“Well, I did look rather wonderful. My hair was powdered, and I had the dress trimmed with old lace belonging to the queen which was a mistake, for seeing it brought on a fit of her megrims. ‘Oh, if only my dear Albert were here to share this moment,’” Louise said, aping her mother’s tone and wringing her hands.

“Stop! It is so wrong of you to make me laugh when her grief is very real.”

“And it has such staying power,” Louise said acerbically. “My father would be appalled to see her wear her heart on her sleeve as she does. You know how stiff and proper he always was.”

Margaret shuddered. “He was terrifying. He had a way of looking straight through me, as if I was so unworthy of his attention as to be invisible.”

“Better invisible than draw his ire by misbehaving.”

“Which you almost never did, Lou, for even when you have been naughty, you manage to shift the blame on to someone else. Don’t deny it—you know it’s true.”

Louise shrugged. “The trick, as I am forever telling you, is to keep a straight face and say nothing.”

Margaret fed the remains of her cake to Laddie. “My father says my face is a card-sharper’s delight, it is so transparent.”

“It’s true, M. I can always tell when my conversation is boring you.”

“You are never boring!”

“No, I am endlessly fascinating and you hang on my every word, but sadly not everyone is as entertaining. I am often bored, but I never let it show. That is why the queen finds me such excellent company.”

“How do you do it? Keep your thoughts from showing on your face, I mean?”

“Goodness, what a thing to ask. I don’t know—it is simply something one does.”

“It’s not something I do.”

“Then it’s something you’d better learn to do or you are going to find yourself in trouble sooner rather than later. You don’t want to get a reputation for being capricious.”

“Yet that describes you perfectly.”

“Ah, but nobody knows that apart from you, my dear M.”

“I know I sound ungrateful, but I’m not. I am perfectly well aware of how fortunate I am. Most young women would give their eyeteeth for the opportunity I am being given, to have a whole new wardrobe of gowns and to have every moment of the day filled with engagements.”

“Goodness, the duchess has been beating the duty drum hard.”

“With my sister Victoria accompanying her on cymbals. The problem is, Lou, I’m not here in London to enjoy myself. I’m here to do my duty and make a good match.”

“It’s what we both must do, sooner rather than later. It is the price we pay for being well-born and mere females.”

“Yes, but I wish I could marry later rather than sooner.”