Jean Plaidy - The Princess of Celle

IN THE BED the old man lay dying, staring before him with his poor, sightless eyes, murmuring incoherently as his thin yellow fingers plucked at the bedclothes. The physicians were huddled together in the ante-room pretending to confer as to what treatment they should offer; but they knew that there was nothing they could do. His hour had come, and William, Duke of Lüneberg, would not last the night.

His eight daughters were close to his bed, some kneeling, all weeping; but his seven sons were together in a corner of the death chamber, preparing to draw lots.

The macabre scene was lighted only by the guttering candles, and all were thinking – not of the dying Duke – but of the seven brothers.

In the little houses of the town of Celle, the inhabitants waited for news; some had hurried to the church to pray. It was to this church – built of brick in contrast to the wooden houses – that Duke William himself had gone regularly, for he had been a deeply religious man who had earned the name of The Pious.

Life had been pleasant in Celle under Duke William; and the people had been aware of their good fortune. Order reigned within and without the castle; and his subjects could expect justice. But the Duke was dying. And what changes would his successor bring? The people of Celle were afraid of change.

In the corridors of the castle the squires murmured together; the pages talked to each other; the serving men and maids shook their heads and looked grave. Would it be different now? For years life had gone on in its regular pattern. No one had changed it while Duke William lived, even though he had lost his wits, for there were times when he was lucid enough and then not one of his seven sons would have dared disobey him.

There had been no blaspheming in the castle nor in the town without it was punished; and lechery was something to be practised in secrecy. Life in the castle it was true had been more like that in a monastery; but it was the way Duke William had decided it should be and so it was. Meals were taken regularly; twice a day – at nine in the morning and four in the afternoon – throughout the town the trumpeter could be heard from the castle tower summoning all to the table; and anyone who did not appear at that time went without. It was the custom before each meal was served for one of the Duke’s pages to walk between the tables and announce the Duke’s command that all should be quiet and orderly, and that swearing, cursing and rudeness were forbidden, as was the throwing to the floor of bread and bones or attempts to cram these items into the pockets. Beer was provided, but wine was served only at the Duke’s table; and before his affliction had robbed him of his senses, each day the accounts had been brought to him that he might personally study them.

Such had been the life of the castle.

And one of the seven could change it.

The candles were throwing flickering shadows on the wall. Each of the young men turned suddenly towards the bed as his father groaned more loudly than before.

‘We must settle this matter now – while there is still life in him,’ muttered Ernest the eldest. ‘It would be his wish.’

George, the sixth son, was promising himself that now he could go away from Celle to seek his fortune. He had often seen the carriages trundling by on their way to the Court of France carrying fashionably dressed gallants and beautiful women. How different they would be from the rosy-cheeked girls of Celle, though they were fresh and often eager; but he dreamed of elegant women, voluptuous women, versed in the art of making subtle love.

Yes, he would go away – make a Grand Tour of Europe. He would visit the Courts of France and England, and win honours on the field of battle. This was no place for a young man who would make his fortune. There was no fortune here, for only one among them could draw the shortest stick which would give him this castle and the right to. marry, so that his son would inherit not only Celle but all their father’s estates. It was the only way. All over Germany dukedoms such as theirs were becoming impoverished through the custom of dividing the inheritance between so many that what had once been a sizable domain became nothing but a series of country houses. It must not happen to the Guelphs. They had all agreed on that.

So now the seven of them were drawing lots for marriage and the opportunity to give their father’s estate of Brunswick Lüneberg its future ruler.

Their father’s chief minister held the sticks before them – seven sticks which could decide the future. There was a brief hesitation before Ernest took one of them.

George’s turn was sixth and as he glanced down at the piece of wood in his hand he saw his destiny there.

The eyes of his brothers were all on him. The hope had left them, but it was replaced by immediate resignation because they all knew that this was the only way to keep the territory intact.

George had won. Now it was his duty to provide the heir.

The people of Celle were relieved; the castle retainers were overjoyed. The new Duke George had decided to make no changes. Each day the trumpeter called all to meals in the great hall; and the page walked between the tables issuing the Duke’s commands which were the same as those of his father.

But the Duke himself was not in Celle. He was an adventurer this Duke and he had gone touring Europe, fighting here and there, for he had always wanted to be a soldier. ‘Marriage?’ he said. ‘It can wait, for I am young yet and I have six brothers.’ Those brothers continued to live at the castle to save expense and waited anxiously for his return, for settle down he must very soon, or it would be necessary to call another family council and perhaps undergo another ceremony of the sticks. George was young, but it was time he produced the heir, and to do so he needed a wife.

His brothers meanwhile contented themselves with mistresses or morganatic marriages and as it was being said in Celle that the all important lot had fallen to the hands of the wrong man, Duke George returned to Celle with his bride Anne Eleanor, the daughter of the Landgrave of Hesse.

All was well, Duke George proved himself to be as good as his father – although now and then he left Celle in order to wander on the continent, doing a little soldiering here and there, but becoming domesticated enough to produce a family.

Three of his daughters died when they were children and only Sophia Amelia lived; but his four sons were strong and healthy and no one could complain that Duke George had not done his duty.

The four boys, Christian Lewis, George William, John Frederick and Ernest Augustus could often be seen riding through Celle; and the great affection between two of them was remarked on, for wherever the second son George William went, there was the youngest Ernest Augustus, and the friendship between these two was very pleasant to see.

IN THE COLD dawn Ernest Augustus tried to stop the impatient pawing of his horse on the inn cobbles. He looked up at the window above and called: ‘Make haste, brother. The dawn is here.’

When George William appeared at the window, Ernest Augustus shook with laughter. His brother half naked, hair tousled, was still the handsomest man in Celle even after a night of debauchery.

‘Was your friend so disappointing then?’ asked George William.

‘Oh come, brother, you know we should be back at the castle before daylight.’

A woman appeared behind him. She was young and comely. Trust George William to select the best. Ernest Augustus had become accustomed to taking what was left – one of the penalties of being a younger brother. But he bore no resentment, he would always rather be with George William than anyone else.