Mozart's Sister

by Nancy Moser

  Wolfie moved all the time. He constantly climbed onto his knees to see outside, played with the drapes at the window, or kicked the underside of the seat with his heels. Over and over Papa told him to be still.

  When Papa sighed deeply and looked directly at us, I knew it was time for Wolfie to be punished for what he’d said to Herr Wagenseil, as well as for running and sitting on the lap of the empress. I reached for his hand, ready to comfort him.

  “You did well today, children.”

  It took me a moment to realize Papa wasn’t mad. His pleasure made me bold. “Papa, I wanted to do what Wolfie did,” I said. “I wanted to play with one finger and with the cloth. Why didn’t I get a turn?”

  “Complaining does not become you, Nannerl,” Mama said.

  Papa’s eyes held mine. “We …” He turned his gaze to Wolfie, but my brother had his feet on the seat and was playing with his shoe buckles. Papa waited for him to pay attention. When he didn’t, I pushed Wolfie’s feet to the floor and nodded toward Papa. Finally Wolfie looked at him.

  Papa cleared his throat. “We must all work together to earn a living. That means adapting to each audience. Who does what is not important. We all must do our part.”

  “Part, sna-dart, pa-fart.” Wolfie giggled.

  Mama gave him a stern look to quiet him, then leaned forward and touched my knee. “You should be grateful for any opportunity to use your God-given gifts, Nannerl.”

  I was. If only Papa would let me use them more.

  Mama and Papa started talking to each other about our schedule. Wolfie poked me in the side, then pulled his cheeks down and out. “Look, I’m Emperor Francis.”

  With a sideways glance at Papa, I giggled. Emperor Francis did have big jowls.

  Then Wolfie hit his palm with his fist three times. He wanted to play rock-paper-scissors. I joined in, yet while Mama and Papa talked, I listened.

  Mama touched Papa’s arm. “Dear one, I noticed the empress called you the Kapellmeister of Salzburg. Since you are not the head conductor, you should have corrected her.”

  “I could not correct the empress!” Papa glanced in our direction, then lowered his voice. “Besides, that post is open. As is the post of Vice Kapellmeister, which I expect to obtain when Lolli gets promoted. It’s only logical the archbishop will let me fill Lolli’s place.” He sighed and rubbed his hands against his thighs. “On that subject, I’m glad His Grace gave me a leave of absence to tour with the children, but I am afraid decisions are being made back home without me.”

  “You think the archbishop will make a decision on the positions before we return?”

  Papa patted the pocket of his cape. “I’m urging our friend Hagenauer to pass round these letters I send him. Soon everyone will know of our success and know we are effective ambassadors for Salzburg. I still prefer Salzburg to all other places, but I must not be held back. I will not.”

  Mania took his hand and smiled. “We won’t be, dear one.”

  He shook his head. “Time is against us. The children are growing….” He sighed. “Ever growing.”

  “It will all work out.” She leaned her head against his shoulder.

  “For now,” Papa said. “For now.”

  I’d stop growing if I could. For Papa.

  I thought staying at an inn was fun. Papa … did not. One morning he stood near the window, adjusting the ruffles of his shirt under his waistcoat. “Have you ever noticed how this lodging is a thousand feet long and one foot wide?”

  I hadn’t paid much attention, but now that he’d made such a comment … it did seem strangely narrow compared to our Salzburg apartment.

  He looked in the small mirror near the door, angling to see his cravat. Frustrated at not being able to see more than one portion of his torso at the same time, he sighed. “But at least we are in Vienna. That is something.”

  I liked Vienna. It was much larger than Salzburg. The streets were constantly alive with wagons and horses and people going by. There was a pub next door and I heard people singing-though not very well. And the guest in the room beside us liked to argue with his wife late at night. Mama said not to listen, but how could I not? I tried to figure out what they were arguing about, but it was in French and was beyond what Mama had taught me.

  It was never quiet here. Never.

  His morning dressing complete, Papa arched his back and groaned. “A narrow room, and marginal beds.”

