‘Please, May.’ There was an emotional break in his voice. ‘If you don’t accept me, I shall have no alternative but to marry Mossy. The Prime Minister believes there could be no better match dynastically than a future Queen of England who is also the Kaiser’s sister. But nice though Mossy is, she isn’t what I want. She would depend on me too much, and I need someone that I can depend on. That person used to be Georgie, but Georgie is nearly always on the far side of the world these days and, to tell the brutal truth, I’m not such great shakes, left to my own devices. I’m always on the brink of getting into trouble. I need a wife whose views I respect, who will keep me on the straight and narrow, and with whom I can share my anxieties. In short, I need you, May. Please don’t turn me down.’

It had been a long speech and during it, although blood was still drumming in May’s ears and her heart was still slamming against her chest, the reasons for their doing so had changed dramatically.

He was serious. Eddy, Duke of Clarence and Avondale, heir presumptive to the most powerful throne in the world, was asking her to marry him. If she accepted him, she would not only be marrying someone she was certain she could be happy with, but she would be ensuring her family’s future financial stability. On marriage, she would become a royal duchess. When Aunt Queen died and Eddy’s father became King, Eddy would inherit the title Prince of Wales and she would be the Princess of Wales. And when Eddy’s father died, Eddy would be King of the United Kingdom and Emperor of India. And she would be his Queen and Empress.

It was all too much to take in: too swift, too sudden.

And had Eddy forgotten that she wasn’t 100 per cent royal?

She said through dry lips, ‘The Queen and her prime minister will never agree to it. My paternal grandparents’ marriage was morganatic. I’m a Serene Highness, not a Royal Highness. I don’t know of a Serene Highness who has married the heir to a throne. It’s something Aunt Queen and the Prime Minister are simply never going to allow.’

‘But that is where you are wrong, May! I’m proposing to you with the consent of both of them. It is why Granny Queen invited you to Balmoral. She wanted to make quite sure I had made the right decision and, as I do, she thinks you are an exceptional girl and is willing to overlook your Serene status. She would like our engagement to be announced as soon as possible and for us to be married at Easter. So please, please, May. Will you marry me?’