'outlaw convention.' If the person in question had been a member of Parliament, the fine was doubled and the emperor unilaterally decreed that their election was null and void because they had violated their oath of office by participating in said outlaw convention.
This ruling was very questionable, there being no provision in the constitution that gave the emperor any such power. And, in the end, Gustav Adolf would rescind it two weeks later. The electoral disqualification, that is, not the fines. He did so not because he feared the courts but because Mike Stearns insisted on it and the emperor decided it was not an issue he was prepared to fight over tooth and nail.
That done…
He decided to rest from his labors. He'd already stripped large pieces of hide from just about everyone who'd been arrested, after all. In fact, the only exceptions were two servants who'd been rounded up by mistake.
And by then, the barge was ready to take him to Magdeburg. The very luxurious barge, with the world's best doctor on it and ready to tend to his needs. James Nichols had come up from Magdeburg at the emperor's request. Dresden, capital of Saxony Eddie finally arrived in Dresden just about the same time Gustav Adolf stepped aboard the barge that would take him to Magdeburg. By the time he got there, Denise and Minnie had two more accomplishments to their names. First, they'd produced one of the best-manicured airfields in Europe, certainly in wintertime. Secondly, they'd learned how to use a plow.
'A skill,' Minnie pointed out, 'that for girls like us is probably as useful as knowing how to grow those little miniature trees-what do they call them? Something Japanese.'
'Banzai trees.'
Minnie frowned. 'Are you sure?'
'Oh, yeah. Japanese people get fanatical about stuff.'
They'd had plenty of advance warning, so all three of the women working for Nasi who'd gotten stranded in Dresden were waiting in the little hangar at the airfield with their luggage packed. Noelle had paid off the rent owing on the townhouse already so they were ready to go.
The bolder of the two young hostlers waited with them. He'd continued to help them all the way through, because Minnie had relented and decided he was okay after all, on the cute side, and unlike Denise she had no boyfriend. (Steady boyfriend, anyway. Whenever she was in the mood, Minnie never lacked for male company. One-eyed or not.)
The hostler was sorry to see Minnie go. For that matter, Minnie would miss him herself. It had been a very pleasant few days.
On the other hand, once they left Dresden she'd get over the loss in about fifteen minutes and he'd get over it in twenty. Theirs had been a friendly relationship, but one driven far more by hormones than by hearts.
It didn't occur to any of the women to ask Eddie where they were going until Noelle realized they were flying south.
'Prague,' he said. 'The boss has a new assignment for us.'
'What is it?' asked Minnie from the back of the plane. She and Noelle were crammed into a seat that was really designed for one person. They'd agreed to let Denise have the co-pilot's seat so she could be close to Eddie.
'How should I know? Since when did Francisco Nasi become a blabbermouth?'
'For Chrissake,' Denise complained, 'we're the ones who'll be doing the assignment. How can we do it if we don't know what it is?'
'Oh, I'm sure he'll tell you once we get there.'
An upsetting thought occurred to her. 'Aren't you coming with us?'
'Oh, yes.'
'Then why didn't he tell you?'
'So I couldn't tell you, of course. Denise, you've really got to brush up on your operational security.' Vienna, capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire Emperor Ferdinand III gave Janos Drugeth a suspicious look from under lowered brows. 'This is not simply an elaborate ploy on your part to see your American woman again, I hope?'
Janos wouldn't normally roll his eyes in response to an imperial comment-that would border on lese majeste-but he did on this occasion. 'Don't be absurd! And how could I have done it anyway? You think the sultan conspires with me?'
Ferdinand kept peering at him from under lowered brows.
Now, Janos threw up his hands with exasperation. 'The Americans have a word for this, you know. 'Paranoia.' '
'Yes, I know. Demonstrating once again their tenuous hold on reality. Apparently they think people have no enemies.' He sniffed. 'It's like having a word for a fear of heights. Completely useless. Of course people are afraid of heights.'
Janos decide to wait out the imperial fit. It was true enough that emperors had lots of enemies.
After a few seconds, Ferdinand sighed and slumped back in his chair. 'You're certain?'
'Yes, Your Majesty. I am.' Janos thought formality would help here. 'As certain as I've ever been of anything in my life.'
He leaned forward in his own chair, his hands extended in what was almost a pleading gesture. 'Ferdinand, look at it this way. We're in the beginning of March. If I'm right, Murad will have begun his troop movements. By the end of the month-no later than sometime in April-the first detachments will have begun arriving in Belgrade. Once that happens, you know perfectly well the invasion will be underway.'
After a moment, Ferdinand nodded. Like any Austrian ruler, even a young one, he knew the military realities. That great a mobilization of troops was simply too expensive for an empire-any empire, even one with the resources of the Ottomans-to use as a feint or diversion. If large numbers of soldiers started appearing in Belgrade in the spring, the Turks would be at the Austrian border by mid-summer at the latest.
And Austria had lots of spies in Belgrade.
'Go on,' he said.
Janos leaned back. 'So let's use the intervening weeks to establish private communications with the USE. Which we can do using Nasi in Prague as the intermediary.'
The emperor made a little snorting sound. 'Who will no doubt use as his own intermediary a certain young woman who already has an Austro-Hungarian connection.'
'Well…yes, I imagine he will. It would make sense, after all.'
Ferdinand went back to gazing at him from under lowered brows.
'Oh, very well,' he said. 'Set the process in motion.'
Solemnly, Janos inclined his head. He saw no need to burden the emperor with the knowledge that he'd already begun that process a week before, as soon as he returned to Vienna. What else were royal advisers for than to anticipate the decisions of their sovereign? Magdeburg, capital of the United States of Europe Since Mike Stearns hadn't arrived yet, Gustav Adolf spent the first two days after his return to the capital mostly with his daughter. They had not seen each other for almost a year-a year in which a great many things had happened, including an assassination attempt on the girl that came very close to succeeding and the murder of her mother that very same day. Not to mention the near-death of her father and his subsequent mental collapse.
She had held up surprisingly well. No, extraordinarily well. He was very pleased with her.
No, immensely pleased.
Most of that pleasure was personal, nothing more than the sentiments any father would feel when one of his offspring demonstrated good qualities under pressure. Some of it, though, was dynastic and quite cold- blooded. It was a simple fact that the Vasa dynasty had come out of a crisis that might easily have turned into a disaster in better shape than ever. Its position in the United States of Europe was now extremely secure, even if its direct power might have declined a bit.
That was largely thanks to Kristina. The huge, cheering crowds that had greeted Gustav Adolf when he arrived in the capital had been there as much to applaud a father as a monarch. Kristina had been riding with him in the parade, and that much was blindingly obvious.
In a much darker way, the position of the Vasas in Sweden was stronger also. As part of his bargain with Oxenstierna when he took the throne in 1611, Gustav Adolf had restored the Swedish aristocracy's privileges that
