1632

Outside the library, the vestibule quickly became packed with the other members of the U.S. government. Within an hour, every elected official living in Grantville had arrived at the school. The crowd became so large that it was necessary for most of them to gather in the cafeteria. At periodic intervals, Representatives eavesdropping on the raging quarrel in the library would give hurried reports.

At first, Melissa and her supporters gathered around one table, while Quentin and his faction collected at another. But eventually, as if by unspoken agreement, the two of them met privately in the vestibule.

'I'm worried, Quentin,' admitted Melissa. 'I think I understand what Mike's trying to do. If the United States is part of some great Confederation of Europe, we'll have breathing room. It'd buy us time to grow and-' She groped for words. 'And teach. Instead of turning us into a garrison state.'

Quentin nodded. 'Yeah. And if I'm following the latest twist and turn in the debate, Mike just got half of Franconia added along with the rest of Thuringia. I think he's shooting for all of it, too.' For a moment, his eyes grew a bit dreamy. 'Be one hell of an expansion in the market, that's for sure. Every business in the U.S. will start growing by leaps and bounds. The railroads alone-' He broke off, scratching his chin worriedly. 'Still-'

'Still-' echoed Melissa. She sighed heavily. 'But it sounds like he's trading political principles for military security and economic expansion.'

She sighed again. 'Well, that's not fair. He hasn't budged an inch on the Bill of Rights. Mike wouldn't. Not on that. But I'm worried he'll give so much else away in return that-'

Quentin snorted. 'Mike?' He laughed drily. 'Melissa, I used to negotiate contract provisions with that pigheaded SOB. Not to mention about a million grievances.'

The mine manager scowled. 'I'm not worried about that. Mike negotiates like a pit bull. He'll give you your leg back, sure- after he's swallowed the meat. It's just-' He heaved his own heavy sigh. 'Oh, hell. It's just that I'm a conservative, and I don't approve of radical changes. And what Mike's proposing-' He threw up his hands. 'I mean-Jesus! I don't care what you call it-a friggin' king?'

For a moment-a rare moment-he and Melissa shared a common outrage and a common opinion. Then, simultaneously, they burst into laughter.

'Well,' chuckled Melissa. 'Look at it this way, Quentin. If you and I can manage-somehow-to get along, then maybe those two can do the same.' She peered through the glass doors of the library. Gustav and Mike were now on their feet, standing nose to nose, roaring and raging and gesticulating wildly.

'Testosterone!' sneered Melissa. Her eyes fell on Rebecca. 'Thank God for feminine reason.'

Quentin snorted. He began to make some sarcastic remark. Then, as his own eyes fell on Rebecca, the remark went unsaid. The snort became a chuckle. 'Believe it or not, I agree with you.' Glowering: 'Just this once.'

***

It was done. The initial round, at least.

Gustav Adolf was now sprawled on his chair, relaxed and at ease. 'Axel will be furious with me,' he said, smiling ruefully. 'He will accuse me of being a half-witted peasant, swindled by a Gypsy.'

Mike glanced at the doors of the library. Every inch of the glass seemed to be filled with faces.

'I'll probably catch hell myself,' he admitted. 'They'll be calling me the new Benedict Arnold. Selling out my country to a foreign crown.'

His eyes came back to meet those of the king. They did not seem noticeably chagrined, either of them.

'Don't care!' snapped Mike. 'If I have to, I'll call for new elections and run against all of them.' Half-savagely: 'And I'll win, too!'

The king grunted. The sound was full of satisfaction. 'Spoken like a Vasa!'

The future hereditary Captain General of the United States matched stares with his future President. There was a richness to that silent exchange. Acceptance of future quarrel-bitter quarrel, often enough. Recognition of mutual necessity. Understanding that the road would be full of pitfalls and controversy. Respect-even admiration. And, underlying everything, a shared desire to end a continent's torment and shape a better world out of its ruins.

'Thank you for saving our children, Captain Gars,' said Mike softly.

The king nodded heavily. His eyes seemed to twinkle. He turned to Rebecca. 'Your husband is such a scoundrel, you know. He thinks I don't understand his scheme. He thinks I will continue to safeguard his offspring, simply by giving them a world large enough for them to grow. Grow straight and strong, as big as giants.'

Rebecca smiled, but said nothing. The king chuckled. 'And you as well!' He clapped his hand to his forehead in a histrionic gesture. 'The poor Vasas of the future! They will toil away, sweat pouring off their brows, shielding this monster growing in their midst.'

Rebecca smiled, said nothing. The king grimaced like a thespian. 'Oxenstierna will denounce me for a fool! He will accuse me of attaching a parasite to the body of Sweden and its Confederation. Corpus Evangelicorum, feeding the worm within! I'll never hear the end of it!'

