Chapter 36: Marie de Perigneaux

They were now on the last leg of their river journey. They would reach Wuerzburg, the ancient capital of the Franconian duchy, that evening. The mayor had sent a horseman, to alert the royal court in Wuerzburg of their arrival.

King Ludwig’s father, the Elector Maximilian, had been Napoleon’s ally early on. When France seized all the territories left of the River Rhine, Napoleon saw fit to compensate his ally with the duchy of Franconia which had been ruled by the Prince-Bishop of Wuerzburg. The Elector Maximilian IV. of Bavaria became King Maximilian I. of Bavaria.

Then, barely in time before Napoleon’s downfall, Maximilian changed sides and aligned himself with England and Prussia. This ensured that he kept his possessions after the Vienna Congress.

His son, Ludwig I., saw fit to style himself “King of Bavaria, Duke of Franconia, Palatine of the Rhine, etc.”, and he used the former Prince-Bishops’ splendid Baroque residence in Wuerzburg as his second royal palace.

What Ellen, Richard and their entourage saw when they reached Wuerzburg, was a huge castle towering over town and river, as well as a forest of church steeples. It seemed as if there were dozens of churches in the town.

The boat made fast at a quay under an ancient stone bridge that crossed the river. Four carriages were waiting for them, all bearing the coat of arms of the House of Wittelsbach. A stout man wearing an imposing uniform greeted them.

“Your Excellency, I am Baron Hohenstedt. His Majesty tasked me with receiving you and conveying you to your temporary quarters.”

“Baron Hohenstedt!” Ellen smiled. “How enchanting to meet you again!”

She had met the Baron years ago in the Lake District when she had been vacationing with Lucy. The Baron smiled back.

“The Lady Lambert is even more beautiful than Miss Wilkes used to be, hard as it is to believe,” he answered. “How is your charming mother, Milady?”

“She is well, Baron, and I shall not fail to let her know of our meeting. She will be most delighted.”

Richard was not quite at ease with the old courtier who had a way with flattery. He hastened to do the honours.

“May I present the Right Honourable James Palmer and his wife Maddalena? Mr. Palmer is a friend of my family and he kindly offered his services as my Private Secretary.”

The men bowed and the women curtseyed. Then it was time for another presentation.

“May I also present two of our dear friends, Miss Colleen McAllister and Miss Melissa Martin? Miss McAllister is one of our most promising young writers, and Miss Martin has established herself as one of London’s most eminent painters.”

“His Majesty will be very pleased to hear of this,” the Baron assured the young women. “He places much value in the arts.”

The Baron eyed Melissa with great appreciation. The comely young woman, having moved in London’s society for years now, had developed a self-confident presence that was difficult to miss.

“That is what I heard, Baron, and it was the prospect of meeting the great artists who enjoy his Majesty’s favour that compelled me to join Lord Lambert and his wife.”

The Baron looked even more intrigued, for when Melissa spoke there was no way, even for a Bavarian Baron, to mistake her for an Englishwoman.

“Well, I shall convey you to your quarters now. We have taken the liberty to find you rooms in a palais across from the Royal Residence. I trust that you will find the accommodations to your liking. I see that you brought your own servants. Pray, let me know if you have need for additional staff.”

“We planned to employ a cook and perhaps two chambermaids,” Ellen mused. “But perhaps we should wait until we move into our Munich house?”

“No, not at all! I shall see to it that you will have a local woman to cook for you. His Majesty will remain in residence until early September, so this will only be a temporary solution.”

“Thank you, Baron. This is very kind of you,” Richard interjected. “We are indebted by your thoughtful help.”

They climbed into the coaches whilst the drivers loaded their luggage onto another wagon. The coaches tumbled over the ancient cobble stones of the narrow streets along the river. Next, they saw a four-stream fountain and the medieval city hall. They turned right and had a free view on the imposing cathedral of the city. Right in front of it, they carriage turned right, and after a few more turns, they saw the monumental façade of the baroque Prince-Bishop’s residence at the end of the street.

Napoleon had jokingly called it “the World’s largest parsonage” when he spent a night here, and it was indeed huge. The carriage turned right and stopped after one-hundred yards. The house where they had stopped was three storeys high and had a baroque façade, too. The paint was fading, but it still looked quite respectable.

Richard and Ellen were shown in and they immediately saw that it would serve their needs for the six or seven weeks until the royal court would move back to Munich. A young man received them at the entrance.

“This is Arnold, my confidential servant,” Baron Hohenstedt explained. “He speaks your language and he will help you settling in. Myself, I have to attend to my other duties again. There will be an audience hour, tomorrow at eleven o’clock. Perhaps your Lordship will find it convenient to present your letters then?”

“Certainly, Baron,” Richard answered bowing politely.

“Your Private Secretary, I presume he is what you call a gentleman?”

“He is the oldest son and heir of Lord Brougham,” Richard replied.

“Then it would be fitting if he were to accompany you. The ladies will have to wait for a more opportune occasion to be presented to His Majesty.”

“Certainly,” was all Richard could answer.

