by Joan Wolf
Count Sauder looked at Franz, who was looking skeptical.
All of a sudden the Prince swung around and looked at Franz as well. "You accuse me of acting without advice, of making this treaty solely on my own authority. That is not true. I did not consult with my father's advisors, I consulted with my advisors. And they were all in agreement that a treaty with Britain would benefit Jura."
The chief justice spoke. "Would you mind giving us the names of these men, Your Highness?"
"They are my present chief minister, Lord Stefan Weyr, Marshal Lord Emil Sauder, and Ambassador Count Viktor Rozman."
The chief justice's shrewd dark eyes went from the Prince to Franz, then back again to the Prince. He said, "These are all very young men, Your Highness. Did you not think it would be wise to consult with men who had more years of diplomatic experience?"
"I consulted with the men whom I trusted," the Prince said flatly. "For ten long years I lived and fought with these men. I owe my life to them. They are patriots whose sole interest is the safety and the independence of Jura."
For the first time it seemed as if the Prince had struck a nerve in Franz, for he interrupted in a sharp voice, "Are you implying that your father's ministers did not have Jura's best interests at heart?"
In order to speak to Franz, Augustus had turned away from the assembly of delegates. Now, in silence, he walked back to his original place on the chief justice's right, faced his cousin, and said softly, "If you remember, I consulted with one other person whom I trusted, Franz. I consulted with you."
"The devil!" someone behind Count Sauder said out loud.
The chief justice frowned in the direction of the offending noble, then he asked, "Is this true, Count Adamov?"
"Yes, it is true." Franz sounded infinitely weary. "Prince Augustus can be most persuasive, and when he asked me what I thought of his idea, I went along with it." He was speaking directly to the chief justice now, not looking at the Prince at all. "It was not until I received a letter from my father that I realized how dangerous such a treaty could be."
"And when precisely did you hear from Duke Anton, Count?" the chief justice inquired.
"Before I left London."
"And did you tell His Highness that you had changed your mind about the treaty?"
"I told him of my father's letter, yes," Franz replied. "And my father also came to Jura in person to warn Prince Augustus of the dangers of this treaty. Unfortunately, the Prince would not listen." His remarkable blue-eyed gaze moved from the chief justice to the Prince. "I am able to admit that I made a mistake and take the steps to rectify it. Unfortunately, that is not true of you, Gus. You have always been like that. Once you make up your mind, nothing can change it."
The Prince looked back at him and did not reply.
Franz turned to the chamber and said quietly, "This is a dangerous trait in a man who has the welfare of an entire country in his hands."
There was a rustle of sound in the chamber as men exchanged glances. Damn, Count Sauder thought in frustration. The man is slippery as an eel. He has an answer for everything.
Then Augustus spoke. "My lord Chief Justice, I would like to ask you a question if I may?"
"Certainly, Your Highness."
"What do you think Russia would do if Austria broke the European peace and marched into Jura?"
Count Cherny didn't reply immediately as he contemplated the question. Then he said slowly, as if he had just figured out the answer to a riddle, "Russia would march into the territory it wants in Poland that is held by Austria."
The murmur of voices in the chamber was the loudest it had been since the debate had begun. The chief justice held up his hand for quiet and gradually the voices subsided.
"Precisely," Augustus said crisply. "And I cannot believe that the Austrian emperor would be foolish enough to leave the gates open for Russia just because he would like access to Seista. Austria already has a port on the Adriatic; she has Venice. Jura may be a thorn in the emperor's side, but he is not going to disrupt the balance of power so precariously achieved at Vienna in order to acquire it."
Baron Krek turned to Count Sauder. "Very true, very true. Why the devil has Anton been raising such a fuss? Let the emperor stew in his own juices. He can't touch Jura!"
Color had flushed into Franz's fair-skinned face, and he snapped, "If Prince Augustus is so certain of Jura's safety, why then did he feel it was necessary to make a treaty with Great Britain?"
