‘Princess Hélène of Orléans. And so I want you to speak to your parents, May. I don’t think Frank has spoken to them about wanting to marry me, but it would be so helpful if I knew they knew, and it would be so encouraging if they were happy for us to marry, for they might be able to bring pressure to bear on Granny Queen; and if Granny Queen was happy for us to marry, then Papa would have to be as well.’

There was a certain logic in what Maudie was saying, but May couldn’t focus on it. She was still coming to terms with the thought of Eddy being in love with Hélène. ‘How long,’ she asked, stepping out of the way of an elderly woman selling lavender, ‘has it been going on?’

The brim of Maudie’s hat was laden with artificial flowers, and beneath them her eyebrows shot up in surprise. ‘But you know how long, May. I’ve always been in love with Frank. I can’t remember ever not being.’

‘Sorry, Maudie. I was referring to Eddy and Hélène.’

‘About a month – and I don’t think you’re concentrating on what I’m saying, May. I don’t think you appreciate how important it is that permission is given for Frank and me to marry.’

May thought of all the reasons why no such permission would be given. There was the fact that Frank wasn’t of equal birth; but there were lots of other reasons as well. For one thing, Frank’s surname was Teck and, much as she hated admitting it, their family name came with a lot of damaging baggage.

Her mother’s carelessness with money – a carelessness Frank had inherited – had led to bailiffs pawing over their possessions; the shame of having the contents of their home sold at public auction; and a very public two-year exile in Florence. Uncle Bertie couldn’t help his cousinship to her mother, but he certainly wouldn’t want their family ties to become even closer. She wondered, if it had been Dolly and not Frank that Maudie was in love with, if things might have been different, for at least with Dolly there had never been a hint of regrettable behaviour.

The same couldn’t be said for Frank, who had gained a reputation for outrageousness when, as a schoolboy, he had been expelled from his prestigious public school for tossing the headmaster over a hedge. Dark-haired and swarthily handsome, he was a free spirit who didn’t care what people thought, or said, about him. A compulsive gambler, he was always at a racecourse, dog track or casino, and was either gleeful at his winnings or carelessly indifferent to his losses, and it was impossible to imagine the Prince and Princess of Wales giving him permission to marry their daughter.