As the year wore on, Lloyd George made little progress. Maggie had got over the breach of promise case, but her jealousy was sharpened, and Lloyd George was frequently admonished for his flirtatious behaviour: ‘Got a lecturing from Maggie very strong about Tymawr girls. Wrote her a long reply in evening.’ And again: ‘long altercation…made up in the end as usual. “Love quarrels oft in pleasing concord end” quite true, fortunately, Mr Milton.’5
At the same time, Lloyd George was making sure that he had the support of his own family—at least, of those members of it in whom he could confide. This was vitally important, since he was relying on the Morvin House family to support him financially when, as he fully expected, his political career took off. The first step had been to persuade William to leave Breese, Jones &Casson to join Lloyd George’s fledgling practice. William had asked Mr Casson for permission to leave in 1886, but Casson saw no reason to help a rival firm, and refused. This was perhaps just as well. The atmosphere at work was difficult for William since his brother had started competing with his employer for cases, but without access to the firm’s legal textbooks he would have been hard pressed to pass his finals. He took his final examinations in May 1887, and there was much celebration in Morvin House when he passed with first class honours.* After qualifying William was released from his articles and promptly left to join his brother. The plaque on the door of Morvin House was changed to read ‘Lloyd George &George’, and from that point onwards Lloyd George had a diligent and tireless business partner in his younger brother.
Polly too had to be kept on side, since Lloyd George would have to tell his mother and Uncle Lloyd about his relationship with Maggie sooner or later, and he would need her as an ally. He confided in her regularly, and in April told her of his plans to marry before waiting the five years she had advised, providing he could pay off his debts to Uncle Lloyd:
Walked after dinner MEG past Ynysgain Fawr. Told her my ideas as to getting married, that I wanted to pay Uncle his £200 first and then directly I am remunerated another £300—told her that if I were to complete matters in hand, I should probably get about £500 for them, and that W.G. could collect them in about 6 months. She didn’t in any way dissuade me but approved of the amount I had fixed so that perhaps after all my impulse had directed me wisely—persons most likely to disapprove don’t do so…owing to other reasons the sooner I get married the better—it will steady me.6
Lloyd George’s sums did not allow for the fact that he and Maggie had nowhere to live. This made it even more important to get the Owens’ approval: he knew they would not allow their daughter to go without a roof over her head.
Through the spring of 1887 and into summer, Lloyd George continued to flirt, Maggie continued to upbraid him, and Mrs Owen continued to disapprove. Things could not go on as they were, and the month of August was to bring with it a few summer storms that would force matters to a head.
Given the strength of feeling of their families there was no question of either Maggie or Lloyd George converting to the other’s denomination, so they had to find a compromise. They decided that it would be perfectly possible to maintain their own denominational loyalties within the marriage. In the spring they had started to attend services together at Capel Mawr, and Lloyd George soon realised it was not a happy place. Tension had been simmering under the surface for some time, caused by a proposal to offer services in English during the summer months for the benefit of the visitors to Criccieth. This led to a disagreement between those who equated the Calvinistic Methodist faith with Welshspeaking patriotism and those who felt it was their duty to evangelise and reach out to those who came to join their community, even temporarily. The controversy widened to include all manner of other issues, and erupted into a full-blown crisis in August 1887, when the congregation divided into two implacable camps. The national governing body of the Calvinistic Methodist Church was eventually called in to adjudicate. Its decision was to allow a group of disaffected members, including the Rev. Owen, to establish their own separate chapel in Criccieth.
Maggie and her family found themselves in the middle of this painful wrangle. It was extremely difficult for Richard Owen to face the fact that the congregation was irretrievably divided, but when the time came he cast his lot with the Rev. Owen. Such was the strength of feeling among the dissenters that the considerable expense of a new building was borne rather than attempt a reconciliation with Capel Mawr. The whole family transferred their membership to the new chapel, Seion.
Political battles of this kind were irresistible to the young Lloyd George. As a non-member at Capel Mawr he was not able to participate directly, but he was not slow to spot an opportunity to use the row to his advantage. By publicly supporting the Rev. Owen, he was able—finally—to gain some currency with Richard Owen. This emboldened him to wonder if he should press his advantage and formally ask for Maggie’s hand:
30 August. Bye the bye I am in a very queer state of mind upon this question [of marriage]. My urge is strong for a marriage straight away—say in [an] hour. On the other hand I am anxious that it should not come off until the spring at the earliest. Maggie I believe to be in a very similar state of mind but on the whole I think she wd. prefer the earlier date. However my present view is that prudence dictates spring as the date &I rather imagine that the event will be postponed to that season. I shd however like to be in a position to ask the old folks consent now. One very good reason for postponement is that there is no available house for one’s residence—except Cefniwrch which neither of us cares for. The only thing to be said for it is this, that if it so be let furnished for a short period we might have another house by the end of that period. It is when I am with Maggie that I find myself most anxious for marriage. Her society has a wonderful charm for me &I believe she now much prefers me to her parents. She will tell me so occasionally.7
There is no doubt that Lloyd George was charmed by Maggie’s company—but trouble still occurred when he was out of her sight. Through the summer she still found reason to take him to task for flirting with other girls, and the subject became a constant source of friction between them. In July, Lloyd George wrote to Maggie from Trefriw near Llanrwst, where he was staying with a friend:
Don’t imagine angry things about me,—that’s a pet. I shall redeem all misbehaviour yet. Believe me, though I am bodily in the coffee room of the Belle Vue Hotel Trefriw with Parry Pwllheli by my side assiduously inditing a letter to one of his numerous sweethearts I am in mind at M[ynydd Ednyfed] with my sweetheart by me. I swear by the pen which I now hold in my hand that I shall not flirt nor even wink improperly at a girl. Parry is my surety as to that.8
Maggie was unlikely to be reassured by the fact that Parry, with his ‘numerous sweethearts’, was responsible for keeping Lloyd George in line, but neither did she realise the full, obvious implication of his continual flirting: while she was with him he resisted casual flirtations, but when they were apart he was unable to be faithful.
In a letter from the same period, there is a tantalising hint that Maggie may have tried to bring Lloyd George to heel with a little flirting of her own. This was disastrous. He retaliated triumphantly that she had now given him an excuse for all his indiscretions: ‘Your letter…will justify all my flirtations for the past—and future [these two words were added as an afterthought]—and teach me how to gloss them over when caught.’9