The Prince and the Nun

by Jacqueline George

  Mefist stood wearily to address the table. “Gentlemen, we all know Madam Therese, and I can assure you that underneath that beautiful exterior is a will of purest steel. If the lady insists on wearing a dress, not even I could charm it off her. So you may as well keep quiet and let’s see what she’s got for us. Go on, Therese!”

  “My Lady, gentlemen,” she started again, “Christmas is nearly here and it’s time to think happy thoughts and enjoy ourselves. So the Sisters of Montebello have prepared a small musical revue which they will present for your amusement.”

  “In dresses?”

  “Of course, gentlemen, in dresses. We don’t want you to disgrace yourself in front of your distinguished guest, do we? Of course not. And now, to start our evening, we have two professional performers, fresh from Bucharest, singing a song about a poor shepherd and a gypsy princess…Othello and Portia!”

  Therese left, and in came the youngsters, Othello darkly handsome in a loose blouse and tight black trousers; Portia with a long flowing skirt and white blouse decorated with ribbons. She had large golden hoops in her ears and silk flowers in her hair. As Therese watched through the crack of the door, Othello gave his fiddle a final tune and played a pregnant arpeggio. Portia started into a Roma song full of the sadness of young love and the wildness of the gypsy people. Othello’s playing was infectious, and Therese could see the men at their tables nodding and tapping their fingers to the rhythm.

  When the song ran down, there was applause and cheerfulness but no real enthusiasm. Therese did not worry. That would come later. Portia rushed offstage as Helena and Therese entered.

  “There you are, gentlemen. Isn’t it nice to have some culture sometimes? However, now we’ve exhausted your capacity for romance, we’d better offer you something else. First, meet Helena, most of you know her very well.” She paused for the cheers of appreciation. “I could even say that most of you know her intimately well.” There were more cheers and laughter. Helena was always popular, if only because she could always be relied upon to blush, as she was doing now. “Anyway, Helena has been playing with Othello…”

  “Lucky Othello!” and laughter drowned everything.

  “Helena has been playing music with Othello, and I think you’ll like it. Play them something!”

  Helena looked at Othello nodding his head to catch the beat and thumped into the familiar rhythm of Offenbach’s can-can. The door swung open and a line of all the girls and Portia danced in, shoulder-to-shoulder and kicking high. They all wore the simple colourful skirts that Mrs. Pankova had run up, and their kicking showed off their petticoats and frilly knickers. The men cheered and shouted as the line danced into the room, paused and reversed out again. The door slammed shut and the music stopped abruptly. The men banged the table and shouted for more, but Therese was adamant.

  “No, no, no! If you are well-behaved, and if you make us welcome, then perhaps I shall ask them to come back, but for the moment we are going to call on our real actors to give us a small piece of culture, the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet. Here are Portia and Othello!”

  They were welcomed in with applause, and their audience sat spellbound as players who lived rather than acted their parts brought the familiar words to life. Therese and the girls listened with pride as they were applauded off the stage.

  “Very well, gentlemen, you seem to have a spark of romance buried somewhere inside those uniforms. Shall I ask the can-can dancers to return? No, it’s too early in the evening, and we have another drama for you.

  “As you all know, we have a very brave young lady among us. A lady who was brought to this very place not so long ago to have her bottom admired by you all.” Catcalls and demands for Nielsen to re-enact the event that caused the problem. “Hush, gentlemen. Now, without this lady’s knowledge or approval, we have prepared a dramatization of her journey into the forest. As she has not seen it herself, I shall call her out to watch. Come on in, Maria!”

  Maria appeared at the door. She stumbled as she was thrown into the room by her colleagues, and the door slammed shut behind her. She was still wearing her can-can costume. The room clapped and laughed as Therese gave her centre stage, and she bowed, grinning with embarrassment.

