Sally Wentworth - King of the Castle

by King of the Castle

  'Have you spent much time in England?'

  'Why, yes, I spent a year there to study the language before I settled down to running the estates.'

  'From what I've seen they must keep you pretty busy?'

  'Yes, but there are other business interests that often take me away. In fact I have to go to Vienna very soon to take care of some business affairs and also to see how the vine crop is progressing.'

  Their next call was at a forester's hut and to reach it they had to leave the car and walk along a rather overgrown ride for about half a mile. Max looked at the rapidly encroaching scrub and bracken with some dissatisfaction.

  'Old Johann is supposed to keep the rides clear, but obviously the job is getting too much for him. I will have to replace him with a younger man.'

  'What will he do?' Lee asked curiously.

  'He has a married daughter who lives in a nearby village. I will try and persuade him to go and live with her.'

  When they reached the hut an old, bald-headed man, his lips sunk into his toothless mouth, came to the door and greeted Max warmly. Max took the man by the arm and walked along a path with him out of earshot, but Lee could tell that the old forester didn't like what he was saying. Eventually, though, he reluctantly nodded his head and Max came back to join her.

  'Did he agree to go?'

  Max grinned. 'After some argument. But he won't go to live with his daughter; he doesn't like his son-in-law, so he's going to come to the Schloss and help in the stables.' He glanced at her. 'Does that surprise you?

  I suppose you expected me to turn him out into the street?'

  'N-no, of course not,' Lee said hastily, but the thought had crossed her mind.

  'There is always a place at the Schloss for any old servant or their families who have nowhere else to go. They have a pension and they are looked after when they are unable to look after themselves. The same goes for anyone who is ill. The von Reistovens take care of their own, Lee.'

  If Ms conducted tour of the estate had been meant to impress her it had certainly succeeded, but it had also had the adverse effect of making her wonder why, when he had so much, should the Alpenrose estate be so important to him, and now his last remark had given her a clue. Compared to the large areas of land over which he held domain, the chalet and its lands didn't amount to one per cent, but it lay like a festering sore amidst the meticulously cared-for lands around it. But surely even that wouldn't have driven him to the lengths he had taken? Lee thought in bewilderment. She could only presume that Herr Staffler had been right; that Max would never allow any land that had once been part of the estate to pass to outside hands.

  Frau von Reistoven was waiting for them in some agitation when they got back to the Schloss. 'Rudi has been away all afternoon,' she told them. 'At first I thought he was sulking because you didn't take him with you, but he didn't come home for tea. Please go out and help look for him, Max.'

  Lee insisted on going with him and they set off at once to search the surrounding woodland. They were beginning to feel really worried when at last they heard Prinz barking in the distance.

  'I think it came from that direction,' Lee pointed towards a clump of thick scrub and undergrowth hiding the trunks of the taller trees growing among it.

  Max pushed the branches aside and they found Prinz crouching at the foot of a tall pine, his pink tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth. 'But where is…?' There was a shout from above them and there, perched high in the fork of a tree, was Rudi, well and truly stuck. Muttering under his breath, Max climbed carefully up the trunk, holding on to the outsprung branches as he went.

  Soon Rudi was back on the ground and hugging Prinz to him. 'He no leave me,' he said happily. 'He stay and guard me.'

  Max jumped down beside him and brushed his hands clean. Speaking in German, he said to Rudi, 'That dog is a pest. I expect he led you here?'

  'Yes, he chased a squirrel up the tree and I climbed up to catch it, but I couldn't get down.'

  There were no other guests for dinner that night, so they ate in what Frau von Reistoven called the small dining-room, which turned out to be a large room in the west wing, admittedly not as large as the main dining-room, but still big enough to easily seat a dozen people without being overcrowded.

  Frau von Reistoven smiled as Lee sat down. 'This is so much nicer, don't you think? Max and I always use this room when we are en famille.'

