Becoming Lola

by Harriet Steel

  Lola took a step towards him but Berthe grabbed her arm. ‘Let the captain go downstairs and see to it that Fritzi is not harmed,’ she said. ‘That is what matters.’

  Lola snorted but she unclenched her fists. ‘Oh, very well, but I won’t have it said I ran away. And I want the king told of the treatment I have suffered.’

  Roused from bed by servants who knew his infatuation would demand it, Ludwig reached the hotel to find it swarming with angry guests and police. Pale and tired now, Lola sat in her drawing room. When she saw him, she burst into tears.

  ‘Havard was very drunk,’ she ended her story, dabbing her eyes with the king’s handkerchief. ‘Otherwise I don’t think he would have tried to strike a woman.’

  ‘I’ll order Mark to deal with him,’ Ludwig said angrily. He shook his head. ‘The thought that you might have been harmed – it horrifies me.’

  She put her hand in his. Thank you Luis, I knew you would defend me.’

  But the following day, her breakfast didn’t arrive.

  ‘Go and tell Havard I don’t like to be kept waiting,’ she ordered her maid,

  ‘So what does he think he is doing?’ she asked when the girl returned.

  The girl flushed. ‘He says you can wait for as long as you like, Dona Montez. He says that from now on, there will be no luncheon, nor dinner nor breakfast, not even a glass of water and I am to tell you so.’

  ‘The king will hear about this,’ Lola fumed. ‘I’ll make sure Havard eats his words. If necessary, I’ll stuff them down his throat myself.’

  *

  ‘Even I can’t force one of my citizens to serve you,’ Ludwig sighed when he visited her that afternoon. ‘The house in the Barerstrasse will be ready soon. Until then, it might be best if we found you somewhere else to stay.’

  ‘And give in to this man?’

  ‘Lola, he has already withdrawn his demands for an investigation.’

  ‘An investigation?’

  ‘Yes, he came to Johannes Mark demanding one, but Mark talked him out of it.’

  ‘I don’t see what right he has to feel injured. He is the guilty party.’

  ‘He didn’t see it like that. Lola, he’s well liked and influential with the merchants in the city. I beg you not to ask me to pursue the matter.’

  She shrugged. Perhaps this was a battle she should concede.

  ‘Oh very well, I’ll go, but only for your sake.’

  *

  The apartment Ludwig found for her in the Theresienstrasse was pleasant and airy. Once a cook and servants had been hired, she was comfortable there. The move was not so bad, she decided. After all, she would need a household staff when she lived at Barerstrasse.

  Although she was aware of a simmering resentment when she went out, she refused to give up her daily walks. Ludwig insisted her guards follow her everywhere. One morning, out shopping with the Thierrys, they were crossing the Frauenplatz and had nearly reached the cathedral when Berthe looked around her and tugged at Lola’s sleeve.

  ‘So many people are watching us,’ she whispered. ‘I don’t feel safe. Shall we go back?’

  Lola stopped. Berthe was right. Knots of people stood about, looking in their direction. Their expressions were hostile and one man spat on the cobbles when he saw she had noticed him.

  ‘We’ve come out to do our shopping and we will do it,’ she said. ‘Herr Haffner sent me a message to say he has a beautiful antique necklace just come into his shop. I want to look at it. If we don’t go today, someone else might buy it. Anyway, we are almost there.’

  Captain Weber frowned as he surveyed the situation. There were at least a hundred people in the square already and more coming in from the side streets.

  ‘I would prefer it if you would allow us to escort you home, Dona Montez.’

  ‘Nonsense, I won’t let these people frighten me.’

  Turk yelped. Lola swung round in time to see a boy pick up a stone and take aim. It caught Turk on the flank where a dark patch already showed on his fur. With a snarl, he lunged, dragging his lead out of Lola’s grasp. He reached the boy before he had time to run. The lad screamed as Turk’s teeth sank into his leg. Nearby, a man pulled a heavy stick from his belt and rushed forward.

  ‘Get the Spanish woman!’ someone shouted. ‘Don’t let her escape!’