  I thought the beds were quite comfortable. Mama and I shared one, and Wolfie shared with Papa. That was part of the fun. We all shared a bedchamber at home too, though there I shared a bed with Wolfie. On the road I was glad to be rid of his fidgeting.

  Papa pointed a finger at my brother, who was on his stomach retrieving a red top from under our bed. “You, young man, have sharp elbows. You throw me out of the bed with all your pushing.”

  I laughed. Mama touched the tip of my nose. “You are no better, Nannerl.” She picked up the brush and patted our bed. I sat and she began to brush my hair. She shivered. “I do wish I’d brought along my fur cape. It’s cold. Could we have it sent from Salzburg?”

  “To send it by mail coach would be too costly. And it might get spoilt,” Papa said. He moved toward us and kissed the top of her head. “But I shall have a new one made for you. Would you like that?”

  A new fur for Mama when she had one at home? Papa didn’t spend money on such things. Had someone paid us well for one of our concerts?

  Mama raised her face for another kiss. I looked away, but in truth I liked seeing my parents in love. Back home, I didn’t see many shows of such affection. But back home we weren’t together as much. During the days Papa had his duties in the archbishop’s orchestra playing the violin, and Mama had our household to run. On the road we were always together. Always.

  I glanced at my brother, who lay on his back on the floor, his feet straight in the air, trying to balance the top on the bottom of his shoe. Wolfie was a handful. Being older, I tried to help with him as much as I—

  There was a knock on the door of our room. Papa answered. It was the innkeeper. He nodded a greeting to Mama, then pointed downstairs excitedly. “You have a visitor, Herr Mozart. He says he’s the privy paymaster?”

  “I shall be down directly.” When Papa looked back at us, his eyes gleamed. “Now we’ll see how much the emperor and empress liked your playing.” With one last look in the mirror, he left us.

  Wolfie turned on his stomach and spun the top on the floor, where it hit the leg of a chair and rattled to a stop. He let it lie and hopped to his feet. “Do you think there are presents? I like presents best.”

  So did I, but I knew money was better for the family.

  Mama finished tying a ribbon in my hair. She stood and held out her hands to us. “Come. We must pray for God’s blessings.”

  Arid lots ofruoiiey.

  Although Mama moved her lips she prayed silently. I could tell Wolfie wasn’t praying because he was staring at the door, waiting for Papa. I too found it hard to concentrate on my heavenly Father while waiting for my earthly one to return.

  Footsteps sounded in the hall. Mama dropped our hands and we all turned to face the door. Papa came in, smiling broadly. He carried two huge boxes. “First, I present to you gifts for the children.”

  He set the boxes on the bed. Wolfie pulled the red ribbon without asking, but I looked up at Papa. “May I?”

  “You may”

  I carefully removed the emerald-colored ribbon on the second box and handed it to Mama for later use in my hair. Then I removed the lid. And pulled in a breath. Inside was a white dress so beautiful I was hesitant to touch it. Certainly, it was made for a princess, not an ordinary girl like me. It had pink lace and silver braid at the neck and at the bottom of the sleeves and hem, and tiny ruffles around the neck.

  “Oh, Nannerl,” Mama said. “It’s magnificent. A broche taffeta. And look at all the fine trimmings.”

  Wolfie had his box open too. His was a coat, vest, and
breeches. “Mine’s purple!”

  Although it was hard to pull my eyes away from my own present, I glanced at his-and corrected him. “It’s lilac,” I said. His suit had wide gold trim and satin cuffs. It was very beautiful, but not as beautiful as nine.

  But as I took the dress out of the box, I was horrified to see it looked too small.

  Marna held it up to me. “Oh dear,” she said. “Last year this would have fit you, but not now” She looked up at Papa. “Perhaps we can exchange …”

  I knew it was awkward. One did not exchange gifts from royalty.

  Papa confirmed my fears. “The note says Wolfie’s suit was made for the son of the empress, Archduke Maximilian,” Papa said. “And yours, Nannerl, was from the wardrobe of one of her daughters.”

  The empress and emperor had eleven daughters. I wondered which one had worn the dress. The dress I would never get to wear. Mama touched my cheek. Her eyes were kind.