  Recognising the compliment, Lee responded to it warmly, but a glance at Max revealed a face that plainly disagreed with his mother, even if he was too well-mannered to say so. His mother contributed most of the conversation during dinner and from art in general the topic changed to music and opera and she asked, 'Have you ever seen one of Wagner's operas, Lee? I believe you have a very good opera company in London?'

  'Yes, it's one of the finest outside Italy, but unfortunately I've never seen any of Wagner's works. I've heard the music, of course, but I would love to see one of his operas performed live.'

  Their talk went on to other subjects and Lee had almost forgotten it altogether when, later that evening, Max rejoined them after leaving to go to his study for a short time.

  'I've been on the telephone to the opera house at Bregenz,' he remarked as he poured himself a brandy. 'It seems that Gotterdammerung is being performed at the Music Festival there, so I've booked tickets for us for tomorrow night.'

  Frau von Reistoven clapped her hands in pleasure. 'Why, Max, that's wunderbar! To see Wagner for the first time at Bregenz will be an experience that Lee will never forget.' She turned to Lee and began, 'You see, my dear, the opera house is actually…'

  But Max interrupted her swiftly, 'No, Mother, don't tell Lee about it yet. I think we should keep it as a surprise.'

  'But of course,' his mother smiled, then added, 'But, Max, we will have to stay overnight and the hotels will be full at this time of the year.'

  'That, too, is taken care of.' He looked at Lee quizzically. 'But Lee doesn't say anything?'

  She looked at him as he stood so tall and straight near the high mantelshelf. She felt her heart start to hammer and found it difficult to speak coherently. 'Th-thank you,' she managed. 'It was very thoughtful of you.'

  Perhaps he was disappointed by her lack of enthusiasm, for he merely bowed politely and said, 'It is my pleasure to please our guest.'

  Frau von Reistoven had been right; a visit to the opera house at Bregenz was definitely an experience she would never forget. They had set out in the early afternoon and had driven through the sunny countryside of the Tyrol to arrive at their hotel near Lake Constance in time to change for an early dinner. Afterwards they had driven to what appeared to be the entrance, to a large building, but when they got inside Lee had stood stock still in amazement, for the opera house was open to the sky and the tiers of seats were built on banks of earth that formed a natural ampitheatre from which to look out over the stage. And it was this that had given Lee the biggest surprise of all, for it was not the normal stage with ornate proscenium, heavy curtains and footlights that she had been used to, but a huge elongated diamond-shaped rostrum that had been literally built out over the surface of the lake with only the far distant shore on the other side and the night sky as a backcloth. The stage was built in three tiers with narrow causeways providing entrances from left and right with steps ascending to the central diamond. In the distance there were floodlit fountains that jetted liquid rainbows high into the air, and in the centre background a full-sized replica of a galleon in full sail rode quietly at anchor.

  For several minutes Lee gazed at this unexpected scene with unconcealed delight until Max touched her arm. 'Shall we find our seats?'

  Turning round, she saw that she was blocking the way and hastily apologised. Once seated she smiled at Max. 'Thank you for not telling me what it was like. It was certainly a wonderful surprise.'

  'You approve?'

  'Oh, yes. But how did they build the stage out over the water?'

  'I believe
they drove piles into the bed of the lake, but I'm afraid I'm no engineer. The only drawback with a theatre such as this is that performances sometimes have to be cancelled because of rain. But we're lucky tonight,' he added with a glance at the clear, cloudless sky. 'It's a perfect evening.'

  As Lee looked at him she felt a strange feeling of contentment. They had kept to their truce and neither had mentioned the Alpenrose all day. Gradually she had begun to relax in his company, and Max in turn had been as charming as when he had first taken her out. His mother's presence, too, had helped, so that now Lee could even feel that perhaps it was going to be a perfect evening.

  Soon she lost herself in the adventures of Siegfried and Brunnhilde, was captivated by the Rhinemaidens and reduced to secret tears by the tragic death of Siegfried followed by the spine-chilling funeral march. When the lights went on at last she hastily dabbed surreptitiously at her eyes with a handkerchief to remove any signs of her tears, but not before Max had noticed.

