Tempting Fate (47 page)

“My departure now would cause comment, and the work would be compromised. If we remain, there are risks. I thought as the train sat on the tracks at Sauerlach that it might be best to send you and Laisha to Paris, away from this place.” He spoke easily enough and his beautiful voice was light, but there was pain in his dark eyes.

“Laisha would not want that,” Roger said. “She was distressed because you were late this afternoon. For that matter, she does not know you are back. It would not be a kindness, my master, to send her away from you.”

Ragoczy managed a brief, wry smile. “I believe you, because I want to. Where is she? Perhaps I had better inform her of my return.” He had started to rise, but Roger’s words stopped him.

“She’s in the library with Bündnis, doing geography lessons.”

“With Bündnis?” Ragoczy repeated. He settled back in the chair. “That is somewhat awkward.” There was a steely quality in his tone as he went on. “That was one of the interesting things I discovered while I was in Berlin. Those Prussians are so jealous of Bavaire that they occasionally speak out of turn.” Without any comment, Ragoczy switched from French, which he had been using, to Latin. “At one of those endless formal receptions, I happened to … shall we say overhear? a conversation that disturbed me, and a bit later, when there had been a good deal more champagne served, one of the men who had been in on the earlier conversation began to talk, rather belligerently, with me. His name, as I recall, was Emil Gansser. Very properly dressed, connected with the Junkers as well as most of the commercial concerns in the north, I gather. He gave me something of a harangue on the perils of the modern world. German nationalism was one of his themes. He has little good to say for Communists, the French, the Jews, or any foreigner. Not unlike what has been coming from most of the radical groups in München, of course, but this man is not a street-corner agitator, or an ex-soldier playing at war. He is powerful, and a great many men in authority listen to him.”

“But as long as Bavaria and Prussia are at odds…” Roger began.

“They are all worried about the inflation. Everyone was talking about it, making brittle jokes.” He paused. “Herr Doktor Gansser let something slip. He warned me that I had better be very careful, because they were watching me. Later he told me that I should not take his remarks seriously. He was so insistent that he had meant nothing by them that I became concerned.” He got out of his chair and strode the length of the room. “I have done a little investigating these last two days, and what I learned has … displeased me.” He stopped by the tall, narrow window and stared out into the dusk and the snow. “It seems that Gansser’s lapse was no more than the truth. There have been reports sent quite regularly from this Schloss to certain political gentlemen. It will not continue.”

“If you dismiss the … tutor?” Roger inquired.

“Doubtless I will have a reason, one which they cannot dispute and which will make sense to them.” He came away from the window. “Will that bother Laisha very much, do you think?”

“She does not have any marked affection for Bündnis,” Roger said after giving the question his consideration. “If someone more … encouraging were to take his place, she would not object too much.”

“I had hoped that would be your opinion.” He thrust his small, beautiful hands into his pockets. “I have had spies enough around me that by now I should be used to it and think of them as no greater pests than ants or flies. But I’ve never learned to do this. And that a spy should teach my child…!” This last was in a language that was ancient when Rome was a village on the Tiber. It revealed more than anything else about him how great was his distress.

“My master—” Roger exclaimed.

“A moment, old friend,” Ragoczy said quietly, and after the better part of a minute, said in French, “It has haunted me, that thought. Of the three of them, Bündnis seemed the safest. What was wrong with me then, that I erred so?”

“And if the others were also sent?” Roger asked. “You might have had no choice that would have been better.”

Ragoczy gave this his consideration. “It may be. If this group is as pervasive as the hints indicate, that may have been their intention all along. And Vögel. What of him, I wonder?” He shook his head. “Laisha must not know about this. I will not have her made a pawn. Bündnis and those men behind him may think her that, but they are wrong.” Once more he paused. “The time is so short. It was yesterday I found her in that chicken coop. Now look at her. She will be grown and gone in the course of an afternoon, I think. To have something so petty, so foolish as
this
come near her—by all the forgotten gods, Roger—sickens me. There is suffering enough in this world without this cynical exploitation.”

“Yet she will have to discover it sometime, my master. Otherwise she will be unarmed in a dangerous world. You say that she will be grown soon. It’s true enough, and in that little time, she must learn a great deal.” Roger watched Ragoczy and saw the tired nod he gave.

