by Wendy Burge
“This works out superbly, if I may say so,” Varek announced with as casual a tone as he could manage.
Robert swung around to face him. “Why is that?” Even seeing Varek laid up as helpless as a gutted goat, he still didn’t trust him, especially when the bastard was in the same room as his wife.
“Why, I shall escort her, if you give me a few days of recuperation. I had planned to visit England anyway. Such a convenient happenstance, don’t you agree, my dear? And you,” Varek glanced at Robert with eyes that could barely see his enemy. “You may be assured that I will see her safely to her destination. Perhaps I shall even stay on and keep her company; especially with you here in Vienna for lord knows how many more months.” Varek’s wintery smile mocked Robert.
With Robert’s militant stance and out-thrust chin, he put Varek in mind of a heckled bull. In a minute he expected to see flames of rage shoot out of the poor sod’s distended nostrils. How easy it was to bait the man. In truth, it was too easy. It rather took the fun out of it.
Why couldn’t the bastard have died, Robert thought viciously. Now he wouldn’t even have the peace of mind in shipping Christina home. He was being duly warned. And not for a minute did he doubt the archduke. Where Christina went, this bloody hound would follow. And he was stuck here until Castlereagh released him from his duties. Unlikely chance that would happen anytime soon. Bloody, bloody hell!
The moment of terror Varek had felt after Basingstoke’s threat eased. He had played his bluff and, thank God, it had worked. With Austenburg’s uncertain future hanging over his head, he couldn’t have left Vienna any more than Christina’s husband. He had gambled on Basingstoke’s insecurities and won. Christina wouldn’t be taken from his sight. Varek watched in amusement as Robert studied him with helpless rage. No, this war was far from over.
With a stifled oath, Robert turned and grabbed hold of Christina’s hand. Without another word he pulled her unceremoniously from Varek’s bedchamber, despite her very vocal disagreement. Just as she disappeared out the door, she cast a despairing glance back at Varek.
He gave her a weak smile in return which faded the moment she was lost to his sight. Seeing her being mistreated in such a way made his hands clench in helpless rage; and it was all he could do not to stumble out of bed and chase after them. And yet here he lay, too weak to lift a finger let alone his body.
He turned his head slowly and looked at the empty chair Christina had used, already missing her. For all the pain he had suffered last night, it had been pure heaven every moment she had been beside him.
With a painful sigh he closed his eyes and breathed in the lingering essence of her. He was determined to get well as quickly as possible, for he couldn’t let up on his siege after all these long weeks. He couldn’t afford to let Christina fortify her defenses against him again.
∞∞∞
Christina kept her back to her husband as he raged and paced behind her. She was at fault for not relaying a message to him, but that was all! He was carrying on as if he had found them frolicking the afternoon away in carnal splendor. Her cheeks surged with heat when that brought to mind a totally unsuitable image of Varek, his nude body stretched out before her, and her breathing accelerated as she thought of his bruised flesh. Despite the distortion of lacerations and swelling, he had been as magnificent as ever. Biting her lip, hard, she spun around and faced her husband.
“I’m sorry, Robert. You have every right to belittle me, but are you through?”
Robert jerked to halt, gaping at her. He hardly recognized the woman standing proud and defiant before him. Feeling his hands beginning to shake, he clenched them.
“Send me home,” she demanded, emotionless.
“You know I can’t do that. You heard what he threatened.”
“You have to know he was bluffing. He won’t be able to move for at least a week, and traveling would be almost impossible.”
When he just continued to stand there and glare at her, her eyes narrowed to slits of ire. “Are you accusing me of adultery, my lord? If so, stop shilly-shallying about it and be man enough to say it out loud.”
Surprised at her cold accusation, Robert shifted about on his feet and his gaze dropped away to study his boots. “Why do you and that man always slight my manhood!” he muttered angrily.
