Prince of Secrets and Shadows

by C. S. Johnson

  *15*

  ◊

  As the days passed, there was no sign of Amir. I did not allow myself to despair, because if I did, I would not just wallow in my sadness, I would go mad. While time seemed to move only slightly quicker than absolute stillness, I relived our conversations, running them over and over again inside my mind, turning them over and examining them again. There were so many, from the time I had met Amir on the streets of Prague, to the time he had carried me to the front parlor. I thought about meeting him in the library the second time, knocking him down with a punch, and practicing the waltz with him. I thought about his devotion to my mother and the changing mix of pain and pleasure in his gaze as he talked with me.

  It had been a struggle to pay attention to anything over the past few days; even Harshad seemed to understand my distraction. He had Xiana review the basics of stance, footwork, and technique with me before dismissing me from my sessions. Harshad said I would be too distracted to fight well, and he was right.

  Ben was allowed to roam the city, searching for any sign of Amir, while Lady POW herself went to lectures and socials with other older ladies. It turns out the elderly were a wealth of gossip and information, but there was no mention of a rogue Turk wandering around the town.

  We could only wait, Lady Penelope said.

  We could only wait, Lady Penelope had said.

  Her words were a prison sentence to my heart, but I was comforted in that she did not seem to take her own advice. I saw her as she prowled around the manor at all hours of the day, and even when we came back from our outings, I would wake up in the middle of the night to find her pacing the hallways. I had no idea where Amir’s room was, but I heard her steps pass down my hallway more than once as the night dragged on. Neither of us seemed to be able to sleep well.

  It’s a miracle that I am able to stay awake for this, I thought, looking around at the scene before me.

  The Nàrodni muzuem was full of aristocrats and the political elite, but it was not much different from any other ball I had seen. A large crowd had gathered in the atrium, where Karl lorded over the room from atop a twin pair of grand staircases. The place really is beautiful, I thought, taking note of the gothic arches and the detailed metalwork. The marble floors reflected the warm lighting, sending a ripple of sparkles through the regal crowd.

  It was a fitting metaphor, as the secret prince of Bohemia reigned over the room as its crown jewel. He had been invited to make a speech, and the one he was making was full of pauses as he impressed the masses.

  As his audience broke out in another sea of applause, Lady Penelope cleared her throat behind me. “Stand up straight, Eleanora. There are a lot of important people here. We wouldn’t want to look sloppy.”

  “Of course we wouldn’t.” I struggled to keep myself from yawning.

  “Why are you so tired? You already fell asleep on the way here. Goodness, your hair is a mess.” Lady Penelope discretely tugged on the combs in my hair, and I waved her meddling hands away at once.

  “Stop it,” I hissed. “I’ll get it.”

  I did not want her fussing over me. I was already under severe scrutiny, since I was not actually a member of the political elite even if I was welcomed by Society. Many of the lords and ladies looked me over carefully as we had entered the museum, and I knew they had a right to be curious. As Karl continued to make his speech, I saw a wave of eyes turn to glance at me.

  Lady POW huffed. “You should have checked yourself better before we came in.”

  “You should have said something sooner if they bothered you.”

  “Why are you even wearing these combs?” Lady Penelope asked. Her expression suddenly soured as she straightened the one behind my left ear.

  I was wearing the combs Ferdy had given me. After the long days of worrying for Amir, I selected the combs to wear as a talisman, as a way to feel hopeful.

  And, if Ferdy did come and “rescue” me from here, he would know I had decided to trust him. I tried not to blush, thinking of his pleasure.

  Lady Penelope cleared her throat. “Did Karl give you these?”

  “What? No. There is no need to worry about them.” I batted her hand away one last time, before twisting the combs once more into my curls. I winced at the pain, but I gave Karl my full focus. Secretly, I hoped that the rest of the room would follow my example and pay attention to him.

  I already did not relish the thought of seeing Karl again.

