“How can I do that?”
Udele sounded a little worried as she spoke.
However, she looked so very pretty gazing up at the Count that Zoleka remarked,
“You are not to be nervous. Everyone coming here tonight will be excited and curious because most of them have never been to the Palace before. What we have to do is to make them think how much they have missed as it is such a beautiful place.”
As she spoke three gardeners were ushered into the Music room by the footman.
The Count walked across to them and to Zoleka’s surprise he spoke to them in their own language.
He asked which was the Head Gardener and said to him,
“I need your help. Her Royal Highness, Princess Zoleka, has just arrived in Krnov and so have I, to find that the Palace has been neglected and the rooms where we are having a party tonight look dull and dismal.
“The one thing which has favourably impressed me and Her Royal Highness is the Palace gardens.”
Zoleka noticed that the Head Gardener straightened his shoulders and looked pleased with himself.
“What I want you to do,” added the Count, “may be rather difficult, but I feel you will not fail me.”
“What is it, sir?”
“I want you in the next several hours to make the inside of the Palace as beautiful as you have clearly made the garden outside. It means that every flower you have in pots is to be brought in immediately.
“I want aspidistras and palms behind the stage and in the corners of the room which look rather bare, the same in the passages and in the dining room and of course in the drawing room where some of the guests will sit when they are tired of dancing.”
The gardeners all gasped before the Head Gardener replied,
“We’ll certainly do our best, sir, but I don’t think we have enough plants.”
“Then do the best you can and for the passages you might have to buy a large number of aspidistras. I am sure you will find a shop in the City which sells them.”
“Buy!” exclaimed the Head Gardener.
“I will arrange they are paid for. Just do what you think is right and be as artistic as possible inside the Palace as you have been in the garden. I am sure everyone will be astonished at what they see. And it will be very good for your reputation as a gardener.”
The Head Gardener smiled at this comment.
“I wish I’d a little more time, sir.”
“You will have more time before the ball that will be given for Her Royal Highness in three days time.”
“A ball!” gasped the Head Gardener.
“For that we shall use the ballroom and again I will require flowers and more flowers. Bring in whatever you can. Buy what is necessary and put on a display which will be talked about the length and breadth of Krnov.”
Watching and listening Zoleka realised the Count was putting the Head Gardener on his mettle and he would undoubtedly get his own way.
When the gardeners hurried away to carry out their orders, she cried,
“You are absolutely brilliant, Franz! And I was so very impressed at how well you spoke their language.”
“I try never to go to a country before I have learnt its language,” the Count told her. “Otherwise I consider it a sheer waste of time.”
“Of course you are right. I have learnt the language of Krnov and Cieszyn because I live near them. My father thought it most important for me to learn languages. But somehow I never expected you to be so clever.”
“I am not so certain that is really a compliment! I assure you I can speak most European languages including German.”
He gave her a look as he spoke which said far more than words.
“I do think German is a very ugly language,” Udele piped up.
“And I think that they are a very ugly people too,” added Zoleka. “So we will certainly not ask any Germans to your ball!”
“Supposing no one wants to come?”
Zoleka and the Count laughed.
“I assure you,” he told her, “people will already be tumbling over themselves to receive the invitations I am sending out today. You will have to thank the secretaries for working so hard, and also your father’s Chief Secretary for knowing the names of all the most distinguished people in Krnov.”
“Shall I go and thank them now?”
“I think they would be delighted if you did.”
Udele turned towards the door then stopped.
“Do I shake them by the hand?”
“I think it is something they would appreciate,” the Count replied, “and something you are going to have to do a great deal in the future.”
She smiled at him and ran off.
The Count turned to Zoleka.
“She is very lovely and completely unspoilt.”
“We have got to save her, Franz, but Heaven knows how a child of her age and with no knowledge of the world will be able to run a country let alone Krnov.”
The Count did not reply and Zoleka commented,
“We can only hope, useless though he is, that her father will not die.”
She was about to add, “ – and the Prussians will not arrive too soon.”
Then she thought that it might be a mistake to say anything in the Palace about that dreaded danger.
She was still thinking of what Pieter Seitz had told her.
It made her shiver and it was almost as if a giant hand was stretching out towards them.
There was nothing to save them from being caught up in it forcibly and crushed by the might and power of the Prussians.
There was only the small effort that she and the Count could make to stop them.
Only if they had enough time could they effectively strengthen and increase the size of the Army and maybe by some miracle they could arouse in the people the will to resist – something they obviously lacked at the moment.
It all seemed so difficult.
Zoleka found herself praying silently in her heart,
“Help us! Please help us, God!”
