She was too shaken to wince now. Poor Perdita, denuded of her mask. She was herself now, and that was a desperate and frightened woman.
She nodded. ‘Yes, you warned me.’
‘And I told you then that afterwards you could never return to the theatre.’
‘You mean you won’t have me?’
‘Willingly would I, if it were possible. But it is not possible. You must find some other way.’
‘How? How can I pay my debts?’
‘I wish I could answer that one. Most willingly would I use the information.’
‘I owe seven thousand pounds.’
‘I wish I owed as little.’
‘But I have no means of paying it.’
‘I too am living beyond my means.’
Did she imagine it or was he bored? Oh, God, she thought, this is how people will be towards me in future. I am no longer of any consequence.
Then she said: ‘There is no help for it. I have his bond.’
‘What bond is this?’
‘The Prince’s bond for twenty thousand pounds. He gave it to me and I have kept it. I shall need this money … badly. I had hoped not to touch it.’
Sheridan was silent. A bond for £20 000! The Prince would never honour it. He happened to know that His Highness had a mound of debts of his own which would make his, Sheridan’s, let alone Perdita’s, seem paltry.
‘It has his signature and seal,’ she said. ‘He would have to honour it.’
‘You mean … you would insist?’
‘Please tell me how else I can pay my debts.’
Sheridan was silent.
Then she said wearily: ‘I will go. I see that you cannot help me.’
‘If I could …’
‘Yes, if you could you would. But you cannot give me this chance in the theatre.’
‘Perdita, if it were possible …’
‘Is it not possible to give it a test?’
‘No,’ he said firmly. ‘No.’
She hesitated. ‘You are the Prince’s friend. Perhaps you could make him aware of my plight. I did not wish to ask him for money, but in the circumstances, what else can I do?’
Sheridan was alarmed. He did not wish to be the man who conveyed to the Prince the information that his discarded mistress was demanding the money he had promised her. That was not the sort of entertainment the Prince looked for from Sheridan. He wanted to be amused, not disturbed.
She laid her hand on his arm. ‘You will do this for me?’
What could he say but: ‘You may rely on me to do what I consider best for your welfare.’
Yet … &7000! How could she produce that sum of money
And Sheridan nodded and conducted her to her carriage.
He called on Fox in St James’s, and without preamble came straight to the point.
‘Perdita Robinson has been to see me.’
Fox nodded. He knew how the affair had ended. His good friend Mrs Armistead visited him now and then and let him know the Prince’s attitude to various matters not excluding that towards his old mistress. He was well aware of the meeting between the two women in the Magpie and how the Prince’s own relationship with Mrs Armistead progressed.
‘She is in a desperate situation. Her debts amount to some seven thousand pounds and the creditors are making a nuisance of themselves.’
‘They’ve heard of course that she is now discarded.’
‘She is a desperate woman.’
‘And came to ask you to allow her to resume her career as an actress, I’ll swear.’
‘Which I have most definitely refused.’
‘Naturally, naturally. The poor improvident creature!’
‘Well, Charles, we are two fine ones to talk of improvidence.’
‘We are not the Prince’s mistresses, my good fellow. Perdita should have made herself very comfortable on the gifts she received.’
He thought of his friend Mrs Armistead who was fast becoming a woman of some substance, with a house of her own most tastefully furnished, and she was now building up a pleasant little fortune. But Perdita was of course no Mrs Armistead. Such excellent creatures were rarely met with. All Perdita had accumulated were debts.
‘He gave her a bond for twenty thousand pounds and she is talking of claiming it.’
Fox was alert at once.
‘She will never get it.’
‘No, I daresay it’s completely invalid.’
‘She’ll put herself into an unfortunate position if there is a scandal over this. Does she realize this?’
‘The poor woman is too frantic to realize anything but that she has debts of seven thousand pounds and it seems her only possession is this bond for twenty thousand pounds. She has asked me to convey to HH that she intends to claim the money as her due.’
‘And what was your answer?’
‘I prevaricated. I was vague. I should certainly not like to be the one to pass such an item of news to the Prince.’
‘It would scarcely make him jump for joy. Imagine the news reaching the Hall of Purity. It would be as bad as the Grosvenor affair. Worse! This is not a mere duke but the Prince of Wales.’
‘That is why I came to see you immediately.’
‘I think,’ said Fox, ‘that I must, immediately, go and see Mrs Perdita.’
Sheridan was relieved. If anyone could handle this situation it was Fox; and Fox’s great attraction for his most ardent admirers – among them the Prince of Wales – was that he never sought to curry favour with anyone. He stated his views frankly. The Prince had accepted this and had the intelligence to know its worth. Other men might fit their words to suit a royal mood. Fox never did. It was his strength and his dignity.
Frantic with grief Perdita was going through the latest bills to arrive accompanied by demanding letters – insolent letters – when Mr Fox was announced.
She thrust the bills out of sight, hurried to a mirror and hastened to compose herself when he came in.
How gross he was! He was growing more so each week; his swarthiness was not attractive and his chins rested on his soiled cravat. One would never have thought that he was the great Mr Fox, who was received with delight in all the noblest Whig houses, until he bowed and began to speak. Then the regality and charm which he had no doubt inherited from his ancestor King Charles II was obvious.
‘My dear Mrs Robinson.’
What a comfort to be treated so respectfully by Mr Fox after the veiled insolence of servants and the truculent manners of creditors.
‘Mr Fox, welcome.’
He was holding her hand and seemed reluctant to let it go. She flushed a little. Everyone knew Mr Fox’s manners with women. He was as fond of them as he was of wine and gambling. And in spite of her misfortunes she was a very beautiful woman. ‘Pray be seated,’ she said.
He sat down heavily, legs apart, surveying her.
‘It is good of you to call, Mr Fox. People do not call so frequently now.’ Her lips trembled.
He said: ‘Had you asked me to call, Madam, I should have been here at once.’
‘How kind you are, sir.’
‘Who would not be kind to a beautiful woman? But let us speak frankly. I do not care to see beauty in distress. Sheridan has talked to me.’
She flushed. ‘If he could be persuaded to give me another chance …’
‘If those beautiful eyes could not entreat him, the case is hopeless.’
‘Mr Fox, I am desperate. I owe a great deal of money.’
Fox nodded lugubriously. ‘A situation with which I can heartily sympathize. I am in such a one myself at this time … in fact I have rarely been out of it. But you spoke of a bond.’
She hesitated and Fox went on: ‘Madam, I have come here to help you. I can only do this if you trust me.’ He rose and coming to her chair laid his hands on the arms and brought his face close to hers. ‘Shall I tell you this. I have long admired your beauty.’ He kissed her on the lips. She gasped and drew back and he thought: Not called Propriety Prue for nothing! He laughed. ‘Forgive the impertinence, Mrs Robinson, I wished to show you that admiring you as I do, I am ready to do what is within my power to help you. The kiss was a bond. Perhaps as significant as that of His Royal Highness. Would you let me see this bond so that I can assess its value.’