What the Prince meant to imply was that he would discover what intrigues the Duke was engaged in; but the Duke thought he was trying to say he would fight him; and he gathered that this was a challenge to a duel.
He bowed and hastily left the apartment.
He went at once to his friends Sunderland and Stanhope who listened intently to what he had to say.
They said they would consult the King's minister, Bernstorff, who would know better than anyone else what the King's reaction would be to such blatant indiscretion on the part of the Prince.
The four men talked the matter over.
There would be no duel. The Prince would not be allowed to fight.
Secretly all but Newcastle, when they heard what the Prince had said, realized that it was his imperfect English which had given the wrong impression; but as they were eager to increase the animosity between the King and the Prince they thought it wise to keep to the original construction.
The Prince was a fool, but a fool with a clever wife. Therefore he was a danger. He was their enemy, so if it were possible to incense the King more deeply against him all the better.
"The Prince is clearly a danger to the King's ministers," said Bernstorff. *I will put this matter before him."
To the Prince's apartments came the Dukes of Kent, Roxburgh and Kingston.
"Vat you vant?" demanded the Prince.
"We come on His Majesty's instructions."
"Veil, veil, vat is it?"
"We have to question Your Highness on the challenge you have made to the Duke of Newcastle."
"Challenge? Vat is this challenge?"
"You have challenged him to a duel."
"You are mad."
"The Duke of Newcastle complains that Your Highness has challenged him to a duel. He cannot accept your challenge. In the name of the King "
"In the name of the King vill you get out of here."
"We come to question Your Highness on the King's order."
"I answer not questions ... to the King, that old scoundrel, nor to you. I made no challenge. Newcastle is von liar. Get out or I vill you out throw."
The Dukes retired and went to the King who after listening intently gave the order that the Prince should be placed under arrest.
Throughout the Court and all over London the news of the Prince's arrest was being discussed.
He was shut in his apartments with the Princess and neither of them was allowed to venture out. Even those attendants who had not been in the apartments at the time of the arrest were not permitted to go to their master and mistress.
In the coffee houses there was excited speculation. Sympathy was with the Prince who, when he was Guardian of the Realm, had shown them how much more gay and colourful life would be if he were King. The Princess was popular too, so the people were on their side.
The King was a sour old man; his mistresses were ugly; he rarely smiled; he made no concessions to popularity; he preferred Hanover to England. Let him go back and live on sausages and sauerkraut. He had a wife whom he had kept shut up in a prison for more than twenty years. He was a wicked old ogre. Did he now think to imprison his son as he had his wife!
The people would not allow it.
They wanted to see their Prince and Princess riding through the streets, walking in the parks.
A royal quarrel was exciting only for a while. They would allow no locking up of their Prince and Princess.
Besides the poor lady had just given birth to a boy. What a shock this must be for her, and her still recovering from a difficult confinement!
The people were for the Prince and Princess.
Aghast at what had happened, Caroline tried to plan what they should do for the best.
She knew they had a vindictive man against them. She had lived long enough in the shadow of the Leine Schloss where the ill-fated Sophia Dorothea, the Prince's mother, had learned what could happen to those who offended George Lewis.
Why should he be any more lenient towards a son than a wife?
They must not be foolishly proud. They must act quickly.
She tried to convey her fears to George Augustus, who after his first storms of rage had subsided was prepared to listen to her.
He too remembered the fate of his mother.
Between them they composed a letter to the King which the Prince wrote.
"If I have had the misfortune to offend Your Majesty, contrary to my intention, I crave his pardon and pray him to be persuaded of the respect which I have for him. I will show no more resentment to the Duke of Newcastle "
Caroline read the letter slowly.
"Must I send this to that old scoundrel?" asked the Prince almost tearfully.
"I fear so," she said. "He has great power. Ve must not forget your mother."
They had humbled themselves and the King was glad of that. Not that he intended it to do them any good. He despised and hated his son. He would never forget the day when as a boy he had broken away from a hunting party and tried to rescue his mother. It had been an attempt doomed to failure from the start but the boy had been reckless enough to make it, and it had earned him the admiration and affection of too many people. It had called attention to the vindictive cruelty of his father; and more than that, it had been the beginning of the enmity between them.
The boy had been on the side of his mother, which meant that he was against his father.
George Lewis never forgave, never forgot an insult, or an injury. Sophia Dorothea, still in prison, was a confirmation of that.
He wanted to forget that woman; and her son—who was unfortunately his also—would not let him forget. For instance, there were times when he even looked like her; and he knew she was often in his mind. His son had never forgiven him for what he had done to his mother. Very well, he would have to learn what it meant to have his father for an enemy.
When he read the letter his son had written he laughed scornfully. He knew who was responsible for that. That she-devil. George Augustus would never have had the sense to try to placate him.
Well, Madam, you have failed, said the King; and he put the letter into a candle flame and let it burn.
Stanhope, with several of his ministers, was asking for audience to discuss this unfortunate matter of the Prince. He received them with no change in his usual dour expression.
"Your Majesty we cannot keep the Prince in confinement indefinitely," Stanhope explained. "It is a breach of the Habeas Corpus Act. The Opposition will create a great disturbance if we keep him confined much longer. It could lead to great trouble."
"If I were in Hanover I should know what to do," said the King. "Here in England ... there are different laws. You must explain to me. But one thing I will not have—and I know there is no law to stop this. I will not live under the same roof with the Prince."
Stanhope replied: "Your Majesty is right. There is no law to prevent the Prince having a separate establishment."
"Then I will banish him and the Princess from St. James's Palace."
"The Cabinet would have to approve Your Majesty's decision."
"Then let them approve ... quickly. I will not tolerate him here much longer."
"I will call a meeting of the Cabinet without delay," said Stanhope.
Caroline had risen from her bed, although still weak. The quarrel with the King had not helped in her recovery and she was very anxious as to the outcome. The Prince was more subdued than usual. The days of confinement to his apartments had sobered him considerably. He considered the power of his father and was alarmed as to what the next move would be.