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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

‘Yes,’ she said gratefully, knowing that he was instinctively removing her from the oppressive crush of his intimidating relations; and certain she would never feel nervous with him, never feel shy. ‘Yes, Nicky. I’d like that very, very much.’

And with her cheeks no longer stained red, and her heart singing like a bird, she left the room with him, happy to go wherever it was he wished to take her; happier than she could ever remember being.

Chapter Ten

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JULY 1884, FLORENCE

It was mid-July and, for May, the heat in Florence was overpowering, far too hot to be out in the countryside gathering wild flowers, sketching or sitting companionably nearby with Rowena and Belinda, or with her mother and Miss Light as Mr Thaddy painted views of the Arno. Instead she was enjoying the shade of I Cedri’s rooftop loggia. Its outer wall, supported by delicate stone arches, was open to the elements and, as well as affording a wonderful view of the river, captured the occasional welcoming light breeze.

The loggia was furnished with cushioned wicker chairs and May was sitting in one of them, with two unopened letters on her lap. Both of them had arrived at I Cedri that morning. One, with a Sandringham postmark, was in Maudie’s unmistakeable near-indecipherable scrawl. The other, in Alicky’s far neater handwriting, had been posted from Darmstadt.

May bit the corner of her lip. Which should she open first? Alicky’s letter would be full of gossip about Ella and Sergei’s St Petersburg wedding, but Maudie’s would have Wales family news in it – and that meant there was a good chance of there being news of Eddy in it.

With hope in her heart, she opened the envelope bearing the Sandringham postmark:

Dearest lovely May,

I’m missing you. For how much longer are you going to be in Italy? Toria says that if you stay out there much longer you are going to return to England with skin as dark as a little native boy’s. You won’t believe this but we (Toria, Looloo et moi) now have both a German governess and a French governess. The German governess is also teaching us – and Mama – how to spin. Can you imagine it? My mama spinning? I think it the greatest hoot ever. Toria and Looloo are embarrassingly duff at both French and German, but I’m not. I’ve discovered I like languages and I am also (although this is something of a secret) beginning to learn a little Russian. I can’t wait until Sergei makes a visit to England with Ella and I can astound him by greeting him in his own language!