Dun And Dusted, Part I; Book 7 Of Poacher's Progress .Chapter 6: Changing The Guard At Kensington Palace free porn video
Visiting London en-route for France was the final piece of the plan. Normally the twins accompanied Mimi and me to Blanchards but I decided, in order to keep on the good side of the Duchess of Kent, I would accept her offer of the girls having an extended stay at Kensington Palace. We would then stay in London with them for a week or two before travelling on to Paris to support Jean-Woodrow before his exam for entrance to the Sorbonne
“I know Vicky was not best pleased when I refused her offer to look after the girls the last time we were in London, and if we intend our daughters becoming ladies-in-waiting to the future Queen of England it will be as well to mend any broken fences,” I said to Mimi when introducing my plan.
At first Mimi was dubious about the idea, but eventually came around to my way of thinking. She fingered her pendant as she assessed the pros and cons of leaving the girls, but then gave a nod of assent, and a proviso.
“We must insist that time spent in the rarefied air of Royalty is matched by the girls running barefoot in Greenaway’s Farm fields or swimming in the River Witham at Grantham. “
“We shall ensure the girls keep the values you and I have taught them, but also adhere to those grafted on by the duchess.”
Later that morning I sent a letter post-haste to the Duchess of Kent, inquiring if Kensington Palace would be amenable to hosting the Misses Mollie and Caroline Greenaway for some weeks, viz, from mid-June to mid-September.
A reply arrived within three days. The letter, written by the Duchess of Kent herself, said she would be delighted to have Mollie and Caroline visit the palace for as long as required, and that Princess Alexandrina was overjoyed she would have their delightful company for several weeks. The duchess also informed us that a new nursemaid had been engaged for the princess, and would also look after Mollie and Caroline during their stay. In fact the new maid was Gerda’s younger sister Elsa, who had fitted into the household ‘as easy as a pie’.
The misuse of colloquial idiom by the duchess amused me, but judging from the general tone of her letter it appeared all was well with her in the bedroom department, if you catch my drift.
On our arrival at Kensington Palace the following week, I understood why the duchess was in such good humour.
“Colonel Sir Elijah and Lady Mimi Greenaway, may I introduce you to Lieutenant Darcy Algernon Grenville Fitzhugh, of His Majesty’s Royal Regiment of Horse Guards,” the Duchess of Kent said, with a smile a mile wide on her face.
The lieutenant was an amalgam of Adonis, Apollo, Alexander, and Michelangelo’s David. However, noting the way his breeches bulged, far better equipped than the statue displayed in Firenze – if you take my meaning.
“Enchanté, My Lady,” he said, before kissing Mimi’s hand. His voice was as mellow as a Tawny Port matured for twenty years in an oaken cask. Mimi actually blushed.
He next saluted me, and then held out his hand. “Your name and reputation are well known to me, Colonel.”
I gave him a fierce look, with a similar handshake, thinking he had made something of meal of kissing of Mimi’s hand.
“That is just as well then, Lieutenant.”
“Darcy can show Mimi and the girls to the playroom where Princess Alexandrina awaits them. The new nursemaid, Elsa, is also there,” the duchess said.
The lieutenant offered Mimi his arm, which she took more eagerly than I thought seemly, and left the room without a backward glance at me.
The six feet tall Greek God, who had dropped in on us from Mount Olympus, had also besotted the twins, and I noticed it was Mollie who had hold of his free hand as they left the room.
The duchess indicated I should sit next to her on the chaise longue.
“What do you think of my newly appointed equerry, Jack?” She said, placing her hand on my knee.
“Err, he appears to be a fine upstanding young man, but why have you been given an equerry?”
Her hand glided up my thigh, and then, just when it might have become dangerous, slipped back down to its starting point.
Victoria shrugged her shapely shoulders. “The King has decreed all Royal Dukes, and widows of Royal Dukes, should have an equerry in their household. And a fine upstanding young man he is, in all respects.” The tip of her tongue flickered out and swept lasciviously along her glistening lips.
“And what a duties does Grenville Fitzhugh perform?”
“Anything I desire, Jack,” she exhaled in a husky, low, and lewd, tone of voice.
I was reflecting on her answer when Adonis, I mean Lieutenant Grenville Fitzhugh, and Mimi entered the room.
Fortunately, Victoria had removed her hand from my leg and had shifted to the other end of the chaise longue. Mimi was gazing like a lovesick milkmaid at Grenville Fitzhugh, and I believe if Victoria and I had been engaged in frantic copulation on the Axminster carpet she probably would not have noticed. Mimi tore her gaze from Grenville Fitzhugh and addressed me.