  Therese came and put her arm around her shoulders. “Of course, there is another player from the drama here tonight–Major Lamoreaux.” More cheers and claps, and demands for a speech. “Major, you mustn’t be upset with our little play, because we all love you, but remember! Warriors who forget themselves far enough to be rescued by fair maids should expect a little mockery, even from their friends. So, take care of Maria while we play, and don’t be too cross with us. Let the play begin, in the forest somewhere high above Montebello…”

  The lights were cut and when they came on again, the Major was leading a troop of soldiers through the snow. They climbed hard as they skied uphill without skis or sticks. The major was played by Portia, their smallest girl. She acted the part with no more aid than a painted moustache. She shouted at her complaining men, heaping insult after insult on their heads, and they replied with complaints and scurrilous comments about the Army and the officers who had sent them there. Following real life, the time came for Portia to disappear into the bushes. She left the soldiers waiting and slipped away through the door. The offstage noises that followed were very loud and very disgusting. The audience was nearly falling from its chairs at the grotesque, amplified farting and dramatic groans, followed by the reluctance of the soldiers to go and look for their officer afterwards. Watching Wanda and the General supporting each other with tears in their eyes, Therese found it hard not to collapse herself.

  The next scene showed Maria (played by the tall, slim Agata with her drawers packed with a false bottom) mourning over her lost lover, and finally deciding to go and rescue him. She packed an insane range of useful items into her bag and set off into the forest. As Maria skied into the forest, Therese narrated and the girls offstage provided the sound effects. Maria suffered through storms, winds, wolves and wild pigs until at last she threw herself onto the ground to die. At this point the partisans found her and dragged her out of the room by her feet.

  The bandit king and the Major were found sitting by the fire and sharing a large venison bone when Maria was dragged in, still pulled by her feet. The Major rushed to her and helped her up. They embraced, something made more difficult because Portia only came up to Agata’s chest. She was tired and cold so the Major took her to the cave, behind a blanket held up by two girls. As soon as they were out of sight, the blanket started to shake wildly. There were shouts of delight, and pieces of female underwear started to appear over the top of the blanket.

  Eventually the Major reappeared and started to negotiate for the return of Maria. The Major found it necessary to make several visits to the cave as they negotiated, with the accompanying noise and fuss of course, until the bandit king finally settled on the rank of lieutenant in the Militia as a suitable price for releasing his hostage.

  Therese loved the applause and laughter and saw with relief that the Major and Maria were enjoying the show as much as anyone.

  Therese quietened them down. “Well, gentlemen, you have been present at the first performance of a work that will undoubtedly be talked about for many years into the future. Now it’s definitely time for the can-can girls again. If you can put that one down, Major….”

  The line danced vigorously into the room again, presenting wild female legs and frilly knickers to the audience. They left, the audience shouting for more, but the next act was Portia dancing a sort of flamenco to the music of Othello on the guitar. That was impressive and unlike anything Therese had seen before.

  Othello set aside his guitar and the pair of them danced a tango to Helena’s playing, a dramatic, sliding, sensuous dance that held everyone’s attention. The applause was loud, but Portia cut it short as she ran for her costume change.

  The can-can line started to thunder into the room again, and this time the men w
ere whooping and cheering. From where she stood, Therese could not see what had caused the excitement. She worked her way up behind the tables toward Mefist. When she looked back, she realized with a start that the frilly knickers were missing. She knew that can-can dancing without knickers was a gentleman’s dream from the last epoch; clearly the idea had lost none of its attraction. Portia, at the end of the line, was knickerless too, but Therese did not have the heart to disapprove.

  Chapter 38

  All the world loves Christmas, and everyone carries in their hearts memories of songs and traditions that make the dream come true. In Therese’s heart there lived the carols of her childhood and remembrance of family meals that had not changed for all her youth. The big break had come when she joined the Convent. Now Montebello was part of her spirit of Christmas, but it had yet to overlay the memory of the child. At least she no longer suffered the bitter sense of loss she had experienced at her first Christmas as a nun.

