“Nothing, leave her alone. She has enough. Find Mariotto and execute him along with his little slut. She must have been the contact.”
“It will be done.”
“Now, regarding your own responsibility in all this.”
“Konrad, I take care of the bank, not this!”
“You're perfectly aware that your Komtur has been lax in his watch and this is because you have been lax on them. Goran and his people will oversee your work from now own, Albert.”
“I will name Karazan Bregovic as your liaison officer with the Komturen.” Goran said. “You obviously are not up to run your own territory.”
“You can't fire me! I'm a Lintorff and my line was the one who put your one in power!”
“Because you're my cousin, you're on probation now. Otherwise, you would be six feet under, Albert.
My consort was taken from me by the same people you appointed as my bodyguards. One of them is dead and the other is on the run. What's next, Albert? Repin can shoot me during Mass at St. Peter's? This was a direct blow to us and be very glad that nothing happened to my consort or we would be speaking in much different terms! Go back to Milan and stay there! Italy belongs to Karazan Bregovic now!”
“It's an insult to all of us!”
“You have become self indulgent and lazy in your duties toward the Order! I will have to straighten your eldest son so he's worthy of being a councillor in the future!”
“You have again a serpent in your nest and are too blind to realise it! Guntram is in league with Repin!”
Albert shouted enraged.
“Repin obtained something more than a kiss and a talk, Albert. We had to give him the passwords for the five accounts his wife had in England. All accounts were emptied ten minutes after Goran gave him the data. Almost
£ 386 million. A very profitable night for him.” Konrad admitted sullenly. “It was certainly about money. He used Guntram as his pawn, exactly as I did in St. Petersburg. You have your orders now, dismissed.”
Chapter 24
“I think I found Jacques! Look, in the picture. It's him; it's a Richard Steiff teddy bear, model created in 1902, fifty-one centimetres, dark chocolate mohair felt, circa 1905, estimated price £ 1,000 to £ 3,000?… Sold for
£ 4,348! Who pays so much for a bear?” Guntram was baffled, his stare fixed on the brilliant pages of the Christie's 1999 catalogue of Teddy Bears.
“A piece with provenance, like your own one, is more valuable. Have I told you about our insurance company services? We specialize in collectors items like this thing. Friederich, with such noble origins, this bear will require using the Lions' service. It's already sitting in a high chair at Guntram's studio.”
Friederich chose to ignore the childish bantering; without a doubt Konrad was for some dark reason, jealous of the attention the old toy was receiving. His pupil could live with Guntram forgetting the world around him when he painted, but that he had kept the bear with him or taken it to Ostermann to ask him if he knew someone who could tell him anything about the bear as he remembered that it had belonged to his grandmother, Sigrid zu Guttenberg Sachsen, therefore it should be almost an antiquity.
“Or perhaps we should keep it under a glass,” Konrad mumbled, upset that he was purposely being ignored.
“Must be its colour. I don't remember this particular dark shade when I was a child. Most of them were beige or light brown,” Friederich commented while he sat the teapot and pastries over the table in the library.
“Maybe it's only dirty,” Konrad suggested and Guntram looked at him with real fury in his eyes.
“Where is Luitpold, my Duke?” Friederich asked and Konrad blushed violently much to Guntram's astonishment.
“Who's Luitpold?” the boy asked, believing that he was going to hear one of Konrad's adventures.
“No one,” Konrad barked and throwing a killer's look at his Tutor.
“He's more or less the size of Jacques, although he's forty years younger and in a honey colour, Guntram.
He was very well loved and carried all over the house by its ear. Perhaps we will have to remove it from its box,” he pondered, serving the tea to Guntram.
“No! Leave it as it is. It's well packed and protected against mots!”
“Yes, that's true. I remember his Excellency asked me to bring it to Steiff's in Zurich so it would be cleaned it and packed, not six or seven years ago. But I don't remember where the box is.”
“Don't take me for a fool, Friederich! You're perfectly aware that Luitpold's box is on the second shelf counting from the top in my dressing room! To the left!”
“How dumb of me, my Duke,” Friederich exclaimed in mocked contemplation, before leaving the room.
“Do you really have a teddy bear, Konrad?”
“It's packed since I was ten. I only asked it to be repaired because the ear was about to fall off.”
“We might have to put them together. They could be friends.”
“If I were you, I would hide my bear before the children come and find it. I don't think it would survive another generation, especially if the babies carry the Lintorffs' genes,” Guntram had no other choice than laughing and dropping the subject.
The bear remained in its chair much to Konrad's annoyance, but he never mentioned the subject again.
Guntram de Lisle's Diary November 24th
I'm still trembling from the nerves. This morning I went to Ostermann's studio to help with the packing of my four paints for the exhibition in Berlin; the Madonna, a group of children reading; some of the women I paint with in the studio, copying a nude model and a portrait from Marie Amélie von Kleist, as she accepted to let me make some sketches from her face but with dark brown hair as I feel it looks much better than the platinum blonde look. She comes a lot to the house as she studies with Armin Banking and Finance. Both are in the second year. Can you believe that I have to sit with them in the room they're studying per Konrad's orders? It's horrible! I do my best to make myself scarce and mind my own business with my pencils or watercolours, but I'm perfectly aware of Armin's romantic intentions toward her.
