The countess mentioned it to her husband one night in their room, with a look of concern. “Have you noticed how attentive Henry is to our royal guest?” Their bedroom was the only place she could allude to who Charlotte really was.
“What do you mean?” The earl was surprised.
“He’s besotted with her, George. Surely you’re aware of it?”
“They’re just like pups playing together. It doesn’t mean anything,” he said blandly.
“Don’t be so sure. He’s not a child anymore, and she’s a very appealing young girl. I think she’s as oblivious as you are, but I don’t want anything to happen between them. I owe it to her parents to keep her safe, not just from enemy bombs, but from my son as well.” She looked genuinely worried and her husband laughed.
“You make Henry sound dangerous,” he chided her. “They’re just having fun. All he thinks about is joining the army. He’s not serious about any girl.”
“He could be very dangerous for her, if things get out of hand. We have a responsibility to the king and queen. Don’t forget that. She’s not just any girl.”
“It’s impossible to forget, my dear. Everything about her is regal. From the way she walks and the way she holds her head, to the way she speaks, and even her kindness to Lucy. There is an innate modesty and grace to the child. She’s a lovely girl, and if something did happen between them one day, I certainly wouldn’t object and you’d be foolish if you did. Wouldn’t you like to have a daughter-in-law like her?”
“Of course. I’d like nothing better. But if that’s ever to be, it has to happen in the right way, after the war. They’re both much too young, and I doubt very seriously that Their Majesties would be pleased with a surprise betrothal at this point, based on proximity and nothing more sensible. I think they’d be furious with us if something were to come of this now.”
“Wars make people grow up very quickly, and inspire deep feelings. Perhaps this is the right match for both of them,” he said, and the countess sighed again.
“It is not the right time, or the right circumstances,” she said emphatically. “I’ve tried warning Henry about that, but he has no wish to hear it, and it would be indelicate and presumptuous of me to talk to Charlotte about it. But her mother isn’t here to warn her. I think they’re both completely innocent, and falling in love. That could be dangerous for them, and for us, if Their Majesties get upset about it.”
“This isn’t the dark ages. They’re not going to lock us in the Tower, Glorianna. I think you’re unnecessarily concerned. They’re both innocents, children really, and he won’t be here for much longer. He’ll be eighteen soon enough and in the army.”
“They’ll be here long enough for them to get themselves in deep water,” she reminded her husband. The earl shook his head, got into bed, and a moment later, he was asleep. The countess lay awake, worrying about Henry and Charlotte for several hours.
She tried to speak of it discreetly to her son a few days later, and he looked shocked. “Mama, do you think I would try to seduce her? I would do no such thing.” He was deeply offended by her implication. He was a gentleman, but also a healthy young man.
“I wasn’t suggesting that you would. But you’re both very young, and love is a powerful force at your age. It could lead you into situations neither of you are prepared for, and must avoid at all costs.”
“You do Charlotte a disservice, ma’am,” he said haughtily. “She would never do something inappropriate, nor would I.” Henry was chilly with his mother for the next few days, and he never mentioned her comments to Charlotte. They were just having fun, and enjoyed riding together. All of his local friends were in the army now, and he was anxious to go too. His plans to go to university had been canceled, and would have to wait until after the war. His only friend whom he considered his equal was Charlotte. He could talk to her about almost anything, which was a first for him with a girl. She was his only close female friend or even friend of any kind now, with the war. She let him ride Pharaoh once, to see what a smooth ride he was, and he was stunned by the power of her horse, and her ability to control him with ease. She made it look effortless. She was an extraordinary horsewoman, which was only one of the many things he liked about her.
Henry’s mother continued to keep an eye on them, but there was nothing she could really complain about. She was just uneasy about how close they had become. Charlotte only mentioned him in passing in her letters to her parents, with no particular details. She didn’t think it was important, and he was leaving soon. She felt sorry for the Hemmingses about how sad she knew they would be once he was gone. He was their only child, and the light of their lives, just as Charles had said. Her mother and oldest sister had already written to her and given her the latest news from the palace and London. Charlotte pounced on the letter with glee the moment the countess handed it to her. She was starving for news of them. And they said how much they missed her too. When she finished reading her mother’s letter, she placed it in a leather box her mother had given her for papers and letters, before she left. The box was her mother’s, made of fine brown leather, with the crown embossed on it in gold and her mother’s initials in small gold letters inside. It was a reminder of home just seeing it on her desk, and warmed her heart and made her homesick at the same time. To anyone not knowing who had given it to her, the gold crown just looked like a handsome decoration. The queen’s own father had given it to her on her eighteenth birthday and it was a smaller version of the daily boxes of official documents Alexandra would receive one day as queen. And now Charlotte could keep her correspondence in it, the letters from her mother and sister. Victoria hadn’t written to her yet.
* * *
—
There was a heat wave at the beginning of August, six weeks after Charlotte arrived. She felt at ease on the Hemmingses’ estate by then, and in their home. Henry took Charlotte swimming in a stream at the back of the property, near one of the farms, and they cavorted like children, splashing each other, and laughing as they doused each other. Charlotte had thought about inviting Lucy, but she had promised to stay with the countess, to clean up some of the gardens with one of the farm boys. The countess had decided to try and do what she could, and Lucy was willing to help, so Henry and Charlotte went swimming without her, and didn’t tell her where they were going so she didn’t try to join them. They felt guilty saying it, but agreed that Lucy was dreary company, although she was helpful to Henry’s mother, but no fun for them. And she couldn’t swim.
They were sitting on the bank of the stream, their horses tied to a tree, and Henry lay back in the grass, admiring her in her bathing costume.
“You’re so beautiful, Charlotte. I think you’re the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen.” She blushed and looked away, not sure how to respond. She didn’t think of him in that way, just as a boy, and a friend.