Prince of Secrets and Shadows

by C. S. Johnson

  I clenched my fists. One heir to the throne was already dead.

  “Eleanora,” Harshad said. “You will go to the ball at Count Potocki’s house tonight. Karl will announce your engagement, and then, as you leave the ball, we will capture him. We can bring him back here, to your family’s manor.”

  “Karl will likely be protected,” Ben said. “If he knows about the Order—”

  “He does,” I said. “He likely heard about it from Lumiere. He knows Lady Penelope.”

  Harshad shook his head. “Lumiere has always been a problem, and he enjoys it. To a fault, certainly. I warned Amir not to trust him.”

  Hearing Amir’s name, I whirled on Harshad. “Do you know where Amir is? The last time any of us saw him was after he met with Lumiere.”

  “Lumiere is a friend of Amir’s,” Harshad explained. “They used to work on missions and carry out tasks together with your mother. But people grow older, and loyalties shift.”

  “I don’t think Amir’s have,” Ben muttered.

  “But your mother’s did,” Harshad pointed out. “It is entirely possible, especially given Lumiere’s father and his long-standing animosity toward Pepé, that Lumiere’s have also changed.”

  I looked back at the portrait of my mother, thinking of the picture she carried of Amir close to her heart all those years after she married my father. Her loyalties did not shift, I thought. She might have married another, but she never forgot about Amir.

  As for Amir, I did not know what to say. It still seemed impossible that he killed Ferdy, especially under Lumiere’s direction.

  “Do you know where Amir went?” I asked. I glanced over at Xiana, her calmness almost unnerving, before turning back to Harshad for an answer.

  “No.” Harshad shook his head. “But Amir would not disappoint me, even if he has unresolved feelings toward Lady Penelope.”

  I thought about Lady POW’s own feelings about Amir. It was possible, I realized, that she was the one who had the unresolved guilt toward Amir. I had known both of them for such a short time, but I did not see Amir as someone who believed in vengeance.

  Lady Penelope was another story.

  “He always returns to me,” Harshad said.

  My eyes watered. Clavan had said the same thing about Ferdy.

  “For now, we will have to worry about Amir later.” Harshad clasped his hands together.

  “I agree. We are losing our focus,” Ben said. “Nora, you’ll need to get dressed up for the party tonight. You’ll go in and dazzle Karl, assure him you don’t know what he is talking about when it comes to the Order. Xiana and Harshad can look for Lady Penelope. Once they find her, they can work out a way to kidnap Karl as you leave, and then we’ll have him.”

  “And then I will have him at my mercy,” I muttered. I gripped the hilt of my dagger. “Good.”

  Harshad shook his head. “I do not anticipate killing someone will be necessary in this instance. Empress Maria Anna and King Ferdinand will be able to rein in their son.”

  “I don’t know about that,” I said. “They are upset right now, and they haven’t moved to stop him yet.”

  “With Karl working with Lord Maximillian and the League, not to mention his own support from people like Roman Szapira and Count Potocki, they are unable to confront him,” Ben said. “If we can bring him down, at least to the point where he can admit he is trying to take back the throne, they will be able to report him to Emperor Franz Joseph.”

  “The emperor was already alerted to the plot,” Harshad said. “That is why he is calling a special counsel in a few months.”

  “A counsel?” I asked. “What kind of counsel?”

  “Empress Elisabeth is sympathetic to Bohemia’s desire to be its own country,” Harshad said. “Emperor Franz Joseph has decided to call a tripartite counsel, to discuss the possibility of allowing Bohemia to be a full kingdom as part of the Empire.”

  “So it would be the Austria-Hungarian-Bohemian Empire instead,” Ben clarified.

  “Karl would love that.” I pouted. He would love that, and then he would use it as a way to wedge the kingdom free from the empire entirely. “I have heard Empress Elisabeth agrees with the democratic notions of the West.”

  “She does, but she knows her power is little, especially in the Austrian courts. The Hapsburgs have never been kind to outsiders. Empress Elisabeth is an outsider in her own home, even if Franz Joseph loves her.”

