She kept repeating that one word.” “How amusing,” said Charles Greville, though both his tone and the sour look on his pale serious face belied his words. They were in a coach, heading back from Windsor. Sir William had used his right as a returning ambassador not only to report to his sovereign regarding his Neapolitan mission but to pass over the request from Maria Carolina that King George’s Minister Plenipotentiary regularise his position vis-à-vis her good friend and confidante, Emma Hart. Greville, returning from his family home in Warwickshire, had met him at the royal castle. “She agreed to a wedding in the end?”“Most assuredly.” Sir William could recall the scene now. Emma had flown around the room in a torrent of excitement, before acceding to his request that she help him back to his feet. Emma had obliged, showered him with kisses, rushed to tell her mother, embraced all the servants, who seemed just as ecstatic, then rushed back up the stairs to embrace him again.
