Afterwards Gretna had no memory of when the Prince’s condescension in introducing her personally to his friends ended.

She only knew that it seemed to her a long time until finally he took her back to Maria and said in a satisfied voice,

“She will be le dernier cri, you may be sure of that,” as if he himself was her proud parent.

“Thank you, Sire, that was exceeding kind of you,” Maria said softly and a look passed between them which could only be exchanged between two people very much in love.

Then Maria drew Gretna aside with a promise to show her some of the beauties of the Palace.

“You must see the Chinese Drawing Room,” she said and then saw that Gretna was looking over her shoulder and asked, “you are seeking someone, my love?”

“No, no,” Gretna replied quickly, uncomfortably aware that she was lying and yet conscious that she could never tell Maria the truth.

The memory of what the Marquis had said about Maria came to her now and made her unduly perceptive as they moved amongst the bright bejewelled people who crowded The Palace.

There were smiles, compliments and many outstretched hands of greeting. But Gretna also saw people deliberately turn away as they approached, caught a glimpse of a sly look behind a dropped eyelid after a conventional remark had been made and occasionally the lifting of a feminine chin and a look of disdain and disapproval in some elderly woman’s eyes.

How hard it must be for Maria, she thought to herself, and drew a little closer as if, small as she was, she would protect her friend from the cruelty and envy of those who resented her friendship with the Prince of Wales.

They went into the dining room, which was walled with silver and supported by columns of red and yellow granite. It was the most amazing room that Gretna had ever seen, but Maria was more interested in telling her how clever the Prince had been to alter the domestic quarters of The Palace.

“Under his grandmother’s, the Dowager Princess of Wales, regime the whole house was old-fashioned and out of date,” she said, “and after she died eleven years ago it was allowed to become rat-infested, damp and mildewed. The staff quarters especially were dingy and horrible, but the Prince was determined that his servants should be comfortable. New kitchens have been built, sculleries, pantry, servants’ hall and the maids’ rooms with proper ventilation, unlike the past when they had either suffocated or shivered.”

“Poor things,” Gretna exclaimed.

“He thinks always of other people,” Maria said with a throb in her sweet voice and Gretna could not help being impressed that a young man of twenty-four should have such a knowledge of what was necessary as well as the power to have such improvements made.