The Royal Secret
by Andrew Taylor
(HarperCollins, 2021)
“A girl has to look after herself. No one else will.”
Page 9.
She touched the knife she carried in her pocket and allowed herself to imagine stabbing it in Arlington’s arm.
Page 26.
I felt a certain responsibility for her well-being, for she was a woman, alone and unprotected in the world.
Page 30.
“As dogs return to their vomit, so drunks return again ad again to the subject uppermost in their minds.”
Page 48.
I breathed in the familiar scents of coal smoke and privies and cooking, seasoned with the salty tang of the river.
Pages 62-63.
Self-pity feeds on itself, and so does irritation, its bastard cousin.
Page 65.
Everyone had rats in their house.
Page 69.
Five rats. One man. And they had all died while emptying their bowels and their bellies.
Page 69.
At Whitehall, taken all in all, ignorance was often safer than knowledge.
Page 80.
Whitehall friendships are contingent in their nature, not absolute.
Page 82.
“A discreet servant is a good servant, and a good servant will have his reward.”
Page 83.
“I know our acquaintance is short, but then so are our lives, so we should not waste them.”
Page 91.
It was generally assumed, at least by men, that a widow was in need of a husband. This was particularly true if the widow was not ill-favoured and enjoyed a financial competence in her own right. Only a husband could provide her with the blessings of his authority and protection, as ordained by God, as well as direct her affairs for her and provide her with those private comforts under the covers which only a man is equipped to give.
Page 109.
The interior of a coach forces intimacy on a couple whether they wish it or not.
Page 115.
It is always revealing when you stumble on what a man cherishes about his own attainments. Even the public hangman, I imagine, takes a professional pride in the performance of his art.
Page 122.
A king cannot leave your house like an ordinary mortal: he must be escorted, and the due forms followed.
Page 133.
If you gave the impression that you were already successful, it created a precondition for success in the future.
Page 135.
Cat was not a vain woman but, for reasons she did not try to understand, she was particularly fond of shoes. Nothing raised one’s spirits so much as the knowledge that one was wearing an attractive pair of shoes, even if nobody noticed them apart from oneself. Along with books and engravings about architecture, shoes were among the few luxuries that she allowed herself.
Page 143.
A gaoler has it in his power to make everyone’s life difficult if he wishes. Only a fool ignored the fact that the secret economy of both Whitehall and Scotland Yard revolved around bribes, in cash or kind, in goods or services.
Pages 161-162.
There were men who played with marked cards and loaded dice in Whitehall itself. The practice might touch on a man’s honour but it did not make him a criminal. The prudent gamester was aware of the risk and treated it as a probable hazard of play, to be avoided if possible but accepted if not.
Page 165.
Now there was another mystery, and another reason for fear.
Page 167.
A sampler was intended to display the seamstress’s mastery of embroidery.
Page 169.
At Whitehall a man was defined by his master’s importance.
Page 186.
Had I not saved his life? Did I not give him the food on his plate, the clothes on his back and the roof over his head? Had I not encouraged him to learn his letters? Did I not intend to give him his freedom when I judged the time had come? He had every reason to love me.
Page 196.
Our lords and masters consider a thing done once they have ordered it, and done perfectly, but often there is a considerable delay, during which the urgency of the matter gradually diminishes.
Page 198.
I was the sort of drunk whose world is larger than life, more thickly populated with joys and sorrows. I was also the sort of drunk who wants to make the world a little better for someone if not for himself. In other words, the sort who makes foolish gestures.
Page 205.
Time was a gift from God and should be cherished and husbanded. It should not be frittered away with idle fancies and foolish questions.
Page 209.
The greater a man or woman, the longer they make you wait on their convenience.
Page 218.
“You can only make the gest of what you have. Same as everyone.”
Page 220.
The habit of power was like a muscle: the more you exercised it, the stronger it grew.
Page 235.
Londoners hated foreigners, so they tended to cling together.
Page 235.
Servants lived in a different world from ours, a more fluid one perhaps, and they picked up far more information about their betters than their betters realized.
Page 237.
“It is always profitable to take a wider prospect of the country one travels through.”
Page 253.
There is nothing like prolonged vomiting into the same bowl to create an atmosphere of mutual confidence.
Page 262.
Unhappiness, anger and guilt can skew a man’s judgement.
Page 277.
Whitehall is a marketplace for transactions of power; it places ever-shifting valuations on those who go there.
Page 278.
The fine weather felt like an insult.
Page 278.
Gossip is a great leveller.
Page 287.
The sight of words on paper often has a magical effect on those who cannot read.
Page 315.
Only a fool would rely on the goodwill of Charles Stuart.
Page 331.
A little kindness makes fools of us all.
Page 331.
The sea is cruelly democratic: it treats all alike, usually badly.
Page 357.
That was the trouble with swords - you were more at risk from tripping over your own or someone else’s than you were from being run though with a blade.
Page 386.
“Sugar is an excellent specific against black bile. It will help regulate your mother’s humours.”
Page 427.
The obvious answers were usually the right ones.
Page 457.