"I believe I have already answered that question," the Prince said mildly. "I made the treaty with Great Britain in order to safeguard Jura's trade. I have received assurances from Great Britain that if Austria places a tax upon Jura's exports, Great Britain will retaliate by ceasing to buy or sell to the Austrian market. That is not a threat the emperor will dare to challenge."
The noise in the room was so loud that it took the chief justice a full minute before his demands for order could be heard. When finally a semblance of quiet had been restored, he said, "I believe that you have answered most of Count Adamov's charges, Your Highness. Is there anything more before we proceed to a vote?"
"Yes," said Augustus. He turned to look at his cousin, his mouth set in a line that looked distinctly grim. "I have answered Count Adamov's charges. Now I would like him to answer mine."
26
Throughout the debate, Count Sauder kept glancing at the men who had signed the treasonable proclamation along with Franz. They had remained immobile, upright and silent in their first-row seats, seemingly aloof from all that surrounded them. But when Augustus issued his challenge to Franz, Baron Leopold Hertling bowed his head and covered his eyes with a hand.
How the devil did Franz get Hertling to go along with this? Count Sauder thought. He is such a mouse of a man.
The count's eyes, which had been attracted by Hertling's sudden movement, now returned to the space in front of the throne where Augustus and Franz confronted each other. Franz's flexible voice vibrated with a mixture of pain and incredulity as he said, "Charges? What charges, Gus?"
There was no discernable emotion on Augustus's face as he answered his cousin. "It took me a long time to figure it out. As you mentioned earlier, once I make up my mind I don't change it easily. I made up my mind about you when we were boys, Franz. I decided then that you were my friend, and that is how I have regarded you ever since. That is the dangerous mistake I am guilty of, not the signing of the Treaty of London."
"Oh Gus," Franz said, his voice plangent with sorrow. "I have always been your friend. I am still your friend. Believe me, the decision I made to challenge you today was exceedingly painful to me. But I believed—and do still believe—that you have put Jura in grave jeopardy by this treaty. I felt that my first duty was to my country." He looked steadily at the Prince and his voice deepened with sincerity. "I think that you, of all people, will understand that."
The Prince nodded thoughtfully. "Is that why you tried to have me assassinated, then? Because of your sense of duty toward Jura?"
At the word "assassinated," a murmur crossed the audience.
Franz looked horrified that the Prince could even suspect him of such a hideous thing. "I sent men to Zosi to arrest you, not assassinate you, Gus," he corrected.
The Prince lifted an eyebrow. "Then you did not instigate the assassination attempt by Hindenberg and Rupnik?"
An uproar rose from the ranks of the diet representatives. The chief justice, who did not have his gavel, finally restored the chamber to order by banging his cane against the arm of his chair. When finally all was quiet again, Franz spoke, and this time he did not sound sorrowful. He sounded angry. "I cannot conceive how you ever came by such an idea. I had nothing to do with that plot. I know you won't believe this now, but I am your friend. I have never wished you harm."
"But you have done me harm," the Prince replied evenly. "You have done everything in your power to humiliate and discredit me. It amazes me that it took me so long to see it."
Franz's g
olden head lifted suddenly, as if he had received a blow to the chin. "Humiliate you?" he said in an incredulous tone. "What are you talking—" Then, as if he had received a sudden illumination from heaven, "Oh. You mean my elopement with Lady Lydia."
"That certainly was not the act of a friend, was it?" the Prince said. "If it were not for Princess Charity, I would have been humiliated indeed." His tone became conversational. "You would have liked that, Franz, would you not? You must have been furious when I managed to avert being a jilted bridegroom."
Franz took two steps toward the Prince and held out his hand, all of his movements graceful as a dancer's. His motion brought him to a place where the large chandelier would reflect the sunlight from the window directly onto his golden hair. "You can't believe that, Gus! I explained to you how Lydia and I fell in love, how we struggled against it. Neither of us wished to hurt you. You told me that you understood. Don't you remember?"
