"I am not sure that I should, for impecunious or not I like to think of the Sheridans as my friends."
Sheridan rose and bowed as gracefully as though he were on a stage.
"One man I will not have in my house," said Maria vehemently, "is Charles James Fox. I know the Prince wishes me to, but I cannot bring myself to receive him here. When I think of the public insult he gave me, I am determined that I could never accept him as a friend of mine."
Elizabeth's heart began to beat uncomfortably. She wanted Richard to defend his friend. All the political good fortune which had come to him had been due to Fox's influence. She wanted Richard to stand up for Fox, to explain to Maria that Fox had been forced to act as he had; but to do so was of course to cast a criticism on the conduct of the Prince of Wales and that was something he dared not do.
"Fox, I think, believed he was acting for the best..." he began mildly.
Tor the best!" cried Maria. "To destroy my reputation. To speak of me as though I were a ... a street woman!"
Sheridan said soothingly: "Oh, he's a wily old Fox. I well understand why you won't have him here."
"No," said Maria, "not even for the Prince. And I do not think he is quite so fond of Fox as he once was."
"How could he be," said Sheridan, "when you dislike him so?"
Later that night in their bedroom in Pall Mall Sheridan talked to Elizabeth while she brushed her long dark hair.
"Portland is jealous of me. Think of that, Elizabeth. Portland! The great Duke himself. Maria is our friend and don't make any mistake about this: Maria is going to have a big say in affairs. When the Prince is Regent, when he gives his support to the Party, then we'll be truly in power. Poor Mr. Pitt. He will depart and in his place ..."
"Mr. Fox?" said Elizabeth quietly.
"Mr. Fox?" repeated Sheridan almost questioningly. "Maria hates him. I have rarely seen her so vehement as she was when she spoke of him. She will have great influence. Oh, yes ... great influence, and she is not very pleased with Mr. Fox ... Portland is jealous of me. Think of that Elizabeth. You see ..."
"Yes, I sec," said Elizabeth.
"The future looks very promising. So why are you worrying about those confounded bailiffs?"
Fox out of favour, he was thinking. Portland jealous of Sheridan. Could it be? Was it possible? Was Richard Brinslcy Sheridan the future Prime Minister?
Elizabeth, watching him through the mirror, knowing him so well, read his thoughts clearly.
Who knows? she asked herself. He has succeeded so well in one direction, failed so sadly in another.
And whatever the outcome, shall I be here to sec it?
When Parliament reassembled in December Pitt rose to propose a committee to examine the setting up of a Regency. The King's doctors had declared his mind to be deranged, but with the exception of Dr. Warren they believed there was a very good possibility of his recovering.
"We should examine precedents," said Pitt.
Fox was immediately on his feet. "What is the need of a committee?" he demanded. "The heir apparent is of age and has the capacity to govern. If the King were dead he would ascend the throne. The Prince of Wales has the right to govern if his father the King is unable to do so."
What had happened to Fox? The wily politician with his expert knowledge of parliamentary procedure had made a false step, and it was one which a sharp-witted statesman such as Mr. Pitt would sec at once. The use of the word right was the biggest blunder Fox could have made.
Pitt could scarcely contain himself for his excitement. He whispered to the man seated next to him; "I can't believe Fox could be such a fool. This gives me the opportunity I want. I'll unwhig the gentleman for the rest of his life."
Mr. Pitt was on his feet. He could not allow the statement of the honourable gentleman to pa^ss. He had used the word "right'. Mr. Pitt feared that Mr. Fox had put forth a treasonable doctrine. "The Prince of Wales," Mr. Pitt admitted, "has a claim, but no more right than any other member of this community."
Fox immediately saw his mistake. Oh, God, what a fool. Why did I use that word? All this time away from the House had blunted his wits; the journey across Europe had sapped his strength. Lizzie was right. He should have taken it more leisurely. What would a few more days have mattered ... another week. Anything would have been better than that he should make this blunder. And of course Pitt was gleeful. Pitt had leaped into the advantage.
Fox's friend Edmund Burke, that brilliant orator, rose to defend him.
It would seem, he said, that Mr. Pitt considered himself as a candidate for the Regency. Were they now in the presence of King William IV. They should be warned lest they be guilty of Use majeste.
At which Mr. Pitt did what he rarely had done before: he lost his temper. The debate had developed into a farce, he said. But since the question of rights had been introduced it was necessary to set up a committee to enquire into precedents.
When the debate was resumed Pitt's equanimity was restored.
All would admit, he declared, that the Prince of Wales was the most suitable person to take on the role of Regent. The situation was extraordinary; complete power could not for obvious reasons be handed to the Prince for at any moment the King might regain his health. Therefore he suggested that rules should be drawn up and that should the Prince agree to the conditons decided on by the Government the Regency should be his.
Fox, eager to put right his mistake which he realized had given Pitt time to delay a decision, declared that Pitt intended to impose such restrictions on the Regency that it would be impossible for His Highness to accept with dignity.
"The Honourable Member will realize," retorted Pitt maliciously, "that since the question of right has been raised there must be this investigation."
Meanwhile the care of the King was to be in the hands of the Queen.
At Kew the Prince chafed against the delay. "Nothing settled," he grumbled to Frederick. "If Fox had not raised that question of rights ..."
Frederick sympathized with him.
"I am beginning to think he is of no use to me," he said. "First he upsets Maria by denying our marriage. Maria won't have him in her house. Then he makes this absurd statement about rights."
But you do have a right," Frederick pointed out.
But Fox shouldn't have said it. It gave Pitt his opportunity. And Pitt is hand in glove with our mother. The Queen is now coming out in her true colours. She is not so meek as we once believed her to be. I am not sure what she is plotting with Pitt."
"Can you understand this friendship between them?"
Only that she is the Queen and that Pitt intends to use her against me. She will scarcely allow me to see the King."
"Absurd."
"But they have put her in charge of him."
You are the Prince of Wales ... soon to become Regent ... if you wish to see the King you have every right."
"His papers and jewels are all locked away. And I am made to feel an outsider."
"It's ridiculous, George. Come to the King's apartments now. He is safely locked away. If you want to examine the jewels and the papers you have ever)' right to do so."
The two brothers went to the King's recently vacated rooms and were examining the contents of drawers when the Queen appeared.
Her usually impassive face flushed with anger when she saw what they were doing.
"And what," she cried indignantly, "are you doing here?"
"I will tell you one thing we are not doing, Madam," said the Prince of Wales haughtily, "and that is explaining our actions to you."