He never reproached me anything. He just stood by me.
As I was telling, Lintorff has a jet. Inside were he, another German of his age, two more guys, I think they're bodyguards and a medium size man, a Serb called Goran who was nice to me. Constantin told me before leaving him that I shouldn't worry because I was his angel and he loved me more than anything in this world; that he would get me back as soon as he could; that it was only temporary. I truly hope he fulfils his promise.
We arrived to Zurich at noon, for lunch time. We had breakfast in the plane and the minute we landed I was sent to a big black armoured Mercedes limousine and forced to drive with Lintorff. The German man, Ferdinand von something and Goran took another car, also Mercedes. With us were the driver and a bodyguard in the front seat.
“Guntram, as you have understood so far, you are under my tutelage for the next year. You're my pupil so to speak as your father wanted and I will treat you accordingly. Behave, obey and respect me and we shall have no problems. I will look after you, provide for you and if I think you're reliable, will send you to school. I was informed you were studying in London before this incident.”
“I can't return to school. I can't stand people around. I have panic attacks when I see them.”
“Nonsense. There are medications for that. Dr. Wagemann, my personal physician will evaluate you as soon as we are at home. During the week, you will be taken to a Clinic and further evaluated. For the time being, you will remain at home. Make a list of the materials you normally use for painting so you have something to do.”
“Can I speak with Mr. Repin, please?” I pleaded to the rock.
“As soon as I deem it proper. You have to adjust to your new environment.”
His house is a big castle in the middle of a large forest. Very beautiful and full with plants. An interior courtyard with trees inside, an old tower complemented with four wings built around in the XIX century. It looks like a fortress, more than a family residence. When we arrived and the chauffeur opened the door for him, I remained in the car, frozen in my fear. “Come, Guntram. It's too cold for you to remain outside,” he told me, somewhat using a warmer voice than what I have heard previously. I gulped and followed him through up the marble stairs to the big door, with his coat of arms on top of it. In the foyer, all the servants were waiting for him as the temperature outside was well below zero and very wet. I counted seven maids, three more men with cooks uniforms and four butlers, one very tall and aristocratic, looking like the boss of all of them. He was looking at me perplexed, almost in shock, as if he would have seen a ghost.
“Guntram, this is Friederich. He's the Manager. Anything you might need, ask him,” Lintorff told me, showing me the big serious bird. “Friederich, Guntram is Jerôme de Lisle's son, do you remember him?”
“Certainly, your Excellency,” the man answered, gaping at Lintorff.
“He will be staying with us as my charge. Guntram, do you like blue or yellow?”
“Blue, Sire,” I answered totally clueless.
“Good choice. The blue rooms are in the tower under my apartments. The red one is too girlish.
Friederich, have it ready for after lunch. Guntram might need some rest after the flight.”
“As you wish, your Excellency.”
“Dismissed,” he only said and the army just disappeared silently, only he, von Kleist and the Serb remained in the room.
“May I have a word with the Duke?” the butler asked.
“What is it Friederich?”
“In private, Sire,” he said.
“Ferdinand, can you show Guntram the library or the winter garden? Ask for a tea or something hot, the boy looks sick,” Lintorff ordered.
“Konrad, I've been your tutor for over forty years and this is the craziest thing you've ever done,”
Friederich started. “De Lisle, as in Roger de Lisle?”
“Nephew, son of Jerôme. Remarkable resemblance, don't you think?” Konrad answered, impassable as always.
“Are you out of your senses?”
“His father gave him to me as you already know. I found him interesting and taking him away from Repin was a punishment on a personal level. Don't worry, the boy is harmless, in fact he's terrified of everything. Bad experiences in Russia.”
“You can't be thinking on that. He's just a boy! How old is he? Does he know about your past?”
“He might be around twenty-one years old. He's an artist and a good one. I have taken him as a collateral guarantee. He will be returned to his master in a year, if he pays me back, of course.”
“Nothing else? Don't lie to me Konrad, I know you better than your own father.”
“Well, I admit he has some charm on his own. Nothing like the uncle and probably couldn't do a third of what the uncle was doing in bed. He doesn't look very proficient in such matters. Besides he has a heart condition and is in recovery from a heart attack, a suicide attempt, several rapes by Repin's wife men, tortures and so on. Russia is not the best place to be.”
“Do you say it like this? Have you no heart? He's only a child!” The old man asked horrified at his former pupil's coldness.
“I took over with twenty-two. Take care of him; he's nothing like the uncle. He's a shy and kind creature.
You have to take him to the clinic the doctor Wagemann will inform you, get him some clothes, paper or whatever he uses for painting. I'm naming Alexei Antonov as his guard. He's not supposed to leave the Castle alone or unsupervised. Ah, tell the cook to be easy on the salt. He has a heart condition. No fat at all in his diet. If he behaves, he'll go to school or take painting lessons.”
“As his Excellency wishes,” Friederich chewed his acceptance.