  As always, the castle staff gathered outside the castle gate. Those who lived with their wives and children in the village had walked up, and they stood red-faced, breathing steam into the icy air. Below them the black village with its three church towers stood in shining white fields. Despite the lateness of the hour, lights shone in the windows and people hurried in the streets.

  Normally, Therese and the girls would have been with the nuns, but this year they stood with the expectant crowd at the gate. She represented the Count and the family. Wanda waited beside her in her warm fur coat. Therese looked around and smiled at familiar faces in unfamiliar clothes. Rebecca was there, standing with her father. It must have been a battle for her to persuade him to come, but they had come, and Therese went to shake his hand and welcome him.

  The chapel bell started to strike nine o’clock, and the villagers hushed expectantly. Straining their ears, they listened for the nuns, and at last the distant voices could be heard singing Adeste Fideles. Slowly the singing grew louder until the nuns appeared, bearing lanterns and following a cross. The procession turned without stopping and led them into the castle and on to the refectory.

  The refectory had been decorated with ribbons and pine branches. The tables were all laid, and wine and candles waited. Sister Brigitta stood grandly at the centre of her table with the nuns at her sides and waited for the families to find places and receive her blessing. Therese was pleased to see that Wanda and the girls had been separated in the rush and were spread around the tables. She sat next to Mr. Isaacs to make sure he felt welcome, but Rebecca had chosen to sit with Helena and the kitchen staff, freed from their duties for one evening of the year.

  After the blessing the nuns went to bring the first of the long procession of meatless dishes that made up the traditional Christmas Eve feast. The men had opened the wine bottles, and everyone had a full glass in front of them. When the nuns started to ladle out the spicy fish soup, people reached for the bread and settled down to enjoy themselves.

  Therese too was enjoying herself. Sitting with the staff and not with the nuns was more fun. It felt pleasant to drink wine with her neighbours and admire their children. It was stimulating to have a Jew by her side at this most Christian of times and to make him welcome. The war was invisible for a while, and the big family of the castle could celebrate in peace.

  The Isaacs surprised her by coming on to the midnight Mass that followed the feast. On normal Sundays, Therese and the girls always stood in the gallery at the back of the church where they could be part of the service without intruding on the nuns’ devotions. Tonight they went again to the gallery as a matter of habit and took Rebecca and Mr. Isaacs with them. The two of them watched solemnly as the timeless service slowly progressed.

  Therese went to the castle gate to wave goodbye to the people facing the long walk back down to the village. At least the road ran downhill and they had the company of friends. Then the girls hurried her and Wanda up to the club to open their presents.

  Therese went to bed replete. Her friends were her family. Wanda was snuggled up drowsily beside her. Tomorrow the officers’ mess would treat them all to dinner and they would be caressed and feted like princesses. She went quietly to sleep.

  Reality did not intrude into Montebello for several days; then Mefist came to her office in the morning to interrupt her letter writing.

  “Things are not looking very favourable, my love. There’s going to be a peace congress in Budapest on the second of January. It looks as if the war is ending.”

  “Ending? Oh, that’s wonderful! Peace at last!”

  “Well–maybe. The Coalition is insisting on the conference, but from the Alliance only the Imperial Government is going. I think it will break the Alliance. France, Germany, Italy…what they’ll do is anyone’s guess. I don’t even know if they’ll do it together. And then there’s England and America. They may want to get involved if Russia is too successful.”

  “But what will happen to us?”

  “To the Army, you mean? Well, I don’t know of course, but I should imagine that we’ll be leaving the Grand Alliance and joining the Coalition Forces. I don’t think they will demobilise us, not with the fighting still going on in the north. They’ll be suspicious of us, of course. They won’t trust people who’ve recently been fighting against them, so I expect they’ll use us for administrative and security purposes in occupied areas, second-class things like that.”

  “I don’t care. If it means that you and the others can stop fighting, it’s a good thing.”

