‘So charming!’ sighed the Princess. ‘So romantic! You have promised settlements that would accompany a proper marriage … you have offered a morganatic marriage … you can do no more. I am certain that Eléonore loves you.’
‘Are you?’ he cried rapturously.
‘My dear George William, how delightful it is to be in love! Oh yes, she adores you. She would make you a wonderful wife and you would be the best husband in the world. You have learned the emptiness of mere passion, the dissatisfaction which must follow lust. You are in love, and it is quite beautiful. I believe you will win in time. I will give a ball for you both which will, in a way, set a seal on your relationship. When she knows how much all of us in Breda are with our dear romantic lovers, she may relent, for she longs to, I do assure you. Oh, how she longs to! She cannot deceive me. She is as much in love with you as you are with her.’
He kissed the Princess’s hands with fervour. She was his very dear friend. If he were not so wholeheartedly in love with his Eléonore he would doubtless be in love with her.
‘No more compliments of that nature, my dear,’ reproved the Princess. ‘They might reach Eléonore’s ears, and then she would think she was right after all – fascinating as you are – to hold out against you.’
But he was grateful, he assured her. He would be grateful to the end of his days.
It was a glittering ball and the guests of honour were Duke George William and Mademoiselle Eléonore d’Olbreuse.
They danced together; they talked together; and made no secret of their pleasure in each other’s company.
During the evening the Princess called them to her and told them that it made her very happy to give this ball in their honour.
‘I want you to know, my dearest demoiselle d’honneur, that all of us in Breda wish you well. I want you to take this as a memento of this happy evening.’
She put a medallion into Eléonore’s hands – a picture of George William set with diamonds.
‘What can I say?’ cried Eléonore, deeply moved.
‘Say what you have to say to him, my child. And that will best please me.’
She left them together and George William drew her to an alcove in the ballroom as he had on the first night they had met.
‘You see,’ he said, ‘you must say yes now. It is the wish of everyone that you do.’
‘I want to,’ she told him, ‘but …’
‘I promise you you will never regret this step, my dearest.’
‘I do not believe I should, but I should never be your wife and …’
‘There should be a marriage.’
‘Not legal, not binding.’
‘It should be binding in every way.’
‘And our children, what of them? I could not bring illegitimate children into the world.’
‘They should have every honour that I could give them.’
‘I do not know. I cannot say.’
‘But you love me.’
‘Yes,’ she answered earnestly. ‘I love you.’
‘Now I shall win. You cannot hold out against me. Eléonore, my dearest, say yes now. Let this wonderful evening be the happiest of my life … so far. Let it be the beginning of all my joy.’
‘I will give you an answer tomorrow.’
‘And it will be yes.’
‘I think so … I hope so … and alas, I fear so,’ she answered.
That was a happy night. He was sure of success. He was already wording in his mind the settlement. There should be a ceremony in every way as solemn as a marriage service. They should never have anything to regret.
He was the one who must regret … regret the contract he had been fool enough to enter into with Ernest Augustus. Why had he not understood then that he did not want marriage because he had never been in love, that he did not understand love before he met Eléonore!
He was angry with himself because he could not give her everything – simply everything that she desired. Still he would make up for the one lack. She should be treated like a queen.
Tomorrow he would call on her father. They would talk … make plans.
He lay sleepless thinking of the next day.
His servant was at his bedside.
‘My lord Duke, a messenger.’
Those fateful words. He had always dreaded them because they invariably brought disturbing news from home.
‘Bring him to me, without delay.’
The man stood by the bedside, travel-stained and weary, yet with that elation in his face which was a characteristic of those who brought exciting news – good or bad. He sensed by the solemn look this one was forcing on his face that this was bad news.
‘My lord Duke, Duke Christian Lewis is dead.’
‘Dead!’ cried George William struggling up. ‘My brother … dead.’
‘Yes, my lord. And there is more. Duke John Frederick has seized the Castle of Celle and has declared that he will hold it against you.’
George William leaped from his bed; fate was against him; Eléonore was on the point of relenting; and now news had come to him which necessitated his immediate return to his own country.
He presented himself at the lodgings of the Marquis d’Olbreuse.
‘Monsieur le Marquis, I must speak to your daughter without delay.’
‘Certainly, certainly,’ replied the Marquis. ‘I will tell her you are here.’
Eléonore came eagerly into the room, but as soon as she saw her lover she knew that something was wrong.
He took both her hands and looked into her face. ‘My love, I have to return to Celle this very day. My eldest brother is dead and the elder of my two remaining brothers has seized my castle there, and is attempting to rule in my place. I have no choice. If I am to keep what is mine I must go at once.’
‘Yes,’ she said, ‘you must go.’
‘And I still have not had your answer.’
‘I cannot decide … I cannot. Pray give me time.’
He sighed. Then he fervently kissed her hand. ‘I shall be back,’ he told her. ‘As soon as the affair is settled I shall be with you. But I want you to take these documents. You will then have no doubts of my feelings for you.’
‘You have no need to give me further proof. I know. If only I could reconcile all that I have been brought up to believe is right with what you are asking and what I desire!’
He embraced her tenderly.
‘You will in time,’ he said. ‘As soon as I have settled this unfortunate matter I shall come to you or better still you must come to me. Now … I must leave you.’
Within a few hours Duke George William was riding out of Breda, and when she studied the documents he had left her, Eléonore saw that he had settled on her his entire fortune in case of his death.
She wept, horrified at the thought that he might be going into battle against his brother.
If it were not for the thought of the children they might have, she would have written to him at once telling him that she would come to him as soon as he sent for her. Because of that thought, she wavered still.
Strife within the family was an evil thing. All the brothers agreed to this; but John Frederick had declared that he would be revenged on his brothers for passing him over for Ernest Augustus without consulting the family. In the past brothers had agreed to draw lots and rely on luck; but George William had acted in a high-handed manner and bestowed Sophia and all the change implied on the youngest brother. For this reason John Frederick had revolted. Moreover, George William was bringing the family into disrepute. He was never at home. First it had been Venice – and now Breda. It was time he was taught a lesson.