  “But she is technically the emperor’s second cousin,” I said. “Doesn’t that make her a Hapsburg, too?”

  “Through her mother’s side.” Harshad frowned. “She has been treated better since her son, Rupert, was born, but Empress Elisabeth has gone against the royal family in getting closer to the Hungarians, and she seeks to help Bohemia, too. I imagine she is a little more hesitant, given King Ferdinand is still alive, and there is a growing Nationalist movement.”

  “So she is calling a counsel to give Bohemia more power?” I asked.

  “She has convinced Franz Joseph to do so,” Harshad said. “That does not mean it will come to be.”

  “Karl has gotten bolder with his speeches.” I thought about how he had called for Bohemia’s freedom the day before. I had to push back a lot of sadness to recall what he said, but I knew if there was a possibility of emancipation, his rhetoric would likely turn dangerous.

  “Karl likely heard of their intention,” Harshad continued. “That is why his speech yesterday was so important.”

  Ben chuckled. “And that’s why, when Nora left, he was extraordinarily angry.”

  “I don’t understand why,” I retorted. “I’m not anyone important. I know Society enjoys me, but there are richer women Karl could marry, or even people like Teresa Marie, who has a connection to the throne herself.”

  “You don’t know how much people do love you,” Ben said. “You might be a passing fad, but Lady Penelope’s history and her money make you very interesting. The fact that you are so talented makes people excited. And to top it off, you are Otec’s daughter.”

  I was surprised to hear Ben say anything about our father. “What does Táta have to do with anything?”

  “He protected the King during a raid on the castle,” Ben said. “Otec refused to leave the king’s side when he was attacked with a knife. He nearly died because of his wounds. That was why the king was so nice to him, remember?”

  I did not remember the exact nature of my father’s duty. If I had ever heard the story, it had been a long, long time before, and I had forgotten the details.

  “Adolf Svoboda’s role in saving the king, even though the Revolution eventually succeeded, is remembered by those who are upset by Emperor Franz Joseph’s neglect of Bohemia.” Xiana folded her hands together in front of her. “You carry bravery in your blood, Eleanora, and that is a legacy that Karl Marcelin seeks to preserve.”

  “And claim as his own.” I wrinkled my nose at the thought of marrying Karl.

  “We will not let him do so,” Ben promised. “You’re my sister, and this is exactly the sort of threat I am allowed to keep you from.”

  “Thanks.” I did not want Ben’s protection, but I was glad he was at least offering it. I sighed. “I suppose I better get ready.”

  “Yes,” Harshad said. “I fear if we do not move quickly, we will fail to save Karl from Pepé as much as we will fail to save her from him.”

  *18*

  ◊

  The city once more passed before me as we rode by in Lady Penelope’s carriage. It did not look much different from earlier, when I had walked home from the Cabal, but I felt more tired as I looked at it. Not only was I still upset about everything that happened, but I was about to make things even more complicated.

  We were on our way to Count Potocki’s address, and the plan was in place. I fiddled with my skirts, ruffling the gypsy red silk with an unacknowledged wonder. I was on my way to announce and celebrate my engagement. If I was not secretly a spy trying to dismantle foreign dissents and
a traitorous prince, I might have actually been excited. Assuming I would have been in love.

  “Are you well?” Ben reached forward and gave me a quick pat on my arm.

  Mindlessly, I nodded. I did not want to admit I was looking forward to the end of the charade. I wished I did not have to drag my good name down with it, and I hated that I had to risk Lady POW and the others’, too.

  Harshad was up on the box, disguised in a footman’s livery, and Xiana was also hidden away. She had twisted herself up in ways I never imagined possible, before securing herself to back of the coach.

  Ben was with me in the carriage. I appreciated his presence, even though I wished I had the time to myself. I gripped my dagger, slightly irritated it was buried underneath another one of the fine gowns Lady Penelope had ordered for me. Much like the other one, I could easily dismantle myself from it and resume my movements in my stealth habit. I was not nervous. I was out for blood.

