Queen in Waiting: (Georgian Series) (8 page)

‘Your mother’s there to take good care of him.’

‘Yes,’ answered Sophia Charlotte, ‘there is my mother.’

And as a result Frederick William was sent to Hanover.

Gottfried Leibniz liked to gossip with Caroline when they were not discussing deeper matters. He had a great admiration for the Electress Sophia, the mother of Sophia Charlotte, and he liked to chat about the court of Hanover; and since this had once been the home of her beloved Sophia Charlotte it was of great interest to Caroline.

How different a childhood Sophia Charlotte had had from Caroline’s! And yet about her had whirled similar storms and passions to those with which Caroline had become acquainted at Dresden. The story of Sophia Dorothea of Hanover was far more tragic than that of Caroline’s mother, for while fate had intervened to save the latter, poor Sophia Dorothea had had no such help.

Leibniz gossiped often of that tragic affair; he talked of George Lewis, Sophia Charlotte’s elder brother, whom – as a man without learning – he despised.

‘If you could imagine the complete opposite of our gracious Electress Sophia Charlotte, that would be her brother.’

‘He sounds quite loathsome,’ declared Caroline.

‘I think that is the opinion of almost everyone except Ermengarda Schulemburg and one or two other of his favoured ladies.’

‘Tell me about his children.’

‘George Augustus is about your age… a few months younger, perhaps. He is like his father in many ways, but I think he might be an improvement on him. He is fond of music. The only sign of culture these Hanoverians have is a love of music. Literature… art… philosophy… don’t exist for them.’

‘How could the Electress have such a brother?’

‘She resembles her mother. The Electress Sophia is one of the cleverest women I have ever known.’

‘Surely not cleverer than her daughter?’

‘When the Electress of Brandenburg is as old as her mother she will be as wise. I can’t give her higher praise than that.’

‘I should like to meet the Electress Sophia.’

‘You will one day. She often talks of visiting her daughter. Our Electress is her favourite child.’

‘I can well understand that.’

‘I believe you and the Electress Sophia would be good friends.’

‘Tell me more of her. Tell me about Sophia Charlotte’s childhood.’

‘Oh… those brothers! They were continually warring with each other. It began in the nurseries. George Lewis is such an oaf… so uncouth, so crude. I know the Electress Sophia has always regretted that he was her eldest. She would have preferred any of the other boys as Electoral Prince.’

‘Did George Lewis know this?’

‘If he did he didn’t care. He was happy enough left to himself to pursue his two main interests.’

‘And what were they?’

‘War and women. In the reverse order.’

‘And what of his father and mother. Were they happy together?’

Leibniz shrugged his shoulders. ‘The Electress Sophia is a wise woman. Ernest Augustus her husband was a man who would have his mistresses. Sophia looked the other way. In fact she didn’t bother to do even that. She expressed a lack of interest in his extra-marital affairs.’

‘But why?’

‘It was no concern of hers, she said. A wife should not grudge her husband his mistresses as long as he spent enough time with her to give her children.’

‘It seems a strange philosophy of marriage.’

‘The Electress Sophia is an unusual woman. Because she remained faithful to this doctrine she has been accorded every dignity, she has been a power at her husband’s court and she is the mother of many children.’

‘And she did not care that he was unfaithful to her? I can’t believe that.’

‘She is a great lady of higher rank than her husband; being the daughter of a Queen and the granddaughter of a King of England. She never forgets it.’ He smiled a little wryly. ‘Nor will she allow anyone else to.’

‘And because of this she does not care that her husband was unfaithful?’

‘Her royalty is the ruling passion of her life – that and the possibility of her attaining a crown. Beside that, all else seems insignificant. She has heirs of her body. She could be Queen of England and after her, George Lewis could be King.’

‘England! That is far away.’

‘To the Electress Sophia it is home. She has never been there but she calls it so. One day she hopes to receive the call which will take her there and that it will be to mount the throne. You know what her chances are.’

‘Yes. But there is a King across the water. Don’t you think he will come before the Electress Sophia?’

