Hieronymus’ attention bounced back and forth between them. He looked intimidated and out of his depth. His wife looked preoccupied and chewed her bottom lip, and said nothing. Leopold continued to stare, and Mary grew more concerned. Hofer could not be allowed to drive this conversation, and it was clear that Hieronymus wasn’t the commanding type. Mary was going to spend another night in the cell in the basement, or worse, if Hofer continued to dominate Hieronymus’ opinions. She spoke up. “Perhaps I can talk to Herr Fugger?” She nodded and beamed her best non-threatening, non-witch smile at Hieronymus, while inserting herself between him and Hofer. Hieronymus again got that star-struck look in his eyes. “Do you think that would be correct, Regina? Perhaps you can sit with us, and help me translate if there is something I don’t understand?”
Regina grabbed Hieronymus arm. “I think that is an excellent idea. I am sure we can talk about many things as well as your trip aboard the flying machine.”
Hieronymus smiled. “The flying machine? I have seen it fly over the valley a number of times. It seems so large!” He extended his other arm to Mary. “Let’s go upstairs. Maria, Leopold! Join us.”
∞ ∞ ∞
Mary smiled at Hieronymus. With any luck she would not be in a cell tonight. As she looked back over her shoulder, Hofer glared at her. Mary returned his glare with a glass smile, brittle and sharp.
Chapter 8 Side Money
It was a small Venice café, with a very nice pastry selection, and a good strong Turkish coffee that provided Aldo de Conti with enough energy to make it through a long afternoon of completing travel and expense reports. But Aldo wasn’t here only for the coffee. He was here to meet a friend, with whom he had coffee every time he returned from the Germanys, to catch up on the news of the day. The fact that the friend paid him a stipend for this brief meeting didn’t bother Aldo at all. It was one of several coffee meetings, dinners, and shared gondola rides that he always had, once he returned from a trip. One has to retire on something, after all.
Travel on the Monster, as everyone called the massive aircraft, was a joy. He doubted if he would ever travel great distances any other way, ever again. Of course at his age, in his fifties, he had believed his long distance travel days were over. Crossing of the Alps on horse and mule was a young man’s game. But with the aircraft, and the other flying machines such as the “lighter than air” aircraft, he might be able to do this for another ten or twenty years. Up-timers, no matter what some people said, were nothing but good news to Aldo.
This afternoon, Aldo was meeting with his good friend from Bavaria, Phillip von Fremd, who was most interested in whatever Aldo could tell him about the town of Grantville, especially in all matters regarding religion. While Aldo was religious, and considered himself a devout Catholic, his Bavarian friend’s religious fervor made Aldo feel like some rudderless bible-addled Lutheran, casting about in the dark for a divine insight, reading scripture by candlelight, next to a printing press. The man Phillip was Religious. As Phillip arrived, Aldo stood to greet him.
“Hello my friend, how are you?”
“I'm well, Aldo. At least as long as God allows. What news do you have for me?”
They talked for an hour or so. Aldo had tried several times to describe to the Bavarian what it was like in Grantville, with a different church on seemingly every corner. One couldn’t turn around without running into one odd religion or another. There was even a religion that didn’t believe in religion, that called themselves Humanists. But they still met on Sunday mornings. Aldo, since he was an old hand in Grantville, didn’t think it strange. But he had long since given up trying to explain such things to the Bavarian. The man’s mind couldn’t grasp it, and he grew agitated when such topics came up. So Aldo filled the man in on the facts, and just the facts, as he saw them. Some men had minds that were open, and some men had minds that were, well, good at other things, Aldo thought charitably.
“I understand the devilish flying machine made an unscheduled stop, this time?”