Rebecca smiled, said nothing. The king returned her smile with one of his own. And, this time, there was nothing histrionic in the expression at all. It was a gentle smile; calm, and confident.

'So be it,' pronounced Gustav II Adolf. 'An unborn child is also a parasite, if a man wishes to see things in that manner. But I do not.'

He planted huge hands on his knees and rose slowly to his feet. Now standing erect, the king of Sweden seemed to fill a library for schoolchildren like a giant in his own right. And, like a giant, he roared his simple challenge-to himself as much as to his world.

'Vasa! Always Vasa!'

Chapter 61

Alex Mackay and his cavalrymen arrived in Grantville the next day. Immediately, upon learning that his beloved fiancйe-crazy girl!-had been involved in the thick of the fight at the school, Alex went in search of her. Desperate to assure himself that she was truly unharmed.

But his betrothed was hiding from him. 'He's gonna kill me when he finds out I'm pregnant,' she moaned. 'I'm dead.'

'Leave the matter to me,' intoned her new protector. 'No harm will befall you.'

Nor did it. When Alex finally found Julie, hiding behind the huge form in the library, the king of Sweden set him straight.

'Won't tolerate such behavior on the part of one of my officers,' gruffed Gustav, in blithe disregard of his own not-entirely-reputable history. 'Bastardy is a shame before God!'

As it happens, Alex was not angry with Julie at all. He was quite delighted at the news, in fact. But he had no time to reassure his betrothed. The king marched him directly to the parson and oversaw the rest of the preparations himself. Karen Reading was quite overwhelmed by his presence. Overwhelmed-and ecstatic. Her bridal shop had just gotten a royal boost.

They were married the following day. The king himself stood in the groom's party. For all the impromptu nature of the event, most of the town showed up for the wedding. Julie and Alex were quite popular, which accounted for some of the crowd. But most of them came to get a glimpse of Gustav Adolf. Or Captain General Gars, to use what would soon become his correct title whenever the king of Sweden visited the United States in an official capacity. Word of the negotiations was spreading rapidly, and everyone wanted to make their own assessment of this mysterious new figure in their political pantheon.

On balance, they were quite impressed. The more so when it was announced that the Captain General had given his finest horse as a gift to the groom, and an actual title to the bride. Julie Mackay, nee Sims, former cheerleader, sharpshooter in the U.S. army, was now also the baroness of a small domain somewhere on the edge of Lappland in northern Sweden.

The king also promised her a pair of skis. 'You will need them,' he assured her, 'if you ever plan to visit the place. The hunting is excellent, incidentally. But I do not propose to provide you with a new rifle. Anyone else, but not you. Your rifle is already the best in the world.'

***

A week later, Axel Oxenstierna arrived in Grantville. Just as Gustav II Adolf had foreseen, his chancellor was apoplectic when he heard the king's new political plans. Axel ranted and raged, desperately trying to convince his monarch that a Confederation of Europe with a republic planted at its center- don't think I'm fooled by this Captain General rigmarole! and you gave them Franconia also?-would assuredly be the death knell- sooner or later!-for the aristocracy of Europe.

But the king refused to budge. After two days, he took Oxenstierna to visit a place in Thuringia. A place called Buchenwald.

'In another universe, Axel, this will be a place of slaughter.' Gustav's heavy jaws clenched. 'And by no means the worst!' He pointed to the east. 'The real killing will take place in Poland and Russia. At places called Auschwitz and Sobibor and Treblinka.'

He glared at his chancellor. 'In that universe, my new president's grandfather will be forced to fight his way into this place, that a handful might survive. And do you know why?'

Now, the king pointed to the northeast. 'Because in that universe, chancellor of Sweden, I will die. Less than three months from now, at a battlefield called Lьtzen.' His lips quirked. 'Leading a perhaps reckless cavalry charge.'

The brief moment of humor vanished. Gustav took a deep breath, resting his hands on the pommel of the saddle. His eyes scanned the entire landscape; unfocused, as if he were looking in his mind's eye at all of Europe. 'My death will end any chance of rescuing Germany from the clutches of the princes. You will try, Axel-strive well, and mightily-to salvage what you can. But it will not be enough. Germany will be doomed to the centuries which came after, and the world will be doomed to that Germany.'

He sat erect in the saddle. 'Not now! No longer! Not in this universe!'

His next words ended any further argument. 'I understand God's will, Oxenstierna. It was for this purpose, in His mercy, that He created the Ring of Fire. This, and no other. Only a blind man, or an impious one, could fail to understand that now. So I will hear no further words on this subject. Do you understand, chancellor of Sweden? I am Vasa!'

Axel bent his head. Accepting, if not the wisdom of his king, the will of that king's soul.