Leibniz laughed maliciously. ‘When the Electress engaged me to work at Hanover, one of my duties was to attempt to weld together the Catholic and Protestant faiths. But when the law of succession was passed in England, there was a clause which said that only a member of the Reformed Faith could wear the crown of England. The Electress ceased then to be interested in this welding of the faiths. She was a Protestant and she decided to remain one.’

‘She is not a woman of strong faith.’

‘Her faith is in the English crown. She believes it to be the most prized diadem in the world and England the home of all that is desirable. Religion to her is something to be of use to rulers. She maintains that only rulers unworthy of the name allow it to rule them. Every day she grows nearer to the English throne her Protestantism grows stronger.’

‘You find this admirable?’

‘I find it… wise.’

‘Isn’t that a cynical view of religion?’

‘It is not a matter of cynicism. You have listened to – and indeed partaken in – our discourses. We are groping in the dark.
What is faith? The very word suggests that there is reason for uncertainty. Whom do you, a young woman of good sense, admire most, the man who convinces himself he believes blindly and shuts his eyes to reason, or the one who says I am not sure but eager to find out, therefore I shall listen to every argument?’

‘Naturally I think it wiser to have an open mind.’

‘Like that of the Electress Sophia. She has an open mind. In the meantime if she has a good chance of attaining the throne of England as a Protestant and no chance at all as a Catholic, wisdom decrees that she shall be a Protestant and a Protestant she is.’

‘Of course it is wise, but…’

‘You are too emotional, my dear young lady. That is your youth. When the tempest is blowing you must trim your sails accordingly. Always remember that. Is it wise to be wrecked for a principle? So much depends on what is involved? In life one rarely comes to a clear solution. Perhaps there is none. That is what makes our discussions here of such interest and such value.’

‘But you yourself, I heard declined the custodianship of the Vatican Library for a principle.’

‘You are wrong.’

‘But I heard that the Pope himself offered you this appointment and you refused because to have accepted it would have entailed becoming a Catholic.’

‘That is true in part. I had no intention of becoming an adherent to any one form of religion. What if I had? My freedom would have been restricted, and all avenues except one closed to me. I should have accepted this and that, because it was the law laid down by the Pope.’

‘But is that not declining for a principle?’

‘In truth no. At the heart of my refusal was the knowledge that I could lead a fuller life at courts such as this and that of Hanover. I could become richer, more famous out in the world.’

‘Then you are ambitious.’

‘I shall not know what manner of man I am until I come to the end of my life.’

Sophia Charlotte joined them.

‘I see as usual that you are giving Caroline something to think about,’ she said with a smile.

The Electress Sophia visited Lützenburg accompanied by her grandson Frederick William.

There was great preparation for their arrival, for not only was Sophia Charlotte eager to have her son home again but she was delighted at the prospect of having her mother to stay with her.

Caroline was inclined to be a little jealous and this Sophia Charlotte recognized at once.

‘My darling,’ she said, ‘you will love my mother and she will love you. Instead of the two of us now there will be three. We shall be a trinity.’

Caroline was unsure; from all she had heard of the Electress Sophia she visualized a formidable woman.

She was agreeably surprised, for although the old Electress was indeed formidable, she showed nothing but pleasure in meeting Caroline.

‘My daughter tells me such news of you,’ she said on their first meeting, ‘that I am impatient to meet you. Why, you have a charming face, and I am grateful to you for making my dear daughter so happy.’

It was a good beginning, for it was apparent to Caroline that Sophia was a woman who would say what was on her mind and it appeared that because her daughter had explained how much Caroline meant to her, the Electress was prepared to accept her too.

Her nervousness evaporated and she found herself being as natural as she was in the presence of Sophia Charlotte and, with the approving eyes of the latter upon her, she proceeded to find a way into the good graces of the mother.

The entertainments at Lützenburg delighted the old Electress and she was invariably to the fore in the discussions that went on. She was delighted to meet her old friend Gottfried Leibniz and even more pleased to see him so happily settled at her daughter’s court.

She liked, too, to wander in the gardens with Caroline and sound her to discover, Caroline was sure, whether she lived up to the reports her daughter had sent her. Caroline found herself playing the part of earnest young philosopher, seeking the truth, playing it in the manner she thought would best appeal to the old woman.

