‘Not yet.’

‘Well, get it.’

Marion went to the small desk, one of the pieces Queen Mary had given her, and took an envelope from one of the small drawers.

‘Read it out,’ George ordered.

‘It’s a letter from the Queen,’ she told them, and hesitated before reading it aloud:

My dear Crawfie,

We look upon you now and always as a true and trustworthy friend. I can never tell you how grateful I am for all your devotion and love for Lilibet and Margaret. It was such a relief to me during the war to know that they were by your side through sirens, bombs and pantomimes, keeping everything cool and balanced and good-humoured. Thank you with all my heart.

Now you will be able to devote more time to the hub of your universe, your husband and your home.

She folded the letter and saw Bruce and Beatrice staring, their mouths open.

‘Oh my God, that’s so wonderful and insightful.’ Beatrice gasped. ‘What do you say, Bruce, honey?’

‘Incredible. That is the Queen of England giving you permission to share some of your stories, because she trusts you.’

Crawfie shook her head. ‘No, it is not that.’

‘But you have spoken to her about your work with us?’ Beatrice asked.

‘Yes, I have and she was most definite when she asked me not to have my name associated in any way with the articles. They must remain anonymous.’

‘Exactly as we agreed with Lady Astor, who has spoken to the Queen as well.’ Bruce was at his most avuncular. ‘So you see, we have double confirmation now.’

Marion looked over at George for support. ‘What do you think?’

George winked one of his red eyes at her. ‘I think we have a deal.’

Immediately the Goulds snapped into business mode. ‘That’s terrific. We will get a copy of a contract over to you to take a look at as soon as we get back to the States.’

Bruce shook George’s hand, and Beatrice put her arm around Marion’s shoulder.

‘In the meantime,’ she said, ‘I am going to bring back with me one of my dearest friends. She will type every story you tell her so that you don’t have to. You just talk naturally, telling her the stories, as you would to a friend, and she takes it all down. Simple.’ She let go of Marion and reached for her handbag. ‘OK, you guys. We’ll leave you in peace and see you very soon. We’ll let ourselves out.’

Marion followed them to the door and waved them off.

She couldn’t shake off the doubts she had. She trusted the Goulds and the Queen trusted her and Lady Astor wouldn’t involve herself in anything that was wrong but … it didn’t feel right. She walked back into the drawing room.

‘George, do you think this is going to be all right?’

George had given up any pretence of being sober and was now draped in his chair, emptying the remains of the whisky bottle into his glass. ‘All right? It’ll be better than that. That stuck up bitch you call boss is going to get what’s coming to her.’