Augustus did not move. "What I have finally understood is that you are incapable of loving anyone but yourself."
For a moment more, Franz held his graceful posture of supplication, then he dropped his hand and looked from the Prince to Count Cherny. "My lord Chief Justice," he said. "Is it possible to call a halt to this undignified discussion? We came here to allow the diet to vote for whom they wished to be Prince of Jura. I have said all I have to say on the subject, and it appears that Prince Augustus has nothing to add to the debate but personal insults. I suggest that it is time to move to a vote."
The chief justice turned to the Prince. "Have you anything else to say, Your Highness?"
"I do indeed," the Prince replied cordially. "In fact, I have not yet begun to make my case."
Baron Krek groaned. "I have to pee and the best part is just coming up."
"Hold it," Count Sauder advised. He looked at Franz, who was regarding Augustus with a mixture of sorrow and pity, and added, "I don't think you'll want to miss this."
Augustus resumed his slow pacing back and forth in front of the commons. "Since I have returned to Jura there have been three attempts to undermine my authority," he began. "The first and the least important was, as I have just mentioned, the seduction of my intended bride. I will not go into this matter; you are all well aware of what happened just one week before the date set for my wedding."
The nobility sat motionless, but several members of the commons nodded in silent agreement.
The Prince stopped his pacing in the center of the floor and turned his somber face to the chamber. "The second attempt against me was a bit more dramatic—an assassination attempt, ostensibly led by my chief minister and my marshal."
From his place behind Augustus, Franz snapped, "I had nothing to do with Rupnik and Hindenberg's plot."
The Prince continued to speak as if he had not heard his cousin. "The third attack was this attempted coup d'etat."
The diet stirred restlessly.
Augustus's voice hardened. "What else can I call it? Count Adamov sought to justify the disposal of a legitimate and hereditary ruler by persuading the diet to vote in favor of such an action. And let me assure you that he had no intention of allowing me to speak for myself. If I had not been warned in advance, the Princess and I would have been captured at Zosi by a regiment of cavalry directed by Count Adamov. I very much doubt that his plans included escorting me to Julia to speak in front of the diet."
Baron Krek shifted on his seat in an effort to relieve the pressure on his bladder. "Augustus is right," he muttered. "Franz wanted to get him out of the way."
Behind the Prince, Count Sauder saw Franz shake his golden head in vehement denial of the charge.
Baron Krek groaned, gave up, and went in search of the water closet.
Once more the Prince began to walk back and forth in front of the commons. "Upon reflection, I have come to the conclusion that the count's elopement with my intended bride was more a matter of personal pique than anything else. In the words of my wife, he wanted to see me made the laughingstock of Europe." He paused, a thoughtful frown on his face. "I think he also wanted to show me that he could have what I could not."
Once again Augustus halted, this time on the east side of the room close to a marble bust of Augustus Caesar. From this position he looked across the floor at Franz. "If this was the worst of his sins, I could forgive him. But I cannot forgive him for what has brought us all together this morning."
Franz answered his cousin, scorn in his voice. "What about Rupnik and Hindenberg, Gus? I thought you were going to make me the villain of that plot as well."
"I will get to that," the Prince replied imperturbably. "For now I wish to discuss this business with Austria." He turned to face his audience, his hands clasped loosely behind his back. "Several months before Christmas, Duke Anton made me an offer from the Austrian emperor—a verbal offer, nothing was in writing. The terms of the offer were thus: If I would renounce the Treaty of London and allow Austria the use of Seista, the emperor would engage to extend the protection of his empire to Jura. The emperor—according to Duke Anton—also engaged formally to recognize my family as the ruling dynasty of Jura."
Stunned silence reigned in the chamber. Finally the chief justice said, "But these things were recognized by all of the nations at the Congress of Vienna."
