Abigail's Cousin (21 page)

"Take a read
of that colonel. It's alright, there's nothing confidential about
it. It's one of many compiled by the clerks at Westminster. It's
p-produced by a so-called gentleman by the name of Hansard. It's a
verbatim account of p-proceedings in the House and such copies land
regularly into my office. If you will b-be so kind as to run your
eye over it!"

Masham did so
and then raising his eyes, said: "If soldiers spoke in these terms,
Mister Harley, I doubt anything would get done. I've read one whole
side of the sheet and confess I am as ignorant as when I
started."

"You'll get
accustomed to it, colonel. It is account of p-proceedings in the
House. P-pray continue."

Masham did so
and handed it back and Harley went on to explain what he wanted
Masham to do:

"The task
would be to copy out those p-proceedings which concern my office as
Secretary of State for Northern Europe. To b-begin with I would
suggest we visit the House."

"That sounds
reasonable. I would be allowed into the House?" asked Masham and
Harley assented telling Masham there was a gallery overlooking the
Chamber for visitors. He went to say:

"It will take
some time to get to know our ways, colonel, but the compensation
will be your attending the P-palace to furnish your reports. Do you
play cards, colonel?"

"I learned to Mr Harley. I discovered a
certain skill at Ombre stood me in good
stead in paying my mess bills. But you have surely
no such need in the Palace."

"On the
contrary, colonel! Perhaps no mess b-bills but her majesty will
often call me in to supply a missing hand. Being an indifferent
p-player, she will no doubt be thrilled to learn there is a worthy
p-player within earshot."

Masham eyed
him with some circumspection saying:

If you'll
recall Mr Harley, in the space of the last hour, you have cast me
in the role of suitor, next I am to report upon parliamentary
proceedings and finally you have suggested the way to a queen's
heart is a thirteen card suit of that colour. It seems to me the
lord Godolphin knew what he was about when he offered you your
position. I have been both moved and shaken, Mr Harley, which is
indeed what is required surely of a mover and shaker."

Harley smiled
broadly: "You're very kind, colonel. Yet, a report reaching me says
that your distinction puts anything I might have achieved firmly in
the shade. I am referring to your distinguished service at
B-blenheim. Yet I would just mention that her majesty is getting
weary of the war. It's not a woman's thing, after all. Sotto voce,
is the watchword."

Masham said:
"And Mistress Hill, does she share that sentiment?"

"Ah, colonel!
The praise for you reaching lord Godolphin was singularly lacking
for her brother, captain Hill."

"Captain
Hill!" said Masham surprised, "He was a lieutenant when last we
met."

"Ah! Have you not heard! Hill has
b-bought
Captain
Stanhope's regiment when Stanhope was sent to Spain by the duke. I
must tell you it was b-bought for him by her majesty for a service
rendered by his sister, Mistress Hill."

Masham was
stunned. Yet things were beginning to fall into place. He glanced
up at Harley and his look was of admiration though he said nothing.
Harley said:

"We have
spoken enough, colonel. Allow me to invite you to my favourite
coffee house near here. I'll give you a taste of Jonathon's. It may
b-become one of your favourite meeting p-places in the next few
months as it is also p-popular with members of p-parliament.

Masham
accepted the invitation offering his hand: "Your hand in mine, sir.
Henceforth let your address to me be Masham or Samuel. The
'colonel' is history."

"Capital,"
responded Harley: "My hand, Samuel. Call me Robin!"

The two men walked from the office into
the street and proceeded to follow their noses as the aromatic waft
of
coffee assailed their
nostrils.

Sarah, the
Duchess of Marlborough loved her garden in the
village of Bladon where she was renting a cottage to be near
Woodstock, a former royal manor formerly owned by the queen which
she surrendered for the purpose of erecting a castle to commemorate
the victory at Blenheim. Parliament had duly voted the sum of
£25,000 at the queen's behest, an architect had been engaged and
the work of buiding started. The duchess saw it as her duty and
responsibility to oversee the work being suspicious of the
architect selected who was was more renowned as a playwright and in
consequence of this wish moved from St Albans to the village of
Bladon.

