

‘I know, my lord.’

‘It has been a well-nigh irresistible temptation to me. If it had been any man but the Prince …’

‘I know. I know. You have been both loyal and faithful. It is something I shall never forget.’

Her eyes filled with tears; she dashed them away dramatically. She could almost hear the applause of the audience, the murmurs of ‘None can play a scene like this to compare with Mrs Robinson’. In fact she had an audience. Mrs Armistead had her eye to the keyhole and knew that her lady was to dine with Lord Maiden on Eel Pie Island and then be rowed by that self-sacrificing lover to the Prince.

‘I have decided that there shall be a meeting between me and the Prince.’

Mrs Armistead feigned surprise.

‘Oh, yes, Armistead. He has pleaded with me so earnestly that I can no longer refuse him.’

‘I understand, Madam.’

‘And we are going to Brentford tomorrow.’

‘We, Madam?’

‘The coach will call for me and take me to Lord Malden’s house in Dean Street where he will join me and together we shall ride to Brentford.’

‘You will go alone, Madam, to Brentford with my lord Malden?’

‘Why, Armistead …’

Mrs Armistead’s features had formed themselves into an expression of horror. Then almost immediately they returned to their familiar respectful state. ‘Forgive me, Madam. I forget my place.’

‘No … no, pray go on.’

‘Well, Madam, begging your pardon, I should have thought it unwise for you to go … alone with Lord Maiden on such a journey. If you were seen and recognized … Madam must forgive me. I think of your reputation.’

‘But, I have …’

‘Madam, when ladies travel their maids accompany them … not only for reasons of propriety but in case their toilettes should need some attention.’

Perdita was smiling, and yet again asking herself what she would do without Armistead.

In the coach that rattled along to Dean Street Mrs Armistead sat very upright, her hands folded in her lap. She was not thinking of the excited young woman opposite her, who was deep in her own thoughts.

Could it possibly be, Mrs Armistead was asking herself. Mr Fox himself! Many people of humble circumstances had probably been his mistresses … briefly. She had no doubt that in the first instance he had decided that she herself was worthy of a brief dalliance. But surely this was something deeper? She could not contemplate it with her usual good sense. She had always been clever, and when the late Mr Armistead had left her unprovided for she had chosen this profession – for a purpose. As a lady’s maid to an actress she would have opportunities. She had briefly, before coming to Mrs Robinson, served Mrs Abington. The possibilities were there; but she had not visualized anything like the present situation. Nor could it have come about if she had not had the great good luck to serve a mistress who had attracted the Prince of Wales. This could bring her into the most exalted circles. She could work so well for Mr Fox because the outcome of the affair was of equal importance to them both.

Mr Fox. Oddly enough for all his greatness she saw him as a man in need of care. It was his weakness which appealed to her as much as his strength. She had learned a great deal about him, that some years earlier, his father Lord Holland had paid £140 000 to settle his debts. Lord Holland was dead now and had left Charles James Kingsgate Castle which had had to be sold. There was a jingle sung in the streets about the great man.

‘If he touches a card, if he rattles a box,

Away fly the guineas of this Mr Fox.’

She did not glorify him as Perdita glorified her Prince. She did not wish to clothe him with virtues he did not possess. She would not deny that he was short and fat and rather gross, but there was a look of his ancestor, Charles II, in his face, and his slovenly cravat, his none-too-clean coat, were forgotten when he talked. One could not be in the company of Mr Fox without recognizing his greatness and his charm – but it was his weakness that touched the cool serene heart of Mrs Armistead deeply.

Perdita would have been astonished if she could have read the thoughts of her lady’s maid. She would not have been able to imagine that the woman’s affairs could be thought of-even by herself – when they were on the brink of this stupendous adventure.

Was her gown suitable? Indian muslin and not too decorated with ribbons.

‘So becoming, Madam,’ had soothed Armistead. ‘I have never seen you look so beautiful.’

And what would he say when he saw her?

She was rehearsing what she would say to him over and over again. A woodland scene in Kew Gardens. There was a moon and the weather was fine. It would be like a Shakespearian scene. She would play it with the utmost emphasis on romance.