The Prince half turned so that he could see Count Cherny. "I thought the same thing, my lord Chief Justice. In fact, I found the offer insulting. I am sure that the members of the diet must find it insulting as well."
A chorus of agreement came from the benches. One man was actually heard to say, "Anton has lived in Austria for too long. He's forgotten which country he owes allegiance to!"
The Prince lifted a hand and quiet was restored. He continued: "When I rejected this offer, as naturally I did, Duke Anton then informed me that if I would not throw the British out of Seista, the emperor was prepared to invade Jura and take Seista for himself."
Heavy silence blanketed the chamber.
"I asked Duke Anton if he had heard this directly from the emperor and Duke Anton said that he had."
The silence remained thick and somber as the Prince reached inside his coat and extracted a piece of paper, which he held up so that all in the chamber could see it. "Now comes the interesting part," he said.
Count Sauder glanced at Franz to see how he was reacting to this ploy and surprised a look of blazing violence in the gaze that he had turned on Augustus. The count blinked, and when he opened his eyes again the expression was gone and Franz was looking calm.
The Prince continued to speak as he slowly unfolded the paper. "Immediately after this meeting with Duke Anton, I wrote to my father-in-law, who is the treasury secretary for Great Britain, telling him of the Austrian threat and warning him that if the emperor should retaliate by taxing Jura's products, I would expect Great Britain to hold to its side of the treaty and support us."
Count Sauder glanced at the row of conspirators, who were still sitting upright, with the single exception of Baron Hertling, who was slumped in his place.
The Prince continued: "In his reply, Lord Beaufort assured me that Britain would indeed honor its agreement, and in the same letter he expressed amazement that the emperor would make such a reckless threat." He looked bleak. "For the first time I began to wonder if perhaps the emperor's intentions had been misrepresented to me."
Baron Hertling's moan was audible throughout the chamber.
Augustus continued, each word falling like a missile into the quiet room, "At last I did what I should have done immediately after Duke Anton left. I wrote to the emperor and I instructed Count Viktor Rozman, Jura's ambassador, to deliver the letter in person. Count Rozman did this, and I have here the reply, signed by Emperor Francis himself and sealed with the Imperial Seal." The Prince glanced at the paper in his hand. "In this letter the emperor assures me that he never threatened an Austrian invasion of Jura. He states that he cannot imagine who might have said such a thing to me, but it is completely untrue. Austria has ev
ery intention of honoring the Final Act of the Congress of Vienna, which guarantees the independence of Jura."
The silence in the room exploded into a roar of voices. Count Sauder watched as, amid the noise, Augustus turned his head in the direction of his cousin. Count Sauder was the only one besides the Prince to see the mocking smile that briefly lit Franz's face.
Gradually the uproar subsided of its own accord. The chief justice, who had not even attempted to call for order, waited until the room fell silent before he said sternly to Franz, "Do you know anything about this, Count Adamov?"
Franz's expression was one of almost boyish bewilderment. "No, my lord Chief Justice," he said.
"Then we must assume that Duke Anton lied to the Prince," the chief justice said.
"I cannot believe such a thing of my father," Franz said firmly.
"Then can you suggest how Duke Anton came to convey this extraordinary threat to Prince Augustus?"
"I am certain that my father believed he was speaking the truth," Franz said. "How this confusion arose I do not know."
The chief justice looked toward the Prince. "Do you have any thoughts on this matter, Your Highness?"
"Yes I have thoughts," Augustus returned. "I think that Duke Anton was assured by his son that the emperor had made these threats against Jura. I think that the duke acted in good conscience and was truly motivated by his concern for Jura."
Franz looked at Augustus with a strange smile. "Do you have any proof of this extraordinary accusation?" he asked softly.
"No," the Prince replied. "But it all fits together, like one of the puzzles we used to do when we were children. First you elope with my intended bride. Then Rupnik chooses as his assassin a man who is beholden to you."