Part 9 (1/2)

'You engaged rooms for the Prince of Wales in the Haymarket,' said the Princess. 'I wonder why?'

'Because, Your Highness, the Prince commanded me to do so.'

'And you knew of his... er... friends.h.i.+p with a young Quaker woman.'

'I did, Your Highness.'

'And you thought it inc.u.mbent on you to find the Prince rooms for this purpose.'

'I thought it inc.u.mbent, Madam, to obey the orders of the Prince of Wales.'

'H'm,' said the Princess. 'And here is a pretty state of affairs!'

'Your Highness is a fond mother and attaches too much importance to a perfectly natural affair, perhaps.'

'I shall be the best judge of that, Miss Chudleigh. The Prince is very young to indulge in such adventures. I am displeased that you should have aided him in this matter. Tell me what you know of this young woman.'

'That she is very virtuous, Madam. She is a Quaker.' She was smiling appealingly from Bute to the Princess. 'I am sure Your Highness and you, my lord, will understand...'

'Miss Chudleigh,' said Lord Bute, 'can you see any way of extracting the Prince from this delicate situation? If you can, I should advise you to tell the Princess of it.'

Oh, thought Elizabeth. Conditions! Help us or... dismissal. Could she rely on old George?

'Miss Lightfoot is of a very respectable family. Quakers, Your Highness. And Quakers marry with their own kind. There is a young man who has been chosen for Miss Lightfoot. A grocer... More suitable than the Prince of Wales... but...'

'Miss Chudleigh,' said the Princess severely.

But Lord Bute put in: 'You mean the young woman's family are arranging a marriage for her with this grocer?'

'I think he would need a considerable dowry... considerable to a grocer, my lord, but a bagatelle to Her Highness and your lords.h.i.+p... if he were to be hurried into marriage.'

'Hurried into marriage!' cried the Princess.

'The young lady's new husband would scarcely allow her to visit a young gentleman... even the Prince of Wales, Madam.'

'Miss Chudleigh,' said Lord Bute quickly, 'it might well be that you could be of service in this matter. If you were, I am sure Her Highness would overlook your fault in helping the Prince to find this lodging in the Haymarket.'

'I should be honoured to be of the smallest service to Her Highness,' murmured Elizabeth.

Mr Wheeler was not altogether surprised when he received a visit from an unknown gentleman who told him that he had a matter of considerable importance to discuss with him.

As soon as Mr Wheeler ushered him into his private sitting-room he whispered that he came from my Lord Bute, of whose position at Court Mr Wheeler was doubtless aware. Perhaps Mr Wheeler could guess on what mission he came.

Mr Wheeler solemnly declared that he was aware of certain trouble which connected his household with the Court.

'Your niece, Mr Wheeler, is a very beautiful young woman, and these things will happen. Our desire is to repair any damage as quickly and with as little noise as possible. I am a.s.sured that you will wish the same.'

'It is my heartfelt wish.'

'You are in a position to arrange the immediate marriage of your niece with a young and respectable grocer, I believe.'

'Perhaps not immediate,' replied Wheeler. 'This matter has been broached between our families and Mr Axford is naturally asking a dowry for his son's bride. Hannah is my niece and has been brought up in my house, but I have daughters of my own for whom I must provide in due course.'

'My dear sir, it is precisely on this account that I am here now. It is the desire of everyone who wishes that your niece be happily placed in life to see her married to this worthy young man. I am here to offer him a dowry on your daughter's behalf of five hundred pounds. Do you think that he would be persuaded to agree to an immediate marriage? That, I must insist, is part of the bargain.'

'Five hundred pounds!' cried Mr Wheeler. 'I am sure there will be no difficulty.'

Hannah was in despair. The Axford family were dining with the Wheelers for it was an occasion for celebration. Hannah was betrothed to Isaac Axford and the marriage was to take place in two days' time. In view of the haste it would not be advisable for the young couple to marry at the Friends' Meeting House. There would be too much talk of the haste and the reason for Isaac Axford's sudden affluence. The family would have to resort to Keith's Chapel in Curzon Street where it was possible to marry speedily, no questions being asked.

It was a sorry business, Mr Wheeler reckoned. Dr Keith was a marriage-monger who would marry anyone for the sake of his fee; his method was similar to that of the notorious Fleet Marriages when people were married in the prison without licence or banns. This was a pernicious trade because it enabled scoundrels to go through a mock ceremony with innocent young girls, who had believed themselves to be truly married, and these men could, when they desired, abandon their 'wives' with the utmost ease and legality. Dr Keith had begun in this way, but being a shrewd businessman he had prospered so much that he had been able to buy land in Curzon Street, Mayfair, and there erect a chapel.

He had become famous; he still married people in the Fleet Prison while he officiated at his chapel, and he even advertised in the papers that people who desired matrimony could achieve it at his chapel in Mayfair with a licence on a common stamp and a guinea.

Dr Keith, it was true had been excommunicated by the Church for these practices; this was an added virtue. Those who did not wish to take marriage seriously declared that since the Doctor was excommunicated the marriage was not legal; and those who wished the marriage to be binding declared that it was so since it had been performed by a priest. Earlier he had been in prison, and in June of this very year the Marriage Act had been pa.s.sed which declared that banns must be published on three Sundays preceding the ceremony in the church or chapel where the prospective bride and groom lived; that the true names of the parties concerned should be delivered in writing together with their addresses to the ministers one week before the first reading of the banns; that though either party be under twenty-one a minister would not be considered guilty of an offence if parents and guardians of the parties had given no notice of dissent to the proposed marriage. But where they did dissent, the publication of the banns should be void.

When Mr Axford reminded Mr Wheeler of this new law which would mean the delay of the marriage for at least three weeks, Mr Wheeler who had this special information from his ministerial visitor was able to a.s.sure Mr Axford that although the Bill had been pa.s.sed and had received the Royal a.s.sent it had not yet been embodied in the Statute Book and it would not actually be law until the following year. There was nothing therefore to delay the marriage; it should take place in Keith's Chapel two days from now; there should be little fuss; there would be a quiet celebration at the bride's home, and after that Isaac could take her to her new home in Ludgate Hill.

Jane came to see Hannah and slipped up to her room unseen by the Wheelers, for she had become unpopular in that household. Hannah was sitting by the window, a figure of melancholy.

'Jane!' she cried.

'Yes,' said Jane. 'Here I am. They didn't see me slip up.'

'They will be angry if they know you are here.'

'Oh yes, I am blamed, I know.'

'What am I going to do Jane? I am going to be married... married to Isaac Axford!'

'Yes, I know,' said Jane. 'But don't despair. Mr Ems has been to see me.'

'What!'

'Now listen. The Prince refuses to lose you.'

'He is but a boy... the dearest best boy in the world but only a boy.'

'Nonsense! He's a man. He must be... because he is determined to keep you.'

'But how can he. He is romantic. They will never let me out except to go to Dr Keith's Chapel. Oh, Jane, it is all over.'

'It is just beginning,' said Jane.

'Do you realize that I am going to be married to Isaac Axford in two days from now?'

'Yes, you are.'