CHAPTER FIVE
Looking around the room, Zoleka just knew that the dance was a huge success.
Dinner had been far better than she had hoped and there had been enough hired waiters, so it did not take too long.
The band from the City was small, but they knew all the latest and most alluring tunes.
There was no doubt at all that Udele was enjoying herself. Her brown eyes were shining brightly and she was looking exquisitely beautiful.
The young men were falling over themselves to ask her to dance.
Zoleka gave a sigh of relief.
She had worried so much in case at the last moment everything went wrong, but it could not have been a better evening.
The windows of the dining room opened onto the garden and in some clever way at the last minute the Count had found lanterns to hang in the trees.
There were fairy lights placed around the fountain, which looked even lovelier with the moon rising in the sky and the stars shining overhead.
At one o’clock exactly the Count brought the party to an end.
“Oh, must we stop?” Udele asked plaintively.
“We men have a lot of work to do tomorrow, Your Royal Highness, and I expect you will find you do too. Do not forget you have a ball being arranged for next week.”
“If it is as fantastic as this party, I shall enjoy every moment. Thank you, thank you for being so wonderful.”
She looked up at the Count.
“I said you would be the belle of the ball,” he said earnestly.
“Entirely thanks to you and to Princess Zoleka.”
He smiled and next instructed the band to play the National Anthem.
Everyone stood to attention and then reluctantly the guests began to say goodnight.
“It has been such a lovely evening,” they said one after another.
As the last one left the ballroom, Zoleka turned to the Count.
“I was so a
fraid it would not come off, but it has all been marvellous. I have come to the conclusion you are a magician.”
“That is exactly what he is,” agreed Udele. “Ever since you and he have been here the whole Palace has been transformed.”
Zoleka looked towards the Count as they were both sharing the same thought.
How long would the transformation last?
As they went upstairs to bed, Udele repeated over and over again how much she had enjoyed herself.
She kissed Zoleka goodnight.
Then childlike she threw her arms round the Count.
“Thank you, thank you! I want to go on saying it a million times.”
He kissed her on the cheek and she ran off towards her bedroom.
Zoleka smiled at him.
“No one could be more grateful.”
“And I am very grateful to you,” replied the Count. “The dinner was superb and I expected it to be a failure.”
“We have a great many more nights to come when we must succeed as well. So the sooner we both retire to bed the better.”
“You are so right. Goodnight and God bless you.”
He walked into his room and Zoleka went into hers.
She was pondering at how very charming he was and how intelligent.
It seemed a pity that he was the youngest son, as he would not inherit his father’s rank or the vast family estate, which would go to his elder brother.
‘I am sure he will find something interesting to do with his life,’ Zoleka said to herself.
Marla helped her to undress and when she climbed into bed she fell asleep immediately.
*
She was woken the next morning by bright sunshine streaming into her room as Marla pulled back the curtains.
It seemed to her that she could not have slept more than an hour or so.
Stretching and yawning she suddenly remembered they had arranged with the Count to go riding, which was something she did not want to miss.
Udele must have felt exactly the same because she was dressed before Zoleka.
She waited and they walked downstairs together. The horses were outside, just as they had been the day before, but today not only was the Count waiting for them, but four Krnovian Officers.
The two Princesses called out “good morning.”
They mounted the horses the Count had chosen for them and they all set off.
Zoleka felt she was enjoying her morning ride even more than she had yesterday.
It was only when they all turned back for home that she found herself riding alone beside the Count with Udele well ahead of them with the Officers.
“Is there any more news?” Zoleka asked him in a low voice.
“Plenty and it is not good.”
“What has happened?”
“I sent my valet and another man from Vienna into the City again last night. And I gather from what they overheard there are a number of Prussians congregating on the Southern border.”
Zoleka gave a gasp as she was only too aware that the Southern border was only a few miles from the City and the Palace.
“Do you think they intend to come in imminently?” she asked in a whisper.
“I cannot imagine that they are there for any other reason,” replied the Count.
“What can we do?”
“That is what I am trying to figure out.”
“It might be a mistake to put a defensive ring round the City in case the people panic, but if we don’t do so the Prussians may take over without any opposition.”
“You have your men, Franz, and I would suppose the Krnovian Army must be of some use.”
“I doubt it.”
“Then what can we do?”
“I think all that is left is to pray,” the Count replied surprisingly.
As if he could not bear to talk about it any more, he spurred his horse forward with Zoleka following him and there was no question of any further private conversation.
They reached the Palace and as she went in Zoleka felt more frightened than she had ever been in her whole life.
The morning had seemed to pass very slowly with Udele having no idea that anything could possibly spoil her happiness. She kept on talking excitedly about the ball and what more they could do to beautify the ballroom.
