“I am certain that is not true.”
“Are you?” Charlotte turned to her sharply. “I do not see how you could be. This is only the second time we have met.”
“Well . . .” Agatha flailed for words. “You are the Queen. By definition, everyone cares about you.”
Charlotte arched a brow. “You clearly know very little about being a queen.”
“As I am growing increasingly aware.”
Charlotte’s mouth clamped into a firm line. “This,” she said, motioning to the drawings on the table. “It truly must be done?”
“It must.” Agatha managed a small smile. “I’m sure you have a word for it in German.”
Charlotte stared for a beat, then let out an unexpected laugh. “You are funny.” She pressed her lips together, then sighed. “Well. I have been left ignorant in both languages, clearly.”
“I am sorry,” Agatha said.
“It is not your fault.”
“No, but I am sorry for your situation. It is the lot of women, I am afraid. It is not fair, and it is not right.”
“No, it is not, is it? This—” Charlotte waved her hand above the table, indicating the lurid drawings. “This is not my failing. The King clearly does not want me. And I cannot somehow force him to want to do this with me. And maybe that is a good thing. If I am not Queen, if we are not married, then maybe we can forget all about this, and I can go home.”
“No!” Agatha exclaimed.
Charlotte looked at her with some surprise. It had been a sudden outburst.
“I hope you will stay,” Agatha said, forcing her voice into a calmer register. If Charlotte departed, so too did the Great Experiment.
“He does not want me,” Charlotte said.
Agatha did not know how to respond. Finally, she said, “It is a Pomeranian. Your deformed bunny.”
“Pom Pom?”
“It is a dog. A very rare, purebred Pomeranian. If it were a jewel, it would be a diamond.”
Charlotte touched the jewels at her neck.
“Diamonds,” Agatha said.
“My favorite,” Charlotte whispered. She turned and looked at Brimsley.
He nodded. “I will fetch the dog.”
St. James’s Palace
Princess Augusta’s Sitting Room
An hour later
Agatha had not even departed Buckingham when a servant intercepted her with a summons. She was not to go home. Rather, she would proceed directly to St. James’s Palace. Princess Augusta required her presence.
“God help me,” she sighed to herself in her carriage. This was a lot of royalty in one day. Her husband might be jealous of the attention, but honestly, it was exhausting.
“Lady Danbury,” she reminded herself. “Lady Danbury.”
Apparently she had to earn her title.
The Princess did not make her wait, and she was escorted immediately to the sitting room.
“You know Earl Harcourt, of course,” Princess Augusta said.
Agatha did not know Earl Harcourt. Earl Harcourt would never have deigned to acknowledge her existence before the royal wedding. But she curtsied and said, “Of course.”
Princess Augusta motioned for her to sit, then turned to her with icy blue eyes. “Please elaborate on your meeting with the Queen.”
Agatha schooled her features to contain her surprise. News traveled fast. The Princess must have quite the network of spies. “I am not sure I understand.”
“You met with Her Majesty,” Princess Augusta said.
“I did.”
“I am asking you to elaborate.”
Agatha feigned ignorance. “We had tea.”
The Princess looked at her.
She looked at the Princess.
Finally, Augusta said, “You had tea.”
“Yes,” Agatha said.
“And?”
“I met her puppy.”
“Her puppy.”
“Yes.” Agatha smiled blandly. “She has a Pomeranian.”
The Princess looked at her.
She looked at the Princess.
The Princess made a very impatient noise and then looked at Earl Harcourt.
He cleared his throat. “What did you speak to Her Majesty about?”
There was no way in hell Agatha was going to reveal the contents of that conversation. “I am sure I do not remember,” she said.
Earl Harcourt’s brows came together in an irate furrow. “I am sure you do.”
“Does it signify what two ladies discuss at tea? Tea is often about gowns and flower arranging and embroidery and the social season gossip, and if we are bold, the latest musical compositions—”
“I do not think the girl knows,” Earl Harcourt interrupted, directing this statement to Princess Augusta.
“She knows,” the Princess said sharply. She turned to Agatha. “We know what tea is generally about. What was this tea about, girl?”
“This tea?” Agatha asked, all innocence.
“You are being purposely obstructive, Agatha, and I will not have it.”
“Lady Danbury,” Agatha said quietly.
“Excuse me?”
“Lady Danbury. That is my title, Your Royal Highness. The one you were kind enough to bestow upon me. Lady. Agatha. Danbury. And I do remember one thing about this tea. It was when I understood that our Queen does not yet realize that our titles are shiny and new. Is that not an interesting topic for an upcoming tea?”
The Princess stared at her.
She stared at the Princess.
“Harcourt,” Princess Augusta said without looking at him, “perhaps the two of us should speak in a womanly way.”
“Let me handle her for you,” Harcourt blustered. “If Lord Bute—”
But Princess Augusta’s interruption was sharp. “I believe I can manage.”
The two women waited in silence as he departed. Then Princess Augusta looked at Agatha assessingly and said, “You surprise me. I always thought you were a quiet one.”
“I am not quiet. It is simply that my husband is loud.”
Princess Augusta took this in. Agatha thought she saw grudging respect in her face.
But it was impossible to be sure.
“Lady Danbury,” the Princess said. “I need to know what is going on at Buckingham House. I need a trusted ear. Do you understand?”
“I do.”
“Well then . . .”
Agatha chose her words very carefully. “Traditionally, when a title is bestowed, it comes with income and land. An estate. Without those things, a title is simply . . . a title.” She folded her hands in her lap. “We all have needs, ma’am.”
Augusta’s lips tightened. “You want money.”
No, she didn’t want money. She wanted respect. She did not know why she suddenly felt so protective of her husband—she did not even like the man—but she could not bear the expression on his face every time he came home after a new slight or insult. He had been made a lord. He had been proclaimed by the King to be one of the most important men in the land, and no one was treating him as such. No one was treating any of the new lords with their due deference.
Agatha forced herself to look the Princess directly in the eyes. Be fierce, she told herself. Be fearsome. And she said, “You forget that the reason your father-in-law the King knew my family is that my father-in-law is also a king. And Sierra Leone is very rich. We already have money. We have more money than most of the ton. What I need is for my husband not to be denied entry to White’s. I need him to be invited on the hunts. I need to be able to cross the street to the best modiste, to take the finest seats at the opera.”