No sooner had she settled into Park Street than Isabella Sefton descended on her. They must pay their suggested visit to the Opera, but first Isabella wished to launch her dear Maria into society through a ball she was giving the next day.
It was pleasant to be in a society which was more glittering than anything she had experienced before, though Isabella assured her that her ball was homely compared with those given at Devonshire House or Cumberland House ... to say nothing of Carlton House.
"You are not suggesting that we shall be invited to Carlton House!" cried Maria.
"It would not surprise me in the least," laughed Isabella.
Maria thought a little uneasily of that encounter on the river bank; but perhaps she had been mistaken, perhaps that elaborate bow was the manner in which he greeted any of his lather's subjects. After all, he had to woo their popularity; and the most elegant of bows would be expected from royalty. She had heard that his father, the King, strolled about Kew and talked to people as though he were a country squire.
She was surrounded by admirers. Not only her beauty was admired, but the fact that she looked so different from everyone else. The women with their powdered hair, their elaborate styles, were not dissimilar; but Maria Fitzherbert was different. Not only was her hair unpowdered but her complexion, which was flawless, was untouched by rouge or white lead; she had a delightful combination, the youthful skin of a young girl and the fully developed bosom of an older woman. It was impossible not to notice her. Maria Fitzherbert, because she was different from all other women, was the belle of the ball.
The next day a paragraph appeared in the society columns of the Morning Herald. It said:
A new constellation has lately made an appearance in the fashionable hemisphere, that engages the attention of those who are susceptible to the power of beauty. The widow of the late Mr. F... h t has in her train half our young nobility; as the lady has not, as yet, discovered a partiality for any of her admirers, they are all animated with hopes of success."
When Isabella brought the paper to show her Maria was annoyed.
"It is absurd. I have only just arrived. And to talk of my partiality. It is quite ridiculous."
"Such notoriety is something we all have to endure when we become famous, Maria."
"Famous. For appearing at a ball!"
But Isabella laughed. Maria was fascinating. She was so different.
Maria surveyed the audience from the Sefton box at Covent Garden. Many eyes were on her. Perhaps, she was thinking, I will curtail my stay in London. It would certainly be more peaceful at Richmond; or perhaps she would go to stay for a while at Brambridge or with Uncle Henry.
Then she was aware of the changed atmosphere in the theatre. She was no longer the focus of attention. Something was happening.
Isabella leaned towards her and whispered, "This is to be a royal occasion."
And into one of the boxes opposite stepped a glittering figure. His coat was of black velvet spattered with blue spangles and on his breast he wore a flashing diamond star.
A cheer went up as he came to the edge of the box and Maria saw a repeat performance of that most elegant bow; he was smiling at the audience which greeted him with such warm affection. So she could no longer doubt that the gallant young man she had met on the towpath was the Prince of Wales.
He sat down and leaned his arms on the edge of the box; the curtain rose; and glancing across at the Prince, Maria saw that his gaze was fixed on her.
Quickly she lowered her eyes, but not before she had caught the smile, the look of undisguised admiration.
It was impossible to pay any attention to the singing; she could not but be aware of him. As for him, he made no pretence of being interested in what was happening on the stage but continued to gaze at her.
Isabella was chuckling.
"Ha, ha cousin," she whispered. "I see you are making quite an impression on his susceptible Highness."
"This is most... embarrassing."
"Many would find it most flattering."
"Isabella, I do not. I wish to hurry home after the performance. I think perhaps I should return to Richmond."
The Prince was leaning forward. He had seen that they were talking together and seemed to want to hear what they were saying.
Did he often behave like this? wondered Maria. There was that disgraceful affair with the actress. How very embarrassing! He would have to realize that she was a respectable widow. But how convey this to a Prince who was quite clearly accustomed to having women run when he beckoned.
But not Maria Fitzherbert.
The curtain had fallen. The applause rang out. The Prince joined in it heartily. He had had a most delightful evening and he was grateful to the performers even if this was not due to them.
Maria said quietly but firmly, "I shall leave at once, Isabella. My chair will be waiting."
Isabella was amused. She wondered how deeply the Prince was affected. After all, Maria must be about six years older than he was. Mary Robinson it was true had been about three but she was only twenty-one at the time of that liaison and Maria must be about twenty-seven or eight—the Prince twenty-one.
"Very well, my dear," she said. "But you will certainly meet him at someone's house sooner or later."
"Not if I return to Richmond," said Maria.
Her servant was waiting with the chair and she gave instructions that she was to be carried with all speed to her house in Park Street.
As her chair was carried through the streets she was more disturbed than the occasion warranted, she told herself. Perhaps he had not been looking at her. Perhaps it had been a mistake. That paragraph in the paper had made her imagine that she really was as fatally attractive as the writer had made her out to be. He had been bored with the Opera and had merely diverted himself.
They had arrived at the house and thankfully she alighted, but as she did so she saw another chair entering the street.
She hurried into the house, her heart beating fast. The door was shut. She felt... safe."
But she could not resist going to the window.
She saw the chair stop; someone alighted.
Oh no, she thought. It is not possible!
But it was. He was standing there in his spangles and diamonds.
The Prince of Wales, like some lovesick country swain, had followed Maria Fitzherbert home.
Adventures of a Prince
During the summer of 1783 when the Prince of Wales was approaching his twenty-first birthday he believed that he was the most fortunate man in England, and he was surrounded by men and women who confirmed him in this belief. He was at last escaping from the restraint which his puritanical parents had put on him, and was free to be the companion of the most brilliant men in the country; he could indulge his passion for architecture in Carlton House, that old ruin which his father had flung to him and which he was fast converting into the most elegant residence in Town; he could run his own horses at Newmarket; he could take his place in the House of Lords; and he could, without any attempt at secrecy pursue the greatest diversion of all—women.
Let the King splutter his threats and warnings; let the Queen alternately scold and declare her sentimental fondness for her first born; they could not deter him. He was the idol of the people, the quarry of every fashionable hostess—for no ball was of any significance without him—and almost every woman longed to be his mistress. There were a few exceptions; Georgiana, his dearest Duchess of Devonshire, among them, but this only made this most delightful of all occupations the more piquant, and while he could sigh for the unattainable he could always soothe himself with the eagerly accommodating.