“Do all fathers feel this way? Or is it that I have come to it … shall we say late in … life?” He touched his forehead, then let his hand drop. “I doubt she could be more my child if my seed had started her.”

Roger was taken aback, but his expression changed swiftly. He had never heard Ragoczy, in all the time they had been man and manservant, say such a thing.

“Don’t be alarmed,” Ragoczy; told him, self-mockery twisting his mouth. “I’m not becoming dissatisfied with my lot at this late date. There was one time in Thebes, long before you knew me, when I think I was mad because nothing I tried enabled me to take a woman as other men. That was before I discovered what it was to love a woman, love instead of take.” He raised his head. “That’s not important; it’s long past. Though I do wonder now, what kind of father I might have been,”

“You are the best father for Laisha Vlassevna,” Roger said. “I have been thinking of my own children, my son who died of tetanus and my daughters who were alive when I was sent to Rome. I was a good father for my boy and one of my daughters, I think. But the other girl, Mila, I could not fathom her at all, and I know I did many things that were unwise, and yet I could find nothing else to do. She drew away from me and I have never known why.” He cleared his throat. “It was so long ago, but I still remember.”

“Listen to us,” Ragoczy said with an effort to take off the melancholy that threatened to possess him. “We’re like graybeards sitting in the sun, reminiscing about our youth. I must go deal with Bündnis, which will make me a far better father than standing here debating with you, old friend. I recall when I first engaged Bündnis that I was concerned, but months went by, and there were other matters to occupy my attention, and I did not
look;
I did not
see.
My blindness … You are good to bear with me, Roger.” He touched his tie once, as if assuring himself that he was at his most impressive, and started toward the door. He paused on the way. “I must go to Bad Wiessee before too much time passes. When the storm is over, there will be one or two women who will enjoy a holiday interlude, and I…” He looked down. “I wish that Madelaine … But that’s useless.” He opened the door and strode off down the hall.

Laisha was sketching the out line of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire when she looked up sharply, the point of her pencil poking through the paper in the region of Bohemia. “He’s here!” she cried out over David Bündnis’ reprimand, and ran toward the library door. “Papa!” she called happily before the door opened.

“Yes,” Ragoczy said as he stepped into the room. “I’ve finally returned. I spent a good portion of the afternoon sitting in a train going nowhere.” He hugged her as she hurtled into his arms, thinking inconsequently that at the rate she was growing, she might well turn out to be as tall as he. “How have you been, my child?”

“Bored!” she declared roundly. “It’s been snowing, I can’t take my horse but, it’s too deep for the automobiles to drive in and Nikolai says that the sleigh needs repairs. So I have been sitting indoors and reading until nothing makes sense. I practiced the viola, but it’s no fun when you don’t play with me. I’ve learned another Satie piece on the piano, which no one here wants to listen to anymore. Herr Bündnis keeps saying that I am wasting a great opportunity.”

“No doubt,” Ragoczy said rather dryly as he glanced toward the tutor. What a shy, unassuming man he was! What a superb disguise it was! “Guten Abend, Herr Bündnis, I hope I see you well?”

“Quite well, Herr Graf.” Bündnis, as always, managed to convey disapproval of any display of affection.

“I am aware that you’re at lessons just now, but perhaps you would be willing to interrupt your instruction long enough to have a word or two with me?” His manner was as politely urbane as ever; only the glitter at the back of his dark eyes; mirrored his true emotions.

Bündnis hesitated for an instant, then smiled. “Of course, Herr Graf. It would be my pleasure.”

“Indeed.” He stood back from Laisha. “Will you give me ten minutes, with your tutor, my child? And when you are finished with your lessons, we’ll play duets for an hour, if you would like.”

She gave a kind of skip and grinned at him. “Lots of Mozart and Ravel,” she said promptly, “I get to choose them.”

“Of course,” he promised her. “You may return in ten minutes.” His eyes followed her as she left the library.

“May I be permitted to know if I have offended you in some way, Herr Graf?” the tutor asked in his most decorous tone.

“Offended me?” Ragoczy inquired as he turned toward Bündnis, and for an instant there was something in his face that frightened the tutor. It was gone at once and Bündnis wondered if he should credit it to nerves. “What would make you think that, Herr Bündnis?”

