The Kaiserine's Champion
Page 9
“Is that all?"
“I believe she was at Ministry headquarters, assisting Herr Thenck with some kind of medical experiment."
The Kaiserine frowned. “Do you seek to deceive me, Herr Manfred?"
She knew, and she knew I knew she knew, so I said, “Herr Thenck let slip of Eva's role in the matter of your continued well-being, Your Majesty. I was loathe to bring up such a delicate matter, lest you thought me insensitive."
“You mean, in case I thought you couldn't keep a secret and ordered your execution?"
“That just about sums it up, Your Majesty."
She smiled, and just for a moment the lamplight caught her face the right way and I saw the resemblance to Eva. I must have betrayed my thoughts, for her smile vanished and she looked at me with an altogether less pleasant expression. Anger threatened to consume her, but somehow she controlled herself. She sat down in one of the chairs and stared at the pattern on the rug, motionless and silent. I dared say nothing. Time crept by and then at last, she spoke again.
“You must think me heartless,” she said.
“I think nothing, Your Majesty. It's not my place."
“There was love involved, you know. Briefly, fleetingly—but it existed. And afterwards, when she was a child, I took an interest in her. She called me Aunt. Once a week I would visit her and she'd show me what she'd learned that week. She played the piano so beautifully, so cleverly, even then."
“Does Eva know she's your daughter?” I asked.
She looked up at me, tears streaking her face, suddenly looking much older than she had before. “No. I told Herr Thenck—I told her father never to tell her. She thinks her mother died in childbirth."
I nodded, wondering whether Eva had ever guessed her “aunt” was really her mother, and that she was the Kaiserine's daughter.
“Now she's lost her father,” the Kaiserine said. “He only had so much love to give, and he reserved it all for her.” She shook her head, then used a silk handkerchief to wipe away the tears. “What a fool I am today,” she muttered to herself.
A knock on the door saved me from having to reply. She gestured impatiently and I opened it. The Duke Wilhelm entered and bowed to her, concern in his eyes.
“We were wondering, Your Majesty—?” he began, but she cut him off, rising quickly from the chair.
“Yes, by all means. Clean up the mess, and tell the orchestra to start playing something jolly. Herr Manfred, you have another urgent matter to attend to—once you tidy yourself up, of course."
“Your Majesty?"
“There are at least fifty young ladies who will surely poison themselves if you do not dance with them tonight. Do you think you're up to it?"
“I dare say I will be."
My answer didn't seem to surprise her, and I wondered how much she knew of my own unusual condition. “Good,” she said. “Duke Wilhelm will arrange for a change of clothing. I shall expect at least one dance from you later."
I smiled. “Very good, Your Majesty."
Duke Wilhelm bowed and withdrew from the room, relieved that everything was well. He held the door open for me to come after him, but I indicated I would follow in a moment. The Kaiserine stood at the window, looking out. Her Guardsmen patrolled the gardens, vigilant as always.
“Is there something else you wanted to say, Herr Manfred?” she asked, without turning to look at me.
“Three things have occurred to me, Your Majesty."
“And pray, what might they be?” She feigned disinterest, pretending to fuss with the gold rings she wore.
“If Eva lived with her father, then she'll very likely find the headquarters of the Ministry of State Security a cold and lonely place without him. Perhaps alternate accommodation might be arranged?"
“How kind you are to think of her. Presumably you mean in the Imperial Palace? Very well, I'll see if suitable quarters can be found. What else?"
“Tonight one of your ladies-in-waiting died. An unfortunate business, and I believe she was an innocent party, but it would seem that her passing leaves a vacancy in your service?"
“How insolent you are! I am perfectly capable of finding a replacement for Rosemarie. But I'll give the idea some thought. Perhaps it would be good for Eva.” She glanced at me, then made a show of tucking her handkerchief into her sleeve. “You said you had three things on your mind, Herr Manfred? What might the third be?"
“It would doubtless benefit you both, Your Majesty, if you were to reveal your true relationship to your daughter."
With this, I bowed and stepped into the corridor, closing the door behind me. I stood there and held my breath for a count of ten, but there was no verbal explosion from within, and she didn't shout for her Guardsmen—a fact which filled me with vast relief.
A servant waited with a new uniform jacket to replace the bloodstained one I wore. I asked him for directions to one of the bathrooms, that I might wash and change my clothes and make ready to dance the night away, as the Kaiserine's Champion.
About the Author/Artist
Derek writes, “I'm 43 years old and live in Scotland, overlooking some of the loveliest island and mountain scenery you're likely to find anywhere. I'm working on a dozen novels simultaneously, which tells you something about my butterfly attention span. My short fiction has appeared in Jackhammer E-zine (Nov 2000), Strange Horizons (May 2001) and This Way Up (July 2001).” You can find his website at website.lineone.net/—derek_paterson/.
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Duncan Long is a professional illustrator whose fanciful artwork is springing up at numerous Web sites as well as on covers of novels, magazines, and CDs. An online gallery of his illustrations can be explored at DuncanLong.com.
About the Eggplant Literary Productions, Inc.
Eggplant Literary Productions, Inc. is an alternative publishing house of speculative fiction. Eggplant Literary Productions, Inc. publishes electronic texts under the imprint Jintsu. Find out more about Jintsu at www.eggplant-productions.com/jintsu.
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Visit www.eggplant-productions.com for information on additional titles by this and other authors.