“Ah yes! It was an extra landing in Tyrol, near Schwaz I think. We dropped off a girl there. Young. Up-timer, lovely thing. Dark hair, dark eyes, dressed in their pants like some man, like they all do. She had just gotten out of the army. Her name was Mary, as I recall. She was a bit cagey, didn’t give me her last name. Seemed rather bright. Rather above average for an up-time girl. Some will say that they are all geniuses, you know, or fierce fighters, but that isn’t so. They are different, but not really different from any other group of women. You get them together, they gossip, and can be as petty and privileged as any group of princesses anywhere. She was to serve someone very wealthy nearby. She stared at Schloss Tratzberg when we went over. There are some Fugger there, no?”
Phillip from Bavaria smiled. “Yes, it was known that some of the Fugger were anxious to have one of the up-timers for themselves. It’s nice to know there is one so close to the borders of Bavaria. Perhaps she will visit Augsburg, where there are many other Fugger. It would be interesting to, ah, talk to one of them.”
Aldo nodded. Phillip was a strange man. Aldo didn’t ask for any details as to why the Bavarian would want to talk to the up-time girl. It wasn’t any of his business, but he inwardly frowned. Whatever the conversation the Bavarian would want with the lovely up-time girl, Aldo somehow didn’t think it would be a pleasant one.
Chapter 9 Meet the Fugger
"I
must apologize for your treatment during your arrival. It was a deeply embarrassing episode for the family. You are an asset, and an expensive one, that we have chosen to bring to us. As an important asset, you should have been treated with due respect. I hope it wasn’t too much of an inconvenience to you?”
Mary looked back at the count across the table in his working chambers. He had stood to greet her when she entered, and Mary had curtsied. Both were standing, observing each other for a moment. The man was smaller than she thought he would be, balding, with dark hair, and reading glasses perched at the end of his beak-like nose. He looked like an up-time accountant, and Mary was a good eight inches taller than him. She slouched self-consciously. If this was the man who might be pissed off at her because of almost shooting one of his nephews, she didn’t want to be any more intimidating than she needed to be, if she could help it. Height could be intimidating to some men. She answered carefully. “No, your Grace, it wasn’t a terrible inconvenience. I was kept quite comfortable.”
He nodded. “Very well then, I hope we can put that behind us. The fact of the matter is we did a poor job of preparing for your arrival. In fact, this whole episode is one that demonstrates, very clearly, the reasons for you being here.” His gaze shifted, and Mary noticed his eyes became sharp, predatory. Not like a soldier-predatory, or a lion-predatory; more like a coyote, she decided. Eyes that were looking for an advantage on their opponent, an opening in defenses, scanning for a weakness. A predator that dominated not by physical strength, but by cunning. Thinking. But there was also warmth to him – or at least she desperately wanted there to be. And Regina had told her as much. After a brief pause, he smiled at Mary, a friendly chagrin. “Your arrival here was much sooner than we anticipated. You see, for many years we have communicated with the world with what you might call a ‘family postal service’. It’s secure and reliable. Very reliable. Our family made many fortunes by getting information first. Like that Englishman, Bacon, said. Knowledge is power. But now, we find it’s slow. Very slow.” He shook his head in the negative. “Before the arrival of the Ring of Fire, it was more than sufficient. Unfortunately, that system was only just fast enough to deliver to Grantville our final word, to ask you to come as quickly as possible, but far too slow to deliver word back to us before your arrival. In fact, it came yesterday, three full days after your arrival. I feel we must invest in this radio technology, and I fear we might be somewhat behind.”
“It all seems to have worked out, your grace.” She still wasn’t too sure about almost shooting Johann, and figured
that not mentioning it was the best course of action, just to be safe. She still wasn’t certain if there were going to be consequences from it. Even though she knew it really wasn’t her fault, when dealing with down-timer nobility, fault was a very fluid thing. And assignable to underlings, as a rule. And as near as she could tell, she was an underling. Regina had tried to reassure Mary, but she had said it was ultimately the count’s decision. He gestured to a chair, and they both sat.
“Do you know why you are here, Mary?”
The question surprised her. She swallowed, and thought a moment. “Well, I believe I was hired as a teacher. At least that’s the best I understand it. And a consultant. I know I'm going to give regular classes, and I have some ideas, and I also brought a bunch of cheat sheets-”
“Cheat sheets?” The count demonstrated his eyebrows for the first time, which with his high forehead were very expressive.
