Read Online A Princely Dilemma by Elizabeth Rolls - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Elizabeth Rolls
Tags: Romance, Historical, series, Historical Romance, Two Hours or More (65-100 Pages), Harlequin Historical
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blessing pronounced and, for better or worse, the Prince of Wales and Princess Caroline were husband and wife.
Chapter Fifteen
‘I’m telling you, Severn, he scarce spoke to her at all on the way here from the chapel,’ said the Duke of Leeds.’ They were squeezed into a corner of the drawing room in St James’s Palace at the reception. Leeds shook his head. ‘I was right in front of them. And she’s really quite amiable. I can’t understand him!’ He smiled at Linnet. ‘Anyway, Lady Severn, a pleasure to meet you, and it’s plain to see that Severn here is happy. You will excuse me? I’d best return to the, er, other happy couple.’ With a bow, he left them.
‘They aren’t going to be happy, are they?’ said Linnet very quietly, watching the princess. Kester followed her gaze. The princess seemed in high gig, chatting and laughing. Beside her, the Prince of Wales looked like a man about to face his own execution. Even as Kester watched, she spoke to her husband. Politely. Cheerfully. His Royal Highness turned away, his gaze seeking and finding Lady Jersey.
Kester gritted his teeth. Impossible that the princess had not understood what happened during the ceremony, but apparently she was going to try.…
He sighed. ‘Probably not. But we are, aren’t we?’
His bride looked up, her eyes wondering. ‘Yes. Because you’re far too honourable to treat your wife like that.’
His heart twisted. ‘Honourable? Perhaps. And no, I’d never insult my wife, no matter how I felt about her. But I have to tell you, love makes all the difference between duty and joy.’
She became very still, but her hand on his arm trembled. ‘Love, my lord?’
He nodded. ‘Yes. Love. You are my wife, Linnet. My duchess. Will you be my love also?’
‘Yes,’ she breathed. ‘Oh, yes.’
Author Note
Anyone who knows anything about Regency England probably knows that the marriage of George, Prince of Wales, to Princess Caroline Amelia Elizabeth of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in April 1795 was an unmitigated disaster. Forced by the king into a legal marriage so that Parliament would clear his debts, when he had already contracted an illegal marriage to the Catholic widow Maria Fitzherbert, the prince married his first cousin without ever having laid eyes on her until three days before the wedding.
Princess Caroline’s arrival in England, the cousins’ first meeting and the wedding ceremony are as I have described them, and Lord Malmesbury was a real person and where possible I have used his own words, or a close approximation. Frances, Lady Jersey, was the prince’s mistress at the time and she was appointed as lady-in-waiting. Everything else is fiction, although as historically accurate as I can make it.
Readers who would like to know more about the marriage and Caroline of Brunswick may like to consult Flora Fraser’s excellent biography, The Unruly Queen , as I have done. The Disastrous Marriage , by Joanna Richardson, also has useful information, if taking perhaps a rather romanticised view of the Prince of Wales’s frequent to-ings and fro-ings between mistresses! My story covers only the three days between the first meeting of the cousins and their marriage. More than enough time for Kester, Duke of Severn, to sort out his own marital difficulties and convince his bride that he wants more than just her money.
Elizabeth Rolls
On April 29 th 2011 the world will be waiting with bated breath for Prince William and Kate Middleton to say ‘I do’!
The bells at Westminster Abbey are chiming, the carriage is waiting and THE dress has finally been unveiled… So join Her Majesty by dusting off your best hat as you prepare for the wedding of the decade!
To celebrate this historic event, Mills & Boon have created a special ebook collection:
Royal Weddings
…through the ages
Read about the future king’s ancestors and the people who helped bring their special days together.
7 couples, 7 marriages, 7 stories for
Chapter Fifteen
‘I’m telling you, Severn, he scarce spoke to her at all on the way here from the chapel,’ said the Duke of Leeds.’ They were squeezed into a corner of the drawing room in St James’s Palace at the reception. Leeds shook his head. ‘I was right in front of them. And she’s really quite amiable. I can’t understand him!’ He smiled at Linnet. ‘Anyway, Lady Severn, a pleasure to meet you, and it’s plain to see that Severn here is happy. You will excuse me? I’d best return to the, er, other happy couple.’ With a bow, he left them.
‘They aren’t going to be happy, are they?’ said Linnet very quietly, watching the princess. Kester followed her gaze. The princess seemed in high gig, chatting and laughing. Beside her, the Prince of Wales looked like a man about to face his own execution. Even as Kester watched, she spoke to her husband. Politely. Cheerfully. His Royal Highness turned away, his gaze seeking and finding Lady Jersey.
Kester gritted his teeth. Impossible that the princess had not understood what happened during the ceremony, but apparently she was going to try.…
He sighed. ‘Probably not. But we are, aren’t we?’
His bride looked up, her eyes wondering. ‘Yes. Because you’re far too honourable to treat your wife like that.’
His heart twisted. ‘Honourable? Perhaps. And no, I’d never insult my wife, no matter how I felt about her. But I have to tell you, love makes all the difference between duty and joy.’
She became very still, but her hand on his arm trembled. ‘Love, my lord?’
He nodded. ‘Yes. Love. You are my wife, Linnet. My duchess. Will you be my love also?’
‘Yes,’ she breathed. ‘Oh, yes.’
Author Note
Anyone who knows anything about Regency England probably knows that the marriage of George, Prince of Wales, to Princess Caroline Amelia Elizabeth of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in April 1795 was an unmitigated disaster. Forced by the king into a legal marriage so that Parliament would clear his debts, when he had already contracted an illegal marriage to the Catholic widow Maria Fitzherbert, the prince married his first cousin without ever having laid eyes on her until three days before the wedding.
Princess Caroline’s arrival in England, the cousins’ first meeting and the wedding ceremony are as I have described them, and Lord Malmesbury was a real person and where possible I have used his own words, or a close approximation. Frances, Lady Jersey, was the prince’s mistress at the time and she was appointed as lady-in-waiting. Everything else is fiction, although as historically accurate as I can make it.
Readers who would like to know more about the marriage and Caroline of Brunswick may like to consult Flora Fraser’s excellent biography, The Unruly Queen , as I have done. The Disastrous Marriage , by Joanna Richardson, also has useful information, if taking perhaps a rather romanticised view of the Prince of Wales’s frequent to-ings and fro-ings between mistresses! My story covers only the three days between the first meeting of the cousins and their marriage. More than enough time for Kester, Duke of Severn, to sort out his own marital difficulties and convince his bride that he wants more than just her money.
Elizabeth Rolls
On April 29 th 2011 the world will be waiting with bated breath for Prince William and Kate Middleton to say ‘I do’!
The bells at Westminster Abbey are chiming, the carriage is waiting and THE dress has finally been unveiled… So join Her Majesty by dusting off your best hat as you prepare for the wedding of the decade!
To celebrate this historic event, Mills & Boon have created a special ebook collection:
Royal Weddings
…through the ages
Read about the future king’s ancestors and the people who helped bring their special days together.
7 couples, 7 marriages, 7 stories for
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