This was exciting news for Philip could think of no place in which he would rather settle than in London and if Carl John married it would surely mean that they would have a home in this land.
‘She is very young yet,’ Carl John explained.
‘Younger than I?’
‘Ha! Much.’
‘You would marry a child? Is she very beautiful?’
‘I would say she is not. She has a head of red hair and is called Carrots. But she has plenty to make up for that. She is the richest heiress in England.’
‘So it is her money you would have?’
‘Nay, don’t look at me so sternly, brother. I like the girl and I’ll swear she likes me too. She’s a widow already.’
Philip stared at his brother. ‘It is all so unexpected,’ he explained. ‘I am not surprised that you are going to marry an heiress, but she should be a beautiful young woman, not a carrotty girl who has already had a husband.’
‘The marriage was not consummated – she being of too tender an age. I shall have to fight for her for I have my rivals, but I fancy I am the favoured one.’
‘Certainly you must be,’ agreed Philip smiling fondly at his brother.
‘You haven’t asked her name. Well, I’ll tell you. It is Lady Ogle. She married Henry Cavendish, Earl of Ogle and before that she was Lady Elizabeth Percy. What I have to do is to win over her mother, the Dowager Countess of Northumberland, before I can hope to have the girl.’
‘You will,’ Philip assured him. ‘But why do you want her fortune when you are already rich?’
‘With my fortune and hers I should be the richest man in England. What a pleasant distinction that would be.’
‘Bring her to see me.’
‘My dear Philip you don’t imagine I am allowed to escort her through London, do you? That girl is guarded as though she were the Crown Jewels. I’ll swear she’s worth as much.’
After that, every day Philip expected to hear that his brother was affianced, but it did not work out that way. Once when his brother took him to court, he saw Elizabeth. In her widow’s weeds which looked so odd on one so young, she seemed to like Carl John for her eyes sparkled at the sight of him, but the Dowager Countess was not encouraging.
Carl John told Philip that he was going to ask formally for the hand of Lady Ogle and that the King himself – who greatly favoured him – had promised to speak to the Dowager Countess on his behalf.
‘That,’ he said, ‘will decide matters. She may hold out against me, but she won’t against the King.’
So all the next day Philip had waited for the return of his jubilant brother; but how differently it turned out. When Carl John did come to his lodging he was in a great rage. He had been dismissed by the Dowager Countess who had refused to give him her daughter, declaring that when Lady Ogle married it would be to an Englishman, for she did not like foreigners. So even the King’s intercession had done nothing for him.
Never had Philip seen his brother so angry. He kept pacing up and down the room declaring that he would have his revenge, as well as the girl. Elizabeth wanted him; he swore she was weeping for him now; and he had been told to go and not speak to her again!
‘But the King …’ cried Philip. ‘He will command the Dowager Countess to let you be betrothed to Elizabeth.’
‘Not he. He avoids what is unpleasant. He’ll merely shrug his shoulders and refuse to discuss the matter further. He hates any sort of trouble and he would be the first to say that it is for the girl’s family to decide who shall have her and her fortune.’
‘Well, what are you going to do?’
‘I’m going to get out of this country.’
‘When do we leave?’
‘I’m going. I want you to stay and go to Oxford. I’ll be back and I want time to think about this. I don’t want to go back to court where I have been so insulted.’
‘You mean I’m to stay here alone!’
‘Till I come back for you. You like it here. You’re getting along well. You couldn’t find better tutors anywhere than Hanson and Foubert. Work hard and I’ll be back with you soon.’
It was no use trying to dissuade him; he was going to join a foray against the Moors and Philip could not accompany him there, so he must perforce carry out his studies and dream of the day when he would be a fully fledged soldier, and go off at a whim on his own adventures. The harder he worked, the sooner that time would come.
So he tried to settle down; he said goodbye to his brother and he went daily to Foubert’s Academy where he became the most promising pupil; and sometimes by day he would roam those colourful streets and now and then make the acquaintance of some girl.
‘Don’t you forget your brother’s wishes,’ Hanson reminded him. ‘It’s a soldier you’ve got to become first – and then there’s Oxford and you’re at a disadvantage being a foreigner.’
But during those months in London Philip did not believe there were any disadvantages he could not overcome.
Hanson came into the lodging one day where Philip sat over his books and it was obvious that the man was excited.
‘Such news!’ he cried. ‘It’s a blessing the Count’s not here or he’d go round cutting someone’s throat.’
‘What is it?’ demanded Philip excitedly.
‘Well, there is a fellow named Thomas Thynne at court. Thomas Thynne of Longleat. Tom of Ten Thousand, he’s called, because he has ten thousand pounds a year and he’s one of the richest men at court and one of the stupidest, they say. He’s a friend of the Duke of Monmouth – the King’s own son, wrong side of the blanket, but none the less proud for all that – and set to make trouble, they say.’
‘Well what of this man Thynne?’
‘He has just married. Very quiet it was but it seems her mother arranged it. There were too many after her money so she wanted to make sure that a man with plenty of his own got her.’
‘It’s not … Lady Ogle!’
‘You’ve guessed right first time.’
Philip was aghast. ‘But she was for my brother.’
‘Not now, sir. She’s the wife of Tom of Ten Thousand.’
‘My brother will be angry. He was determined to have her.’
‘Then he shouldn’t have gone away and left the field clear.’
‘Do you think he knows of this?’
‘’Tis hardly likely – he being where he is.’
‘Perhaps I should tell him.’
‘You should keep out of trouble, young sir. What’s done is done and they’re married now. All the dashing Counts in the world can’t alter that.’
Philip was thoughtful. It was the first time he had known his brother could fail. Later he heard rumours of how the young bride, who was fifteen years old, had gone to The Hague in the company of Lady Temple so that the marriage might not be consummated, the girl still being considered too young, in addition to which she protested that she hated the husband to whom they had married her. Philip guessed why she hated him; it was because she had wanted to marry his brother. What a pity Carl John had not stayed in England to abduct her and prevent this marriage.
From time to time he heard news of the marriage. Thomas Thynne was claiming his wife’s property and demanding that she be returned to him.
Philip lost interest because his brother was no longer concerned; he had had a letter from Carl John to tell him that he was now staying for a while in France and might soon be with him. He devoted himself to his studies with great fervour hoping to surprise his brother by his progress on his return.