After Hohenstedt left them they settled into their new quarters. The bedrooms were in the rear of the house facing a small garden. Ricky immediately usurped this garden as his territory by marking trees and bushes.

The family had a frugal supper sent from a pub along the street. Arnold saw to that. He also showed Sadie and Neeta where to find linen and beddings for the family. He was a pleasant enough fellow with a roguish sort of look and stubborn blonde hair. It was obvious that Sadie caught his fancy right from the start and Ellen expected that they would see more of him.

After a good night’s sleep and a quick breakfast, Richard and James dressed carefully. For the first time, Richard donned sash and star of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath over his coat and he grinned self-consciously. He also wore his sword and shiny boots. Clearly, the new manservant, Hoggins, was an asset. Whenever possible during the long journey, that worthy had aired and cleaned Richard’s clothes and other items, and Richard had never looked more resplendent.

Richard and James returned two hours later. His Majesty had been very friendly and he tasked Richard with conveying his most respectful greetings to Ellen and an invitation. There would be an evening of music in the park behind the Residence, mostly music by the late Austrian genius, Mozart. The entire Royal Court would attend and His Majesty would be pleased to welcome the new ambassador and his suite.

That meant hectic activity for Sadie and Neeta, for Ellen’s ball dresses had to be screened, cleaned and pressed. Fortunately, Ellen had regained her former slender figure, giving her an ample selection of dresses to choose from.

She went for a blue and white ensemble, in deference to the colours of the House of Wittelsbach. Hours were spent with Sadie and Neeta who became infected with the excitement. The evening would mean a high point in Ellen and Richard’s social life. As the British envoy, Richard ranked highly among the dignitaries, in fact immediately behind the Russian Tsar’s representative. Add to that his youth and Ellen’s appearance, and they both expected much attention.

Although the Residence was within easy walking distance, Count Hohenstedt had offered a coach for them. Since Ellen’s and Maddalena’s skirts were of white silk and the street was dusty, they reluctantly accepted the service. The coach drove through a high gate and right into the stairwell.

The doors of the coach were opened by attendants. Richard and James alighted and helped first Ellen and Maddalena and then Colleen and Melissa from the coach without dirtying their skirts. They ascended the huge stairs. Suddenly, Maddalena gave a gasp.

“Look! The ceiling! It’s a huge painting!”

Indeed, when they looked up, they saw that the gigantic stairwell’s ceiling was a single, equally gigantic painting.

“Giovanni Batista Tiepolo painted this,” Melissa stated in an awed voice. “I’ve read about it; it’s known as the world’s largest fresco. It took three years for him to complete.”

Their excited exchange had to stop for at the landing stood a gentleman with a most ornate uniform. He identified himself as His Majesty’s High Chamberlain and asked them to follow him into the Great Mirror Hall. Here they were presented to the King.

His Majesty was delighted to meet Ellen again, as he stated repeatedly whilst he kissed her hand. He also regarded young Maddalena with much admiration and professed his delight that the ladies would join his court during the next two years.

The King then deigned to introduce the Marchesa Marianna Florenzi, his, as he put it, dearest friend. The Marchesa was a strikingly beautiful woman Ellen conceded, and she pitied the Queen Therese who as rumour had it had to deal with a steady flow of ‘dearest friends’ who all happened to be possessed of exquisite beauty.

Although Ellen was quite aware of her own physical attributes, she had no problems to acknowledge the beauty of other women. It was rather that she was relieved when other women took away some of the attention from herself. It took a second for Ellen to realise that the King was addressing her and Maddalena. With an effort she pieced his words together from her subconscious memory.

“I hope, your ladyship will allow for my painter, Stiegler, to portray you. I try to collect paintings of the most beautiful women of our time and assemble them in a temple devoted to feminine beauty and chastity.”

Ellen thought for a second to come up with a fitting reply.

“I have heard about your collection, your Majesty. I shall not commit myself today. Perhaps, if your Majesty allowed us to view the existing collection... ?”

“It will be my pleasure!” the King answered unabashedly.

“May I present my two protégés, your Majesty? This is Miss Colleen McAllister. She is a writer of excellent repute. And this is Miss Melissa Martin, one of London’s most eminent painters.”

“Melissa Martin!” the King expostulated. “I have seen her painting of Anita Heyworth. Melissa Martin here at my court! What a wonderful news!”

He kissed a flustered Melissa’s hand and then, remembering his manners, addressed Colleen.

“Please don’t think me rude, Miss McAllister. I am not yet acquainted with your works. I am grateful for your visit, nonetheless. Do you write poems or prose?”

“I started with poems, your Majesty, but people seem to appreciate my adventure and travel stories more.”

“Will you be writing about your visit here?”

“Lady Lambert asked me along for that purpose, your Majesty.”

“Then I must make certain that you will see only the best of my dominions!” the King laughed good-naturedly.

A chamberlain then announced that the music was about to start and the King offered his arm to the Marchesa. With the Italian beauty at his side, he led the group down the magnificent stairs and into the baroque garden.