And the Prince … what was he doing at this moment? She pictured his impatience. She could already hear his impassioned words. How handsome he would look and the diamonds flashing on his coat would be real, not paste as worn by mock princes on the stage.

This was romance.

The coach had come to a stop at Lord Maiden’s door. He was waiting. He seated himself beside Mrs Armistead so that he could gaze in rapture at Perdita throughout the journey. Very little was said. Mrs Armistead’s presence was a restraining factor; but Perdita saw that although Lord Maiden was disappointed that there should be a third member of the party he applauded the wisdom of it.

Silence prevailed for most of the journey; each occupant busy with his and her own thoughts. Mrs Armistead continued to think of Mr Fox, Perdita of her Prince and Lord Malden of Perdita; and at length they arrived at Brentford where the boat was waiting to take them over to Eel Pie Island.

At the island inn a room had been prepared that Perdita might use before taking dinner, and to this she repaired with Armistead, ‘to rest,’ she told Lord Malden, ‘for indeed I fear my heart may fail me.’

In the room she gave what Mrs Armistead later reported to Mr Fox a study of the doubts and apprehensions of a woman on the brink of taking a mighty decision which she had long since made up her mind to take for the adequate reward.

‘Armistead, I cannot do it. Am I right? Don’t forget who he is. If the King learned of this night, what would he do? I have to remember that the Prince will one day be the King of this country. It could happen at any moment, Armistead.’

‘I don’t think Madam should disturb herself too much on that score, Madam. His Majesty is a comparatively young man, some forty-two years old. He should have many years left to him.’

‘I did not mean to be disloyal to His Majesty, but consider my position, Armistead.’

‘Madam, I have considered it and it is one which most women would envy you.’

That pleased her, although she struck a tragedienne’s role, putting her hand to her brow. ‘The responsibility, Armistead. The responsibility!’

‘Madam, I should think only of pleasing the Prince and leave the responsibility of everything else to others. I fear you will crumple your dress. And I think your hair needs a little attention.’

She was ready to listen to such sound advice. She was at the mirror. ‘Yes, my hair, Armistead, my hair. Oh how right I was to bring you with me.’

‘There!’ Mrs Armistead had arranged the beautiful dark curls in what she considered their most becoming fashion. ‘But you look a little melancholy, Madam, as though you are going to a burial rather than to meet a Prince who adores you.’

‘It is a solemn moment, Armistead.’

‘The Prince will be so happy that he may well consider it a gay one.’

‘No, no, he will feel solemn too.’

‘I have heard that he loves people about him to be gay. He has lived so long under the eyes of his solemn parents, he will look for laughter, not for tears.’

Perdita had become suddenly aloof. Who was this woman to tell her of the Prince’s feelings?

‘I am sure the Prince will be ready to fit into my mood.’

Mrs Armistead was alarmed. How long could it last if she were going to weep for her responsibilities and remind him constantly of what she was giving up. Oh, what a fool the woman was! Her folly might mean that very soon Mrs Armistead would be serving a woman who was nothing but an actress.

She hesitated; she had always adapted herself to her mistress’s moods.

‘He is a great Prince, Madam. The people adore him. He is the most popular young man in the country.’

This was better. Perdita was smiling.

‘All his life people will have been fitting themselves in with his moods,’ ventured Mrs Armistead. ‘Everyone has fallen victim to his charm. The only one who has not is perhaps the King. But the King is important and the Prince has doubtless spent many hours in his father’s company; he will be weary of melancholy. I would like to see Madam smiling and gay … for so she looks most beautiful.’

Perdita looked at her reflection. There was something in what Armistead said. She would be the woman who laughed and was merry for the sake of her lover and kept her melancholy locked away in her heart.

And so downstairs to dine and afterwards out to the boat which would row them over to Kew Gardens where the impatient lover would be waiting.

The boat was pushed out from Eel Pie Island. Perdita sat back listening to the sound of the oars skimming the water. Lord Maiden’s eyes were fixed on the approaching bank. Mrs Armistead sat, the picture of discretion, back straight, arms folded in her lap.