I hate completely to be a chaperon, third wheel or whatever it's called. It's not as if Armin is going to jump on top of her and drag her under the oak table. They're twenty-two or twenty-three years old and I bet she's not a virginal maid to be protected. Konrad can be so old fashioned. They are just cousins in second or third degree.
Gertrud is Albert's cousin. IF Ferdinand von Kleist would have told me something like “take care of my daughter's virtue”, I would be defending it, but he doesn't care at all. The mother also not.
It's really not my problem if they run away to their things after school or after studying here on weekends. That bloody garden-forest is sixty acres and very cold for me to run after them. I guess he's in love with her since he was twelve and now it's his big break.
Back to the story. We were packing the things when a private courier arrived with a letter for me. “I'm not your post office, boy.” Sweet Ostermann told me while I opened the letter not knowing who could have sent it. I use the e-mail mostly with my friends from the University or former school classmates. I guess everything I write is monitored by Goran's people, just for security reasons. After all, Konrad leaves all his papers, blackberry, laptop and many other things on my desk or in the bedroom. Inside the envelope was only the paper with the safe box directions and the key. I was frozen and lost the minute I saw it.
I didn't know what to do and I thought that if he can send this, then he can take me away too.
I asked Heindrik to drive me to the bank and first he complained a lot but gave up when I told him I had a letter from Repin. He colourfully swore in Swedish and left me in front of Goran's office as “the Duke is in meetings, dear. Perhaps in two hours I could make a hole in his schedule,” according to Monika van der Leyden, his secretary.
“When did you get this?” Goran asked me in a way that chilled my bones, looking at the paper and
key, without touching them.
“An hour ago. At Meister Ostermann's studio.”
“And you're perfectly aware of its use and provenance, isn't it?”
“Yes, I am. Repin gave it to me in Rome and told me someone from my family had given it to him along with my bear.”
“Why didn't you tell us?”
“I don't know.”
“That's not an acceptable answer, Guntram.”
“I thought it was from my uncle Roger and the Duke hates him! I didn't want him to go after him! Then, I only got the box with the bear and I thought that maybe I had dreamed about it with all the drugs I had in!”
“Roger de Lisle is a traitor and so are you for hiding this information to us.”
“I'm not a traitor! I don't even know if this is from him! Why would he give it to me if he never cared about me?”
“You lied to us. You said the bear was in St. Petersburg with you but you had given it away at the age of twelve, to your lawyer's and he sent it to a “living relative of yours” who happens to be in league with Constantin Repin, informing him about our methodologies. Am I wrong, Guntram?”
“No, Goran, you're right,” I whispered.
“I will increase the vigilance over you, Guntram. This is very serious and dangerous for you. I will speak with the Duke. Leave the things here and return to your teacher's.”
“Yes, Goran.”
“One more thing. What is inside the safe box?”
“I don't know. According to Repin, it should be one Bronzino drawing, very valuable, from my father's, some gold bullions, photos and nothing more. I can't remember well.”
“Go back to work, now.”
I spent the rest of the day in the studio trying to paint but it was impossible. Finally, I settled for studying. At four, Heindrik drove me home and I remained in my studio with Mopsi. Late in the evening, Konrad, Goran and Ferdinand arrived and locked themselves up in the library. Friederich told me they wanted to see me.
They were sitting like in a courtroom. Konrad in the middle, Ferdinand at his right and Goran at his left.
They wore sour and stern expressions and none of the greeted me or offered to sit.
“Keeping vital information from us is a serious offence, Consort,” Ferdinand started and I looked at him, shocked to hear him using that word with me.
“I didn't consider it important, sir.”
“Unimportant? A link to one of the men who rose against us and tried to kill your own Consort and Griffin?” he asked in disbelief.
“I didn't believe it was real, I never saw this paper again, till today! I thought it was a taunt from Repin!”
“We decide what is real and not! Not you, boy!” Ferdinand shouted me. “You didn't tell the Summus Marescalus and much less your Griffin that a member of your family wanted to contact you and that you had physical evidence that could lead us to him or her!”
“I didn't have anything! The paper and the key disappeared!”
“You're a traitor like your entire bloodline! We accepted you like one of us and granted you our protection and you betrayed us!” Konrad said in low voice and I looked at him.
“I didn't betray you nor the Order. I don't even know if this is true or another twisted game!”
“You will be punished for this.”
“As the Hochmeister wishes,” I said. “He knows better.”
“Tell us the name of your lawyer.” Goran said for the first time.
“No, look for it by yourself.”
“This is not a game boy!” Ferdinand roared and hit the table with his fist.
“I have nothing to say. Do what you have to do. I will not endanger a family's life because of your paranoia.” I took one step forward, removed the seal and left it over the table. “I never saw my uncle in my life and never knew about him till this time. I have no reasons to believe that this is from him.”
“Is it your teddy bear or not?” Goran asked.