The man, Ferdinand took me to the library and told me to sit by the fire. “Are you feeling all right, child?” he asked me and I nodded, unable to speak. The Serb followed him and they started to speak in German. I only stared at the flames while the warm was giving me back some confidence. “Guntram. I'll take you today to the city if you want,” Goran told me. “Perhaps you'd like to buy some pencils for working later.”
“It's not necessary, Mr. Pavelic.”
“It's Pavicevic, but you can call me Goran.”
“Thank you.”
“I understand that you feel lost, but believe me, this is for the best. Olga Fedorovna would have not stopped until your total annihilation,” Goran said. “You'll be fine here. The Duke can be a generous man.”
“I would be better at home,” I whispered.
“It can't be. You're one of us little brother. How could a good boy like yourself be entangled with Repin?”
“I didn't know who he was. I loved him till I knew how he was. I wanted to go home but he didn't let me because I was too sick. I tried to escape, but Mikhail caught me before I would have succeeded. I didn't know you need warm water to keep the blood flowing. The doctor brought me back.”
“Why was that? Your life is a gift from God and you have a talent for making beautiful things. Oblomov told me you also like to help people. Why did you want to throw everything away?” Goran asked me softly.
“I can't stand the memories.”
“They will fade away with time or they will be replaced with happier ones. I know what happened in London. Repin punished those men who touched you. You have to continue with your life and forget it, if you can. Life is too short to live it in pain or sorrow. Think of this as a new opportunity. A fresh new start, away from Repin,”
Goran said and I truly wanted to believe him.
“A brand new start, with your own people,” Ferdinand added. “No one knows what happened or where you come from. The Duke has introduced you as his ward and believe me, no one will question his decisions.”
“Constantin said he killed my family.”
“Please, do you believe in a mobster's word? The old Guard made the decision when he was incapacitated in the hospital,” Ferdinand told me. “We never had anything against your father. In fact
, he discovered his brother’s and father's plot against us. He always considered that Konrad was the best option as Griffin and Hochmeister.”
“I don't understand it.”
“Do you think your own father would have given you to the man who killed his family? Didn't you father love you, child? He gave you to Konrad, and we can prove it, because he believed he would protect you from the old Guard. You were only a child in 1989. We searched for you all over Europe, but we never found you, till now. Tell me, why Repin never told you he knew about your lineage?”
“I don't know.”
“Because he knew that the moment we would have heard about you, we would have taken you back with us. We would have never left you in the hands of a gangster! Look what his wife did to you just to protect her credit card!”
“Constantin was very generous with me,” I defended him.
“But for how long?” Goran said. “That he loves you doesn't mean that he has the integrity to have you.”
Lintorff entered the room and both men stood up. I did the same without realising it. “Gentlemen,” he indicated them that they could sit again and we did. “Guntram, my doctor will see you after lunch. He will give your prescriptions to Friederich.”
“My Duke, may I take Guntram to Zurich this afternoon?” Goran asked.
“It all depends on the doctor's word. If he agrees, you can do it, Goran. Tell Antonov to come by later.
Ferdinand, do you want to stay for lunch?”
“No, I'll go home.”
“I will be back at four with Antonov, Sire,” Goran said and both men dashed to the door, leaving me alone with the monster.
“It seems it's only us for lunch,” He shrugged and went to the big desk, sitting there. I stood up to leave him but he only barked. “Grab a book and sit by the fire. No need to go away.” I obeyed him because I didn't know where to go or what was I allowed to do in this house. “The art section is over there.” He indicated to me and I took a volume on medieval wood carving. I was fascinated by one carver, Till Riemenschneider, how he was making the figures, a Renaissance man in the middle of the Gothic. He was not even applying a polychrome on them. I looked at it for a long time, lost in the hands details or the folds in the draperies or the long silhouettes from his virgins.
“The Madonna in the Chapel was made by him. You will see it tomorrow when Pater Bruno comes for Mass. Are you a Catholic?”
“Yes, Duke. I was rose a Catholic. I used to work for the Church in the slums back in Buenos Aires. I couldn't attend Mass in Russia because of my health.”
“You will attend the ceremony tomorrow with me. Pater Bruno will be delighted to be your Spiritual Director. From which order was the priest you were helping?”
“No order. He was a priest. Pater Patricio was in the Third World Movement of Priests, nothing else.” I answered. “He was our religion teacher in the school and used to take us there to teach us some empathy.”
“Did he succeed?”
“I was going every time I could. I try to support him every time I can.”
“With the other students, boy. I know that with you was very successful. Massaiev told my men that Repin had to pay the local dealer to shoo you. Is it true you preferred the mud to the London cobblestones?”
I felt very bad. Did Constantin really do it? That would have explained Cucho's sudden change of heart.
He never had problems with me before till that day. His daughter liked me and was crying when I left. “I don't know. I was very happy there,” I whispered.
“Perhaps you could help my cousin Gertrud. She's Ferdinand's wife and the President of the Lintorff Foundation. We mostly finance charity projects from the Church, but we have some of our own. She always complains that she has not enough people to help her with the choosing. We have to find something for you to do here.
Something that is not too stressful.”