  'So they moved you, those unhappy lovers?'

  Lee put her hanky back in her bag and said lightly, 'Oh, I'm a sucker for sad endings. Which is stupid when it's only an opera.'

  'Why is it so stupid? Aren't you as involved with the tragedy as the players? Isn't it as real to you as it is to them? Only for a short time, perhaps, but during that time it is happening to you, the tragedy is yours, so why shouldn't you weep with sorrow, or smile with pleasure when the lovers embraced, as I saw you do?' Lee flushed as he looked at her, but then he smiled, a slightly sardonic twist to his lips. 'But you English are a coldblooded race, a race who abhor displaying their emotions, whereas we Austrians have many Latin characteristics in our temperament passed on from our Italian neighbours.'

  'The only emotion I've seen you display is that of anger,' Lee pointed out. 'Admittedly you're very good at that, but I have yet to see the other side of your nature.'

  'The other side?'

  'The—er—romantic side,' she said demurely.

  'Oh, that side!' There was laughter in his voice. 'What makes you think I have one?'

  But he did have one, and he displayed it to perfection later that evening after they had returned to their hotel. Max had escorted them into the restaurant for supper, and at a word from him the head-waiter immediately found them a table at just the right distance from the dance floor, where they could enjoy the music but not have their conversation drowned by it. Hardly had they sat down, however, before there was a delighted cry of 'Max! ' and a tall, blonde girl—who effectively reminded Lee of the Rhinemaidens in the opera—had swept up to their table. Rising immediately to his feet, Max smiled with pleasure before kissing the girl on both cheeks. Lee felt a stab of something that was almost animal in its intensity and she gripped her bag under the table until her knuckles showed white.

  'Katrina! What a surprise to see you here.' Frau von Reistoven was greeting her like an old friend. 'And is Hendrik with you? Oh, yes, here he is.' She turned to shake hands with a devastatingly handsome man, about twenty-eight, Lee judged, who bowed over Frau von Reistoven's hand and murmured a conventional, 'Kiss die Hand, gnadige Frau.'

  'Lee, this is Fraulein Katrina Albrich and her cousin, Hendrik Nimsgern. Our families are old friends.' The introductions were soon made and Max invited the newcomers to join them for supper so that Lee found herself seated between Frau von Reistoven and Hendrik.

  'Are you staying here, Hendrik?' Frau von Reistoven asked him.

  'Just for a few days, then we return to Vienna.' He talked easily and had great charm, Lee noticed as she chatted to him, even though she was more than half absorbed in watching Max and Katrina on the other side of the table: They were talking in German, but Lee didn't have to understand the conversation to know that they were flirting with one another. That was easy enough to see from Katrina's sparkling eyes and the coquettish way she pouted or took her hand away when Max tried to hold it, only reluctantly surrendering it at last.

  Lee decided that Katrina was too tall, that she was odiously coy, and that Max was a big fool to be taken in by her. She sighed; it was obvious that there was only one thing to do. With a dazzling smile she turned to a somewhat surprised Hendrik and said, 'I do love this music, don't you?'

  She had to hand it to him, he was definitely quick on the uptake. Without a blink, he said, 'Would you care to dance, Fraulein?' And once on the dance floor he held her very, very close as they moved slowly round the semi-darkened room. Lee put both arms around his neck and had the satisfaction of seeing a frown on Max's face as he watched her, but then Katrina said something to him and he turned to give his companion his full attention again.

  For the rest of the evening anyone watching Lee would have thought that she was having a wonderful time as she danced and laughed with Hendrik, who was only too happy to carry on a light flirtation with her and expressed his disappointment softly into her ear when the party broke up. 'It's a beautiful night. Wouldn't you care to stroll along the lakeside? We could—er—count the stars.' His lips brushed her neck and then her ear as he spoke.

  Laughingly Lee refused and turned to go with Frau von Reistoven to their rooms. Then she noticed Max helping Katrina to put on her fur jacket and watched them as they left the hotel. Were they, too, going to count the stars by the lakeside?