  As if to rub it in, Wolfie proclaimed, “I will wear my suit forever!” He put on the coat and turned in a circle. It fit him perfectly.

  Mama put a hand on his shoulder, quieting him. “You will wear it until you grow too big.”

  “Which, unfortunately, will be too soon,” Papa said sternly. But then his face changed. He smiled and pulled out a small velvet pouch. “I have received something even better than beautiful costumes.”

  Money! The disappointment of the dress was forgotten.

  Mama held out her hand, her voice breathy. “How much?”

  He put the pouch behind his back. “First, you must know the best news. His Majesty the Emperor has requested we remain in Vienna a little longer.”

  “You said yes, of course,” Mama said.

  He made a little bow. “Of course. His Majesty will summon us soon. But until then …”

  He emptied the pouch onto the bed. Mama knelt beside the mattress, staring at the coins. “So much!”

  “One hundred ducats,” Papa said. “Nearly two years of my violinist’s salary back in Salzburg.”

  Wolfie ran his hands through the money, lifting it up, dropping it, making the coins clink and clatter. I reached out and took a coin I’d helped earn. I recognized the empress on its face, wearing a crown and standing with an orb-topped scepter and a sword. She looked prettier in person.

  “In addition to your fur cape, I plan on buying us our own coach,” Papa said. “With all our engagements, we’ve been needing a carriage two, three, even four times a day. Even when someone has been kind enough to provide the carriage, the tips to the driver and the footmen amount to the same expense as a hire”

  “If you think it’s necessary….” Mama stood. “And toward that end, I could forgo the new fur.”

  “Nonsense.” Papa turned to us. “But remember, you children must play well to continue to earn such generous payments.”

  I would. I would play very well indeed.

  Mania sat on the edge of Wolfie’s bed, stroking his hair, and blotting his forehead with a coarse towel. Papa stood in the doorway and I stood behind him in the hall, peeking around his arm. The doctor had told me to stay away or I would get sick too. Sickness was a shadow on our travels, always close, often distinct, but sometimes hiding in dark places.

  “Well?” Papa said.

  Mania put a finger to her lips and whispered. “He cannot go out, Leopold. The doctor says it’s scarlet fever. Plus he’s getting new teeth, so that pain, added to the other …”

  Wolfie opened his eyes. “My back aches, Papa” It was hard to understand him because his tongue and cheeks were swollen. He had a rash on his neck and down his body It was red like he had been in the sun too long, and Mama said it felt like Papa’s cheek before he shaved.

  “You look horrid,” I said.

  “That’s not nice,” Mama said.

  But it was true.

  “It’s been nearly two weeks,” Papa said. “This sickness has cost us fifty ducats at least.”

  While Wolfie had been sick, I’d seen Papa’s worry and heard him making his excuses to people who wanted us to perform. I tugged on the sleeve of his coat. “I could go, Papa. I could perform.”

  “Sorry, Papa,” Wolfie croaked.

  “Shh,” Mama told him. “Just get well, licbchen.”

  Wolfie closed his eyes and Mama tiptoed toward us, shooing us into the hallway. She closed the door. “Nannerl, go tell the innkeeper we need more towels.”

  I looked up at Papa. “I could perform, Papa. I’m very healthy.”

  Papa gave me a nudge. “Do as you’re told, Nannerl.”

  I had no choice but to obey. I went down to the bend in the hall, but there I stopped and listened.

  “You must not make the boy feel guilty for being sick, Leopold,” Mama said quietly. “He is just a child.”

  “Which is one of the main reasons he has any musical venues at all.”

  He. Papa said “he”… .

  Papa continued. “As soon as he’s well enough, I plan to take him into public, for a stroll perhaps. The festival of St. Charles is coming up next week. If I take him out so people can see him, they’ll know he’s available for engagements.”

  “The doctor said his rash may last a long time-even when he seems well. People may think it’s smallpox and will want nothing to do with him. Perhaps it would be better to wait until he is completely-”

  “We cannot wait!” Papa’s voice came out in a hiss. “Our time of favor is fleeting. We mustn’t waste it.”

