Courting Her Highness by Jean Plaidy

of her boy while the tears slowly ran down her cheeks.
    “It is what I dreaded, Hill. I dreaded it more than anything that could happen … and now it has come. What can I say, Hill? What can I do now?”
    “Talk of him, Madam. Perhaps it will help you.”
    So she talked and to her surprise was soothed; and she looked at the young face of her chambermaid, itself stained with tears and she said: “You’re a good creature, Hill.”
    When the Princess was in her bed, Abigail turned to go but the Princess said: “Stay, Hill.”
    Abigail stayed and knelt by the bed while the Princess lay and wept silently.
    The Princess seemed to have forgotten the chambermaid was kneeling there; but when her eyes did fall on the small figure she said: “Thank you, Hill. You are a good creature.”
    And Abigail remained until the Princess slept.
    She knew that the Princess would not quickly forget that at the peak of her suffering she had found comfort in Abigail Hill.

    The Princess Anne was listless. Each day she sat dreaming of her lost boy. She confided to Abigail Hill that life would never again be the same for her.
    Sarah came bustling into the apartment. “Come, dear Mrs. Morley, you must rouse yourself,” she commanded. “You must remember that although you are a bereaved mother you are also the heiress to the throne.”
    “I do not think you can understand how I feel, Mrs. Freeman.”
    “I! Not understand. Have I not lost a child … a boy? Have you forgotten my dear Charles.”
    “No, I have not forgotten and I suffered my dearest Mrs. Freeman’s loss as my own, but this is my boy … my beloved boy.”
    “There will be other little Morleys ere long.”
    “I wish I could be sure of that.”
    “You are certainly not sterile. You have given us good proof of that.”
    Sometimes there was almost a sneer in Sarah’s voice; Anne, her feelings made raw by her recent loss, was hurt by it; and oddly enough she was reminded of the gentle sympathy of the chambermaid.
    She said that she was tired and would sleep a little. Sarah, who nowadays always seemed to be seeking opportunities to leave her company, said at once that that was an excellent idea.
    “Send for the chambermaid, Hill,” said Anne. “She will help me to my bed.”
    “And I will see you when you are refreshed,” replied Sarah. “Then I am sure, Mrs. Morley, you will see that I am right when I implore you to stop
showing
your sorrow. I know you grieve. I still do for my darling Charles, but we have to be brave, Mrs. Morley. We have to hide our feelings from the world.”
    When Sarah had left and Anne was alone with Abigail Hill, the Princess said: “Of course we cannot all hope to be as strong as dear Lady Marlborough.”
    “No, Madam.”
    “Although sometimes I think my dearest friend, being so
admirable
herself, has little patience with those who are weaker.”
    “Your Highness is not weak.” Abigail spoke more fiercely than usual. “If I may offer my humble opinion Your Highness has shown the greatest fortitude.…”
    “I have tried, Hill. But sometimes I think the loss of my darling …”
    Anne began to weep and Abigail tenderly proffered the handkerchief. Anne did not seem to see it, so greatly daring Abigail wiped the tears from her cheeks.
    “Thank you, Hill,” said Anne. “You are very different from … your cousin.”
    “I fear so, Madam.”
    “Do not fear, Hill. I find your quietness to my taste.”
    “My cousin is a brilliant woman and I am just Your Highness’s chambermaid.”
    “Do not fret with labels, Hill. There are times when I find your presence very comforting … very comforting indeed.” Anne’s face hardened suddenly. “And there are others when I find Lady Marlborough’s most … most … unkind.”
    There was a silence which horrified Anne. At last she had spoken aloud a thought which had been at the back of her mind for some time; and spoken in the hearing of Abigail Hill, Sarah’s cousin, who had been