‘Well he toyed with the idea. He’ll have his reasons for rejecting William’s offers I don’t doubt. And to celebrate his return he is giving a grand ball. We must attend, Clara. It is only gracious. He has chosen us in place of Orange; we should at least show our gratitude for that.’
‘The Crown Prince and Princess have accepted?’
‘I am sure they have; if not I shall tell them that they must.’
‘I don’t think they will need much persuasion,’ retorted Clara.
A ball, she was thinking; a masked ball doubtless; and there would be opportunities for a little dalliance in the gardens between the host and his principal guest – at least the principal guest in his eyes.
I’ll destroy her! thought Clara. If I have to destroy them both.
Clara sent for her sister Marie. Plump, voluptuous Marie was content in her marriage to General Weyhe who did not make too many demands, was very rich, and delighted to be connected by marriage with the most influential woman at court. When Clara sent for Marie she knew she must not disobey.
What now? thought Marie. Surely Clara did not want her to try once more for George Lewis? That was quite impossible. Everyone knew that he was extraordinarily devoted to Ermengarda von Schulenburg. However, she was soon to find out.
‘You’re looking blooming,’ commented Clara.
Marie smiled, thinking it was more than she could say for Clara who looked raddled beneath the layers of colour on her cheeks. Clara was uneasy, and when Clara was uneasy the rest of her family should be, for their affairs were all bound up in each other.
‘I am pleased,’ went on Clara. ‘You are very friendly with Prince Maximilian.’
Marie laughed. ‘Oh, he is a very gallant young man.’
‘I could wish you had such success with, his brother.’
‘George Lewis behaves like a husband to the Schulenburg. What has the woman that I haven’t?’
Clara looked in exasperation at her sister. She, Clara, much less beautiful than Marie, had managed to keep a firm grip on Ernest Augustus all these years and she was certain that if Marie had used a little more tact, a little more care, she would have held George Lewis. How much easier it would have been to bring Sophia Dorothea to disaster if Marie could have whispered the slander in his ear!
‘I have been thinking of Max,’ said Clara. ‘He is very friendly with the Crown Princess.’
‘He imagines himself in love with her – in a light-hearted way, of course.’
Another of them! With her fairy ways and her graceful French manners she inspired these men with that sort of devotion. It was irritating; but on this occasion Max’s devotion might be turned to advantage.
‘He dreams of her and frolics with those who are less inaccessible – such as you, my dear sister. It is a very small thing I want to ask of you and of him. I admired very much the embroidered gloves George Lewis brought back from Flanders and want to have the embroidery copied.’
‘She would lend you one, I am sure.’
‘My dear sister, we are not great friends and I do not wish her to have the satisfaction of knowing I want to copy her gloves. No, Max must steal one of them when he is in her apartments. It won’t be difficult. Then he must give it to you and you will bring it to me.’
Marie smiled; she was wondering what mischief Clara was brewing. But it was not for her to question Clara’s methods – only to obey.
Königsmarck’s ball was brilliant and the fact that the guests were masked and in fancy dress added to the enchantment of the occasion.
Clara’s spies had told her what costume Sophia Dorothea was wearing and she had one made exactly like it, and before the ball she sent a note to Königsmarck telling him that she wished to see him and she thought that the ball was an excellent opportunity for them to talk together.
When Königsmarck received her letter he was uneasy, but he realized at once that he must listen to what Clara had to say.
He was in love with Sophia Dorothea but he was not the hero she believed him to be and he was well aware of this. Often he longed to be all that she thought he was; but he knew himself to be only human. She insisted on regarding him as a god. He was afraid of Clara, afraid that when they were together she would overcome his scruples and he would fall into temptation again. Sophia Dorothea would not understand how easily this could happen, nor the overwhelming sensuality of a woman like Clara von Platen which to a man of his nature was an almost irresistible challenge. Königsmarck was like thousands of other young men – vain, a little arrogant, something of an opportunist; he had not let Sophia Dorothea know how seriously he had considered accepting the very tempting offer William of Orange had made to him. He had, it was true, returned to Hanover for the sake of Sophia Dorothea; and when he was with her, he was sure that he loved her devotedly, that his happiness depended on her. Yet, he was no fool, and often he asked himself where all this could end. What could theirs ever be but a clandestine affair; and if they were exposed, who knew what dangerous situation they might find themselves in?
He had to see Clara. He knew that she still wanted him as a lover and he could not help it if while this knowledge alarmed him yet it exhilarated him.
When he was receiving his guests he recognized her at once in spite of her mask. She looked, he noticed, not unlike Sophia Dorothea; she pressed his hand as he greeted her – a reminder that she expected him to keep their tryst.
There was the joy of dancing with Sophia Dorothea, of whispering endearments together. Could they be alone during the evening? It was dangerous for George Lewis was among the guests. He would be with Ermengarda von Schulenburg – but his wife was expected to be a model of decorum.
‘If the opportunity should arise …’ whispered Königsmarck, but he was thinking of Clara. He must see Clara. He dared not fail for he was afraid of that woman.
She was at his side, suggesting a walk in the gardens. It was summer and the moonlight was enchanting. Now, thought Clara, the stage was set. He was thinking she was going to make advances and that that was the object of this meeting. It was true that she might make advances, but the main object was not for that.
‘So, my lord Count, you ignore me now.’
‘Madam, no one could ignore you. You are the leading light of the court of Hanover and …’
‘Have done with that!’ cried Clara hoarsely. ‘I have invited you to come to me in a hundred ways and each you turn aside. You are never at Monplaisir …’
‘My duties, Countess …’
‘Now listen to me, Count Königsmarck. Ours has been no ordinary acquaintance, has it?’
‘Being your … friend … could only be a most exhilarating experience and one a man could never forget.’
‘I can tell you you left me something to remember. Do you know that I could have lost my life putting myself in order after you had gone away?’
‘I regret …’
‘So did I, Count. I regretted when I found your ardent ways had left me pregnant. And my husband away … and the Duke away… . A pleasant scandal there might have been, but I well nigh killed myself to avoid that.’
‘I humbly beg your pardon and I am sure that after such an experience you will never wish to see me again.’
She came closer to him; he was aware of her voluptuous body, her insinuations. ‘About that I have not yet made up my mind,’ she whispered.
‘I shall shortly be leaving with the army,’ he said. ‘A soldier’s life …’
‘You need not go if you do not wish.’
‘My duty …’
He was telling her he did not want her and she felt an inclination to slap his face. But that was not part of the plan. I hate him! she thought. He is refusing me for the sake of that woman, that foolish simpering Frenchwoman. Well, we shall see whether he is able to continue his secret tos and fros from her bedchamber. If he won’t come to mine he shall not go to hers.