Zoleka could not bear to tell her that it was unlikely to ever take place.
Most of the dresses they had bought had arrived at the Palace the previous evening and the rest were delivered just before luncheon.
Udele had much to say about her new wardrobe and Zoleka had indeed intended to take her shopping again that afternoon.
There were still a great number of items she needed including colourful nightgowns and underclothes trimmed with lace.
Yet it was beginning to seem so unnecessary when they might have to run for their lives and leave everything behind.
However, there was no point in feeling so miserable until they had to be.
Zoleka forced herself to smile at Udele and respond to her excitement, so they went out shopping again.
On the way Zoleka could not prevent herself from stopping at the Parliament building where she asked if she could have a word with the Prime Minister.
She left Udele sitting in the carriage, telling her she would not be more than a few minutes and it would not be worth her while coming in with her.
Udele did not protest. It seemed that she was always amenable to anything that was suggested to her.
Zoleka was taken at once into the Prime Minister’s private room and to her relief he was alone.
“I am very sorry to burst in and bother you, Prime Minister, but I had to ask if you had heard the news that the Count told me last night and if it is as bad as it sounds.”
The Prime Minister smiled at her.
“I heard your party last night was a great success.”
“It really was, but I am now wondering if there will ever be another one.”
The Prime Minister put out his hand to touch hers.
“I don’t think things are quite as bad as all that, but I have mobilised what there is of our Army and the Count is sending a messenger home to ask his father for help.”
“For help! Surely that is a dangerous thing to do.”
She thought as she spoke that if the Prussians knew the Prime Minister had become aware of their intentions, they might strike even sooner.
The Prime Minister answered her,
“I promise you that we are not going to do anything stupid, nor will we be showing in any manner that we are apprehensive about the Prussians or that we anticipate they are planning any action against us.”
“You know of course that they have infiltrated into the City.”
“Yes, Your Royal Highness, I have as many men as I can trust watching them. They report directly to me what they overhear and where secret meetings are taking place.”
Zoleka smiled at him.
“I can see I am being unnecessarily nervous, but it would really break my heart if Princess Udele, who is at the moment so very happy and thrilled with everything that is happening, finds herself without a country and with no one to support her but her father.”
“That is something I am determined to avoid. To be frank I am putting all my faith in the Count. I have never known a young man who is more intelligent and who has more resourceful ideas in an emergency.”
“Then we must trust that he will find some way of defending us. Forgive me for coming and worrying you.”
“You are welcome to come at any time, Your Royal Highness. In fact, I was hoping you would do so.”
The Prime Minister rose as he spoke.
“Go on with the excellent work you are doing at the Palace and make our Princess Udele into a beauty. I can assure you everyone is talking about her.”
“That is exactly what I want to achieve.”
The Prime Minister bowed to her, kissed her hand and escorted her to the door.
She expected to find Udele wa
iting in the carriage, but to her surprise she was outside on the grass lawn that encircled the Parliament building.
She was surrounded by a crowd of children.
She was talking to them all and two little girls were showing her how well they were able to skip, while a small boy was turning somersaults.
Most of the children had their mothers with them, watching what was happening and obviously delighted that their children should interest the Princess.
When Zoleka and the Prime Minister joined them, Udele enthused eagerly,
“Look how clever this little boy is and the girls tell me they can skip a hundred times without stopping!”
She spoke with much excitement in her voice and the Prime Minister said to her,
“I hear Your Royal Highness can ride better than anyone expected and that you are taking part in a race.”
“Is the race really going to be run?” she asked. “If it is, it will be something that has never happened before in Krnov.”
“You are introducing us to so many new things,” the Prime Minister remarked.
Udele laughed.
“You must thank Princess Zoleka and Count Franz for that idea.”
“I am thanking them both and I am glad to see you are making yourself known to our citizens.”
He looked around at the children who had stopped playing to stare at him and Zoleka.
“This lady is your Princess,” he told them and their mothers, “and as we are so happy to have her here with us, I suggest you give her a cheer and wave to her when she drives away.”
The children cheered a little shyly at first and then as Udele climbed into the carriage, they cheered loudly.
They waved and waved as she drove away until she was out of sight.
Udele looked at Zoleka.
“Was it wrong of me to get out of the carriage?”
“No, exactly right, and what you must do whenever you can. Even when I was quite young I always talked to the people who came to the Palace and if I was with Mama in a town, people used to cheer and wave like the children did just now when we were driving through the streets.”
“They don’t do that to me.”
“But they will in future, Udele. You have to show them that you care about them and that they matter to you.”
Ruled by Love Page 9