  Lola’s guards sprang into action. One of them hauled Turk off the sobbing boy while Weber drew his pistol and levelled it at the crowd. The men nearest to him backed away. For a moment, no one moved.

  The captain was swift to seize his chance. ‘Quickly,’ he ordered, ‘get the ladies out of here.’

  As the guards hustled the three women across the square, the crowd started to shout abuse. A flurry of stones and horse dung narrowly missed the fugitives as they turned into the lane where the jeweller’s shop was situated. Weber reached it first and grabbed the bell chain. After a moment, a mottled hand pulled the door curtain aside and Herr Haffner’s alarmed face peered round it.

  ‘Police,’ Weber shouted. ‘Let us in at once.’

  The bolts shot back and the door opened. Just as the first of their pursuers rounded the corner, they tumbled into the dark little shop.

  Haffner bolted and barred the door behind them. Lola peeped through one of the narrow, lattice windows, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

  ‘I beg you, Dona Montez, stay out of sight,’ Weber pleaded. ‘These people might attack us at any moment. Don’t make them even angrier.’

  She shrugged. ‘I’m not afraid. Let them come.’

  He looked over her shoulder. The lane outside was full of people.

  ‘There must be at least two hundred of them now. We will have to stay here until they leave. My men are armed but I cannot order them to fire on their own countrymen.’

  Lola smiled. ‘At least I can look at my necklace at my leisure.’

  ‘I’m afraid you may have more than enough time to do that, Dona Montez.’

  Hours passed and the mob still waited outside, yelling Lola’s name and shaking their fists. In the shop, Lola chose her necklace, and several other pieces of jewellery besides then she sat by the Delft-tiled stove, chatting as if she didn’t have a care in the world.

  It grew dark in the shop and the jeweller lit the candles in the sconces around the walls. In their light, rubies, sapphires, emeralds and diamonds glowed. For the hundredth time, Weber looked up at the clock above the door. It was after five o’clock. Outside, the last rays of the sun had turned the rooftops to rusty gold. A large crowd still filled the square.

  Lola yawned. ‘Don’t they have homes to go to? I don’t want to stay here all night.’

  She went to the door and put her hand on the bolt. Mathilde grabbed her arm.

  ‘You mustn’t go out. It’s not safe.’

  ‘She’s right, Lola,’ Berthe said.

  Lola turned to the jeweller. ‘Is there some other way out where we won’t be seen once it’s dark?’

  ‘There’s a courtyard behind the storeroom. It’s surrounded by a high wall but I have a ladder that should be long enough to reach the top. That is, of course, if the ladies will climb it.’

  ‘It will be an adventure.’ Lola smiled.

  Two guards carried the ladder to the part of the wall dividing the courtyard from an alley leading out of the square. The younger of the two climbed up. The bricks at the top of the wall had crumbled with many winters of ice and snow and tufts of grass had dislodged the pointing but he managed to balance and hold the ladder steady as Lola hitched up her skirts and followed. When she reached the top, he helped her to sit on the wall and swing her legs over to the other side. He blushed when he saw a flash of her small feet and neat ankles.

  ‘There’s no need to be shy. Now you have saved me, we are old friends.’

  He grinned and jumped down the other side, then reached out his arms to catch her. Lola took a last look at Turk whining and scrabbling below.

  ‘Take care of him for me, will you?’ she called
out to Haffner. ‘I’ll send someone for him in the morning.’ She jumped into the guard’s arms and Berthe, Mathilde and the rest followed. Together they slipped down the alley and back to the Theresienstrasse.

  Chapter 26

  Ludwig was at breakfast with the queen the next morning when he heard the news. He left his meal unfinished and rushed to find Lola. To his relief she seemed unharmed.

  ‘I wish you had seen us,’ she laughed. ‘We had to climb out of the shop like thieves in the night. It was all over nothing. Poor Turk hardly touched the boy.’ She stroked the dog’s broad head. One of her footmen had just fetched him back and he seemed to be no worse for his night away.

  She frowned. ‘Of course if I had been made countess, people would not dare insult me so. Why is it taking so long? The council have not even approved my grant of citizenship yet.’

