A Fatal Waltz

“There was something about that girl…. I don’t know what it is…she looks so familiar, but I can’t place her.”

“Bainbridge!” Colin stepped across the Kärntner Ring in front of the hotel and shook Jeremy’s hand before kissing mine. “Where the bloody hell have you had my fiancée all afternoon?” He kissed my hand again, his eyes full of teasing warmth.

“Oh, you know Em, she’s been running me around all day in search of justice. Tedious girl. Don’t know how you tolerate her.” He looked at my face as he spoke, but did not meet my eyes.

“You’re a beast, Jeremy. But thank you for accompanying me. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

He stared down at his feet, then looked into my eyes. “Right, then. I’ll be off if you’re quite done with me.” The moment he’d disappeared into the hotel, Colin pulled me close and kissed me.

“You’re lovely with the snow falling all around you,” he said. “But I’d best get you inside before you freeze.” As we turned to the entrance, I saw Jeremy standing in the doorway, watching us. He saw me looking at him and came back out, his face red as he rushed past us and made his way down the street. I called out to him, but he did not stop. Colin grabbed my arm when I started to follow.

“Let him go.”

“But I—”

“This is difficult enough for him, Emily.”

“You don’t think that he—” I stopped, looked after him. “No, Colin. You’re wrong.”

“Believe what you want, my dear, but this is one case where I know better than you.”

Chapter 14

“Maudlin,” Cécile said, tossing aside a collection of Goethe’s poetry. We were in the sitting room of our suite, taking tea. “I much prefer something French.” Odette, singing a mournful-sounding aria, came in with our mail, which she handed to Cécile. “Nothing from England for you today?” she asked her maid.

Odette did not reply, only increased the volume of her song as she disappeared into her mistress’s bedroom.

“You see what I suffer?” Cécile said. “Your butler is ruining my peace of mind.”

“I can accept that so long as Klimt is keeping you happy,” I said.

“I like him because he has no expectations. We’re perfectly suited to each other, at least for the moment.”

“What about after the moment?”

“Why would I bother to even begin thinking about that? I’m not looking for a grand passion, Kallista. I had that once and don’t want to suffer through it again.”

“You’ve never told me this,” I said. “Who was it? I know not your husband.” 

“Non, not him. It was a long time ago, but not long enough that I’m ready to think about him again.” 

“Do you still love him?” 

“Non.” 

“Not at all?” 

“Perhaps a very little bit. That’s the trouble with grand passions, bien sûr. You can never entirely cleanse yourself of them. It’s best to avoid them altogether.” 

“So who was this grand passion?” I asked. 

“Someday I will tell you the story, but no time soon. It’s too frustrating.” 

“I don’t like to see you frustrated,” Colin said, coming into the room. 

“You, Monsieur Hargreaves, are divine.” She offered him her hand, which he kissed before sitting next to me. “Not only to say that, but to come in at the exact moment I want the subject of our conversation changed.” 

“I’m glad to be of service, and you, madame, are enchanting as always.” He accepted the tea she poured for him. “I’ve figured out Harrison’s game, and the stakes are higher than I thought.” 

“What is it?” I asked. 

“He’s trying to draw England into a war with Germany. A few years ago he was involved in a failed plot to persuade the crown prince to overthrow his father.” 

“Rudolf?” I asked. Colin nodded. 

“Obviously nothing came of it. The goal had been to see the prince, who was much less sympathetic to the kaiser than his father, on the throne. Rudolf would then abandon Germany and ally Austria with England and France. Fortescue was always opposed to the scheme, so far as I can tell. Didn’t think it particularly mattered who Austria is allied with.” 

“Did you know that Rudolf wrote pieces for Wiener Tagblatt?” Cécile asked. 

“The newspaper?” I asked. 

“Oui. A very liberal newspaper.” 

“What did the emperor think of that?” I asked. 

“I don’t believe he knew,” Colin said. “Did he?” 

“He did not,” Cécile said. “Rudolf published under the name Szeps. His father would not have agreed with much, if any, of what he wrote.” 

“So Harrison and his crew tried to convince him to stage a coup?” I asked. 

“Yes,” Colin said. “But they failed.” 

“How would this lead to war now?” Cécile asked. 

“Germany is becoming increasingly aggressive in her nationalism, and there are many who believe war is inevitable,” Colin said. “Harrison seems to have abandoned his plan to gain Austria’s support and is instead trying to instigate some sort of incident that will precipitate a major conflict between nations.” 

“But that makes no sense,” I said. “First he thought we needed Austria’s support, now he doesn’t?” 

“He knows he won’t get it. So he believes we should fight now, before Germany and her allies grow more powerful.” 

“Are you quite certain nothing came of his earlier plot?” I told them about the letter I’d seen on the empress’s desk. “From what I read, it sounded as if the French and English were involved with Mayerling.” 

“It’s possible that Harrison has a French ally,” Colin said. 

“Could you ask the empress about it, Cécile?” 

She sighed. “I don’t think it is a good idea. She’s fragile, and dredging this up will only cause her more pain.” 

“But if she’s looking into the matter herself—,” I began. 

“So far as I know, she’s learned nothing new in more than a year. And before that, she learned almost nothing. She’s a mother grieving the loss of a child and is desperate for there to be an explanation more significant than a lovers’ suicide pact.” 

“But what if she’s right, and what if we could find the truth?” I asked. 

“Right now we need to focus on Harrison and Brandon,” Colin said. “If what happened at Mayerling is related, we’ll figure it out. But I don’t think it’s necessary to disturb the empress at this point.” 

“Lord Fortescue controlled those around him with blackmail. If he had evidence that Mr. Harrison had anything to do with the crown prince’s death—” 

“—Fortescue would have absolute control over him,” Colin finished for me. 

“And now that Fortescue is dead, Mr. Harrison is free to pursue his agenda,” I said. “How convenient for him.” 

“Harrison didn’t kill Fortescue. He was standing next to me when we were shooting.” 

“He might have hired someone else to do it,” I said. 

“Possibly.” Colin nodded, but his face revealed not the slightest hint of agreement. “But I find it hard to believe that an assassin would use a dueling pistol from his victim’s house.” 

“Why not? It makes it look like an ordinary murder,” I said.