‘We are all very sad.’

‘Of course you are.’

Crawfie hitched Margaret onto her lap. ‘And are you sad too?’

‘Horribly,’ Margaret said dramatically, before leaning on Crawfie’s shoulder and doing her best to sob.

Lilibet put a comforting hand to her sister’s back. ‘Oh, Crawfie. I am worried for Granny. What will she do without Grandpa?’

‘We can never play again!’ Margaret wailed.

‘Oh, hush the pair of you. Your grandfather loved you and the last thing he would want is for you or Granny or anyone else to be unhappy. Now, you two are tired and upset and you need some sleep. Tomorrow you will feel a lot better. Into bed, please.’

Marion tucked them up again and, saying goodbye, closed the door softly. She went to the nursery sitting room where she was sure she would find Alah and Bobo.

‘I’m back,’ she whispered, putting her head around the door.

Bobo immediately began weeping, but Alah, although she was pale with dark circles under her eyes, kept her upper lip stiff. ‘Crawfie?’

‘Yes. I came as soon as I could. How are you both holding up?’

Alah’s face crumpled. ‘We are fine. It’s the girls …’

Marion stepped closer to the low flickering of the fire. ‘Bobo, would you make a tray of tea, please?’

Marion felt a bit mean asking the poor girl to make tea, but she wanted to speak to Alah without the distraction of Bobo’s sobs.

‘I have just looked in on the Princesses,’ she said, when Bobo was gone. ‘They are worried for the Queen.’

Alah wiped her nose and sighed. ‘We all are. What will we do without her and the King?’ Tears ran again.

Marion, with more hope than belief, said, ‘The Prince of Wales has been trained from birth to pick up the reins seamlessly. He’ll be a wonderful King.’

Alah shook her head. ‘But he doesn’t have a queen. What will he do as an unmarried king? No children, no loving arms to come home to. The only child of the old King unmarried, and the very one that needs to be.’

‘I am sure our Duke and Duchess, and the Princesses, will do all they can to help him,’ Marion said. ‘They will be wonderful.’

The damp hanky twisted in Alah’s hands. ‘The Duchess called us to her room this morning. She is still very weak from the flu, not well enough to leave her bed yet. The girls knew nothing of the King’s death and the Duchess wanted to tell them herself. Dear little things thought they were going to get another chapter of Right Ho, Jeeves.’

Bobo returned, bumping the door with the heavy tea tray. Marion gestured to her. ‘Just pop it all on the table here. Alah is telling me about this morning.’

Bobo’s little face fell glum again. ‘I still can’t believe it.’

Marion gave her a small smile. ‘Pour the tea, and let’s listen to Alah a moment.’

Alah sighed again. ‘The Duchess, so pale but still so pretty, had Dookie on the bed with her and the girls dived on to him, laughing and making the damn thing bark. But after the Duchess explained about the dear King …’ A tear ran down the older woman’s face. ‘And Lilibet, not even ten, immediately comforted her mother. You know how she is. So stoic and so … grown up. She asked how the Duke and Queen Mary were and then said “Poor Uncle David. Has he got to be King?”’ Alah’s tears flowed freely. Her body collapsed in on itself.