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Chapters (54)
  1. Cover
  2. The Summer Queen
  3. Dedication Page
  4. Family Tree of King George III
  5. Family Tree of Queen Victoria
  6. PART ONE
  7. Chapter One
  8. Chapter Two
  9. Chapter Three
  10. Chapter Four
  11. Chapter Five
  12. Chapter Six
  13. Chapter Seven
  14. Chapter Eight
  15. Chapter Nine
  16. Chapter Ten
  17. Chapter Eleven
  18. Chapter Twelve
  19. Chapter Thirteen
  20. PART TWO
  21. Chapter Fourteen
  22. Chapter Fifteen
  23. Chapter Sixteen
  24. Chapter Seventeen
  25. Chapter Eighteen
  26. Chapter Nineteen
  27. Chapter Twenty
  28. Chapter Twenty-One
  29. Chapter Twenty-Two
  30. Chapter Twenty-Three
  31. Chapter Twenty-Four
  32. PART THREE
  33. Chapter Twenty-Five
  34. Chapter Twenty-Six
  35. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  36. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  37. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  38. Chapter Thirty
  39. Chapter Thirty-One
  40. Chapter Thirty-Two
  41. PART FOUR
  42. Chapter Thirty-Three
  43. Chapter Thirty-Four
  44. Chapter Thirty-Five
  45. Chapter Thirty-Six
  46. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  47. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  48. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  49. Chapter Forty
  50. Chapter Forty-One
  51. Acknowledgements
  52. Select Bibliography
  53. The Summer Queen
  54. By Margaret Pemberton

She looked down at the letter she was in the middle of writing. If May had been with her, she would unhesitatingly have told her all about Nicky’s ballerina, but putting the words in a letter was different. She would be seeing May in the not-too-distant future, for May and Eddy’s wedding was in February and she was to be one of the bridesmaids. There would be plenty of time then to confide in her about Mathilde Kschessinska.

She picked up her pen again:

Missy and Ducky and their mama are with us for a few days en route from Geneva to London, where they will be having a family Christmas at Clarence House. Missy is full of high spirits, as always, and Ducky is down in the dumps. She’s fifteen and in love with one of her Russian first cousins, Kyril Vladimirovich. Her reason for being down in the dumps is that nothing can ever come of it, as Romanovs are not allowed to marry first cousins. Can you imagine if the same rule applied to Granny Queen’s tribe? Her eternal matchmaking would be shot to pieces (and, come to think of it, she would never have been able to marry Grandpa Albert!).

That’s all for now, as the ice on the palace pond is hard enough to skate on and Ernie is showing off his skating skills to Missy and Ducky. (Although, as Missy and Ducky spend such a lot of time visiting their relatives in St Petersburg, I think he may find their skating skills outshine his. Winters in St Petersburg last for at least six months of the year.)

Love and all best – and until your February wedding – Kindred Spirit Alicky

‘I think your brother is a hoot,’ Ducky said late that night as, in nightdresses, the three of them sat cross-legged on Alicky’s bed eating Marie biscuits. ‘Not even Kyril has whizzed me around the ice so fast.’

‘That’s because Kyril Vladimirovich is so steady as to be almost stationary.’ Missy brushed some crumbs from her chest. ‘When it comes to men, Ducky, you really do need to raise your sights. It’s bad enough that Kyril is so low down in the Romanov line of succession, without him being as dull as ditch-water into the bargain.’

‘I don’t find him dull, and at least he’s good-looking and doesn’t have sticky-out red ears, like Nando.’