The serious butler entered and announced that lunch was served.
I got hospital food for a change. Apple juice and mineral water. It seems the doctor was already speaking with the chef. However, it tasted fantastic even if there was not an ounce of salt in the whole thing and it was a chicken breast.
After the main dish was served by Friederich, he left the small dining room and Lintorff started again.
“I don't understand why first you were studying Social Work, visiting popular areas and then you registered for Art History in UCL. I thought you liked it.”
“Mr. Repin insisted on the change. He said that I needed to acquire a broader artistic background to paint better. According to him, I should explore on my own boundaries, and a sound academic foundation would be the best. I took some classes with a private teacher, but I never got along with the rest of the students. I'm too classical and dull for Modern Art.”
“I saw the portrait you made of Repin's four children at his office. Very beautiful indeed. Also the one from Oblomov's wife. It's true that you're very classical but you already have a style.”
“I can draw, that's all.”
“We will look for a teacher for you. You should not loose your practice. Perhaps we could register you for the University in the spring term.”
“It's not necessary. I will not stay for so long, Sire.”
“We'll see.”
The doctor, a man in his sixties, came after lunch and checked me and my medications. He decided to maintain what I had previously taken as he confirmed my diagnosis; heart failure due to h ypertrophic cardiomyopathy. He left several samples and told Friederich, the butler to take me on Monday to the Hirschbaum Clinic where I should see Dr. van Horn and he would adjust the doses. He left a diet and the indication of no stress at all for me. As it would be so easy.
“Mr. de Lisle, would you like to go to Zurich with Mr. Pavicevic and me?” The man asked me after showing the doctor out. Lintorff had disappeared into his library after eating and remained there. “If you're too tired from the flight I can ask the tailor to come over here in the late afternoon.”
“No, it's all right. I'll go. No need to trouble the man,” I said, and the butler attempted to smile at me for the first time.
“As you wish. We'll drive at 4:00 when Mr. Pavicevic arrives.”
“Excuse Mr…” What was his last name?
“My last name is Elssäser but is sufficient to call me Friederich, sir.”
“It's about that. No one ever calls me sir, it drives me nervous as I'm not used to it. People call me de Lisle or Guntram, Mr. Friederich.”
“No need to use a title with me. His Excellency does not tolerate the slightest informality around him and he has introduced you as his ward therefore you belong to his family and should be treated accordingly. Besides, if I understood correctly, you're the Vicomte de Marignac and your grandfather's sole heir.”
“It's hard for me to call you only by your name. You're my elder. I don't want to be disrespectful.”
“You will not be. I could call you by your Christian name when the Duke is not around, but the rest of the service will address to you as sir. You will be under my personal care for the moment like the Duke is. Once you're settled you might choose, if you prefer so, another butler.”
“Thank you, but I don't want to trouble you.”
“You will be no trouble at all, child.”
“The Duke told me I can attend Mass tomorrow. Is the Church far away from the house?”
“The chapel is crossing the courtyard, around the castle. I will inform Pater Bruno of your coming. Do you want to go to confession, Guntram?”
“Yes, I do.”
“The service is in German, do you think you would be able to follow it?”
“I speak not a word of German. Does the Pater speak English or French?”
“Both languages. I'll look for a service book for you so you can take a look tonight, child,” he told me, using a grandfather voice, making me feel less nervous around him.
“About the tailor, I have my clothes still in St. Pete
rsburg. Mr. Repin will have no problems to send them here…”
“The Duke forbids you to have anything more from that man, Guntram. He does not belong to our entourage and will never be one of us like you are. It's unfortunate that you were living with him for so long, but fortunately this has not provoked any further damages in your well being. I'll show you your room now.”
It seems the butler really rules in this house.
The famous blue room in the tower was on the second floor of the tower part, as the first floor had been transformed into some offices, the second was divided in the blue and the red rooms and on the top was the duke's private area. My room was painted in a beige colour but the draperies were blue, the covers on the bed also blue, the carpets in blue and the chairs and chaise longue under the big window overlooking the gardens were blue. I had a desk and a bathroom. According to Friederich it was a guest room for the family. My schedule was going to be the following. I should be ready at 7:30 a.m. to have breakfast with his Excellency in the dinning room, after that, he would go to his work in Zürich and then, I was free to do whatever I pleased for the moment till 7 p.m. when the Duke would return home and have dinner with me or with other guests if something had been planned. I'm supposed to be quiet about anything I might hear in a conversation within these walls. Many top people from finances and politics come here almost every night the Duke is in the city. During the week, Friederich would speak with Pater Bruno and will find something for me to do (?) I was ordered to rest till 4:30 p.m. when we would drive away.
Being alone in that room nearly made me cry like a baby. I never felt so alone since I knew about my father's death. I sat on the bed uncertain of what to do. Escaping was out of the question as the place is a fortress. I saw several men walking around on the outside part of the house. There are video cameras discreetly placed everywhere, the windows are bullet proof and the guards are armed. The nice one, Goran, was carrying a Walther P99.
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