  “It’s not my fault you are content to look like you’ve napped all the way over here,” Lady Penelope muttered. “Even if it is true, there’s no reason give it away.”

  The Nàrodni muzuem was on the far side of Prague from where we lived. I considered my nap a small repayment for the task I was about to face.

  “I’ve been working with Harshad in the mornings, and I had more late nights now that we are moving in Society again,” I reminded her, trying to mask my moaning. “Be grateful I do not look worse.”

  “I have had some late nights myself,” Lady Penelope remarked, and I was amused that she would admit to her discomforting night. “There is no reason you should not be able to recover if I can.”

  I ignored her, yawning again, as Karl continued on with his speech.

  He seemed very happy, much more energetic than me. His voice was booming and somewhat seductive as he heralded the courage of his fellow men and condemned the uncaring heart of the emperor.

  “Ever since the disastrous fire at the castle, there have been no condolences from Emperor Franz Joseph. What can we conclude, except for the obvious?” Karl waved his arms around, exaggerating his facial expressions. “Bohemia is not his concern. Our pain is not his pain.”

  There were several murmurs of agreement, even if they were quiet.

  “Are we not called to be free?” Karl asked, speaking with the easy grace of a practiced prodigy. “The Lord himself called the Hebrews out of Egypt, and I ask you, my countrymen, are we not in Egypt ourselves? Surrounded by an empire that is crumbling under the weight of bureaucracy, the decadency of dispassionate rulers, of taxation without representation or recompense?”

  There were more cheers this time. I glanced over at Lady Penelope. She had an impressed look on her face.

  “You’re not agreeing with him, are you?” I asked.

  She gave me her sadistic smile. “I can appreciate an honest attempt to manipulate the masses, Eleanora. That’s his Oxford education coming through, right there.”

  “I am here to proceed over this dedication,” Karl said. “But I do not want to dedicate our work to the greatness of the empire. Bohemia’s greatness is in its people. We are the dreamers, we are the makers, we are the ones who carried and build greatness from the bond of our blood. We are the ones who are called to represent Bohemia to the world, and it is time we took a stand and demand that we be heard, as is our due. We are the ones who make this country great, and we deserve to be properly represented on the world stage.”

  “He is certainly a good orator,” Lady Penelope murmured, as Karl began talking about taxes and tariffs and the empire’s abuse of our people. “If what he was saying was true, he would make a good ruler.”

  “His rhetoric could be considered treasonous in some circles,” I said.

  “That is good politicking,” Lady Penelope reminded me. She gave me a wry smile. “Speak, strike, redress. You will be surprised how politicians use language to get you to believe what you think they mean.”

  “Hopefully, that will change one day.” I shook my head. “That is dishonest.”

  “People do not want the truth. People want to be the hero of a good story, and more often than not, they want to be the hero without doing any of the work.” Lady Penelope nodded toward Karl. “He is giving that to them now, and they are responding as expected. We will have to be careful.”

  “Will this disrupt Queen Victoria’s relationship with India?”

  “The worst part is that I don’t know if it will or not,” Lady Penel
ope said. “As much as it pains me to admit, many leaders do not have everything figured out. We can only act in the manner we see best, without knowing if it will work, or if it will be the best position to have taken in the end.”

  I knew she was talking about her own position as the leader of the Order, and I wondered if it was good for me to have doubts about trusting her. I could not seem to help my response when it came to Amir, but there were other areas in which I did not trust her.

  For the moment, I did not say anything about that. “It seems there is a lot of guesswork in trying to change the future.”

  I gave her a response that was ambiguous and vague, hoping she would be pleased.

  She nodded. “Especially for the better.”

  “Better for who?” I murmured, wondering aloud more to myself as Karl concluded his speech and stepped down. The audience clapped and cheered, and he waved gallantly to them.

  Lady POW sighed beside me. “If he is not stopped,” she warned, “he will be a formidable opponent for the emperor. He has already made some high-ranking people uncomfortable. Harshad received a message from one of our associates in Vienna that said Franz Joseph has been asking King Ferdinand for information.”