  I wanted the time to myself for other reasons. There was a wide chasm between justice and vengeance; one was a divine calling, and the other a sin. While I accepted that there would be things in my life I would have to do for the betterment of others, I did not want someone I loved as much as Ben to see my nature tainted as I indulged it.

  “Everything will be fine.” Ben tried to reassure me once more.

  I looked at him as he sat across from me. He was dressed in his normal clothes, the everyday clothes of a servant he had worn when Cecilia was in charge of our lives.

  “I know that I can count on Harshad and Xiana to save Lady POW,” I said. “What will you be doing?”

  “While you attend the party at the count’s house, I’ll be heading into town,” Ben said. “Clavan sent the notice that Zipporah would be coming into the Cabal tonight, and she has the herbs we ordered. Once I have them, I will come back to meet up with you and the others.”

  “Are you sure that it’s a good idea to leave us?”

  “I’m certain between you, Harshad, and Xiana, you will find a way to extract Lady POW from her captors,” Ben replied. “Besides, we should get the herbs. Lady POW has wanted them since she came here. She wants me to find out the names of other buyers, and if Zipporah has had any trouble getting her supply.”

  “It seems unusual that you would worry about getting the silver thallis herb now,” I said.

  “Disappointed you don’t have any to use on Karl?”

  I snickered at Ben’s teasing grin, but I had to admit he was more right than morally aligned.

  “Either way, it can’t be helped. We’ve waited this long, and Xiana will be able to make some of the antidote for us. We might be able to save some of the people that are dying off.”

  “I haven’t heard of any new deaths lately.”

  “If you ask me, I think Karl’s too busy planning for your nuptials.”

  Karl had talked about marriage at every occasion we had together. It was part of his plan, I assumed; gain the approval of my following, use the power of the people as leverage, secure the Bohemian throne, and reveal himself to be the true heir to the kingdom. Then all he would need would be a family to inherit his legacy, and Karl would have everything he had ever wanted.

  “I would have thought Lord Maximillian would be doing more of those,” I said. “He has been remarkably silent in recent weeks.”

  “Karl seems to have made it pretty clear he wants to marry you, and even more so since the Advent Ball.”

  “Lady Penelope and I did run into him at the Estates Theatre,” I said. I thought of Ferdy’s letter again, the one where Karl offered Lord Maximillian a role as a counselor. “Lord Maximillian tried to threaten us there. He was more than polite about it, and he would be the first to deny it, of course.”

  Ben frowned. “Is he coming to the ball tonight?”

  “I don’t know.” I sighed. “I’ll keep an eye out for him.”

  “Be sure to watch yourself most of all.” Ben gripped his fingers together in his lap. “I know you can take care of yourself, but I won’t be around to help.”

  “I’ll be in good company.”

  “I know, or I wouldn’t leave you.” Ben sighed. “Amir was right. You are a weakness of mine.”

  I smiled. “And you are one of mine. But we can work with that, and that’s the important part.”

  “Amir is one of your weaknesses, too, you know.”

  My eyes met Ben’s from across the carriage bench. “I am sure he is,” I admitted.

  Ben was different from me in that I had been allowed to consider my weaknesses thoroughly; I was given time to work on mine. Ben had to begin his struggle right away, with our father’s dismissal of him after his injury, and then Cecilia’s further harm. Ben was taught to hate weakness, to get rid of it, and to condemn it. He was morally tied to the destruction of his weaknesses, while I was largely ignorant of mine. When I thought of my love for Ferdy or my admiration for Amir, I could see it as a weakness or as a strength, and I was unable to dismiss it entirely.

  I looked away from Ben, turning my attention back to the city streets before me, feeling the clatter of the wheels as they turned over the cobblestone streets. “You know, if things had worked out differently, Amir would be our father instead of Táta.”

  Ben shrugged but he said nothing. I sank back into silence, too.

  The coach slowed down as the traffic became thicker. The moon was just peeking out from behind the snowy clouds when Ben said his farewells and slipped out of the coach, heading off for the Cabal.

  I envied him. Ben was going into a den of friends, while I was waltzing into the heart of darkness.