“Yes, it's mine. Now, give me back the key and paper because they are mine, not yours and I'm sick of your threats.”
“You have no idea of what we could do to you,” Ferdinand said menacingly.
“I was already in a torture séance, thank you. I survived it and said nothing. Can you tell the same, Ferdinand? Or are you just one of those desk officers? The only one who can speak here is Goran.”
Goran, to my surprise, chuckled, visibly amused. “It's true, Guntram. Not even the Duke was on the receiving end as we, little brother. Dähler is damn right, he calls you Dachs, badger because he says that even if you're midget size and frail, you have more teeth than a crocodile. Not many dare to insult us.”
“Or tell Repin to piss off,” Konrad smiled in an ironic way.
“Next time you address to me with such a tone, boy, I'll spank your bottom, so you learn manners!”
Ferdinand said partly sneering.
“We don't believe you are a traitor. If you were, you would have kept the things and used it against us.
You came to us not even an hour after you found it and that's all right, little brother,” Goran said and I looked at Konrad, totally abashed.
“Pick up your ring, Guntram,” he simply told me. “Tomorrow you will go to Geneva and open that safe box with Goran. Of course you can keep the painting or the gold, but we will keep any document in there. We will also investigate who opened it and you will not interfere any longer. Is that clear?”
“No, Konrad, I can't let you hurt any member from my family!”
“We are your family, Guntram. They abandoned you in 1989 and now they are only trying to use you to attack us. They never cared about you before and now, they come with golden presents and love when you became my consort? You can keep the toy as it was a gift from an honourable man. Perhaps your father even saved that money for you and asked Roger to give it to you but he kept it who knows why.” Konrad rose from his chair, circled the table and embraced me and kissed me on the forehead in front of the other two. I felt very uncomfortable, but they said nothing or made any gestures. “You can breathe again, Guntram,” he joked with me but two seconds later he said:
“you must always inform everything. We don't like leaks of any kind or from anyone.”
“Konrad, whoever is this person, is my only family left. Perhaps is someone from the Guttenberg Sachsen because both things belonged to my grandmother.”
“The Guttenberg Sachsen have no problems with us. In fact, we buy wine from them and finance several of their ventures. If they would like to approach you, they can do it at their convenience. If you want to meet them, I can introduce you to the old Udo Guttenberg Sachsen; he's the patriarch and would be delighted to meet you. You are a member of the Lintorff family.”
“Like I, for example,” Ferdinand told me. “You're invited to all their Christmas parties and one day you find yourself fighting with your two sons over a hard gingerbread cookie and you realise that your youth is over.”
“They're not that bad, Ferdinand. You can go now Guntram. Friederich will call you for dinner.”
I was dismissed like a child and here I'm writing before dinner. Probably tomorrow I will have to travel with Goran to Geneva.
“Do you believe him, Konrad?” Ferdinand asked. “Of course, he came to us. Knowing him like I do, he was thinking that he was protecting the snake from us, then he was afraid for not telling us about it, but didn't know how to get out of the mess and finally exploded when he saw it back, probably thinking this is a threat from Repin.”
“I have checked all his materials, friends and movements for a long time and he has no contact with him or ever had,” Goran said
“Investigate all what you can over that account. I was expecting him to make a move over Guntram.
Execute him on sight, is that understood?”
“Very well, my Duke.”
No matter how many times Goran had tried to reassure Guntram in the car, the young man was more nervous than ever. It was a mix of longing, fear
of what he might find inside and desire to see it. His growing concern over his uncle's fate also weighed on his soul. Goran had told him countless times that there was nothing to be worried about because he believed in his innocence, although he had been somewhat sneaky and little forthcoming in Rome; “don't you ever do something so stupid and much less for people who cares nothing for you!” The recommendations were very simple; “You can touch the jewels, the gold and the painting. The rest of the papers will be examined by us first and then given to you. We don't want any more leaks or troubles.”
The Serb parked in a garage and led Guntram through many small streets they reached an old stylish building in a quiet area. The huge and imposing archway made the youth lose the little courage he had left and he stood there, almost refusing to enter.
“Come on, Guntram. Only Masons, nothing dangerous unless you have your money with them,” he pressed and almost dragged him inside the bank, toward the receptionist, a middle aged woman. Guntram stood, mute as before and Goran sighed irritated at the delay and waste of time.
“Good morning, Mr. de Lisle is here to check his safe box.”
“Yes, of course. May I see your identification cards, sirs, and the safe box's number, please?” she answered without flinching and Guntram gave her the paper and his passport, and Goran his Swiss ID card.
“Are you a Swiss resident Mr. de Lisle?” she asked.
“That's none of your bank's concern, Madam,” Goran replied very irked.
“Do you have your key with you, sir?”
“Yes, I do,” Guntram whispered.
“Would you like to go to the vault alone?” she asked with some emphasis in the last word, looking at him in the eyes.
“No, I'll go with Mr. Pavicevic.”
“Very well, Sir. Someone will accompany you soon.”
“Thank you, Madam,” Guntram whispered while she rose and left the place with their documents. “Why does she need to take all these precautions? Don't they check such things at the vault?”
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