“I have things I have to take care of and might not be able to make it up to town in time. I’m sorry, but I can’t leave people in the lurch. Besides, Marina might be so dazzled by me that she forgets about my brother.” David chuckled. “I’m sure I won’t be missed.” He blew me a kiss and made a hasty exit. The queen looked at me and shook her head. “That boy is worrying his father to death,” she said. “And what sort of king will he make?”

“I’m sure he’ll do the job well when the time comes, ma’am,” I said. “He’s very kindhearted and he does care about the ordinary people.”

“But he’s becoming ever more obsessed with that woman,” the queen said. “She has a hold over him. One hears she went to America to inquire about getting a divorce, you know. Ridiculous, really, because she and David can never marry. The country would never countenance a twice-married American as queen.”

When I said nothing she went on, “I have told him if he makes a proper marriage he can keep that woman quietly as his mistress and nobody would mind too much.”

I smiled. “I don’t think she’s the kind of person who can be kept quietly. She likes the limelight too much.”

“That’s the problem.” The queen sighed. “But let’s turn to more pleasant matters. I asked you about Kensington Palace because that’s where we plan to house Princess Marina until her wedding. She’ll be arriving at the end of the week and will have a little time to be introduced to London and our ways. And that’s where you come in, Georgiana, dear. Marina’s family were exiled from Greece when her uncle was deposed as King of the Hellenes. She has grown up in exile, living with various relatives, and even rather simply in an apartment in Paris, so one understands. The king and I were afraid that she might find London society overwhelming. We thought Marina might appreciate having someone her own age to help her settle in and to show her around London.”

She looked at me questioningly. I nodded and waited for her to go on. “You would move into Kensington Palace as her companion. Familiarize her with English ways. Take her shopping and to the theater perhaps. Show her the best of what London has to offer.”