  He hesitated. ‘Perhaps it would be best if we waited. Just until things quieten down.’

  ‘But you gave me your promise.’

  She moved to sit beside him and reached out her hand to smooth his brow.

  ‘It breaks my heart to see you unhappy,’ he blurted out, grasping her other hand and pressing it to his lips. ‘I would do anything to make you smile but what you ask is so much harder than you imagine.’

  She got up and went to the window.

  ‘Lola, I beg you to be patient,’ he pleaded, but she remained with her back to him. ‘Please talk to me, I can’t endure this silence. I assure you, I will do what I can but my hands are tied. I must not risk losing the support of my ministers.’

  She turned, her eyes blazing. ‘This is all a Jesuit plot. Isn’t it time you showed everyone who rules Bavaria? If my ministers would not obey me, I would dismiss the lot of them and find others who would.’

  ‘Lolita…’

  She put her hands over her ears. ‘I don’t want to hear any more.’

  His shoulders sagged. ‘Forgive me, Lolita. I’ll do my best. Give me time. One way or the other, you will get your title.’

  When he had gone, it was a long time before her anger subsided. She knew that to many people her desire might seem a mad obsession. Maltzahn would no doubt tell her once again that she was a fool, but no one, not even Ludwig, could fully understand what it meant to her. For so long, she had put up with scorn and dismissal, she wanted respect. A title would give her a position in society. It would show the world she was not just some hole-in-a-corner mistress, but a woman of substance, loved and honoured by a king. And wherever her mother was, she hoped she would hear of it.

  *

  It softened the strain of waiting that she had found new companions to amuse her. They were a band of rebellious students from Munich’s prestigious university and their friendship with her soon came to the ear of their professors who made no secret of their disapproval. Their lead was followed by the rebels’ peers.

  ‘How much longer will you allow me to be abused?’ Lola stormed at Ludwig one day, thrusting a large sheet of paper under his nose.

  ‘See, my maid found this spiked on the railings this morning. I’m sure my enemies at the university are behind it. The professors and students there insult me openly.’

  Ludwig put on his spectacles and studied the paper with a frown. It showed a luxurious bed and through its half-closed curtains, a tantalising glimpse of Lola dressed in very little but an inviting smile. A wizened, spindly-legged man in the foreground bore an unwelcome resemblance to himself.

  He gritted his teeth and scratched the lump on his forehead. He was already weary from the latest battle with his council of ministers. Many who had served him for years had resigned over the question of Lola’s citizenship and title. It had been hard to find men to take their place. Those who had accepted office had done so on condition they would not be obliged to receive Lola in their homes or acknowledge her in public.

  ‘I cannot banish the whole city for you, Lolita.’

  ‘I would have thought you would be angry on your own behalf as well as mine.’

  A muscle twitched in his cheek.

  She leant her head against his shoulder. ‘Dearest Luis, it is my love for you that forces me to speak. I hear the university professors have even made a public expression of their gratitude to the ministers who resigned, thanking them for their support of the university while they were in power. Could there be a clearer mark of disrespect for you? What they mean to say is that they hold those traitors in higher regard than their king.’

  With satisfaction, she felt him stiffen. ‘You should make it clear you won’t let such insolence pass,’ she went on.

  Ludwig frowned. ‘No more politics today. Let us talk of something else.’

  *

  Over the next few weeks, many more cartoons and posters appeared. Some were simply the products of crude humour, others demanded Lola’s expulsion. On Johannes Mark’s recommendation, Ludwig ordered that the guard at the Theresienstrasse be quadrupled.

  It was late on a blustery March afternoon when the reinforcements marched into the Theresienstrasse to take up their positions. Dark clouds scudded across the sky and the branches of the trees that lined the street chafed and creaked.

  ‘We’ll be getting wet soon, look at that storm coming,’ one of the guards grumbled to his companion, ‘and all because the king is making a fool of himself over his Spanish whore.’

  ‘Wait,’ the other man cocked an ear. ‘Do you hear something?’

  ‘It’s just the wind. You’re getting jumpy, you are.’

