On one of these evenings, Alah told Crawfie something that shocked her.

‘I don’t know how the Duchess remains so calm,’ she said.

Crawfie smiled. ‘I know, she’s always so serene.’

‘I just wish the Duke was the same.’

‘Yes, I know. He’s so shy and his stutter must frustrate him.’

‘That’s one way of putting it.’ Alah snipped the thread of the hem she was letting down for Lilibet. ‘Cook told me there was another plate broken last night.’

‘Who dropped it?’ asked Marion casually, expecting that a footman or kitchen maid had been told off.

‘The Duke broke it.’

‘No harm done then.’

‘Luckily.’ Alah lowered her voice. ‘The plate hit the wall – was thrown at the wall. And it’s not the first time.’

Crawfie was incredulous. ‘The Duke broke a plate deliberately?’

Alah nodded.

‘Why?’

‘Cook says it started when he got a phone call just before dinner. His tempers can come from nowhere. Apparently the Duchess went on as if nothing had happened and just asked him to calm down.’

Crawfie couldn’t believe this was true. After thinking about it for a few moments, she said, ‘I don’t believe it. The Duke is such a kind man – look how he is with his daughters and the Duchess. It must have been an accident.’

Alah raised her eyebrows. ‘It’s happened before.’

Crawfie became very indignant. ‘I admire them both too much to believe kitchen gossip. I would rather die than talk of them like that.’ She closed the book on her knee and stood up. ‘I will pretend you never said these terrible things, Alah. If you will excuse me, I shall say goodnight.’

As she left for her own room, Alah called after her, ‘You’ll see!’

It took a couple of days for the atmosphere between the two of them to warm up again. In the meantime, they each privately thought the other was in cloud cuckoo land.

The Duke and Duchess always came to the nursery to say goodnight to their daughters if they’d been unable to be present for bath time.

One particular evening towards the beginning of spring, they arrived upstairs in full evening dress.

‘Do you think we’ll do?’ the Duchess asked the Princesses, giving them a whirl of her ball gown.

‘Mummy, you look very pretty indeed,’ said Lilibet. ‘Where are you going?’

‘To the opera.’

‘Real diamonds, Mummy?’ asked Margaret, reaching up and trying to touch her mother’s necklace.

‘Yes, but don’t tell anyone.’

Lilibet suddenly ran to the window. ‘What time is it? Have we missed Mr Coachy and his horses?’

‘Who is M-M-Mr Coachy?’ the Duke enquired

Crawfie thought she had better explain. ‘Sir, ma’am, each night at about this time Lilibet and Margaret look out for some friends of ours. Have you the time to meet them?’

The Duke was about to say no but the Duchess jumped in, ‘Bertie, darling, they can’t start the opera without us. We’ll only be ten minutes late.’

The Duke clenched his jaw in irritation but said nothing.