  “Did the king respond?” I asked as I kept my eyes on Karl, watching him grin as he met with other members of the Diet and those who were in attendance. He seemed much happier than he was the last time I saw him.

  “No,” Lady Penelope said. “The king and Empress Maria Anna have been ill the past few days. They have not allowed anyone to meet with them. Empress Maria Anna has canceled her plans to leave for their country estate, too.”

  “I have heard she likes to travel,” I said, “but with Karl here, I would think she would want to make sure he was staying out of any trouble.”

  “Yes, I suppose. Family members do tend to make poor decisions because of love.” Lady Penelope turned to me. “And while we are discussing that particular subject, there is something I need to ask you.”

  “What is it?”

  Lady Penelope’s eyes, so similar to my mother’s and my own, pierced through me. “Are you falling in love with Karl? I need you to tell me now, Eleanora. This is not the time to remind you that there is no room for romance in the life of a spy, but I feel I must. I know you are worried for Amir, and I will be the first to admit that this is my fault. I thought he had forgiven me for the business with your mother, but I see I was wrong.”

  “We don’t know if you’re wrong yet,” I said, choosing to ignore, only for the moment, how she downplayed my mother’s unhappiness and Amir’s regret. “He hasn’t had the chance to explain himself.”

  “Either way, it does not matter now. I’m more worried for you. Falling in love has no place in this job.”

  “I am not in love with Karl.”

  “You have not been yourself recently. You have not been yourself since the concert, and it’s not just worry for Amir. There is more to it, isn’t there?” Her eyes darted up to my hair. “I know Karl had to give you those combs, Eleanora.”

  “I already told you he didn’t,” I hissed, suddenly afraid. I reached out and lightly brushed my fingers against the jewels of the combs. Ferdy had insisted I take them, and I wondered all of a sudden if he had tricked me.

  I straightened my shoulders. I had to take care of one thing at a time, and Lady POW’s temper was the more immediate. I could find a way to yell at Ferdy later, I decided.

  “It does not matter now. I am not in love with Karl, and if you make me scream it, it might damage our cover.”

  I hoped she would not say anything else; Lady Penelope had a perfect hold on me. I had nowhere to run as we were surrounded by the public. If I left now, and suddenly, there would be whispers that could adversely affect our mission.

  She glared at me. “Eleanora, don’t be ridicu—”

  “My lady.”

  I was never so happy to see Karl as I was in that moment. He came up to me, and even though I could not stop myself from wondering if Ferdy was going to follow him, there was nothing dishonest about my smile as I greeted him. “Mr. Marcelin, how lovely to see you.”

  I curtsied, and he bowed over my hand, kissing it reverently while I praised God for his providence in allowing me to wear gloves once more.

  “I am so grateful to see you here today,” Karl said. “Especially since I know our last meeting was marked with unpleasant circumstances.”

  “Oh, there is no need to worry about it,” I murmured, hoping that Lady POW was not listening. When I saw one of her friends had come up to speak with her, I added quietly, “Unless there is some reason I should expect to see the other Mr. Marcelin here?”

  This would be another event where Ferdy would be eager to “rescue” me.

  Karl’s smile dropped. “No.”

  Ferdy had said he was leaving for Silesia in the morning on the night of the concert.

  But surely, he wasn’t actually leaving? I suddenly wondered if he had been telling me the truth.

  He did promise me before that he would not lie to me.

  Carefully, I asked Karl, and he shook his head.

  “Please, Eleanora,” he said. “The rededication of the museum has been a lovely event, and I’d rather not discuss the tragic events of this week. Please, come with me. I will introduce you to my friends.”

  “Tragic?” I smiled. “I know you have your struggles with family, but tragic is hardly the right description for them.”

  “You haven’t heard the news?” Karl sighed. He took my hand, mumbled off an excuse to Lady Penelope about taking me to see Count Potocki, and then led me toward the side of the room.

