the King wanted, the Regent would be disappointed if she behaved in a reprehensible manner after all the flattering words he had said to her.
Then she told herself that it would be foolish of her not to do what the King wanted, when so much depended on their being friendly.
‘If I refuse him this time, he might never ask me again,’ she decided, ‘and we would be back to hating each other and fighting.’
She stopped.
‘I mean,’ she added, ‘the King will be hating me .’
At the same time she had the uncomfortable feeling that what she had thought first was nearer to the truth.
The dinner party seemed to be interminable.
When the long drawn-out meal was finished, there were speeches, first by the Prime Minister welcoming the Queen Mother and Zosina to Dórsia, then one from the Regent which managed to be both sincere and moving, witty and amusing.
After him the Lord Chancellor droned on for over a quarter-of-an-hour.
As he did so, Zosina was acutely aware that the King was not only fidgeting restlessly in his chair, but also signalling to the footmen to fill and refill his glass.
‘He is so young, of course, he finds this rather boring,’ Zosina thought and at that moment felt immeasurably older than the man who was within a few weeks of being three years older than herself.
There were several other speeches, none of them saying anything that had not been said before and all of them should certainly have been shorter.
Zosina realised that they were all made by people who had to be heard because of their position in the country and it was with relief that she saw the Queen Mother rise and realised that this would be the last speech of the evening.
There was tremendous applause.
Then in her musical voice, speaking clearly and with a diction that her granddaughters had always admired, the Queen Mother thanked them all for her welcome to Dórsia and said how impressed she and her granddaughter had been with everything they had seen and all the charming people they had met.
“We are only halfway through this delightful visit,” she said, “and I cannot tell you how much I am looking forward, as I know the Princess Zosina is, to all we shall see tomorrow and most of all to our last engagement in the House of Parliament.”
This remark and the way her grandmother said it, Zosina thought, was a direct reference to the fact that it was there that her engagement to the King would be announced.
She knew by the expression of those listening and the way they looked at her that they too understood what her grandmother had not explicitly said in so many words.
She felt the colour coming into her face and almost instinctively she turned to look at the King.
He was lying back in his chair, quite obviously bored and completely indifferent to what was being said.
In fact, Zosina knew he had missed the point, which her grandmother had inferred.
She wanted instinctively to nudge him into an awareness that he should show himself pleased and smiling at the prospect of his engagement.
But once again she realised that he would think that she was interfering and correcting him and instead she forced a smile to her lips as if she, at any rate, was delighted at what lay ahead.
The Queen Mother’s speech came to an end with everybody in the room rising to their feet and not only clapping her, but calling out,
“Bravo! Bravo!”
“Thank God that’s over!” the King hissed, as at last the Queen Mother sat down.
He drank what wine remained in his glass and then rose to his feet to show that dinner was at an end.
The top table left the room first and when they were outside the Banqueting Hall, the Queen Mother said to the King,
“A delightful party, Gyórgy! Thank you so much for giving it for me and Zosina. The food was delicious and I enjoyed every moment of it!”
The King did not reply and after a moment the Queen Mother went on,
“I must admit I now feel rather tired and I think, Zosina, we should retire
Then she told herself that it would be foolish of her not to do what the King wanted, when so much depended on their being friendly.
‘If I refuse him this time, he might never ask me again,’ she decided, ‘and we would be back to hating each other and fighting.’
She stopped.
‘I mean,’ she added, ‘the King will be hating me .’
At the same time she had the uncomfortable feeling that what she had thought first was nearer to the truth.
The dinner party seemed to be interminable.
When the long drawn-out meal was finished, there were speeches, first by the Prime Minister welcoming the Queen Mother and Zosina to Dórsia, then one from the Regent which managed to be both sincere and moving, witty and amusing.
After him the Lord Chancellor droned on for over a quarter-of-an-hour.
As he did so, Zosina was acutely aware that the King was not only fidgeting restlessly in his chair, but also signalling to the footmen to fill and refill his glass.
‘He is so young, of course, he finds this rather boring,’ Zosina thought and at that moment felt immeasurably older than the man who was within a few weeks of being three years older than herself.
There were several other speeches, none of them saying anything that had not been said before and all of them should certainly have been shorter.
Zosina realised that they were all made by people who had to be heard because of their position in the country and it was with relief that she saw the Queen Mother rise and realised that this would be the last speech of the evening.
There was tremendous applause.
Then in her musical voice, speaking clearly and with a diction that her granddaughters had always admired, the Queen Mother thanked them all for her welcome to Dórsia and said how impressed she and her granddaughter had been with everything they had seen and all the charming people they had met.
“We are only halfway through this delightful visit,” she said, “and I cannot tell you how much I am looking forward, as I know the Princess Zosina is, to all we shall see tomorrow and most of all to our last engagement in the House of Parliament.”
This remark and the way her grandmother said it, Zosina thought, was a direct reference to the fact that it was there that her engagement to the King would be announced.
She knew by the expression of those listening and the way they looked at her that they too understood what her grandmother had not explicitly said in so many words.
She felt the colour coming into her face and almost instinctively she turned to look at the King.
He was lying back in his chair, quite obviously bored and completely indifferent to what was being said.
In fact, Zosina knew he had missed the point, which her grandmother had inferred.
She wanted instinctively to nudge him into an awareness that he should show himself pleased and smiling at the prospect of his engagement.
But once again she realised that he would think that she was interfering and correcting him and instead she forced a smile to her lips as if she, at any rate, was delighted at what lay ahead.
The Queen Mother’s speech came to an end with everybody in the room rising to their feet and not only clapping her, but calling out,
“Bravo! Bravo!”
“Thank God that’s over!” the King hissed, as at last the Queen Mother sat down.
He drank what wine remained in his glass and then rose to his feet to show that dinner was at an end.
The top table left the room first and when they were outside the Banqueting Hall, the Queen Mother said to the King,
“A delightful party, Gyórgy! Thank you so much for giving it for me and Zosina. The food was delicious and I enjoyed every moment of it!”
The King did not reply and after a moment the Queen Mother went on,
“I must admit I now feel rather tired and I think, Zosina, we should retire
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