Am I being a little false? she asked herself. Were the Leibniz doctrines teaching her never to be herself, always to stand outside a scene, metaphorically, and look in on herself playing a part? Was it better to forget to watch oneself, to be natural, to say the first thing which came into one’s mind? One would be more honest if one did. But it was so easy to do or say what was unwise, perhaps to change the whole pattern of one’s life by a word or a small action.

Sometimes it seemed to her that there was no definite right or wrong way of living. Sometimes she allowed herself to believe that life would go on forever as it was now: Herself the companion, handmaiden, devoted daughter of the one she loved and always would, she believed, beyond all others. But common sense told her this could not be. Sophia Charlotte herself would not wish it. She would want to see her married, a mother, making a home of her own. There were only two ways in which she could ensure a life with Sophia Charlotte until death parted them. One was to remain unmarried; the other was to marry Sophia Charlotte’s son.

The second prospect made her shiver.

Frederick William had returned from Hanover no better than he had gone away. He still strutted about the court, arrogant as ever, and none of the attendants and servants dared thwart him or he would take his revenge; he would warn them that one day he would be their master and he would not forget.

Thinking of marriage with him made Caroline’s thoughts turn to those far-off days in Saxony.

Never! she told herself. I would rather remain unmarried. That is the answer. I will never marry. I will stay here with dearest Sophia Charlotte until the end of my days.

Frederick William had certainly not learned better manners at Hanover. It was hardly to be expected that he would. He had taken a violent dislike to his cousin George Augustus and waylaid Caroline in the gardens to tell her about it.

‘You’ve grown taller since I’ve been away, Madam Caroline,’ he said.

‘I daresay you have too, but I don’t notice.’

The angry lights leaped into his eyes, and she was startled to see how violent he could quickly become.

‘Then notice now!’ he demanded.

‘It is of no interest to me.’

‘I command that you do.’

‘Are you in a position to command me?’

‘The Electoral Prince has power to command all his dependents.’

Caroline laughed. He took her by the shoulder, his lower lip projecting in an ugly fashion, and for a moment she thought he was going to strike her.

‘I’ve no doubt,’ she said. ‘But he should not make the mistake of trying to command those who are not.’

‘And you… the penniless orphan…’

‘I am here at the wish of the Elector and Electress of Brandenburg who, let me remind you, have the power to command the Electoral Prince.’

He laughed suddenly. ‘You have spirit for a girl who has nothing.’

‘How can I have nothing if I have my spirit?’

‘Now, Caroline, you’re being clever. Save that for old Leibniz and the rest. Don’t try it on me.’

‘I admit it would be wasted.’

He brought his face close to hers. ‘Now you’re afraid I’m going to kiss you. Poor Caroline, who has never been kissed. You really are getting old for such ignorance. You want knowledge. Well, why not seek it.’

She pushed him aside.

‘Don’t get ideas,’ he said. ‘My cousin Sophia Dorothea is ten times prettier than you. I wouldn’t look at you when she was around.’

Disturbing! Particularly as marriages were often made without the consent of the two concerned.

A storm cloud had appeared in the skies over Lützenburg; one could not be young forever; one could not remain protected from the ugliness of the world under the cloak of an adored guardian. Change would come and Caroline was growing up.

There was nothing the Electress Sophia enjoyed more than a tête-à-tête with her daughter. She admired Sophia Charlotte more than any living being and loved her more dearly than any
of her children, Sophia Charlotte was not only beautiful and talented, she was wise.

The Electress Sophia could not see how she herself could better have handled her own life. She had not loved Ernest Augustus when she had married him and would have much preferred the man to whom she was first betrothed, the Duke of Celle, father of her ill-fated daughter-in-law Sophia Dorothea who was now a prisoner at Ahlden; but she had accepted Ernest Augustus and her rank and dignity had given her a certain power. All she had to do was let him go his way, let him keep his mistresses, never protest or show that she minded; and in return he accepted her position as Electress, as a Princess of royal birth, and she could have her will in all matters that did not clash with his desires. It was the kind of compact only an extremely wise woman could carry through; and she had done it.