I stepped into a rather untidy sitting room. “Where is your maid, Belinda?” I asked. “Has she not come back into your service yet?”

“Gone,” Belinda said. “Deserted me. Abandoned me in my hour of need, the rotter.”

“Oh no.”

She nodded. “Oh yes. I paid her wages for a month when I left England. And of course I was gone longer than a month so she ups and finds herself a new job. And listen to this—not as a maid, either. She took a course in typewriting and now she works in a typing pool where she has regular hours and weekends free, and she earns more money than I paid her.” She shook her head. “What are the lower classes coming to, Georgie?”

“The world is changing, I suppose,” I said. “Although it’s rather galling to think that she can get a job just like that when you and I are unemployable.”

“You wouldn’t like to make me some tea, would you?” Belinda said. “You’re so good at domestic things.”

“All right.” I smiled as I went through to the kitchen. I’d had to learn the hard way how to survive on my own. If Belinda didn’t find a new maid soon, she’d also have to learn how to look after herself. I lit the gas and spooned tea into the pot. Belinda came to stand in the kitchen doorway. “I don’t suppose you’d like to move back into my box room, would you? I am hopelessly undomestic.”

“Sorry, but I’ve got better digs at the moment,” I said. “I’m living at Kensington Palace.”

“What on earth for? Have you been given a grace and favor apartment because of your royal connections?”

“No. I’ve been asked to look after Princess Marina until her marriage and she’s staying there.”

“To Prince George? Poor girl. Does she know what she’s in for?”

“Not exactly. I did say he had been a bit of a playboy.”

“That is a classic understatement,” she said.

“Maybe he’ll reform. He seems to be fond enough of her.”

Belinda took the cup of tea I had just poured for her. “I doubt he’ll change. Maybe long enough to produce the heir and the spare. But then in most royal marriages it’s back to the little wife turning a blind eye to the husband’s wandering, isn’t it?”

“It does seem to be. Although the Duke and Duchess of York seem happy with each other.”

“Well, he’s never been exactly the playboy type, has he?” Belinda took a tentative sip of tea. “I needed that,” she said. “Georgie, you’re a godsend. But what exactly are you doing here this early?”

“Two things,” I said. “I discovered to my chagrin last night that Queenie had left my blue evening gown hanging in your wardrobe. I had to wear the bottle green velvet to dinner at Buckingham Palace.”