It was to
Bladon that visitors had to travel in order to consult with her for
although women were not admitted to either House of Parliament,
they could still play a significant part in politics. As soon as
she had discovered a local basket weaver, it was not long before
she had commissioned several garden chairs and it was to such a
comfortable seat in basket-weave that her friend and mentor, Lord
Godolphin, was shown on a day in September, of the year, 1706.

He had lately been summoned to the queen's
presence at St Jame's Palace regarding the proposed appointment of
Charles Spencer,
Earl of
Sunderland, to the position of plenipotentiary ambassador to the
imperial court in Vienna. At the time he was twenty-three which the
queen thought too young but Lord Godolphin over a period of several
weeks had deduced the queen's real objection was his membership of
a group of lords, a cabal, which she saw as inimical to her policy
of political independence.

It was this political independence which
bothered Sarah, her closest friend, as she, the
Duchess of Marlborough, found it difficult
to distinguish between these close personal ties and, to the queen,
the good of the nation. Her invitation to Godolphin was partly to
see what arguments might be brought to bear to change the queen's
mind. As her principal advisor, the queen's lord treasurer,
Godolphin's argument was that Sunderland was the best person for
the job yet latter's history of espousing the republican cause had
not improved his chances.

Godolphin knew
that the duchess was aware of the queen's antipathy yet the
diplomat in him was always surprised by his friend's combative
tone:

"Is the queen agreeable to
Lord Sunderland's
appointment?"

The duchess'
direct question flummoxed Godolphin somewhat accustomed as he was
to the oblique phraseology of politicians in the House though
unlike in Parliament he was at ease and he appreciated his hostess’
considerate placing of his chair on the lawn in the shade and out
of the direct sunlight. He was sure too that the coming meal would
be eminently appetising and so in contemplation of joys to come and
relaxing in the peaceful environment of this beautiful garden,
Godolphin opened his eyes and looking at her directly he
replied:

"My latest
appeal to reason seemed to disturb and grieve her majesty, who saw
fit to repeat the familiar arguments against your son-in-law's
appointment."

Sarah in her
turn relaxed, leaning back in her comfortable seat and idly sucking
a stalk of tall marram grass adjusted her cushion pleased with her
decision to discard the bustled gown for a shift, did not open her
eyes but pressed Godolphin:

"I'm still
listening, Sidney. That's not all, is it!"

It was all.
Godolphin threw up his hands in a gesture of innocence, but he did
add:

"When her
majesty realised her repetition of these arguments was making no
impression on me." He stopped unsure how to carry on, then added:
"After all, your ladyship, I have heard them from her majesty so
many times now."

"Well!" said
she compelling Godolphin to an explanation he was reluctant to
give, but sighing deeply, he admitted:

"The poor
woman burst into a passion of weeping and I must confess."

The duchess
was forceful, if a little harsh: "Spare me your confession, dear
Sidney, then with a deprecatory chuckle, she muttered at her
friend:

"You men!"

Godolphin
squirmed but said nothing more either about the queen or in his
defence and Sarah realising it got up from the chair and began to
pace the lawn, before finally exploding:

"So
, Mrs Morley touched the lord high treasurer's heart." She
shook her head at him and Godolphin was silent knowing the lecture
to come. She said:

"How well she
plays that tune. May heaven be your guard should you threaten to
resign."

He looked
towards her having to turn his head to do so as she was still
pacing the lawn and said: "You can do that once too often."

Sarah was
slightly puzzled: "Do what, Sidney?"

"Resign!" he
answered, "She doesn't take me seriously any more. This time I told
her that unless she takes the advice of her chief minister, there
is little point in continuing in her service."