  I heard his footsteps coming toward me and I ran downstairs. Mama needed more towels.

  e27-44-1 C7/—

  I didn’t know the man and I didn’t like him.

  I was waiting to perform for the emperor and empress in Vienna one last time. Mama was busy straightening Wolfie’s wig, and Papa was talking to an important-looking man I’d heard speak Frenchsomething about playing in Paris? Other people stood around the Mirror Room of Schonbrunn Palace, chatting as they waited to be seated. Standing amid the crowd, the man knocked my ear with an elbow as he stepped around me. He didn’t turn around and ask for my pardon. He didn’t even notice me.

  For now. But as soon as I played … he’d notice me then, and know that I was not a normal child dressed like a miniature adult but an extraordinary girl with great talent. No one would ignore me after we played.

  The man, who now stood in front of me, whispered to the man beside him. “Did you hear that the empress is not amused by the father’s exploitation of his children? The boy’s been sick, yet he was seen being paraded through town by his parents like a fine cut of meat for the market. Her Majesty calls it an `aggressive hunt for ducats.”’

  The second man raised a finger. “Those who cannot succeed according to their own attributes must find other ways of rising above their station, but … but …” He wagged his finger and made a tsk-tsk sound.

  The first man snickered. “But they’d best be careful not to offend those with deep pockets at the risk of descending far below where they started.”

  “I hear Archbishop Schrattenbach in Salzburg is perturbed with the father for extending his leave of absence”

  “Ali,” said the first man again. “The archbishop is grumbling into the wind. The depth of his pockets can never compete with those of royalty.”

  “Ducats, 0 mighty ducats. How great is thy draw”

  “And dangerous is thy temptation.”

  The crowd began to move and the men walked away.

  But their words remained. They shouldn’t talk about Papa that way.

  Salzburg, home, sweet home! We came around the bend in the road and saw the Fortress Hohensalzburg sitting splendidly upon the precipice, embraced between the magnificent mountains and our city by the river.

  I ran up the stairs into our third-floor apartment and was immediately met by smells I knew and loved: the smell of the wood polish Frau Hagenauer used on the banister, the sooty smell of the front room where the fireplace had never worked well, and the smell of warm cherries
and fruit from the stollen bread Fran Hagenauer had made for us. We’d been gone three and a half months.

  Papa directed the driver to bring in our luggage. We had a new carriage now, one of our very own. It was quite grand and Papa said it cost twenty-three ducats. He must have loved us very much to spend such money on us.

  Mama held Wolfie’s hand and led him right up to bed. Wolfie walked as if every step was an effort. After performing at the palace that last time, we’d accepted an invitation from some Hungarian nobility to perform in Pressburg. Although it was only a twentykilometer drive, the weather had been foul and fierce. Even the post-bags had trouble getting across the Danube, and the frozen road was bumpy and full of ruts. Wolfie and I could have had fun with all the jostling, but he hadn’t felt well and had spent the whole trip home under Mama’s arm, rubbing his fingers up and down the fur trim of her new cape. I worried about him. Papa said Wolfie’s sickness had set us back four weeks.

  Papa had also been sick for a short while. He’d had a toothache that made his face swell so much he called himself a trumpeting angel. Yet his illness hadn’t held us back as much as the weather.

  But now we were home!

  Mama appeared at the top of the stairs. “We must send for the doctor.”

  “Is that necessary?” Papa asked.

  She descended the stairs and flashed him a look I rarely saw. “In Vienna we took him out too soon, then undertook the journey to Hungary … he was not strong enough. It’s cost him.” She lowered her voice. “And us”

  “But I must pay my respects to the archbishop.”

  “I wish you had not offered him so many excuses. His patience is surely tested.”

  “I needed to say something in order for us to take advantage of the opportunities offered us.”

  “He’s a smart man, Leopold. He will see through the deceptions.”

  “Let’s hope not. Our future depends on him.”

  Mama nodded toward me, then looked upstairs. “I know you want the promotion-I know it’s a dream-but our future depends on other assets.”

  Papa angled his body so his back was to me, but I heard his words. “With a little skill and God’s blessings, both assets can be intertwined. After all, they are what they are because of my instruction.”