Simon Hawke - The Zenda Vendetta

“That was unwise, Rudolf,” Flavia said softly. “You have humiliated him in front of everyone. He’ll never forgive the insult.”

“It serves him right, for bringing her here,” Helen whispered fiercely.

“Your Majesty,” Falcon said loudly, overriding all the other conversations, “Michael tells me that there is to be a royal wedding soon.”

Instant silence.

“Indeed?” said Finn, meeting her gaze steadily and refusing to be intimidated. “I was under the impression that it was general knowledge. I’m surprised you hadn’t known, Countess. It was my understanding that in the short time you’ve been with us, you’ve become fairly intimately involved in Ruritanian affairs.”

Several people gasped. Michael stiffened, the color draining from his face.

“I was wondering if the date for the royal wedding has been set yet,” Falcon said, giving him a faint smile. “My visit here will end before too long and I would be loathe to miss it.”

“What, leaving us so soon?” said Finn. “What a pity. The young men of Strelsau will be crushed.”

Michael slammed his knife down onto the table.

“No more so than I would be if I were to miss your wedding, Sire,” she said. “Will it be soon?”

“I hope so,” Finn said, “but it appears to me that it would be a bit presumptuous of me to set the date when Flavia and I have had so little time to spend together of late. Affairs of state are pressing, but affairs of the heart are no less important, don’t you think? I am determined to set aside some time for us to be together. I haven’t had much time to be a proper suitor. Time is so precious, wouldn’t you say?”

“Indeed, Sire. Why waste it?”

Heads turned like those of spectators following a tennis match.

“I have a very high regard for time,” Finn said. “I intend to make wise use of it. A man and a woman, even a king and queen, need time to spend together. Time for romance. What is marriage without courtship, after all?”

“What is courtship without marriage?” she countered. Flavia’s hands were white-knuckled on the table at the veiled implication.

“Courtship without marriage?” Finn said. “An affair, I should think. Isn’t that right, Countess? Is that what you call it, an affair?”

“Eh?” said Marshal Strakencz, a bit more loudly than he had realized. He was having trouble following the conversation and he had been leaning close to the Minister of the Treasury, who had been keeping him abreast of it by speaking directly into his ear.”Affairs, Strakencz,” Finn said.

“Your pardon, Sire?”

“COUNTESS SOPHIA AND I ARE DISCUSSING AFFAIRS!”

“What about her affairs?” said Strakencz.

Michael shoved his chair back so hard it fell. He was on his feet, his face white, his lips quivering with rage.

“Are you all right, Michael?” Finn said, solicitously. “You look pale. Are you ill?”

In a choking voice, Michael said, “If Your Majesty would please excuse me, I find that I suddenly feel unwell.”

“Of course we’ll excuse you, Brother,” Finn said, rising to his feet. Everyone else followed suit. “I will send the royal physician to attend you.”

“That will not be necessary, Sire,” Michael said, spitting out the words. “I am quite certain that I will be feeling a great deal better before too long.”

“I do hope so,” Finn said. “Countess, you will watch over him, won’t you? My brother has always had the most delicate of dispositions. The least little thing upsets him.”

“Come, Sophia,” Michael said. She stared at him furiously, but there was nothing she could do. As Michael stalked out with her, she glanced at Finn and gave him an almost imperceptible little nod. Once they were outside, she turned on Michael angrily.

“You fool,” she said. “You acted like a child in there! That was the most pathetic display of-”

Michael struck her hard across the face.

“I had turned a deaf ear to the gossip,” he said, “and it has brought me humiliation! I’ve been made a fool of by that bastard in front of the entire court! He will pay dearly for that. But as for you, you trollop, I have reached the limits of my tolerance. I do not know what sort of morals they have where you came from, but from now on, you will act as befits a proper lady. You will speak only when spoken to, you will dress more demurely, you will take care of your manners, and you will go nowhere without a proper chaperone. And if I ever catch you alone with any other man, I will have you whipped like a common slut!”

He turned and got into the coach. She climbed in after him, assisted by a liveried footman who had witnessed it all. She waited until the coach got rolling.

The servant who opened the door of the coach when they arrived at home staggered back with a cry at the sight of her blood-spattered gown. He ran when she told him to get Hentzau. Rupert came quickly. His eyes grew wide when he saw her.

“Sophia! Sophia, what-”

“Shut up and help me with him,” she said.

Hentzau looked into the coach. He sucked in a sharp breath. “Good God!” he said.

Michael was sprawled senseless on the seat with a handkerchief stuffed into his mouth. His face was covered with blood. One eye was swollen shut. His lip was badly cut, his nose was broken, and several teeth were missing. Hentzau turned to her.

“What happened? Are you all right? How did-” he had taken both her hands in his and now he stared down at her cut knuckles. He looked up at her with an expression of disbelief.

She jerked her hands away. “Bring him inside,” she said, then turned and went into the house.

Forrester handed the night scope to Lucas and pointed. “The keep,” he said. “Use maximum magnification. Zero in on that small turret sticking out from the tower at about eleven o’clock.”

Lucas held the scope to his eyes. “I don’t see anything,” he said. “What am I looking for?”

“The embrasures,” Forrester said.

“I still don’t see… wait.”

“What is it?” Andre said.

Lucas handed her the scope. “It’s hard to spot. You can barely make it out. They’ve got a laser tracking system set up in that turret. It sweeps across the entire compound.”

“I can’t see anything.”

“Keep watching. Look for a slight hint of movement.” “Got it.” She grunted. “Looks like floater-paks are out, then.” She put down the scope. “What’s next?”

“An evening swim,” said Forrester.

“Shit,” said Lucas.

“Come on, it’s not that cold,” said Andre, turning the scope toward the moat.

“That isn’t what bothers me,” Lucas said. “I must have been hanging around Finn too long. I think his paranoia is starting to rub off.”

“What do you mean?” said Forrester.

“If they were careful enough to guard against a floater-pak assault, they might have taken precautions about the moat, as well. How do we know they haven’t doped it with nasty little microorganisms?”

Andre shivered. “God. What makes you think of these things?”

“Your standard, basic-issue cowardice,” said Lucas. “Okay, so we don’t swim the moat,” said Forrester. “We bridge it.”

“Nysteel line?” said Andre. Forrester nodded.

“Moon’s full,” Lucas pointed out. “Nice night for silhouettes.”

Forrester glanced at him irately. “Did you just come along for moral support, or what?”

“I’m just doing my job, Colonel. You want to give the orders, go ahead.”

“Not me, son. I’m not going to pass up a chance to see my executive officer perform his duties in the field. This is your command. You make the decision. Hand-over-hand and get shot, or the Australian crawl and have your balls fall off or something.”