England's Mistress_ The Infamous Life of Emma Hamilton - Kate Williams [162]
Miserable in the bustle of bathers and fashion, Sir William wished he were alone with her: "I care not a pin for the great world, and am attached to no one so much as you."3 Emma was exasperated with him, complaining she had her hands full with trying to dodge the journalists and see Horatia. Sir William decided he had no choice but to threaten her with separation. "I am fully determined not to have any more of the very silly altercations that happen but too often between us and embitter the present moments exceedingly," he insisted. "If realy one cannot live comfortably together, a wise and well concerted separation is preferable; but I think, considering the probability of my not troubling any party long in this world, the best for us all wou'd be to bear the ills we have." He wanted to fish, visit his friends, and tour picture auctions, making the most of every moment because he felt he was fading fast. "I have but a very short time to live, and every moment is precious to me." Only two years earlier, he had been hunting with the Esterházys and dancing with the Elliots, but now he declared he was dying. Emma was shocked, for she had hardly realized that she had been neglecting her husband. She tried to make more time for him and no longer pressured him to attend her parties. He went fishing on the Thames and treated himself, as the Herald noted, to an "elegant new chariot."4
Although Nelson enthused in his romantic moods that they could "live on bread and cheese," he was adamant that Merton should always have "good wine, good fires, and a hearty welcome for our friends." Emma was overspending, as usual. As most of her guests stayed overnight and traveled to London next morning, the parties continued late into the night, and she had to accommodate and feed her visitors' servants and horses. She hosted their neighbors at Merton, mostly wealthy bankers, as well as London aristocrats and foreign royals, including Prince Leopold, youngest son of the Queen of Naples. The press was particularly interested in the regular visits of the Prince of Wales's brothers, the portly womanizing twenty-nine-year-old William, Duke of Clarence, who had been star of the show at Nelson's wedding to Fanny, and his wheezy younger brother, Duke of Sussex, who as Prince Augustus had been a regular guest at the Palazzo Sessa. Nelson's family came frequently, and Charlotte Nelson was living with Emma almost full time. Politicians also attended, keen to tempt Nelson to their interests. One night the talk would be of Pitt, the next Drury Lane. Jane Powell often swept through the porch, along with other great actors and actresses. Opera stars such as the great Brígida Banti came to sing with Emma, and Mrs. Billington often graced Emma's soirees, for she had fled Naples just after Emma. London had missed her and she was soon singing at both Covent Garden and Drury Lane, for stratospheric fees of £10,000 a season. She was still friendly with the wheezy Duke of Sussex, and there were whispers she was also indulging his brother, the Prince of Wales. Emma pressed invitations on her glamorous female friends—tableaux such as "The Favourite Sultana" needed plenty of willing extras.
After his isolated childhood, Nelson wanted the house filled with family and friends, and Emma ensured carriages were always rattling into the drive. She invited all those she thought might give Nelson patronage, including