London,
April 1824
Their time in London was drawing to a close as Charlotte made her way through the streets of London towards Berkeley Square on the arm of her brother. She planned to make a final call to Lady Susan before she returned to Willingden with her sister to prepare for the arrival of her younger sister, Julia's, first child.
Charlotte and her sister had enjoyed two trips to Bond street in the past month and this had displayed only the barest glimmers of Lady Susan's skill and generosity as a friend and hostess. They had delighted in the entertainments to be had at Covent and Vauxhall Gardens. They had attended the theatre on no less than three separate occasions and been introduced to many of her high-society friends during those wonderful evenings.
To Charlotte though, the most incredible of all these things must surely be the day that was spent at the Newmarket Racecourse. Charlotte, though a great lover of horses, and of riding them at great speeds across the hills of Surrey, had never had the pleasure of attending the races. And a pleasure it had certainly been for Lady Susan had surprised them with appearance of a royal carriage to convey them from London.
But even the wonders of the races and the opulent conveyance paled in the wake of an introduction the King of their great nation. He was not what Charlotte had expected. She knew of the rumours, of course she did; surely there was a not a person from Edinburgh to Brighton who had not heard them.
She, as most others did, had known of the former Prince Regent's penchant for excess. And she was aware he wore a corset to hide the true extent of growth that had resulted from his excesses. She had not expected that his corset would be so wholly insuffiecient to hide the greatness of his girth or that he would wear more powders and perfumes than a dock-yard doxy.
Still, the experience had been quite her favourite of all of them and Charlotte would not dwell on the shock of her introduction to their Monarch. She would never forget though, the spectacle of his attempts to ingratiate himself with the attractive ladies around him even as he was within the hearing of long-time mistress. Poor Lady Susan, surely such a thing was not easily tolerated?
