Part 24 (2/2)

”You are so good to Mrs. Freeman.”

How much? wondered Sarah. Five thousand like the rest?

Sarah also had another reason for being at Court. Her first grandchild was to be christened and she hoped the Queen would be his G.o.dmother.

Anne wept with joy at the prospect.

”The next best thing my dear Mrs. Freeman to being a grandmother is to be a G.o.dmother.”

”I had hoped you would think so. G.o.dolphin and Sunderland will be the child's G.o.dfathers.”

The Queen nodded. She had never liked Sunderland who had voted against dear George's allowance being increased, and that was something for which she would never forgive him; and since she had become so friendly with dear Mr. Harley she was beginning to find Lord G.o.dolphin rather tiresome.

”We're going to call him William,” said Sarah. ”His mother has already given him the name of Willigo.”

”Willigo for William. He's named after my boy. It's so charming,” said Anne. ”I long to see the dear little creature.”

So cosy! she thought. It was like the old days when they had talked about their children, when her dear boy had been alive and Sarah's son too. Poor Mrs. Freeman, she had lost a beloved son, the same as the Queen had; it made such a bond between them; but Sarah was the more fortunate. She had her daughters and now her darling grandchild. Little Willigo!

The door opened suddenly and Abigail came in; she was smiling and turning, Sarah stared at her in astonishment.

What an unusual way for a chambermaid to enter the Queen's presence! No scratching at the door, no humble approach!

How odd! thought Sarah. How very odd.

Abigail stopped short, seeing who was with the Queen.

”You ... Your Majesty rang?” she asked.

Anne looked at the bellrope as though with surprise. ”No, Hill,” she said with a pleasant smile, ”I didn't ring.”

”I ask pardon of Your Majesty and Your Grace.”

Anne nodded pleasantly and Sarah haughtily inclined her head, while Abigail closed the door.

Sarah forgot the incident immediately. The manners of the chambermaid were scarcely worthy of her consideration at such a time when she had the marriage of her daughter and the christening of her grandson to occupy her mind.

Abigail stood outside the door and for once she allowed her features to fall into an expression of hatred. That woman had only to appear and she was immediately delegated to the position of humble chambermaid and poor relation.

Would it ever be possible to oust the proud Churchill woman from her place-even with the help of Robert Harley?

During the weeks that followed Abigail began to believe that her fears were justified. Sarah had only to appear and Anne it seemed was ready to forget all past neglect and become her slave.

Never, it seemed, had Sarah been so powerful. In the past they had differed in their views, Anne being at heart a staunch Tory and Sarah inclining strongly towards the Whigs; but now the Whigs had been successful at the polls and even the Queen was favouring them; and because they knew how much they owed to Sarah they were ready to give her the adulation she expected. Tories such as Robert Harley and Henry St. John sought her favour-outwardly-and it did not occur to her that they had anything but the utmost respect for her, while like so many others, they hoped for her friends.h.i.+p.

Sarah was more powerful than she had ever been before.

Harley was watching eagerly. The more powerful she became the more careless she grew. Not once during those days when her ascendancy seemed complete did he despair of sending her hurtling down to failure. He hoped that she would continue in her arrogant blindness for he realized that his greatest ally was Sarah herself.

The woman was dazzling, brilliant-and a fool.

Someday, someone was going to carry those slighting remarks about the Queen right back to the Queen. At the moment no one dared ... but the time would come.

In the meantime his friends, the wits and wags of the coffee houses, were playing the part he expected of them, and laughing at the situation; Viceroy Sarah was Queen Sarah now, and sometime their lampoons might reach the Queen.

”And Anne shall wear the crown but Sarah reign,” they wrote.

”Churchill shall rise on easy Stuart's fall

And Blenheim's tower shall triumph o'er Whitehall.”

And then came a chance to discountenance Sarah.

It was only to be expected that Sarah should believe that the Member of Parliament for St. Albans should be chosen by her, and she selected as Whig candidate Henry Killigrew whom she was certain, with a little persuasion to the electorate from her, would be elected.

The Tory candidate was a Mr. Gape and Sarah set out to attack him, but in spite of her efforts he was elected, and Henry Killigrew, believing that he could not fail if he had the support of the d.u.c.h.ess of Marlborough, was certain that Gape could only have won through bribery, and promptly accused him of it.

Gape took the matter to court where his counsel turned the tables by making a public announcement that the d.u.c.h.ess of Marlborough in her support of Killigrew had been guilty of ill practices. This the d.u.c.h.ess poohpoohed with her usual scorn, but when witnesses were brought forward Sarah's enemies began to chortle with glee.

Robert Harley called on Abigail and they took a little walk in the gardens of the Palace to discuss this interesting affair.

”I've seen Gape's counsel,” Harley told Abigail. ”This is most illuminating. The d.u.c.h.ess of Marlborough has been ordering members of the electorate to Holywell House to give them little homilies as to how they should vote. You can guess what they were like. More warnings than homilies, 'If you don't vote as I tell you it will be the worse for you!' I'll swear.”

”But this is certainly an ill practice.”

”No doubt of it. We'll have Madame Sarah taken up for bribery and corruption yet.”

”She must be quite furious.”

Harley laid his hand on Abigail's arm and she lifted her face to his. Sometimes she thought he was fully aware of the effect he had on her. She was fascinated and yet in a way repelled, but the fascination was the strong emotion.

”You allow her to intimidate you, cousin.”

”She is an intimidating person.”

”Don't forget each day you grow farther and farther from her reach.”

”I believe she would still have the power to dismiss me ... if she should decide to do so.”

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