a fish of the oceans.â
The major caught my eye again and almost winked. I decided that I liked him.
âIt was more English humor, Countess.â
âI do not understand this English humor,â she said grouchily. âI will await news of my herrings in my room.â And she swept out.
âNot the easiest lady, Iâm afraid,â the major said. âFortunately the princess is quite charming and easy to get along with.â
âYouâve already met her?â
âI was lucky enough to visit her parents with His Royal Highness,â he said. âPrince George and his parents will be going to meet her from the boat train tomorrow afternoon. They will be bringing her here and tomorrow evening there will be a dinner at Buckingham Palace for her to meet the family. You will be invited, of course, and will travel with Princess Marina in her motorcar.â
âThank you very much,â I stammered. âNow if you would please have someone show me my room. I think I need to get out of these wet clothes before I make a bigger puddle on the floor.â
âIâll be happy to escort you,â he said. âThis way.â
He led me under the arch and up a spiral staircase. For a palace it was quite plain, with whitewashed walls and plain stone steps. âI hope you donât mind stairs,â the major said. âThis is one of the smaller apartments and Iâve given the first floor over to Princess Marina and her maid. You and the countess have rooms on the second floor and there are small bedrooms for your maid on the third. Your maid did not come with you?â
I swallowed hard. âShe will be arriving later with my luggage.â The thought of the major meeting Queenie made me feel positively sick.
The major went up the next flight at great speed, proving that he was as fit as he looked. âHere we are,â he said, opening the first door we came to. The furniture was rather old-fashioned and the wallpaper a trifle dingy, but it was large and pleasant enough, with windows opening onto an inner courtyard, rather than the park.
âIâm afraid this apartment is in serious need of modernization,â he said, âbut it is the only one unoccupied that is big enough to house the royal party. As you probably know we have four elderly ladies occupying other apartments here.â
âThe Aunt Heap,â I said with a grin.
âYouâve been talking to the Prince of Wales.â He returned my smile. âYes, two of Queen Victoriaâs daughters and two granddaughters are all in residence. Your great-aunts and your fatherâs cousins, are they not?â
âI suppose they are. I always get confused with family relationships.â
âOh, and before I forget,â he went on, opening a wardrobe door to check inside, âPrincess Louise asked me to invite you to dine with her this evening in her apartment. Itâs 1Aâthe apartment that runs the length of the south side. Seven thirty, she said.â
âThank you. How kind of her.â
âIâll leave you to settle in, then,â he said. âI am in apartment 10 if you need me. The official entrance is around at the front of the building, through the public foyer, but luckily I have a bolt-hole back door into the courtyard so I donât have to negotiate hordes of schoolchildren. They always want to know which member of the royal family I am.â He gave an exasperated smile, nodded to me and left. I heard his footsteps retreating down the stairs again.
I T WASNâT UNTIL I was alone in my new room that I thought about the woman in the long sweeping white gown. I should have asked the major whether Kensington Palace was haunted. I had been brought up at Castle Rannoch where the servants certainly had enough tales of ghosts, but I had never encountered one personally. I found myself looking around uneasily.
âBuck up,â I said to myself.