Sarah stopped walking and looked at
Godolphin and thought that the queen had only to take out a
handkerchief and plead and Godolphin's resistance would
melt
. She said
attempting to mimic:

For God
Almighty's sake, never leave me!"

Godolphin
opened his eyes: "Word perfect." He said adding, "But you haven't
been with her majesty lately, your ladyship. There is something
different about her responses. I do believe her majesty is taking
advice from someone, but I cannot fathom who it might be."

She stopped
and stared but said nothing, unusual for her, and in the silence he
went on: "Tis a pity you are not there, dear Sarah. You might get
to the bottom of it because I suspect there is somebody influencing
her majesty and I've racked my brains and cannot determine who it
might be. Might you make any suggestions!"

She was war
y of her friend's foibles and his use of her first
name, which he rarely used, though free to do so, was an admission
of some kind as this perfect diplomat preferred to address her
formally even on informal occasions, such as their talk in the
garden here. Her nose had caught the aroma of the kitchen and
seeing the servants to-ing and fro-ing with their dinner, she
excused herself to hurry the arrangements along as she had suddenly
an appetite.

She had
scarcely crossed the threshold when cook met her to say dinner was
indeed ready. Godolphin heard the cook and did not wait for a
formal summons. As they waited to be served, Godolphin said
tersely:

"I'm not sure
which of the Sunderlands, her majesty dislikes the more. You know
how his father thought of the princess, as she then was." He
stopped as a servant appeared, waiting until she was gone, before
adding:

“I fear her
odium for Sunderland senior has much to do with it."

Godolphin
acted the host insisting the duchess sit before he would take his
place. Neither spoke as the wine was decanted. The duchess proposed
a toast:

"To my dear
lord, somewhere in Flanders!" and Godolphin echoed it saying: "To
the duke, wherever he may be."

Then replacing their glasses both were
about to start eating when Godolphin lifted his knife and fork to
examine them in its pristine gleam and the Duchess commented:
"There isn't much which you don't notice, my lord. From Louis'
court itself, so I'm told
; a gift to his uncle from the Duke of Berwick, now leading
a French army."

Godolphin
said: "They're so much better wrought than our own rustic
implements. Although the new Minister for War, Henry St John, tells
me all this is about to change as Huegenot manufactories are
established in and around London. He promises that I shall be able
to see people clearly when I look out of the newly refurbished
windows of the new Kensington House."

Sarah listened
with rapt attention as perhaps this might bear upon Blenheim,
commenting: "What do you see now, my lord?"

"Why! What
everybody sees, distorted images so much so that my own friends
have passed and I've not been able to recognise them."

Sarah was now
intrigued as never before: "I do recall when we rebuilt Holywell
House, the whole interior opened up like a fountain of light. My
lord commissioned Monsieur Van Houten from Delft hoping to remodel
the house on the lines of houses he had seen in Holland."

"That's a
problem living as we do in our green and pleasant island," said
Godolphin, "we are unaware of the great changes taking place over
the water."

Sarah laughed out loud: "My lord, must we
go to war every so often so as to find out the latest fashions from
the Continent. There must be another way." Then she stopped eating
and stared at Godolphin, saying ruefully:

"You have the
archest way to get away from a subject. To return to my lord
Sunderland's father. It seems he criticised the Admiralty over the
loss of some ships and the princess blamed him for it as at the
time, her consort was lord high admiral."

Godolphin eyed his hostess appreciatively:
"Her majesty need not have
concerned herself as the loss of these ships occurred in
William's reign. There was a convoy to Smyrna which the French
captured with the loss of millions."

"I might have
known money would be at the bottom of it." She replied.

Godolphin
finished eating, took his serviette, patted his mouth complimenting
his hostess on the soup, learning that it was jugged hare which he
could indulge more often were he to visit the country more. Before
replacing the serviette on the table he noticed the monogram, of a
capital 'L' to which Sarah gave answer that it was contraband from
the capture of a French fortress.