Eric Flint - 1636 - The Viennese Waltz

In just a few minutes, assuming she didn’t kill him first, her dad was going to walk her down the aisle to meet Karl and they would practice getting married. What made the all-too-predictable offer even more irritating was that a tiny part of her wanted to take him up on it. Not because of Karl, but because of the baggage that came with him.

This would be the final lock on the cage for her. Court princess, the head of the banking system for the Austro-Hungarian empire, princess of the House Liechtenstein, countess of this, baroness of that, the wife of the head of government of territories in two countries. Sarah Wendell was about to be swallowed by Princess Sarah, and as much as she loved Karl, it scared the hell out of her.

“We’re ready,” said Countess Fortney.

* * *

Three hours later, as the guards were leaving, a priest came wandering in, ostensibly looking for a Book of Hours. When no one was looking, he slipped down the stairs into the still dark basement. He lit his lamp using a Magdeburg-made Zippo lighter, then made his way to the storeroom rented by Gundaker von Liechtenstein. He unlocked the door and slipped in. He turned up the lantern and went to work. He wound and set the clock using his Hamburg-made pocket watch. The minute hand on the clock he bent outward so that it wouldn’t bind the hour hand that was going to slowly drag the wire into contact with the stud. He checked the battery, getting a shock, and attached the leads. Then he left. It wasn’t till he was back upstairs that he realized that he still had the lock in his pocket. He considered going back down but decided against it.

January 15, 1636

The Hofburg Palace, Vienna

The morning was cold and crisp, but the sun had come out and there wasn’t a cloud within a hundred miles of Vienna. They wouldn’t dare, not today. Empress Mariana looked out the window at the beautiful day and made a decision. “There will the one more royal at the wedding. We’ll bring the baby,” she pronounced.

“Ferdinand the latest?” the emperor asked. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. It’s a beautiful day and by the time we go to the wedding it won’t even be that cold. Besides, the tower is lovely, what there is of it. On the inside, at least. I love the arching concrete pillars.”

The emperor of Austria-Hungary shrugged acceptance and rang for the servants. It was best to get the preparations underway.

St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Vienna

“They are taking the heir?” Father Montilla hissed. The bomb was in place, the clock running, and there was no way at all get back into the the Liechtenstein building, not today. “You have to stop them!”

“How would you suggest I do that?” Father Lamormaini hissed back. “Shall we walk up to the Hofburg and tell them there is a bomb? Or perhaps we should kidnap the imperial prince?

“No. God is talking to us here. It falls to us to understand his meaning.”

“Are we then to destroy the House of Habsburg entire? The Austrian branch, and Netherlands branch, leaving only the Spanish Habsburgs? I admit that has a certain appeal, but with France and William of Orange in the way, it will be difficult at best for Spain to reassert control.”

“No. Aside from everything else, were King Philip to put forward a claim, suspicion would fall on him,” Lamormaini said. “No, we need at least one surviving Austrian Habsburg. If we can’t save the son, the brother will have to do.”

“Leopold has been ordered to attend the wedding by the emperor. He won’t ignore that.”

“But he’s not happy about it. The enmity between him and the Barbies, including Sarah Wendell, has not decreased one bit with their elevation.”

“Happy or not. . You don’t plan to tell him?”

“Not unless absolutely necessary.”

Liechtenstein House, Vienna

Gundaker von Liechtenstein wasn’t happy to be interrupted. He liked the news less. “What is Lamormaini doing at the archduke’s townhouse?”

“I don’t know, Your Serene Highness, but he seemed in a great hurry.”

“Wait here,” Gundaker told the man. Another one like Farkas, but this time he had been more careful. This man didn’t know why he was watching Lamormaini. And wouldn’t until it became necessary to act. Gundakar stepped into the office of the chief butler. “Has there been any change in the schedule for today.”

“No, Your Serene Highness. Nothing that affects us.”

“What about things that don’t affect us?” Gundaker growled.

“Only that the Imperial Family has decided that Imperial Prince Ferdinand will be going to the wedding too. He will be in the daycare with the other toddlers. We were told because of-”

“Never mind.” Gundaker turned and stalked out.

Now he knew what had happened. Realizing he couldn’t save the babe, that idiot Lamormaini was going to tell the prince not to go to the wedding. And he knew of Gundaker’s involvement directly. By the time he got back to his office, Gundaker had decided that he couldn’t wait.

“I want you to kill Lamormaini,” he said. “And if he has spoken to the archduke, you will kill the archduke as well.”

“That’s the sort of thing that can leave a man running for the rest of his life.”

Gundaker went to a chest and pulled out a sack of gold coins. “There is another one of these for you when I know it’s done.”

Townhouse of the Bishop of Passau, Vienna

Archduke Leopold was going through his wardrobe. He didn’t want to go to the wedding. The wardrobe search was partly to delay the inevitable and partly to find the clothes that would show absolutely the least respect for the Barbies he could get away with.

Marco Vianetti tapped on the door and announced, “Father Lamormaini would like a word.”

Leo winced. He could almost agree with a lot of his father’s former confessor’s attitudes, but the man had become increasingly strident since the church had broken in two.

“You must not go to the wedding, Your Grace,” Father Lamormaini said. “It is an offense against God and the true church.”

“Father, I am a man compelled by duty to both my brother and my emperor. It you have a reason that my brother, the emperor of Austria Hungary will accept, I’m more than happy to hear it.”

“Ferdinand doesn’t matter.”

“That is a preposterous statement.”

“It is true!” Lamormaini insisted. “He will be but dust by two o’clock. Do not go to the wedding or you will join him.”

“What do you mean?”

There was a pause. Not long, just a few seconds but long enough for Leo to realize that it wasn’t hyperbole or priestly nonsense. That there was a plot of some sort. Long enough for the realization that if he did nothing, he might well be emperor soon.

Leo didn’t call the guards. He listened. Relations with his family had been going downhill since Judy Wendell had publicly humiliated him. All of them had sided with the up-timers against their own blood.

“There is a bomb in the basement of the Liechtenstein Tower. A room filled with gunpowder.”

“If I am not there, suspicion would fall on me. Who arranged the room? The Spanish faction couldn’t have. Anything they tried to put in the tower would be scrutinized.”

“Not all the Liechtensteins are corrupted by the up-timers.”

That meant either Gundaker or Maximilian. Probably Gundaker. Maximilian was a good general and loyal, but pragmatic. Leo looked over at the clock. It was what the up-timers called a grandfather clock. It used a new sort of escapement and was more accurate. Currently, the hour was twenty-seven minutes past noon. He had time. Not much, but time. “Tell me about it, Father Lamormaini.”