She was not exactly pretty but there was something very appealing about her. Her colouring was similar to Albert’s – the same light brown hair and blue eyes; there the resemblance ended; she had a rather big nose – an arrogant nose – and slightly prominent teeth. When she laughed she showed her gums, which would not have been very attractive but for the fact that her laughter was so spontaneous and unaffected. Her demeanour fluctuated so speedily that it was difficult to keep pace with it. At one moment she would seem to be playing the Queen and the next she was a modest young girl not yet out of the schoolroom. She was not exactly arrogant, just sublimely and unconsciously aware that she was destined for a great position.
Albert clicked his heels, bowed and kissed her hand. He hated kissing hands, but managed to do so fairly graciously. She did disarm him, because she seemed so determined to like him – and Ernest too; but he noticed that her eyes were more frequently on him.
She insisted on showing them to their rooms, chattering all the while, while her mother looked on indulgently, for she was clearly very happy to see her brother and his sons.
‘And you must meet my darling dog Dash at once,’ said Victoria, and the dog seemed to take a particular fancy to Albert, which pleased the Princess. When he looked up from patting the dog he saw her prominent blue eyes fixed on him and as their eyes met she blushed charmingly. He decided that, for a girl, she was very agreeable.
‘Victoria has been planning all sorts of treats for you,’ said the Duchess. ‘She and her governess, the Baroness Lehzen, have been making arrangements for weeks. There is to be a visit to the Opera, because she understands you are particularly fond of music.’
‘It is Puritani,’ cried Victoria. ‘Oh, I do hope you will like it. And there are to be balls. I am sure you love to dance.’
Albert wilted a little but Ernest said nothing would enchant them more.
‘And you sing!’ cried Victoria. ‘That is something I love to do. Do you like duets?’
Albert was able to say with enthusiasm that he enjoyed singing and duets.
‘This is going to be a very happy visit,’ said Victoria.
The Duchess of Kent said that she thought the Princess’s cousins would like to go to rest awhile as they must be very fatigued with the journey. Victoria seemed a little surprised but Albert said quickly that he would indeed be glad of the opportunity so they were conducted to their rooms and Albert stretched out on his bed and was soon asleep. But Ernest came in and insisted on waking him. He stood at the window and described the park to him. He could see an enormous round pond, almost like a lake, and the trees were beautiful. ‘And this is not the King’s residence. We shall meet him, of course. I wonder if he is as people say.’
Albert sighed. He could see his brother was not going to allow him to rest and he was so tired.
‘He is very eccentric and has a head like a pineapple, so I’ve heard,’ went on Ernest. Albert yawned.
‘And what did you think of little Victoria?’
‘She is indeed little.’
‘I liked the way she looked up to us. I think she has a certain charm. Do you, Albert?’
‘Yes,’ said Albert.
‘Well, I think we can make up our minds that she will be for one of us. I shouldn’t mind if I were the elect.’
‘You are very flippant about a serious subject,’ said Albert.
‘You are never flippant about any subject, brother. But I’ve been keeping my ears open. I heard what our aunt had to say to our father. The Prince of Orange is here and he has brought his two sons, William and Alexander, with him. The King is entertaining them. You know what this means.’
‘You mean that his sons will be suitors for Victoria?’
‘Suitors with the King’s blessing, it seems. Oh, we have fallen into a den of intrigue, brother. The Duchess and the King are arch enemies; and the Duchess is determined that little Victoria shall marry a Coburg cousin (one of us) and the King wants to spite the Duchess – at least that’s what she says; therefore he is against a Coburg bridegroom. You see you can’t afford to sleep your time away; you have to go out and win the lady … or one of us does. She gave me some admiring glances.’
Albert did not answer. He knew that Uncle Leopold wished him to be the bridegroom and that was good enough. He was sure that even the King of England could not stop Uncle Leopold’s desires.
‘Now, Albert, I don’t think you should have come up here to sleep so soon. It appears that you are not as eager as you should be for the company of your dear little cousin. Don’t forget the King favours Oranges. It is not going to be as easy as we thought. You – or I – have to go in and win.’
‘Stop it, Ernest. I don’t care for such jokes.’
‘Well get up and we will join the Princess and say that we needed only a little rest. You show her the tricks your greyhound does and train her Dash to do them. Or you can sing a duet with her. You really must wake up.’
Albert allowed himself to be persuaded.
The pace was great. The little cousin seemed indefatigable. She never seemed to stop still for a moment. It was not very restful, thought Albert, and he was nostalgic for the pine forests and the quiet life of Rosenau. He must not allow Victoria to see this. He remembered his interviews with Uncle Leopold. ‘You are a younger son and Ernest will take your father’s title, but you, of course, will have to make a place for yourself.’ That place could be here in this rather strange country, whose language he could not adequately understand; he had had a few English lessons and although he had done well on paper, when these people spoke he could not very easily understand them. Victoria obligingly used his language; he would have felt happier if he could have spoken in hers. He would ask Uncle Leopold what should be done about this. So … he was interested in his cousin. Not as a woman; there was no question of what Ernest would call falling in love. This was his future if all went according to Uncle Leopold’s plans; and Victoria was eager to please them and win their approval; she was delighted to have her cousins with her; so, if she became the Queen of this country, as her husband, he would be King; and there could be no doubt whatsoever that the King of England would be a far more powerful man than any little king, prince or duke of one of the German States.
Therefore he must please Victoria. It was gratifying to realise that he did. At breakfast time he could feel in good spirits and amuse her with remarks which she considered extremely funny; he could play with Dash in a way she found amusing. Her loud laughter rang out continually.
‘Oh, Cousin Albert, you are so amusing.’
Then there was music. She really did have an understanding of it. ‘I have always loved it. One birthday we had a concert in the palace. I have never forgotten it.’
She must hear Albert sing one of his songs. ‘But, Cousin Albert, how very clever of you to compose that. Could we sing my favourite duet together?’
Their voices harmonised. The Duchess sat tapping her foot while they sang with Duke Ernest beside her looking very pleased.
There was a visit to Windsor to call on the King, who received them rather coolly although the Queen was kind. Albert noticed that the King was very old and by no means in good health. It seemed possible that in a short time Victoria would be Queen. Albert was impressed by Windsor; his spirits rose and he immediately felt better, more alive, to be in the country. The chestnut trees were magnificent, and the may blossom was just about to break out, and the forest reminded him of home. In such surroundings he would feel well and perhaps not be so tormented by his desire for Coburg as he had imagined. And the castle was magnificent. The elaborate staterooms amazed him; there was nothing like those deep-piled carpets and rich velvet gold-fringed curtains in his father’s houses. All this would be hers one day if the present King had no children, which was now almost a certainty.