‘And as it is already the first week of November, she would, in normal circumstances, be back at Windsor within a week – two weeks at the most. If she wants to spend time with you, why is she not doing so somewhere that is only a hop and jump away from White Lodge? Why the urgency about seeing you immediately, when she is over six hundred miles away?’

May had no answer. It was something she hadn’t thought of, and Dolly was right, it was odd.

In the end she said, ‘I expect it was a whim and, when it occurred to her, she sent the message to Mama without thinking it through.’

Something else occurred to Dolly, but he didn’t mention it until, an hour or so later, May told him she was going to bed. ‘When Aunt Queen was hoping to make a match between Alicky and Eddy, and when she summoned Alicky to Balmoral, didn’t she also invite Eddy at the same time?’

‘Yes. I think she was hoping an engagement announcement could be made while they were still with her.’

‘Well, this is just a thought, Sis. Max of Baden is on a visit to England. If we find him in residence when we arrive at Balmoral, it can only be that Ma’s hopes are about to be fulfilled and you have been invited so that he can look you over.’

‘And the moon is made of green cheese. Goodnight, Dolly. And stop speculating. It’s no help whatsoever.’

Despite the gentle rocking motion of the train and the rhythm of its wheels on the track, May didn’t sleep well. Prince Maximilian of Baden was a very different kettle of fish from Prince Ernst of Schleswig-Holstein. She knew of him only by repute, but everything she had heard about him was encouraging. He was somewhere in his mid-twenties and had studied law and politics at Leipzig University. She had once overheard her Uncle Bertie say that if Willy had a brain in his head, he would make Max his Reich Chancellor, which meant there were no doubts as to Max’s intelligence and ability; and she had heard Toria say that Max was handsome enough to die for.

Could Dolly’s assumption possibly be correct? Was her summons to Balmoral in order that Max of Baden could meet her to see if they were compatible? And if so, why her? Why not Toria or Maudie? If he married Toria or Maudie, his father-in-law would one day be King of the United Kingdom and Emperor of India. Why, then, would he be allowing Aunt Queen to steer him in the direction of May Teck, who could bring nothing to a union but second-class royal status and a history of shameful family bankruptcy?