“Oh golly.” On the drive down, I had hoped for a few days to catch my breath before I had to face Fig. Surely Darcy would telephone me with news at the palace. If he rang my brother’s house then Fig was likely to instruct the butler to say that I was not there. She had done it before.

“Have most of the servants left, then?” I asked.

She nodded. “Most inconvenient. I had to ring for a maid to bring up more coal for my bedroom fire.”

“And what about meals?” I had not stopped for food on the way down and was now feeling decidedly peckish.

“I send my maid to collect a tray for me. But it is cold meat and pickles for my luncheon. This is a meal for peasants, not for aristocrats.” She turned to glare in the direction of the kitchen. “And do you know what they sent up for my breakfast? A kipper. Do you know this fish called a kipper? It is most disagreeable. Full of little bones. Where are the eggs and kidneys and bacon, I ask, but I am told this is what Cook prepared for me. I think they wish to drive me out by serving unpleasant food. It will be the frog in the cave for dinner, you see.”

I had to smile. “You mean toad in the hole? I quite like that. It reminds me of nursery food.”

“I find this place most disagreeable,” she said.

“But Marina’s wedding was lovely, wasn’t it?” I looked back at the stairway, picturing her coming down the stairs with her sisters holding her train and fussing over her headdress. Was that only yesterday? It felt like a lifetime away.

“Yes, it was a fine wedding,” Irmtraut agreed. “But I am not sure she will be happy with this bridegroom. This English prince, there are bad stories about him, I think.”

“He has sown a few wild oats, I agree,” I said and instantly regretted it.

“He has been a farmer? He worked in fields?”

I tried not to laugh. “No, it’s an English expression. It means he has led a wild life in some ways.”

“The English language is ridiculous,” she grunted. “I will never understand it.”

“If you were here long enough you’d get the hang of it,” I replied, again not pausing to consider my use of words.

“What would I wish to hang?” she asked. Then she sniffed. “Another stupid English expression, I suppose.”

“I’m afraid so. But I think that Prince George seems genuinely fond of Marina and I hope he will try to make her happy.”