“But I sacrificed my independence and my reputation when I agreed to enter the prince’s bed,” I said frankly, causing the colonel to blush profusely. “I no longer have a means of income. I am perfectly aware that it has long been the custom for a royal to settle an annuity on his mistress after she has served his turn, so to speak. And I am willing to accept such an annuity from His Highness, in consideration of which our correspondence will remain locked in my wardrobe forever.”
Hotham took this proposal back to the monarch but met with a resounding “No!” adding that “the king will suffer no lingering embarrassment on the royal escutcheon over this affair. He has reminded me that his son is not of age and therefore is not entitled to provide such an annuity, even assuming I should honor the custom.”
I reminded Hotham that I still had in my possession the prince’s bond for twenty thousand pounds. The colonel countered by saying that the instrument had been signed by a minor, and therefore lacked validity. I then insisted that by the bond the prince’s intention to see me supported was nonetheless sincere. Therefore, an annuity at this juncture would indicate the good faith expressed by the instrument—which still bore the prince’s legitimate seal and signature, regardless of his age at the time he affixed them.
Our negotiations continued throughout the first week in August; Malden acted as my second, as though we were in a duel to the death with the royal family. I reminded Hotham that my prodigious debts needed to be satisfied. He requested me to disclose to him the sum required to discharge them. I estimated this figure to be between four and five thousand pounds, and deployed Malden to provide the colonel with the larger figure.
“And tell the prince that I never would have incurred such debts had it not been for His Highness’s repeated assurances that he would provide for me.”
Malden did so, returning with the guarantee that the prince’s sincerity of intentions had never wavered.
Then the colonel informed me that he had been obliged to undertake a thorough retrospect of my conduct during my affair with the prince.
I was shocked. “And what might you possibly have unearthed that would show me as anything but entirely devoted to His Highness?”
“You will be pleased to hear that your conduct was found to be stainless…a bit of an irony under the circumstances.”
“I beg of you, Colonel, not to mock me.”
“Therefore, having discovered that your relationship with the heir apparent was indeed as advertised, the king has entrusted me to offer you the sum of five thousand pounds for the letters. All of this, Mrs. Robinson, is on the understanding that there is never to be any further discussion of this unpleasant subject.”
“But what about an annuity?”
“There will be no annuity, madam. And if you seek to obtain a figure higher than the five thousand pounds His Majesty is prepared to give you in order to relegate this whole sordid business to the dustbin of history, the offer will be rescinded entirely and you will get nothing.”
“But that sum will barely be sufficient to discharge Mrs. Robinson’s debts,” interjected Lord Malden on my behalf. “The king’s proposal is extremely circumscribed and inadequate. I am certain that whatever his romantic feelings for Mrs. Robinson are at present, that the prince would never—”
“What the prince may, or may not, have said to you in private conversation is immaterial, your lordship,” argued Hotham. “I am the king’s emissary, and His Majesty desires Mrs. Robinson to understand that the offer was not intended to give her any expectation, or hope, much less any promise of any further consideration beyond the specific sum on offer.”
To have told him of the calumnies rained down upon the royal family in the prince’s letters would have then been fruitless. I have never wished to be thought of as a mercenary. I had merely requested the same consideration that every English king and prince and nobleman had bestowed upon their mistresses from time immemorial. We had given them our bodies and our love, sacrificed our virtue—a woman’s most prized possession, and one that could never be restored—for their embraces. An annuity was as much a royal custom as noblesse oblige.
“There is one other condition,” said Colonel Hotham, his lips curling into what looked to me an attempt not to sneer outright. “The letters must be returned to His Majesty. Every solitary one. And you must attest that you have made no copies, nor has anyone else made a copy of any of the correspondence.”
Hot tears filled my eyes. “Whatever do you think I am?” Catching his look, I cautioned him not to reply, for my temper had now been sorely tested. “I have been ill used,” I said. “By those who deem themselves my betters, yet whose conduct in this affair has been far more offensive than any behavior they wish to attribute to me. All of this smacks of blackmail. I wish it to be made known that the sum you tender to me is for the restitution of the papers under discussion—and not the price put on my conduct to His Royal Highness during our attachment.”
As we were at an impasse, I dismissed the seconds and wrote directly to the prince myself, informing him that
Your indelicacy in insulting me by such a proposal was totally unaccepted,
