Authors: Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
“It’s not my place to argue with an employer,” the tutor said through closed teeth.
“I see it’s not,” Ragoczy responded with infuriating affability. “I will be pleased to be kept abreast of your plans, Herr Bündnis, so that you need not be overly inconvenienced by this change.” He went to the door and was about to leave the library when David Bündnis said, “I don’t think this decision is very wise, Herr Graf.”
“Don’t you.” Ragoczy closed the door firmly and went off toward the music room.
Text of a letter from Franchot Ragoczy to Simeon Schnaubel.
Schloss Saint-Germain
Schliersee, Bavaria
April 22, 1922
Dear Simeon:
Your letter arrived yesterday, a very welcome and unexpected pleasure. I am sure that your business with your cousin will prosper, what with your experience here and his American training.
It is good to know that your children like Chicago, and that you have been able to begin to establish yourself there already. I have never seen that city, but from your description of the lake and the surrounding countryside, it must be a pleasant place.
How unfortunate that Hedda has not recovered from her shock. I fully sympathize with you, and wish that I could disagree with your decision, but I cannot. A child with episodes such as you describe must receive more care than you can provide. You say that a home nurse has not been the answer; you would not wish to harm her or be separated from her, but if she has attacked Emmerich twice, then you are wise to follow the suggestions of the physicians and the alienist you mention. After such tragedy, this must add to your sorrow, and doubtless your grief will not fade quickly. To say that I share your feelings would be presumptuous of me, but I do assure you that I understand your anguish, perhaps more than you know.
The sale of your house has been completed, but with the current rate of inflation you will realize less than you ought from the transaction. I have taken the liberty of sending the money through Switzerland rather than Germany so that as much of the value as possible may be preserved. I had hoped to do better for you, but it was not possible. So far the inflation has been held a bit in check, but there are signs that these devices will not work long. I would suggest if it is within your ability to do so, that you remove all monies you still have invested here in Germany and either purchase items of value, such as antiques or jewels or gold, or convert the sums into dollars or pounds. It is quite likely that you will lose your funds entirely if you do not do so.
Laisha is doing quite well, and I thank you for remembering her. She is determined to master the viola and has begun to make a fairly acceptable sound on the instrument. She tells me that I learned to play so long ago that I have forgotten how difficult it is to begin, and she is undoubtedly right. Her new tutors appear to be doing well with her and she tells me that she likes them, but that may change as time goes by. Naturally, I am pleased with her progress; the quickness of her mind is a constant source of delight and pride to me.
Do keep me informed of your wishes regarding your investments, and more, of how you go on in the New World. I confess that I miss the nearness of you and your family, and I deplore more than I can say the reason for your leaving.
Remember me to your family, and be assured that I will do all that I can to guard your interests here.
Most sincerely,
Franchot Ragoczy
his seal, the eclipse
PART III
Graf Franchot Ragoczy von Schloss Saint-Germain
Text of a letter from Elsebin Arrild to Franchot Ragoczy.
March 3, 1924
My dear Graf Ragoczy:
I am sure that my colleague Rosel Speits will be in accordance with me in most of my comments regarding our pupil, Laisha Vlassevna, but I urge you to consult with her as well as myself so that you will be perfectly satisfied with our evaluation.
First, the progress Laisha has made in the past year in languages is most encouraging. Her French is quite good, her Italian a little less so, but adequate, her English is weaker, due to difficulties with pronunciation rather than any basic misunderstanding of the tongue. Her Latin is progressing, but she is not much interested in that language except in its relation to her interests in botany and history. It is my recommendation that we should not place too much emphasis on Latin until her desire to know it is somewhat stronger. If you disagree, I will, of course, stress that study, but I see very little purpose being served by such a method.
Mathematics, at which she has long excelled, now seems not to interest her with the same degree that she was at this time last year. In the two years she has been my pupil, I have noticed that her mathematical concepts have been more active in the study of music than in the matter of abstract mathematics. Perhaps you would not object to my adapting our studies to a more musical structure, for that way I know that her interest will continue to be piqued.
In the area of music she has made a good deal of effort, and this is shown in her continually-developing abilities with piano and strings. She has recently improved on the violin so that she plays it almost as well as she plays viola. It may be that she will want to study one of the woodwinds as Well, or at least she says that now. If she is still so inclined in six months, I would advise you to provide her with Instruction on the instrument of her choice.
I believe I have remarked to you before on the need for a more active social life for Laisha. She is well-behaved and has a pleasant manner about her which is sure to make her liked, but she has had little opportunity to try her wings and I fear that in time this will become a disadvantage, and she will become one of those quiet young women, who, although they have a great deal to offer, remain eclipsed by the more vivacious damsels who have had more opportunity to be with others. You have discussed the various circumstances that have led to her withdrawn life, and to a great degree I am sympathetic, and for the first year I was with her, I agreed with you completely. It is most awkward that she should have so little memory of her past, for it must lead to uneasy moments in company. Of late I have encouraged her to say that she is Russian and that she would prefer not to discuss her earlier life. The failing in that is that it may be assumed that she is moving in a higher social rank than the one she was born to, but her bearing, her appearance and the introspective charm she has achieved will serve her in good stead there. Her intensity is another matter, and one that might be less well-understood than her reticence. You have said before that those who love her will admire and encourage her intensity, and in a sense you are entirely correct. However, it has been my experience that young women with such disconcerting airs do not do well. You have told me that it is not necessary for her to worry about the wealth of the husband she will eventually have, but it would be most unfortunate for her to be deprived of an advantageous match because a man was put off by her forthrightness and somewhat fierce demeanor. I am aware that many young German men are enthused over Vikings and Valkyries, but that does not mean that they would be happy with one in the drawing room. You have said that it is many years until Laisha must concern herself with a husband, but you forget that she has already reached the age, according to your estimate, of thirteen. In a year or two she may well be going to dancing parties, for girls do that earlier now than when I was young. At sixteen, if she is like her contemporaries, she will be entering an active social life, and unless there are some changes, she will not be prepared for it.