Suddenly Lord Maiden said: ‘They’re here.’

And they all looked and saw a white handkerchief waving in the dusk.

The boat touched earth. Lord Maiden leaped out of the boat and helped Perdita to land. Mrs Armistead remained seated.

Two young men had appeared on the bank, one stood a little behind the other. Mrs Armistead, watching closely, saw the glittering diamond on the coat of the former and her heart leaped with excitement. The Prince of Wales in person; and behind him his brother Prince Frederick.

Then Maiden was saying, ‘Your Royal Highness, I have the honour to present Mrs Robinson.’

The Prince gave a cry of joy and gathered Mrs Robinson in his arms. Lord Maiden turned back to the boat and got in. Prince Frederick stepped back a few paces; and the lovers remained locked in a fond embrace.

‘Let us walk among the trees,’ said the Prince. ‘Oh Perdita … my beautiful Perdita, how I have waited for this moment.’

Perdita was too overcome by her emotions to play her part.

‘But … my Prince … at last … we are together.’

‘Never to part,’ declared the Prince, quite unconscious of the figures in the boat or Frederick close by. ‘This is the happiest moment of my life. But it is only the beginning, my precious Perdita.’

‘Only the beginning,’ she agreed.

‘We must find a way of meeting. I will come to you. In a very short time …’

‘Oh, my love,’ she cried, ‘you will soon be of age and then … and then … there will be no barriers.’

‘You will never regret it, I swear. I shall adore you as long as I have breath in my body. No one in the world was ever loved as Florizel loves his Perdita.’

‘George!’ It was Frederick’s voice, eager, alarmed. ‘There are people coming this way.’

‘The devil take them.’

‘This is the only path. For God’s sake, George …’

Perdita cried, ‘I must go. There will be other times … This is only a beginning.’

Lord Malden too had heard the voices. He had jumped out of the boat and was approaching them.

‘Your Royal Highness it would never do … if this were discovered …’

‘He is right,’ cried Perdita. ‘Adieu, my Prince.’

The Prince seemed as though he were going to ignore the intruders and refuse to part with Perdita. But Frederick was pulling at his arm and Perdita was releasing herself.

‘We shall meet soon …’ she whispered.

‘When, when?’ demanded the Prince.

‘It shall be when you wish,’ she told him; and with that fled towards Lord Maiden and the boat.

Perdita was in transports of delight while Mrs Armistead helped her disrobe.

‘What a day, Armistead! What a day!’

‘What a day indeed, Madam. And the forerunner of many others like it, I daresay.’

‘He is so impatient,’ sighed Perdita fondly.

‘He is an ardent lover, Madam.’

‘Armistead, did you see him?’

‘Not clearly, Madam.’

‘He is very handsome. I never saw a man so handsome.’

‘I rejoice for you, Madam.’

‘Yes, Armistead, what have I done to deserve such devotion?’

Act on a stage, thought Armistead. Possess undoubted beauty. Hold him off for six months talking of virtue while all the time hinting at surrender. Well played, Madam. Yes, you do deserve a small success with His Highness.

‘Madam is so beautiful – and I never saw you more so than tonight.’

‘Do you think he was satisfied with me, Armistead?’

‘There could have been no doubt of it.’

‘Ah … Armistead. The grace of his person, the irresistible sweetness of his smile, the tenderness of his melodious yet manly voice will remain with me till every vision of this changing scene shall be forgotten.’

‘I am sure he would be delighted to hear you say that, Madam.’

‘Perhaps he will. I shall write it down so that I don’t forget it. But I mean it, Armistead. I mean it from the bottom of my heart.’

‘Madame is a poet as well as an actress and great beauty.’

Perdita smiled in a congratulatory manner at her reflection.

And so, said Mrs Armistead, reporting to Mr Fox, did she continue to applaud the good looks and accomplishment of her Prince on that night. It was indeed a step forward. Even Perdita knew now that there could be no holding back and she was prepared to become the mistress of the Prince of Wales.