She was too angry to even find humor in that fatuous comment. “Come, my lord, you have only to voice what you have been accusing me of for weeks!” Silence. “Say it or be damned to you!” she shouted, her hurt and rage finally consuming her.
Robert flinched as he contritely studied her flushed face. Always in the past she had been coolly poised, her anger rarely on display. Almost petulantly he assured her, “I don’t accuse you of anything, my love, but you constantly lack sense in your dealings with that man. What was I supposed to think when you didn’t come home last night?”
“You should have assumed I had a good reason and been patient.”
He gaped at her in amazement. “Been patient? Surely, you jest! It wasn’t only that you may have been with him. You could have been hurt, a victim of any kind of accident or criminal! I was bloody well worried…all bloody night!”
“Once again, I am sorry. I promise it won’t happen again.” Taking a deep, fortifying breath, she forced herself to calmness. Her next question was a shock to both of them, “Did you set those thugs on Varek?”
“What?” Robert snapped upright, shocked indignation clear on his face. She trusted this involuntary response to her accusation with relief.
With that one worry off her mind, she was suddenly able to let her body relax. Her shoulders bowed with fatigue as she collapsed into the armchair before the fire. “Never mind.”
“You think I did that?” he demanded.
“No.”
He joined her in the companion chair. “Not that it wasn’t a jolly good idea. I wish I had thought of it.”
Christina gasped and raised her shocked gaze to find his tired eyes twinkling at her. Thank God! At last a glimpse of her old Robert. She had thought him gone. Smiling ruefully at him, she shook her head. “It’s not funny, Robert. They almost killed him.”
He sobered instantly, his intent scrutiny taking in her disheveled fatigue. “Love, I assure you if I was going to kill the bastard, he would have no doubt it was me.”
“Well, that certainly relieves my mind,” she said ruefully as she stood again, weary to the bone. Why was she always so tired?
Robert jumped to his feet as she swayed slightly. Without another word, he swept her into his arms and carried her to their bedchamber. “You have done enough this day. Now let me take care of you.” And so saying, he laid her gently down on the bed and began to strip her of her rumpled gown. He frowned at the amount of blood staining the delicate silk.
When she was undressed, she curled onto her side, asleep almost instantly. It was only midmorning and there were duties he should be attending, but none were as important to him as Christina. Quickly, he stripped his clothes and naked, he climbed in behind her. As he pulled her against him, she murmured a sleepy whisper and cuddled back into his gentle embrace.
Tears misted his eyes as he rested his cheek against her fragrant curls.
She had whispered von Vischering’s name.
∞∞∞
“Tell me you didn’t set those thugs on the archduke,” Castlereagh demanded with silken steel.
Robert stared back at him, straight in the eye. “I did not.” He was almost becoming accustomed to being blamed for the crime.
Castlereagh nodded, accepting Robert’s word without a second thought. “Very well; however, I am not at all pleased with your conduct of late, Basingstoke.”
Robert’s lips thinned as he continued to stand before the foreign secretary. He hadn’t been asked to sit. “Yes, my lord.”
“This has got to stop. It’s bad enough I have to dance around Metternich’s amorous tragedies, I will not condone the same weaknesses in my own staff. You are here t
o lend support, not add to the conflict.”
Robert’s heart was pounding; in rage, in helplessness, in embarrassment. “Yes, my lord.”
There was a new hardness to Robert’s eyes that his superior didn’t like. Clearing his throat, Castlereagh suggested gently, “Mayhap it is time to send Lady Basingstoke home.”
“No!” Robert shot out, then stiffened again. “No, my lord. I will take care of my own.”
Castlereagh studied the guarded man before him, speculating quickly on what was the best course. Too many things were going awry on him. He was losing control of the negotiations and Parliament was becoming more and more unfavorably inclined towards him. He hated losing control. In truth, it was not an option, not with the fate of Europe hanging in the balance. And now he was being forced to ignore the directives of Parliament in order to force events the way he was sworn to follow and knew ultimately was in the best interest of all the powers. He couldn’t waste time on petty family squabbles. On the other hand, von Vischering was a favorite cousin of Emperor Francis, and at this delicate stage in negotiations he couldn’t afford to give the Emperor a reason to resent him by interfering in the archduke’s business. Mayhap it was best that Christina remain in Vienna—at least for the present.