  “Perhaps you’re right. So I suppose that soon I’ll have to pack my bags and give you back the keys to the castle.”

  “But Mefist, you can’t go so quickly! We still need you here!”

  “Sorry, my love, but I expect the Army will have other ideas.”

  She was still sitting alone, absorbing Mefist’s news, when more trouble appeared at her doorstep. Maria came in and shut the door behind her, a clear warning of problems.

  As she sat, Therese could see she had been crying. “What is it, Maria? What’s happened?”

  “Nothing, Mistress,” she said in a small voice. “That’s the problem. My period. I think I’m pregnant.”

  Therese was shocked. “But, Maria! How could that have happened? Are you sure?”

  “Yes, I’m sure. I can feel it.” She started to cry again. “I know I said I wanted a baby, but like this? What will I do, Mistress?”

  “How did it happen? Didn’t you always use protection?”

  “Not always, Mistress. I forgot to take condoms with me when I went to Lamoreaux in the forest, and we did it lots of times there. There was nothing else to do, it was so cold outside,” she ended lamely.

  Therese thought for a while and then said, “Go to your room now. I want you to wash your face and cheer up. Put some makeup on and dress properly. You always wanted a baby, and now you’ve got one coming. That’s good! Don’t worry about things. I’ll make sure that this will be something you’ll enjoy now and into the future. Off you go.”

  Pleased to be doing something after Mefist’s news, she scribbled a note and went looking for a girl to deliver it.

  Only a quarter of an hour later, Lamoreaux tapped at her door. He was smartly dressed and wearing his cap. A written order from Colonel von Falberg had surprised him, but then he had realised that a formal summons from Therese could only mean trouble.

  “Come in, Major.” She looked at him standing to attention in front of her desk and did not invite him to sit. “Major, I want to know your intentions towards Maria. You are quite likely to be leaving Montebello soon, and I want to know what you intend to do.”

  The Major was taken by surprised. Therese acting like a mother hen was the last thing he had expected. “Er, Your Honour, it’s very difficult.”

  “Difficult? You’re not married already, are you? So what’s difficult?”

  “No, Your Honour, I’m not married. The trouble is Maria—she says she’s too busy to marry at the moment.”

  �
��Very well. Suppose I managed to change her mind. What would you propose to do with her?”

  “Oh, we’d go back to Alsace to live.”

  “What do you have in Alsace? Can you afford to support her?”

  “That’s not a problem. I have a small estate there and that brings a good income. More than enough to live on, and I have some investments too. I don’t need to stay in the Army.”

  “How much do your investments bring in?”

  “Oh, Your Honour…” He was reluctant to discuss his finances with a lady, but when Therese frowned at him, he continued, “They brought about seventy thousand francs last year. It’ll be less this year, because of the war of course, but still over fifty thousand. Probably nearer sixty thousand, and the estate brings in another forty or fifty thousand including rents. So I can take care of her.”

  “Very well. Just supposing I persuaded her to change her mind, what sort of settlement would you give her?”

  “Settlement? I hadn’t thought, Your Honour.”

  “Of course she needs a settlement! She has no family, no money of her own, she needs a settlement. So how much will you be giving her?”

  “Er, Your Honour, I have no idea of what is proper.”

  “I see. Then give her forty thousand. Of her own, in her own bank account, understand?”

  “Forty thousand! But–yes, Your Honour. Forty thousand.”

  “Don’t be so mean, man! It’s not as if you’re losing it; you’re marrying her after all, so you may as well marry someone with money. Now get along to her room and ask her to marry you.”

  Lamoreaux saluted and turned for the door. As he left, Therese called him back. “Major, on your knees. It has to be done on your knees!”

  Therese listened as he walked up the corridor and tapped on Maria’s door. She heard Maria invite him in. Seconds later the door was thrown back with a crash and Maria came running to her office. Ignoring politeness, she threw herself at Therese to hug and kiss her. She was crying again, but now for happiness.