“Darcy has been telling me of Paris. He is a regular visitor to the city, and has given me a detailed itinerary for us to follow when we arrive there.”
“Surely Armand and Chloe will have a greater knowledge of the city they live in than even such a frequent visitor as the lieutenant?” I said, sarcasm, spite, and a hint of jealousy, colouring my response.
Lieutenant Grenville Fitzhugh, probably used to males becoming bellicose when he was escorting their wives, ignored my rudeness but instead addressed himself to the Duchess of Kent.
“I will visit the stables and ensure the horses are ready for our afternoon ride, Your Royal Highness. With your permission I will withdraw.”
Victoria gave a languid wave her hand. “Certainly Darcy. I am in need of a good gallop this afternoon, and I am really looking forward to it.” She gave him a full on smile.
“As am I, Your Royal Highness,” said the lieutenant. He bowed to the ladies, saluted me, and then spun on his heel and left the room.
There was a period of silence after his departure.
“Do you often ride in the afternoon, Victoria?” Mimi said.
“Darcy and I have a vigorous gallop in Hyde Park every afternoon, come rain or shine. I am always exhausted, but completely relaxed, afterwards.”
Mimi would not know that ‘gallop’ was a euphemism for sexual activity, but I wondered if Victoria, Duchess of Kent did, and was teasing me.
“But how wonderful that you are going to Paris, Mimi.
How I would love to visit that city,” the duchess said, her remark being followed by a bosom-quivering sigh.
“Perhaps you could persuade your equerry to take you there, and then gallop with you all over the Jardin du Luxembourg.” My acid retort was due to the jealousy of seeing Mimi’s attraction to Darcy Algernon Grenville Fitzhugh, and probably, although I would not admit to it, also Victoria’s attraction to him.
“If only such a thing were possible, Jack. Unfortunately the mother of the next Queen of England cannot go anywhere without pomp and ceremony, and protocol and politics, surrounding her.”
I immediately regretted making such a crass comment, and apologised.
“I am sorry Victoria; it was a thoughtless remark to make.”
“Not at all, Jack. I am aware why you said what you said, and I am rather flattered.”
I could see Mimi was lost as to the subtext of the conversation between Victoria and me, as could Victoria, who moved the conversation onto a less dangerous path.
“Why are you visiting Paris, Mimi?”
“Our son, Jean-Woodrow, is taking the entrance examination to the Sorbonne, and we are going there to give him moral support.”
“The Sorbonne? My son Carl wanted to attend that university but had to follow custom and practice and instead entered Heidelberg,” said Victoria.
“Heidelberg has long and distinguished history,” I said.
“Extremely distinguished, Jack, if duelling scars are the objects of attainment rather than doctorates. Although Carl did meet, and then marry, the sister of one of his fraternity brothers while attending the university.”
“Has your son any children?” Mimi asked.
A shadow of sorrow passed over Victoria’s face.
“He has two, although officially I do not know. A clause in the marriage contract between me and the Duke of Kent stipulated I was to have no contact with any of my family after becoming the Duchess of Kent.” She dabbed at her eyes with a lace handkerchief retrieved from her sleeve. “I have had no word of my son or daughter since my wedding in eighteen eighteen.”
Mimi was appalled. “That is so cruel. Why should such a clause be put into your marriage contract?”
Victoria composed herself. “You are probably aware that the Hanoverian Kings of England are descended from the Palatinate-Simmern family, a cadet branch of the House of Wittelsbach? Most, if not all, of the rulers of Germanic states claim decent from the House of Wittelsbach.”
I had no knowledge of the family antecedents of any German princelings, least of all the Hanoverians, although, thanks to Bluemantle Pursuivant, I could relate the succession of the Kings of England from Alfred to Edward the Confessor. I gave a non-committal grunt, and Victoria continued.
“Between sixteen hundred and ten and sixteen hundred and fourteen there was a bitter dispute between the Palatinate–Simmeren and the Palatinate–Neuberg families concerning land ownership. During the Thirty Years War the Neuberg family converted from Protestant to Roman Catholic, and at the end of the war the Simmerns lost their possessions to the Neubergs. Hatred for the Neubergs lies deep in the blood of the Hanoverians. My former husband, Emich Carl, Prince of Leiningen, was related to the Neubergs, and so the clause was inserted. Obviously Emich Carl was a Roman Catholic, as is my son Carl.”
Hortense
- 07.11.2022
- 31
- 0