With a sigh, he finally stood up. “Very well, Robert. It would be a shame for her to miss out on The Carrousel, especially after all her efforts on behalf of the committee. We will wait till then and then talk again, shall we?”
Robert glanced up sharply, relief barely discernible on his grim face. “Yes, my lord.” Then with a bow he withdrew, his stride long and hurried.
Castlereagh pondered on that closed door for many minutes before he returned to his desk and the endless mountain of work. Already he wondered if he had made the right decision.
Chapter Ten
The Emperor Francis looked down on Varek, shaking his head in amazement. Had it been him lying there, black and blue from head to toes, he would have been blubbering like a baby. But then he had always been the first to admit to his many weaknesses and his inability to bear pain with heroic stoicism was definitely one of them.
His empress, Maria, faced pain every day of her life now. Tuberculosis had claimed her youthful beauty and day by day he was forced to watch as her body grew frailer, her gentle beauty a bit more faded. It was she who had to live every day with the wracking coughs, arising every morning to the slow, painful eventuality of her own mortality, but it was he who broke down and cried whenever he was in her presence. And now the obligation of acting hostess to the Congress was pulling her down even more. As expected, she endured it all, the lengthy dinners, the tiring balls, the hectic galas, with her usual dignity and graciousness. The people of Austria loved their empress and was sincere in their grief over her affliction. But no one grieved their empress’ illness as much as her husband.
Now his favorite cousin lay before him, in obvious pain, but grinning up at him like a battered lunatic. Francis knew well the scoundrel was mocking his aversion to pain. The mere fact that he even deigned to show up at Varek’s sickbed was ample testament of his great affection for this splendid cousin, even if at times they hardly spoke for years on end. If ever he had fantasized about being another man it would have been Varek von Vischering.
Recrossing his legs, Francis cleared his throat, trying not to notice the swollen stitches above Varek’s eye. “Franz is no closer to locating the villain behind the attack, but we both know what is going on here. This can’t go on, Varek.”
Varek’s grin died slowly as he nodded. “I was a fool to leave Tina Marie in Austenburg. I thought it might soothe the people’s fear, however, Roget is gaining too much popularity. Who would have thought that cold fish would gain such loyalty?” Varek turned a worried frown on the emperor. “I need to get my daughter out of there as soon as possible. When all this comes down they might hurt her out of revenge.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll send my personal guard after her. Roget could hardly refuse me without bringing a battle to his very doorstep. He’ll give her up. Reluctantly, albeit, and it won’t stop him from underhandedly trying to get her back even as he again plots your next accident. Lord, Varek, you should have gotten rid of the bastard years ago.”
“I know, but the von Vischerings have always had a rather blind loyalty to our chancellors and never have we had a reason to doubt that loyalty. Also, years ago I could have hardly cared less what happened to the duchy that was threatening the life of the woman I loved. Being forced to set her aside was the hardest thing I had ever done in my life, or ever will again. Then after she ran I was actually grateful that Roget was there to take care of the affairs of the duchy.
I have been a miserable leader to my people, and I have no excuses for my failures. It has only been recently that I’ve even begun to realize how ambitious the bastard really is. I can only hope that with the horror of the past years of losing so much to Napoleon’s greed that the people now understand that they can no long survive as an independent state. I can almost thank Napoleon for impressing upon them how vulnerable they truly are. “
“It will be difficult with Roget continually stirring them up.”
Varek sighed. “I know. I’ve been hitting my head against a wall for years and I’m just damned tired of it all, Franz. I just want quit of the whole mess.”
