1632.
'Kepler believed in astrology.'
There was outrage in Phillip's voice. His great grandfather, Paracelsus, hadn't believed in astrology, so neither did Phillip. Lips had heard him on the topic many times, which made one wonder how he felt about the use his Kirlian imagers were being put to.
'He was imperial mathematician to Emperor Rudolph II, and if he was still living, would have the king of Bohemia as his patron.' Suddenly Maria slapped Phillip. It was no love tap; Phillip was knocked off balance. 'You are a grave disappointment, Theophrastus. What would Grandfather think?'
Lips winced, not so much at the slap, but at the last bit of spleen Phillip's mother had vented before she stalked out. That had been a low blow. Paracelsus was Phillip's hero, to be a disappointment to Paracelsus . . . Lips hurried out to get Dina. Phillip needed serious comforting.
****
'Something has to be done about that . . .' Words failed Lips.
'Witch, bitch, cow,' Lori suggested.
Lips smiled. You could always trust Lori to lighten the mood. 'Take your pick, but something has to be done. She's making Phillip miserable.'
'And she is upsetting Frau Kastenmayerin,' Frau Mittelhausen said.
Lips hadn't noticed any conflict between Dina and Phillip's mother, but he wasn't surprised. The daughter of a poor pastor wasn't something she could boast about to her friends back in Neuburg.
'What about poison? I'm sure there are plenty of possibilities,' Lori suggested.
'It's something to dream about, but it probably wouldn't work. I mean, Lead oxide is supposed to be toxic, but you've seen how much she puts on.'
'That's lead oxide? I thought it was zinc oxide. Maybe she hasn't been using it for long,' Lori suggested.
'Phillip says she was painting her face with white lead even before he left for the school of mines in Fugger,' Lips said.
'Painting? She's putting the stuff on with a trowel by the looks of it. But you're right. If she hasn't gone down with lead poisoning after all this time, what chance is there for success with anything else?'
****
Christoph Seidel stood outside the HDG Laboratories facility at Jena and wondered just how he was supposed to persuade Dr. Gribbleflotz, the owner of the facility before him, to move to Prague to serve as King Venceslas V Adalbertus of Bohemia's personal aural investigator. Normally, such a question wouldn't arise, as the social cachet of being treated by someone so close to the king would have the rich and powerful beating a way to his door, but Dr. Gribbleflotz wasn't normal. Money alone was not going to entice him to make the move; he had more than enough of it already.
To make a poor case even worse, neither the Catholic courtiers nor the Calvinist courtiers were likely to show much enthusiasm for the king's introducing a close personal adviser of the Lutheran persuasion into the court. Again, normally that would be a minor problem, just as long as the doctor wasn't overly enthusiastic in his religion. However, Dr. Gribbleflotz had married a Lutheran pastor's daughter, and was therefore undoubtedly personally deeply religious.
****
'Run that past me again,' Phillip asked his visitor. 'You are asking me to move to Prague to act as the King of Bohemia's aural investigator? Why me? Surely there are plenty of aural investigators already in Prague?'
Lips was busy holding on to his chair to stop himself jumping up and down. Here was the perfect opportunity for Phillip to finally silence his harping mother. He couldn't believe the polite boredom in Phillip's expression. He should be dancing on the table and swinging from the rafters, but no, he was just sitting there listening with polite disinterest.
'But none of them are able to do color.' Christoph raised a hand and snapped his fingers. One of the servants who'd accompanied him stepped forward and opened a large leather bag before stepping back. Christoph started to stack bundles of USE paper money on the table. 'One month's stipend in advance.' Then he started on another pile. 'And enough to cover your removal expenses.'
Lips had virtually no experience of handling money, and certainly no experience with the quantities the man had just placed on Phillip's desk. However, he had learned how to estimate the mass of objects based on their size and composition. Each pile looked like half a kilogram of paper, and if the rest of the bills in the piles were the same denomination as those on the top, then each bundle represented fifty thousand dollars. He licked his suddenly dry lips. Even a small part of one of those piles would be enough to buy the clothes of his dreams.
'I must consult my wife,' Phillip said.
Lips wasn't the only shocked face in the room when Phillip walked out. There was a hundred thousand dollars on that desk and Phillip had completely ignored it. Well, Lips knew his job as host in Phillip's absence. 'Would you like some refreshments while we await Dr. Gribbleflotz' return?'
****
'I don't understand,' Lori protested. 'I thought Dr. Phil didn't believe in Kirlian Image Interpretation.'
Lips glanced over at Hans, who'd been sticking to the up-timer like glue. He'd jerked back, making protection from evil hand-signs. Lips settled for gently shaking his head and looking very disappointed, very much like one of his teachers when he'd failed to grasp a concept.
'Well, that's what he told me,' Lori said, gesturing to Hans. 'And now you're saying he's planning to drop everything he's got going here in Jena and high-tail it to Prague to be the personal aural investigator to some king. How can he do that if he doesn't believe in it?'
'HDG Laboratories will continue to operate. Hans will still be here, and my brother Martin will take over Frau Mittelhausen's job of running the commercial side of the business.'
'Still,' Lori said, 'why would he want to give all this up to move to Prague?'
'Frau Bombast,' Hans said.
Lips nodded. 'That's right, Phillip's mother. It's especially attractive because the king who is employing Phillip used to employ Johannes Kepler. And more importantly, when he employed Kepler he was only a general, but now, of course, he is a king.'
'What's so important about working for a king?' Lori asked.
'Herr Weiser's patron is merely a Graf,' Hans said.
'Oh, one-upmanship and social climbing, I wouldn't have thought Dr. Phil was overly interested in doing that?'
'But his mother is. All will be forgiven if her son has a king for a patron, and more importantly, Frau Bombast will return home a happy woman,' Lips said.
'It seems a bit extreme just to get rid of one woman,' Lori said.
'Frau Bombast is no ordinary woman. Almost anything is to be considered when the reward is getting rid of that female,' Hans said.
'How long do you think it'll take before she finds out?' Lori asked.
'Not very long,' Hans said. 'Someone, who shall remain nameless, but is in this room, escorted Herr Seidel's party to the inn where Frau Bombast is residing.'
Lips modestly burnished his nails. That had been a brainwave. No doubt the men would talk about their purpose in Jena. 'The story should be all around the city by morning.'
'Well, if it is, you'd better be ready to reassure all the people who depend on Dr. Phil,' Lori said. 'They'll probably worry that the business will shut down if he isn't here.'
That was something Lips hadn't thought of. He rose from the table. 'I'd better have a few words with Frau Mittelhausen. She'll probably send a few of the girls shopping.'
'How does sending some of the girls shopping reassure anybody?' Lori demanded.
'Women gossip,' Lips said, before hastily leaving the room.
Lips made sure he had a prime spot when Frau Bombast, as expected, stormed in on the family without knocking. Fortunately, her heavy-footed stride gave them some warning.
'What is this I hear?' Maria Elisabeth Bombast demanded in her most strident voice.
Phillip appeared calm as he finished chewing the food in his mouth, took a sip of herbal tea, and finally smiled