  CHAPTER SIX

  At breakfast the next day they were joined not only by Katrina and Hendrik, but also by Hendrik's father, Herr Nimsgern, who was an equally charming but older and more urbane version of his son. He and Frau von Reistoven were perfectly at ease with one another and it seemed a matter of course that both parties should join up to take a motor tour of the quaint villages and towns around the lake. At one point they boarded a ferryboat that sent-up a churning wake and carried them quickly across Lake Constance to neighbouring Switzerland, which Lee was rather disappointed to find almost exactly the same as Austria. The architecture was very similar and the people spoke German at the restaurant where they went for a meal.

  Hendrik hardly left her side and insisted on buying her several souvenirs, although she protested that she couldn't carry anything else.

  'But surely you would like to take a fondue set back to England?'

  'But really, Hendrik, I won't have room in my luggage.'

  Max strolled over to them and said lightly, 'Hendrik, you must not indulge her any further or Lee will have to charter a special plane to take all these things home. Come, there's something rather special you must see.'

  He adroitly led her away, but Lee bit her lip with vexation when she realised that Max probably thought she had been encouraging Hendrik to buy her presents.

  The something special was a round, one-storeyed building that housed the most unusual painting Lee had ever seen. It was a panoramic oil painting which covered the entire walls of the round hall from floor to ceiling and which depicted an incident in the Franco- Prussian war when the defeated French army crossed into Switzerland in the depths of winter and asked for help for their wounded and dying soldiers. The nearer figures were life-size, the long, long column of thousands of slowly moving men, interspersed with carts of wounded and silent guns, receding into the distance. On one side there waited a train to take the wounded to hospital and Lee saw with surprise that one of the coaches was real, but it blended in completely with the picture. To stand with the painted figures all around her gave an uncanny feeling of reality, and she shivered as she saw the blood on the snow.

  A hand, warm on her suddenly cold arm, made her turn to find the others gone and not Hendrik but Max looking down at her. 'It's incredible,' she told him. 'Everything seems so real, as if you expect the soldiers to start talking and moving again at any second.'

  'A moment of suspended animation?' He looked round at the picture. 'Yes, I see what you mean. An instant in history has been taken and held for ever. But surely that is what a painting or a photograph is for, isn't it? But you're cold, let's go out in the sunshine again. I'd forgotten that you were—how did you put it?—a sucker for
sad endings,' he said with a quizzical smile.

  Dinner was eaten on the ferryboat going back to Austria, then Max drove them all back to Bregenz in the big grey Mercedes. There they said their goodbyes, for Max wanted to make an early start in the morning as he had to attend a meeting in Ausbach in the afternoon.

  After their return Lee took advantage of Max's absence to slip out of the Schloss, but Rudi spotted her and came running to catch her up.

  'Lee, where you go?'

  'Only to the chalet,' Lee told him. 'I want to make sure it's all right.'

  The house looked as deserted as when she had left it. The bowl of water that Max had used to bathe her arm still stood in the kitchen and she automatically emptied it and tidied up a bit. Going to the chimney stack, she tried to find any trace of damage, but could see nothing, nor on the bedroom side. With mounting suspicion that Max had tricked her, she climbed up the stairway to the upper floor—and then stopped in dismay. The top four feet of the stack had come loose and had slid several inches sideways. The heavy stones now hung suspended over the room in imminent danger of slipping the rest of the way and crashing down on to the floor. And the floor was all there was between the stones and the recess where she had been sleeping!

  Feeling slightly sick, she locked up the house again and went to sit by the horse trough while she watched Rudi play at cattle-rustlers among Farmer Schneider's cows. So Max had been telling her the truth. The stones must have come loose during the storm and it was now obvious that the stack would have to be mended before anything else could be done to the house. Worriedly she wondered if she would have enough money to cover the cost. Her parents would, she knew, be happy to help her, but they lived on a fixed income and in these inflation-racked times found it hard enough to manage themselves. There was also Richard, but Lee knew quite definitely that she couldn't ask