  As we walked, I was suddenly overcome with a feeling of dread. My palms were clammy, and I felt sick in my stomach. “Karl?” I asked. “What is it?”

  “My brother is dead.”

  Karl spoke quietly, wearing the same stoic expression Xiana had worn as she told me Amir was more than capable of betraying the ones he supposedly loved. I felt like I had to hear the words several times over, as if hearing them did not make sense at all. My hand covered my mouth in shock; the floor seemed to quake beneath my feet, and my whole body suddenly went numb.

  Ferdy is dead? How can this be?

  “I regret to tell you this now,” Karl replied. “But this is a very important day. Today, I have drawn up a resolution for Emperor Franz Joseph, and with the support here, he will not be able to—”

  “I don’t understand.” My eyes were watering over; my nose prickled with pressure, and I felt lightheaded. I pulled free from Karl, nearly tripping over the length of my gown. “What do you mean, your brother is dead?”

  “Please keep calm,” Karl muttered, his eyes dark and dangerous. “He was killed by a foreigner as he was on his way back to Silesia two days ago. His carriage was attacked and then doused in fire. A nearby vicar witnessed the whole thing. He nursed the coachman in his final hours and sent word to my family of the incident.”

  My chest constricted, and my heart stalled. Karl tried to explain the rest of my possible questions, but all I heard distinctively was how it was clear Emperor Franz Joseph did not care about his citizens, if he was going to constantly allow foreigners to come and do what they pleased.

  The memory of Ferdy’s question hit me hard.

  “Do I know that we will ever meet again?”

  I had trouble moving; I had trouble breathing. I barely noticed we were still at the Nàrodni muzuem, surrounded by Karl’s political allies, and everyone was looking to me to smile and dance and charm my way into their hearts.

  “Eleanora?”

  “What is it?” I gaped as I looked around, as if my existence had suddenly taken on a form too alien to even recognize.

  I am not supposed to live in a world without Ferdy.

  Karl sighed, trying to soften his expression. “I know the news is very sad, but there is nothing we can do now. My parents have taken to their beds this week, and I did not blame them. But I know I must be st
rong, and that is why I am so glad you are here with me. I need you to be strong for me here today. Please, there is no need for you to feel badly for me.”

  Suddenly, I wanted to scream at him. I did not need to feel badly for Karl; I was too busy feeling bad for myself! I could not believe how selfish he was being, and how little he must have thought of me, thinking I would just take sad such news in stride.

  And then there was the matter of Ferdy himself. What could have happened? Surely he is not really gone.

  Ferdy promised me he would not lie to me, I thought. He was supposed to return to Silesia. I mean, I knew he never went, but what if he was on his way back when everything happened?

  There was no denying that King Ferdinand and Empress Maria Anna had been missing their scheduled appearances, and they had canceled their travels. Lady Penelope had just said so.

  The world swam before me, and I began to withdraw into myself.

  I did not know if I could bear it if he was. It seemed more likely that I was dead, and this was a preamble to hell.

  “Eleanora?” Karl’s voice called me again, and I had to shake my head.

  “I don’t know what to say,” I finally managed. My voice was raspy and weak, and I felt my eyes start to water. “But I do believe I need to tend to a call of nature. Excuse me while I go to the ladies’ withdrawing room.”

  “Ella, come back here. This is our moment, for Bohemia. I have the resolution for the Emperor to give us back our throne, since he will not bother to be crowned here. This is important.” Karl reached out and snared my wrist, tugging me back toward him. Immediately, I shoved my palm forward, slamming it into his nose.

  My training had taken over before I realized it.

  “Ow!” He wiped his nose, which had a small smattering of blood on it. I had hit him too hard, I realized. Fortunately, it was only a little, and he was able to clean a large amount of it off without others’ notice.

  “I’m very sorry, sir,” I muttered, ducking around him. “I must excuse myself.”

  “If you leave me now and make me look like a fool,” Karl hissed, “you will regret it.”