  But the sound grew louder and a few moments later, a large group of men spilled into the street. As they came towards the house, others appeared behind them like a fast-rising tide.

  ‘Close up ranks!’ the officer shouted.

  Above, in her drawing room, Lola heard the commotion and hurried to see what was happening. Seeing the jostling crowds below, she threw open the balcony doors and stepped out. At the sight of her, a huge roar broke from the mob and a few stones struck the wall behind her. The mob surged forward.

  ‘Shoulder to shoulder men, make a chain to drive them back,’ she heard Captain Weber shout over the din. ‘Use the butts of your rifles if you have to.’

  Lola laughed and blew a kiss. ‘Well done,’ she called out.

  ‘It would be better if she went inside,’ Weber muttered. ‘She won’t help with that yelling.’

  His men edged forward and had just succeeded in pushing the mob back a little way when a shout was heard: ‘The king! The king!’

  They turned as one to see him striding down the packed street towards the house. The crowd parted before him as he approached. His glance flashed from left to right.

  ‘Hats off before your king!’ he barked.

  A ragged cheer of ‘Vivat Ludwig’ rose in the twilight, but very few men removed their hats.

  Inside the house, Lola rushed to him. She held out a heavy stone. ‘Look,’ she cried, ‘they have attacked me with these.’

  Ludwig took the stone from her and put it down on a table. ‘My men will disperse them soon.’

  She answered him by flying back to the balcony. A new detachment of soldiers had arrived and was facing the crowd, their lowered bayonets glinting in the fading light. As they marched forward, the crowd retreated, still shaking their fists and hooting as she screamed insults.

  Ludwig watched her performance with horror. This was not the gentle soulmate he loved, the muse who inspired his poetry and nourished his heart. He grasped her arm. ‘Come inside, Lolita. I will not have you make a spectacle of yourself in this way.’

  But she was on fire with excitement. ‘Let me go,’ she shouted. When he brought his face close to hers and repeated his words, she almost struck him, but then just in time, she stopped herself. The thrill of the moment died, leaving her exhausted. She let him lead her back into the room.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ she faltered, ‘but they should not have provoked me.’

  There was a rap on the door and the chief of police, Johannes Mark, hurrie
d into the room. His usual composure had deserted him and his voice was hoarse.

  ‘I have a division of mounted police on the way, Your Majesty, but the mob is threatening to march on the palace. I’ve sent some of my men to warn the queen.’

  Ludwig squared his shoulders. ‘I must go back there.’

  ‘Your Majesty, I don’t advise it.’

  ‘Nonsense, these are my people. They won’t harm me.’

  ‘Then let me come with you.’

  Ludwig shook his head. ‘I want you to stay here to ensure that Dona Montez is safe.’

  He turned to Lola and looked at her sorrowfully. ‘Lolita, there must be an end to this.’

  Without another word he was gone. Lola stood frozen for a few moments then she ran back to the balcony. It had begun to hail and already the mob was thinning. She saw the king walk away through the debris of broken sticks and crumpled posters they left behind them. His face was hidden by the umbrella he sheltered under and he did not look back. What had he meant by his parting words to her? For the first time, she felt a tremor of fear. Had she gone too far?

  *

  When Ludwig did not return the next day or the one after that, she put on his favourite dress and went to the palace.

  ‘The king is not seeing anyone,’ an equerry said, barring her way.

  ‘I am not anyone,’ she snapped. ‘Go and announce me.’

  The equerry hesitated and she let her hand linger at her belt making sure he saw the dagger gleam there.

  ‘Very well, I’ll tell His Majesty you’re here, but if he won’t see you, I will have to ask you to leave.’

  Lola laughed. ‘Oh, he will see me, I’m sure of that.’

  A few minutes later, she was shown into Ludwig’s library. Rays of watery sun filtered through the narrow windows but the room was otherwise in darkness. He dozed in his favourite, shabby armchair, a book open in his lap. When her eyes became accustomed to the dim light, she saw his face. A mass of angry blisters disfigured it. He stirred and saw her. ‘I must disgust you. Even the queen can’t stand to look at me.’