“That’s what we call them. One or two-page documents that provide the basics of some up-time technology or another. The ones we have now are pretty well refined to down-time understanding, much better than the first ones. Things like indoor plumbing, irrigation, crops and seeds, germ theory of disease transmission, first aid, pumps, structural, concrete, all sorts of up-time tech. I have several hundred pages of them in my luggage, and more coming overland.”
“I have seen some of them. The ladies here are very interested in indoor plumbing.”
“Kinda been my experience too, your Grace. When I was in Wurzburg.”
He nodded at her. “We also need you to consult with nearly everyone on just about everything. No small task.” He wasn’t smiling, Mary noticed. She swallowed again as he continued. “I know you don’t have a lot of experience in some things, you are after all rather young. The most important task, at least at first is, well, translate for us. We have researchers in Grantville, and they send us information by the wagonload. Have been for a while now. We ask questions. They reply with information. But that information is cryptic, and we have trouble understanding it.”
Mary nodded. She knew the problems from firsthand experience. “You ask about banking, and they reply with data on, let’s say, the Federal Reserve System. You understand the words, as translated, ‘Federal’ and ‘Reserve’, but the context is lost.”
He continued to nod. “We have many pages on mining and mining techniques, some of which we have been able to understand, and use to increase yields in older mines, increase safety, and streamline production.” He waved his hands about, continuing the list in the air. He then leaned forward. “But there is much we don’t understand about the answers we have. That is where you can be most helpful, I think. The technologies some of the documents describe are incomprehensible to us. I am familiar with modern mining techniques, but the up-time technology is quite strange in many ways. But I hope that between us, we can collaborate and improve.”
Mary nodded, and realized that the count was talking about his mining techniques as modern, not hers. “I can help you ask the right questions.”
“Precisely. And get us answers that fit our questions.” He nodded and put aside a small stack of papers. “We will start on that in morning, you will have a meeting with some mining managers that are on their way back here from Innsbruck.”
“As you wish, your Grace.”
“In addition, I want you to teach. I understand you are good with chemistry and math. And you brought some books with you to teach from? We will have classes several days a week. Both sexes, together. Embrace the radical, shall we?” His eyebrows once again rose in a humorous question.
Mary smiled. “That’s normal for me, your Grace.”
“I suppose so. I do want you to work on the indoor plumbing as a priority. Those who have been to Grantville tell me it’s one of the modern wonders. I will have Hofer coordinate with you on the correct staff to deal with it, and he also has control of budgets for those things…. Let me see, what else?” He pushed some paper around on his table, and found a list. “Ah yes. I am giving a party this summer, early July, we do it every year, where we will introduce you to the family, formally. As you know, our family is widely cast, and rather mobile. I was at a meeting with several members in Innsbruck when you arrived. But we don’t get together as a single group often. We have simply grown too large.” He sighed, and furrowed his eyebrows. “And like any large group of people, there are factions and friendships, alliances and even disagreements. I must tell you that there are some that didn’t want to make an investment in our own up-timer.”
“Is that why I'm not in Augsburg?”
He leaned back in his chair and got that coyote look in his eyes again, nodding slightly. “Hmm. An astute question. I will answer it.” He leaned forward. “In a way, yes. Our family is based in Augsburg. But the political climate there isn’t favorable to up-timers. There would be some unneeded tensions. Not only with Maximilian of Bavaria, but within the Fugger family as well. A visit there would be potentially, well, awkward. So some of the family will come here. Some will choose not to.” He shrugged slightly “And some of the family is staying here, to meet you and to spend time with you. That too is part of the plan. My plan. Many of our young people are staying here, or will be arriving soon.”
“I really haven’t spent much time with anyone except countess Regina.” Mary let her unstated, almost house arrest restrictions hang in the air.
