FitzGerald hesitated. Then he said, “I trust you are not unwell.”
“Quite well, thank you.”
“Then … it’s not about Princess Louise?”
“No. Of course not.”
“Good. I understood from Sir Charles that she has recovered her spirits, and her headaches are less frequent.” When Susan didn’t reply, the major said, “Wouldn’t you agree?”
“It seems so.”But you haven’t heard Louise weeping in her bedroom.Susan tucked away the card. “Princess Louise had made a pet of Lizzie. She’s deeply distressed. At a loss.”
“Yes. I imagine she is.”
“Do you know if the queen’s private secretary has written to the girl’s family?”
FitzGerald looked surprised. “The housekeeper said her parents are dead, and she had no other family in England.”
“There’s a younger sister in Ireland. Brigid Dowling. She’s in service with a family somewhere in County Cork.”
“How do you know that?”
“Princess Louise remembered but couldn’t recall the town’s name. She said Lizzie was very protective of her sister.” Susan stood, brushing the folds from her dress. “I’ll look into finding her address.”
“Lady Styles … Susan.”
“Yes?”
He shook his head. “Nothing.”
Nothing,Susan thought. There was a time when a word from him meant everything.
“The prince and the two princesses leave for London on Monday,” she said. “Are you traveling with the royal party?”
FitzGerald shook his head. “Montgomery will join you, but I must leave tomorrow for Scotland.”
“A sudden change of plan?”
“A telegram from the home secretary arrived while you were at the inquest. The government got wind of an Irish plan to kidnap the queen at Balmoral and—”
“Good God!”
FitzGerald flicked his hand. “Tempest in a teacup. Or a pint glass, as so many Irish plots start in pubs. These so-called ‘Fenian patriots’ can’t get out of their way.”
“What’s being done?”
“The Scottish police swarmed the castle grounds.” FitzGerald chuckled. “They found nothing, but they irritated the life out of Her Majesty.”
“Five assassination attempts, and—”
“Six, as it happens. Victoria has almost as many lives as a cat.”
“It’s not a joke,” Susan said. “The queen is too careless of her safety.”
“These Irish … What do they expect from us, for God’s sake?”
She raised her eyebrow and said, “Their land back?”
“Do they think we’ll just hand it over to them?”
