Murder Most Royal

The Queen returned to the house in a cheerful mood. She had no idea if the prickle under her skin was right, but at least she was doing something. The Cambridges would be here any minute, and that hideous cold was finally retreating. For the first time since her arrival her sinuses were clear and her body was, relatively speaking, free of aches and pains. She didn’t exactly skip down the corridor to the staircase to get changed out of her riding togs, but there was definitely a spring in her step.

Chapter 16

A quiet moment with her lady-in-waiting before lunch the next day brought with it the answer to one mystery, at least.

‘I think you ought to see this,’ Lady Caroline said.

The Queen looked up from a copy of Country Life, where she had been reading a rather poetic article about water voles. Lady Caroline had been going through the Queen’s personal correspondence to pick out letters and notes that required her attention. ‘Mmm?’

‘It’s from Astrid Westover, of all people.’ Lady Caroline made a face. ‘Would you like me to read it out to you? I’m tempted to do it in a funny voice, but that would be terribly rude. Especially after everything she’s been through. It’s quite tragic, of course.’

‘What is?’

‘The missing hand business. And she’s so very young really. I suppose that explains it. But honestly, you’d think she’d know better. She writes like something out of a Mills & Boon. Except they were better written. I used to love Mills & Boons at school. One of my friends wrote some of them under a nom de plume. I—’

‘Do get on with it, Caroline.’

‘Yes, ma’am. So sorry. Of course.’

Lady Caroline read aloud:

Thank you so very much for your kind letter to my mother. She was utterly charmed and I know she’s writing to Your Majesty separately. I just wanted to let you know how touched I am that you’re thinking of me and Ned my darling fiancé. I’m sure you must have been worried about what had happened to me but I wanted to reassure Your Majesty that I’m fine and I’m staying with Mummy out of the way of the press who are so odious, as I’m sure you know, and were making all sorts of hurtful comments about our age gap and me marrying him for his money, which is the opposite of the truth. I just couldn’t face them so I came here to join Mummy at Guist, not so very far from you at Sandringham.

Your Majesty is so kind to think about Mummy, who sends her love. Darling Ned talked about you a lot and his happy days at Sandringham where Your Majesty treated him like a second son. I know he wanted to show me those special places where he grew up.

I simply cannot begin to take in what’s happened to the person who I was going to share my life with. Ned was a pure ray of light, as I’m sure Your Majesty knows. We were due to get married in six weeks. I’m lost without him and the only thing that helps is to talk to other people who knew him and understand. As someone who knew him from childhood, I’m sure Your Majesty must feel the same way too.

With great fondness, and wishing you a happy 2017,

Your obedient servant,

Astrid

‘How astonishing,’ the Queen said.

‘Isn’t it?’

‘So that’s why the police weren’t unduly worried. They must have known.’

‘Lying low. I can’t say I blame her,’ Lady Caroline said. ‘All that press attention would be awful. Even so, she’s quite bold, isn’t she? Shall I do the usual? “Her Majesty would like me to thank you for your letter . . .”’

‘Yes. And do say, again, how sorry we are. I think that should be enough.’

* * *

But the letter became a topic of conversation again over a game of charades in the saloon after dinner. Lady Caroline had joined the family and guests, who by now included the young princesses and an eclectic assortment of old friends. While everyone was working on the film, book and TV titles to put in the hat, Lady Caroline turned to the Queen and said, ‘The cheek of that girl! Astrid Westover. I still can’t get over it. Can you?’

Lady Caroline had a loud voice, honed on many a lacrosse pitch in her youth, and everyone’s ears pricked up.

‘Ooh! Astrid? Who was marrying Ned St Cyr?’ Beatrice asked. ‘What did she say?’

‘She made it very clear,’ Lady Caroline suggested, ‘that she would like to visit Sandringham. Didn’t she, ma’am?’

‘Yes, she did, rather.’

‘I’ve never seen so many hints. I half expected her to say she was popping over in the morning for a chat.’

‘Oh, can we invite her?’ Eugenie asked. ‘She might know something about what happened.’

‘What a gruesome subject,’ the Queen said. ‘Especially for someone so close to Ned.’

‘But she wants to come. Perhaps she wants to talk about it.’

‘I should think she just wants a decent recce round the house and a chance to see us all doing the jigsaw,’ Philip observed, with great perspicacity, in the Queen’s opinion, especially given the chief constable’s recent visit.

‘You could always ask her and see,’ Beatrice suggested.

‘I must admit,’ Lady Caroline said, ‘I’d love to see if she’s as forward in person as she is on paper.’