Arthur felt his heart swell with such emotion as he had never felt before. He had a strange impulse to cry and only just stifled it as he swallowed and spoke with a tremor. ‘May I hold him?’
The midwife looked across the bed. ‘Why, of course you can, Sir Arthur.The moment he has fed.’
‘Fed? But he’s only just been born. By God, is the boy determined to eat me out of house and home the instant he is brought into the world?’
The midwife leaned towards Kitty. ‘If you’d pick the child up, my lady, and offer him your breast.’
‘Breast?’ Kitty looked round, startled. ‘Offer him my breast?’
‘Why yes, my lady. Of course. How else is the young ’un to feed?’
‘Oh, yes. I see.’ Kitty looked up at Arthur and the doctor apprehensively. ‘Would you mind leaving the room? I would feel more comfortable.’
‘Yes,’Arthur replied awkwardly.‘Certainly, my dear.’ He turned to the doctor. ‘I imagine you could use refreshment, sir.’
‘Indeed I could!’ Dr Hoxter paced towards the door, then stopped abruptly and turned towards Arthur and Kitty. ‘Have you decided on names for the lad yet?’
Arthur nodded. ‘He is to be called Arthur Richard.’
‘Capital!’ Dr Hoxter rubbed his hands together. ‘Then let us go and toast the health and long life of Master Arthur Richard Wellesley.’
The child thrived well enough, in spite of Kitty’s misgivings that she would not be able to feed him adequately.The pregnancy had not been comfortable on her thin frame and the birth itself had taken the best part of a day before the baby was delivered. She remained in bed for several days to recover from the ordeal. Arthur would have spent more time with his wife and son but for the increasingly serious situation in Parliament.The government was besieged by opposition to some of its more progressive measures. In addition to the Catholic relief bill there was the vexed question of the abolition of the slave trade. The debates raged on through the remainder of February and into March. It was on the seventeenth day of that month, emerging from the chamber as dusk fell across London, that Arthur caught the first scent of a new crisis. Members and clerks were clustered about the hall talking in excited tones. Arthur crossed to the nearest group and nudged the elbow of a Tory member he recognised.
‘Hello, Sidcup. What’s the news?’
Sidcup glanced round. ‘Have you not heard? The King demanded a meeting with the Prime Minister this morning.’
‘What for?’
‘To discuss the Catholic relief bill, what else?You know as well as any how bitterly he opposes it.’ Sidcup raised his eyebrows. ‘Now it seems that his majesty has told Lord Grenville that he will not give his assent to the bill, if it is passed. Not only that, but he has demanded that the Cabinet swear an oath never to bring such a bill before Parliament again.’>
‘By God,’ Arthur said in shock. ‘The King can’t be serious.’
‘He is. Deadly serious by all accounts and he won’t take no for an answer. And you have to admire his complete lack of tact in making his demand today.’
‘Eh?’ Arthur frowned a moment before he got the point. ‘Ah, I see. St Patrick’s day.’
‘Quite. Ever the sensitive monarch, our George.’
‘But this is madness,’Arthur said quietly, glancing round to make sure that he was not overheard.‘The country is already divided enough over the issue. Now the King threatens to make it a constitutional matter.’
‘So it seems,’ Sidcup agreed, and smiled ruefully. ‘We live in interesting times, Sir Arthur. Pray that his majesty comes to his senses before it is too late.’
Arthur returned to his home on Harley Street filled with a sense of growing despair over King George’s intransigence. It was a divisive enough prospect for England, but in Ireland it would play straight into the hands of those who wanted an end to British rule. Arthur could think of nothing so calculated to foment a general uprising. His dark mood was evident to Kitty the moment he joined her in the parlour. She sat in a chair by the fire. Beside her the infant lay in his crib, fists twitching furiously as he wriggled on his back and made a strained gurgling noise.
‘Arthur, what is the matter?’
He forced himself to soften his expression and smiled as he leaned over Kitty and kissed the top of her head. ‘It does not matter now, my dear. How are you today?’
‘Well, thank you. My strength is returning.’
‘Good. And our son?’ Arthur knelt down and tickled the infant’s stomach gently.
Kitty smiled fondly as she glanced down into the crib. ‘He has been feeding like the five thousand. I don’t know where he fits it all. He’s like a bottomless well.’
Arthur wrinkled his nose as a familiar odour rose up from the crib. ‘I fear that the boy’s bottom has welled up somewhat.’
Kitty laughed and swatted her husband gently. ‘I will have him changed. Then he can be put to bed before we eat.’ She looked at her husband closely for a moment and then touched his arm. ‘Is there a problem? What happened today?’
‘It’s not important. Not yet, at least.’
‘Can you tell me about it?’
Arthur shook his head faintly.‘I’d rather not even think about it.’ He stood up. ‘I’ll be in the study while you attend to the boy. Send for me when dinner is served.’
‘Yes, my dear.’ Kitty looked at him reproachfully.‘You can talk to me about whatever it is that concerns
