The Prince and the Quakeress - Plaidy Jean - Страница 21

Bute therefore set out to discover who it was who had wrought this change in George.

It was not long before he heard of the closed carriage which arrived at the house in the Haymarket; he had even caught a glimpse of the occupants of the closed carriage. Two women—one obviously a servant, the other a woman of outstanding beauty; and a woman too, not a girl. That was the alarming part. There was a serenity about her which suggested intelligence. Such a woman could completely command George.

There was not a moment to lose. When he told Augusta what he had discovered she could not believe him. George, her little George to so deceive her!

‘He is a man, my dearest. We forget that.’

‘But my George...such a baby! He has never looked at women.’

‘He may have done so when you were not present, my love. In any case, he has looked at this one, and more than looked, I’ll swear. He would not need to hire rooms in the Haymarket just to look. I have found out that he commanded Elizabeth Chudleigh to engage those rooms for him.’

‘Elizabeth Chudleigh! That girl...she is too saucy.’

‘But a woman of the world, surely. It may be that she knows something of this affair.’

‘That’s more than likely. Shall I send for her, John, and question her?’

‘We will question her together.’

When Elizabeth was summoned to the Princess’s presence and heard what she wished to talk about, she believed her dismissal was near. She tried to feel philosophical, but she was alarmed. It would be dreary if she were banished from Court; and perhaps old George would have nothing to offer her. She would go to him, though, with a tale of Bute and the Princess which would amuse him, although, of course, the old hypocrite would pretend to be shocked. But the King disliked Bute heartily, and she would trust to her luck and she would come through.

‘You engaged rooms for the Prince of Wales in the Haymarket,’ said the Princess. I wonder why?’

‘Because, Your Highness, the Prince commanded me to do so.’

‘And you knew of his...er friendship with a young Quaker woman.’

‘I did, Your Highness.’

‘And you thought it incumbent on you to find the Prince rooms for this purpose.’

‘I thought it incumbent, Madam, to obey the orders of the Prince of Wales.’

‘H’m,’ said the Princess. ‘And here is a pretty state of affairs!’

‘Your Highness is a fond mother and attaches too much importance to a perfectly natural affair, perhaps.’

‘I shall be the best judge of that, Miss Chudleigh. The Prince is very young to indulge in such adventures. I am displeased that you should have aided him in this matter. Tell me what you know of this young woman.’

‘That she is very virtuous, Madam. She is a Quaker.’ She was smiling appealingly from Bute to the Princess. ‘I am sure Your Highness and you, my lord, will understand...’

‘Miss Chudleigh,’ said Lord Bute, ‘can you see any way of extracting the Prince from this delicate situation? If you can, I should advise you to tell the Princess of it.’

Oh, thought Elizabeth. Conditions! Help us or...dismissal. Could she rely on old George?

‘Miss Lightfoot is of a very respectable family. Quakers, Your Highness. And Quakers marry with their own kind. There is a young man who has been chosen for Miss Lightfoot. A grocer...More suitable than the Prince of Wales...but...’

‘Miss Chudleigh,’ said the Princess severely.

But Lord Bute put in: ‘You mean the young woman’s family are arranging a marriage for her with this grocer?’

‘I think he would need a considerable dowry...considerable to a grocer, my lord, but a bagatelle to Her Highness and your lordship...if he were to be hurried into marriage.’

‘Hurried into marriage!’ cried the Princess.

‘The young lady’s new husband would scarcely allow her to visit a young gentleman...even the Prince of Wales, Madam.’

‘Miss Chudleigh,’ said Lord Bute quickly, ‘it might well be that you could be of service in this matter. If you were, I am sure Her Highness would overlook your fault in helping the Prince to find this lodging in the Haymarket.’

‘I should be honoured to be of the smallest service to Her Highness,’ murmured Elizabeth.

• • •

Mr. Wheeler was not altogether surprised when he received a visit from an unknown gentleman who told him that he had a matter of considerable importance to discuss with him.

As soon as Mr. Wheeler ushered him into his private sitting-room he whispered that he came from my Lord Bute, of whose position at Court Mr. Wheeler was doubtless aware. Perhaps Mr. Wheeler could guess on what mission he came.

Mr. Wheeler solemnly declared that he was aware of certain trouble which connected his household with the Court.

‘Your niece, Mr. Wheeler, is a very beautiful young woman, and these things will happen. Our desire is to repair any damage as quickly and with as little noise as possible. I am assured that you will wish the same.’

‘It is my heartfelt wish.’

‘You are in a position to arrange the immediate marriage of your niece with a young and respectable grocer, I believe.’

‘Perhaps not immediate,’ replied Wheeler. ‘This matter has been broached between our families and Mr. Axford is naturally asking a dowry for his son’s bride. Hannah is my niece and has been brought up in my house, but I have daughters of my own for whom I must provide in due course.’

‘My dear sir, it is precisely on this account that I am here now. It is the desire of everyone who wishes that your niece be happily placed in life to see her married to this worthy young man. I am here to offer him a dowry on your daughter’s behalf of five hundred pounds. Do you think that he would be persuaded to agree to an immediate marriage? That, I must insist, is part of the bargain.’

‘Five hundred pounds!’ cried Mr. Wheeler. ‘I am sure there will be no difficulty.’

• • •

Hannah was in despair. The Axford family were dining with the Wheelers for it was an occasion for celebration. Hannah was betrothed to Isaac Axford and the marriage was to take place in two days’ time. In view of the haste it would not be advisable for the young couple to marry at the Friends’ Meeting House. There would be too much talk of the haste and the reason for Isaac Axfords sudden affluence. The family would have to resort to Keith’s Chapel in Curzon Street where it was possible to marry speedily, no questions being asked.

It was a sorry business, Mr. Wheeler reckoned. Dr. Keith was a marriage-monger who would marry anyone for the sake of his fee; his method was similar to that of the notorious Fleet Marriages when people were married in the prison without licence or banns. This was a pernicious trade because it enabled scoundrels to go through a mock ceremony with innocent young girls, who had believed themselves to be truly married, and these men could, when they desired, abandon their ‘wives’ with the utmost ease and legality. Dr. Keith begun in this way, but being a shrewd businessman he had prospered so much that he had been able to buy land In Curzon Street, Mayfair, and there erect a chapel.

He had become famous; he still married people in the Fleet Prison while he officiated at his chapel and he even advertised in the papers that people who desired matrimony could achieve it at his chapel in Mayfair with a licence on a common stamp and a guinea.

Dr. Keith, it was true had been excommunicated by the Church for these practices; this was an added virtue. Those who did not wish to take marriage seriously declared that the Doctor was excommunicated the marriage was not legal; and those who wished the marriage to be binding declared that it was so since it had been performed by a priest. Earlier he had been in prison, and in June of this very year the Marriage Act had been passed which declared that banns must be published on three Sundays preceding the ceremony in the church or chapel where the prospective bride and groom lived; that the true names of the parties concerned should delivered in writing together with their addresses to the ministers one week before the first reading of the banns; that though either party be under twenty-one a minister would not be considered guilty of an offence if parents and guardians of the parties had given no notice of dissent to the proposed marriage. But where they did dissent, the publication of the banns should be void.