“Why … nothing. That is why I asked.” His recovery from his blunder left him edgy. His Adam’s apple bobbed against his old-fashioned stiff collar.

“I see.” Ragoczy came across the library and took a seat at the end of the table. It was the only chair with arms and a high, upholstered back, other than the two lounging chairs by the fire. “I have been thinking, Herr Bündnis. I am somewhat concerned about my … ward. She is, as you doubtless have noticed, growing up. I would estimate her age to be about eleven now, and that is something of a difficult time for girls, is it not?” His slight but commanding hauteur kept David Bündnis from speaking. “This concerns me a great deal, as well it might. She is in a household of males, and while I do not fear for her in that regard, I know that she would benefit from the presence of women. She will want to learn from them, not simply the academic subjects that are necessary, but social matters, the courtesies and graces that will make her young womanhood more enjoyable to her.”

“Herr Graf, I don’t…” As quickly as his objection came to his lips, it faded under Ragoczy’s penetrating gaze.

“At first I considered bringing in a woman tutor to work with you,” Ragoczy went on as if he had not heard Bündnis. “But that has been tried once, and as you recall, it did not answer. I have decided, therefore, to engage two female tutors for Laisha. They will give her the instruction she requires and aid her in learning all those things a young woman must know. They will also act as each other’s chaperons, and that will quiet all but the most egregious gossip.” He leaned a little forward in the chair. “I will, of course, provide you with references and a reasonable bonus for your diligence. Shall we say about thirty days from today your employment here will be ended?”

“Herr Graf, this is absurd,” Bündnis declared when he found his voice.

“How is it absurd, Herr Bündnis?” Ragoczy inquired, his fine brows raising.

“Well, she is doing so well just now…” Bündnis said, and it sounded weak, even to himself. “It might set her back to have new teachers who demand so many new things of her. She is a very intelligent child, as you are aware, but because of her unique problems, she could find a change disorienting, and it would have a bad effect on her work.” His voice was slightly shrill. “If I were to remain here for a time, the transfer would be more easily made, I think. Laisha would be prepared for her new tutors and—”

“Yes, I did think of that myself,” Ragoczy said, cutting off Bündnis’ babbling. “And there is something in what you say. Nevertheless, I believe that this way is the more reasonable. Laisha will have a short holiday. We may travel a bit if the weather is improved. That will provide her the transition without having to deal with tutors who may, because of their habits, be at cross-purposes. That would be far more disruptive to Laisha than a complete change of teachers.”

David Bündnis sat quite still for a moment, then said, “You are foreign, Herr Graf, and for that reason you may find yourself imposed upon. If you are determined on this course, I trust you will let me recommend a proper agency to contact for qualified tutors?”

Ragoczy’s smile was not at all cordial. “How kind of you, Herr Bündnis, but I will decline your offer. I believe that it will be best if I select the tutors for Laisha. I have associates in Switzerland and Denmark who will begin to investigate for me.”

“Switzerland and Denmark?” Bündnis said, appalled. “How will such teaching help her? This is Deutschland—”

“Ah, but as you have pointed out, I am a foreigner, as is my … ward. I have found it necessary to be familiar with other peoples and other societies in my life, and it is likely that Laisha will face the same requirements. It is time that she develop a little broader view, don’t you think?” His lip turned sardonically.

Once again Bündnis floundered, attempting to keep some little influence with this disturbing man. “No doubt you’re right. But as Schloss Saint-Germain is her home, it is appropriate for her first instruction to be Auf Deutsch. The rest will come later.”

“Herr Bündnis, Schloss Saint-Germain is not my only holding. I have dwellings in other countries, and it may become necessary for us to live elsewhere—it is a risk that all foreigners encounter, is it not?” He spoke coolly, logically, and his eyes never left Bündnis’. “I am not an unreasonable man, Herr Bündnis, and I am aware that money is becoming difficult to come by, with inflation eating up what little gain there is. You will not be asked to put yourself at a serious disadvantage. I have said I will provide you a bonus, and I assure you now that it will not be paltry. A man of your ability should have no difficulty, even in these uncertain times, in finding some employment that is to your satisfaction.” He rose, looking down at David Bündnis. “You would be wise to accept this. I will not change my mind.”