  To be fair, it was a very grand-looking trap. Count Potocki’s manor had the high arches of Gothic architect, with brightly patterned windows and elegant masonry. The coach stopped, and Harshad hurried down to assist me.

  “Once you’re inside,” he whispered, “go and find your grandmother. Karl will likely want to rehearse his terms, so you will be able to give us time while Xiana and I look for a way to overpower any guards he might have.”

  “I will.” I patted his hand as I stepped down. “Thank you.”

  His face was expressionless, but I thought I saw a twinkle in his eye as I headed toward the door.

  I picked up my skirts, making sure I was able to leave my boots covered. Underneath my dress, I wore my stealth habit and the matching black boots Lady POW had ordered for me when we had set out to captivate Society. My dagger was tucked away at my side. I could grab it through a slit in my skirt, one that was usually reserved for pockets.

  It was strange to think I was dressed for war, and that I was marching into battle wearing a gown.

  I held my head up proudly. The fact that I was wearing a gown, yet still facing my enemy, gave me confidence. Warriors came in all sorts of outfits, and I had chosen to don a disguise worthy of a spy.

  The fact that I was here to help my own grandmother, the spymaster who was tangled up in our adversary’s grasp, was only slightly less relevant. Karl was not anticipating a fight, but he was going to get one.

  Upon entering, a hand reached forward for my cloak. I took it off and handed it over, only to find I recognized my helper.

  “Amir.” His name escaped in a gasp as I stood there.

  “Shh, please, Eleanora,” Amir whispered, holding a finger up to his lips. He hurried to pull me off to the darker confines of the castle before anyone else noticed where we were going.

  As we walked briskly through a darkened hall, I was admittedly disappointed; if I was going to be rescued from a ball, I would have preferred Ferdy had come to save me rather than Amir.

  But considering Ferdy had been killed by Amir, I knew that was not going to happened.

  At that thought, I tugged myself free from his grasp. “What do you think you’re doing here?”

  “I came to help,” Amir said. “Lumi told me that Karl managed to coerce Lady Penelope into leaving the rededication ceremony with him before, but we have a problem.”


  Lumi. Amir called Lumiere “Lumi,” as if he was a friend.

  “You aren’t really trying to betray Lady Penelope, are you?” I asked, suddenly very worried. I took a step back from Amir, unable to see how any of this could make sense. Was he here to finish her off?

  I struggled to maintain my composure. “I didn’t want to believe it when she said that was what you were doing, but I can’t believe that you would consider Lumiere a friend!”

  “Eleanora—”

  I felt my heart clench, as if it was struggling to continue to beat. “He orchestrated everything, Amir. He made you kill Karl’s brother.”

  “What?” Amir shook his head. “I didn’t kill anyone, Eleanora.”

  “I know Lumiere sent you after the coach,” I insisted. “Ben told me that you were talking with him, and then you left for days.”

  “I can explain that,” Amir said. “But you need to calm down, please.”

  “Fine.” I took another step back, digging my fingers into my skirt, reaching for my dagger. I did not want to pull it out entirely, but I needed to protect myself. “Tell me about Lumiere first, and why you would be friends with that vile creature.”

  “Lumi is an old friend of mine,” Amir said. “He was the one who originally told me that Karl and Lord Maximillian were working together. He knew because they were also in contact with Louis, who is Lumiere’s father and the leader of the League of Ungentlemanly Warfare.”

  “I know about Louis, and the League, too.”

  “Then you know Louis is dangerous,” Amir said. “Lumi told me that Father Novak had sent word to him, and he decided to come, especially since his father told him Lady POW was coming to Prague.”

  “Lady POW said he was your friend, as well as Máma’s,” I said. “For all you are his friend, he was not very nice to me.”

  “He is an acquired taste.” Amir smiled, unable to hide his amusement. “But I know I can trust him.”

  “Which is why you went to kill Karl’s brother,” I accused, my voice nearly breaking. “Karl and Clavan told me what happened. I know that there were witnesses to the attack on that coach heading for Silesia. You can’t deny it.”