Elizabeth had not waited to be told to go; she had packed what she could and told Sally that she would replace Abigail, her lady’s maid, for the journey. The girl had stared at her in horror and then murmured something that Elizabeth took to be agreement. In truth, that morning, Elizabeth had given little thought to the wishes of the servant girl, only to the fact that she could not travel alone. She had sent no word to her own family, knowing they would take Albert’s side. ‘Excuse me, ma’am, but where are we going?’ Sally asked her. ‘Rome.’ Elizabeth had made up her mind only in that second. ‘What? In Italy?’ ‘Yes. We have a villa there that my husband does not use. He will not care that I use it now.’ ‘On our own, miss? I mean ma’am?’ I wish I was a miss again, Elizabeth thought. ‘We will engage other servants,’ she said, realizing that she had never had to do such a thing. Her father and then her husband had taken care of such practicalities. In the event, they did not go alone.