I am aware that now Laisha says she would prefer a more academic life than the majority of girls have, but it is easy for her to say this now. In a year or two, she may well change her mind, and it will not be easy for her to acquire in a year the skills other girls have been learning for a decade. Of course it is laudable that she wishes to continue her studies, and her devotion to music is remarkable, but you must be aware that with girls of this age, such things often become secondary or tertiary once they have discovered the male of the species. In one sense, she already has, through living in this household, but a guardian and servants are not quite the same thing as a handsome boy not much older than she is.
Rosel Speits and I disagree over this point, incidentally. It is her contention that Laisha should be allowed to choose for herself, and to a point I concur, but I know that there are demands that will be made of this child before much longer and it is best if she is prepared to meet them. A girl who can discuss only music and botany is not much use at a party. Miss Speits has said that there are many young men who would be delighted for such conversation, but you will agree that if Laisha is excluded from various occasions, she will not have the chance to discover that sort of young man for herself.
I had not intended this to be so much devoted to Laisha’s social developments. That I have done so indicates how much the matter is on my mind. It also shows, I think, how Well Laisha has done with her studies, for if these were faltering, I would not be so concerned with these other matters.
Of course, I am at your disposal to discuss these or any other aspects of your ward’s education.
Respectfully,
Elsebin Arrild
1
When the final salute was fired, French soldiers held the rifles, but it was the only sour note in Jürgen Baldemar Ostneige’s funeral. The churchyard at St. Sixtus at Schliersee was satisfactorily full, many of the men attending defiantly in uniforms from the Great War. It was a sunny May afternoon, warm enough for topcoats to be left at home and bright enough to make the dark clothes of those gathered around the grave seem incongruous.
The minister intoned the familiar graveside words in a monotonous drone when the guns had been fired. Few of the mourners paid him much attention.
“It’s a damned insult, I say,” Konrad Natter whispered to Maximillian Altbrunnen as the ritual handful of earth was tossed on Jürgen’s coffin. “French soldiers here, when it was the French who made an invalid of him.”
“It was the French or nothing,” Maximillian hissed back. “My sister thought this would be better.”
“Women!” Natter said quietly. “She should have come to me. I could have arranged something. There are ways to deal with these situations. Why didn’t you suggest it?”
“Because she didn’t ask me,” Maximillian muttered, and moved a step or two away from Natter.
Gudrun, flanked by Walther Stoff and Klaus Ostneige, Jürgen’s imposing older brother, watched the coffin from the shadow of her black hat and veil, Her blue eyes were dry, as they had been since Walther had come in tears to her room in the first flush of morning to tell her that her husband was dead. Of course Jürgen was dead, she thought. He had been dead for years, and this was the first time the rest of them had noticed it. She went through the motions of grief with no more feeling than she might have had for a lost piece of jewelry.
Then most of it was over and the gathering around the grave broke up, bits of darkness moving into the blooming sunlight. Gudrun let Maximillian guide her back to the waiting Lancia Lambda with black crepe streamers obscuring its light fawn color. Behind her, Klaus was speaking to one or two of the officers attending the funeral, his voice rough with impatience.
“This is not the time, Natter, nor the place. I will call on you before I go back to Hamburg. This latest French ploy is an outrage, but this is not the place or setting to discuss it.” Klaus regarded Natter closely for a moment, his cold eyes flickering with some remote recognition.
“I will look forward to it. A pity about your brother. A great loss.” Natter said the words automatically, with little feeling in them. “I understand you are a friend of Rudolph von Sebottendorff.”
“Yes. It is a great honor.” Klaus gave him a curt nod and hastened after Gudrun as he saw Maximillian hold the door of the Lancia for her.
“Are you all right?” Maximillian asked in an undervoice.
“I am very well, thank you,” she said, as she had been saying since she left Wolkighügel earlier that day. “I’m … tired.”
“Do you still want to be alone, or should I come back with you?” He looked uneasy as he asked this, and his glance strayed to Konrad Natter and Helmut Rauch, who waited by the Mercedes.
“You needn’t come back. I will put myself in Otto’s care and Frau Bürste will look after me once I get home.” She looked over the people filing past her automobile and felt empty. She had nothing to say to any of them, and had no interest in their company or their sympathy. “I need time to myself, Maxl.”
“Selbstverständlich. I won’t come along then. Don’t worry about me—I’ll take care of myself.” He closed the door to the passenger compartment and waited until Otto climbed into the driver’s seat. “Take care of her, Otto.”
Otto mumbled a few words as he started the automobile. He did not know what to say to Maxl, his favorite, for this behavior. It was most improper for Gudrun to be left alone, and for her own brother to go off…! He shook his head as he put the Lancia into gear with a jerk. As they drove out of the churchyard, he turned briefly to Gudrun to say, “Do not be concerned, Rudi, I will look after you.”
“Thank you, Otto. I know you will.” Her voice lacked inflection and her eyes were staring without seeing.
Behind them, Walther’s old Opel sputtered into movement, following them.
It was a short, familiar drive to Wolkighügel, accomplished in silence. As Otto drove through the gates, he saw that there was another automobile parked, waiting. He leaned backward and gave Gudrun a warning. “I’m afraid there will be visitors, Rudi, no matter what was said earlier.”