“Yes, well that’s counterproductive. I wish you to have free visitation throughout the Schloss; anywhere except my quarters, are yours to explore. Within the common bounds of privacy. There are, of course, sets of rooms that belong to people that you should not walk into unannounced. Respect personal boundaries; ask questions if you are not certain. We want to learn from you, Mary. We cannot do that if you are sequestered away like some monk.”
“And the staff will understand that?”
The count brought back his humorless smile. “I will make sure that information is passed along clearly. This unfortunate incident of your arrival was personally embarrassing for me, and for the staff.” He looked down at his list. “I want to talk about Johann and the shooting incident.”
Mary’s stomach sunk, and felt like it kept going through the floor all the way to the cellar. “Here it comes,” she thought. “That was a mistake, Your Grace.” She added as quickly as she could. “I didn’t know they were looking to simply talk to me, or escort me. I thought they were trying to capture me – or worse. I am – or was- a soldier, you know. Training sort of kicked in.”
“An unfortunate incident. The reports from the men involved indicate nothing more than a colossal misunderstanding. It’s fortunate that nobody was injured, as it would make my options very limited. But for now, other than not returning your firearm to you, there will be no other consequences, at least to you. Although I did have a discussion with my security chief about the correct protocols if this happens again. Pursuit by cavalry is not to be one of them.” He smiled again, this one not nearly as warm as earlier. “And as for you, please refrain from attacking members of the family or staff. We are not a military base, we are a family and a business. I have people, very good people, for security.”
“Yes. Your Grace.” Her mouth was very dry. She swallowed. “But I must insist on the return of my weapon.”
The count looked up at her, his eyes hardening. “Insist?”
“Yes, your Grace.”
The count leaned back in his chair, his eyes now flashing. Mary’s stomach sunk even further. A moment passed with him looking at her. At first she saw the anger in his eyes, then it subsided and was replaced with curiosity.
He paused for a moment, considering.
Then he shook his head. “No. Perhaps at a later date, or if the situation changes, I will reconsider. But for the short term, we have people and systems for security.” Mary could feel her eyebrows knitting together in frustration. The Count leaned back into his chair and steepled his fingers. “I understand that people from Grantville are very indep
endent minded, in fact, quite plebian in outlook. As a member of this household, you have a rank. We are a little unclear as to what that rank is, exactly,” he waggled his hand with uncertainty, “but you have standing in our household. My wife, my nieces, my household servants, none of them walk about with firearms on their hips. Many of the young men have a blade, but that is to be expected.” He leaned forward. “You need to acclimate to your new surroundings. You need to accept your station, not as a plebian, but one of a higher rank. That is the privilege of your employ, and I will not have you diminish it by demonstrating your and my staffs’ insecurity with a very lethal weapon.”
Mary could feel her cheeks were flush, and she fought back her anger. It was her Father’s gun, and he would be disappointed. But her options were limited. “It should be cleaned before it’s put away, after firing. I have a cleaning kit for it.”
“It’s being looked after by some very qualified gunsmiths. Moving on, do you have any other clothing?” He peered at her through the glasses perched at the end of his nose. “Something more appropriate, perhaps?”
“I have my up-time clothing, and I was provided with these…” she motioned to the servant’s garb she still wore.
“My wife tells me that how you are dressed is part of the problem. You don’t look as if you fit in correctly, which is true in a way. One of those things we didn’t think about when bringing an up-timer to our schloss.” He frowned and then brightened. “My wife is far better at these things than I. She has told me you need proper clothing in order to, well, whatever. It will help the staff as well as your students and those you are consulting with in the family. We need to get you some clothes that befit your station. ”
Mary swallowed “What is my station, exactly, Your Grace?”
“We shall see what that will be, eventually. Frankly, it will be interesting to see where it goes. For now, it will be awkward on occasion, I'm sure. But that will pass as we begin to work it out.” He furrowed his brows slightly, and then checked his list. “That is all that I have for this time. Have you seen the castle?”
Up-Time Pride and Down-Time Prejudice Page 8