I just want to grow old with Christina. Austenburg and its blindness was no longer a concern of his. Christina and his daughter were. And her son.
He wondered for the hundredth time if her little son looked like her. He smiled as he imagined a rambunctious toddler with Christina’s midnight curls and laughing, big brown eyes.
Snapping his wayward thoughts back to the present, he instead concentrated on the very real threat of Roget. Single-handedly, preying on the insecurities of his people, Roget had fanned their fanatical zeal with his own greediness. Varek still couldn’t quite understand what Roget hoped to gain from such treachery. He practically ruled Austenburg as it was. There was no doubt that Roget now judged the archduke’s life to be of no consequence. Which meant his continuing power rested with the Austenburg heir, which ensured the continuation of their illustrious independence.
“How much do you think Roget knows of what you are planning?” Francis asked, worried.
“I have shown such disinterest with the fate of Austenburg that I am hoping he doesn’t suspect a thing—a leopard never changing his spots and all that rot. Austria absorbing Austenburg is not going to be easy, cousin. It’s going to be bloody and costly. You may not want the headache. But I know they will do better under your rule than the uncertain future of the German states.”
Francis shrugged as he gave Varek a winsome smile. “When did I ever deny you anything, cousin?”
Varek returned his smile warmly. “If I survive this fiasco, I’ll owe you my life, and you know well how little I like being held in debt, even by one I love as much as you.”
“But, of course. At least I will now be able to feel superior to you. Lord knows, being emperor was never enough.”
Varek shook his head in amused affection at this gentle man who for too many years had shouldered the conscience of holding back the monster, Napoleon from his borders. And now with the problems of the reunification of Europe consuming his days and nights, his beautiful wife ailing and in pain, he still had the kindness and mercy to extend his hand to Varek when he most needed it. It made him feel humble, indeed.
“When will you be able to send your men after Tina Marie?” He almost choked on the request, hating to create more problems for Francis, but his daughter was half of everything to him. The other half, Christina, was safe under his eye here in Vienna.
Francis stood up briskly, eager to be on his way. “Consider it done, cousin.” And with a playful bow, the emperor was gone as abruptly as he had appeared earlier.
∞∞∞
There was a new hardness to Christina’s eyes, when she bustled into his room two days later. Varek watched i
n silence as she impersonally saw to his needs, straightening his bedclothes, ringing for the maid to clear away the dishes, opening the window to allow a brisk breeze to air the room. He didn’t like what he saw.
“Did he hurt you?”
She stiffened, then swung about to glare at him. “I beg your pardon?”
She didn’t appear to be hurt, but she was certainly in a simmering rage. He knew her moods so well, every endearing and exasperating one of them. “Want to talk about it?”
“No,” she clipped out.
Varek nodded, wisely holding his tongue.
“What I want is for you to let me leave Vienna, Varek,” she imperiously demanded.
“No.”
She stepped over to the bed and winced at the angry festering about the stitches above his eye. Seeing his ravaged face mitigated much of her exasperation, but bravely she held on to her sense of purpose. “How is the swelling in your stomach?” Restlessly, she twitched the already smooth sheet into place.
He shrugged with negligible care while watching her warily. “I should be up and about tomorrow.”
Christina angrily shook her head. “Not a bit of it. The doctors said you must remain in bed at least a week, preferably two.” She poured him a glass of water and offered it to him. He ignored it.
“Christina…”
“I don’t wish to talk with you if you are going to persist in this plan of yours.”
His brow furrowed in confusion. “What plan?”
She slammed the glass back down. “To cause me anguish.”
“Your anguish! Is that what you think I’m trying to do?”
She tried not to flinch as she faced the savage heat of his pale eyes boring into her. “What else could it be, Varek. You are angry with me because I ran from you. I know how dear you hold onto what you deem as yours. But, I am not yours anymore. By a decree that you sought, I no longer belong to you. By church and law, I am now Robert’s. You have to give up this insane obsession.”