David Weber
1633
This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental. Copyright © 2002 by David Weber Eric Flint All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form. A Baen Books Original Baen Publishing Enterprises P.O. Box 1403 Riverdale, NY 10471 www.baen.com
ISBN: 0-7434-3542-7
Cover art by Dru Blair First printing, August 2002 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Weber, David, 1952-
1633 / by David Weber Eric Flint. p. cm.
ISBN 0-7434-3542-7
1. Thirty Years' War, 1618-1648-Fiction. 2. Americans-Europe-Fiction. 3. Time travel-Fiction. I. Flint, Eric. II. Title.
PS3573.E217 A615 2002
813'.5-dc21 2002023215 Distributed by Simon Schuster 1230 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10020 Production by Windhaven Press, Auburn, NH Printed in the United States of America
To Sharon and Lucille,
for putting up with us while
we disappeared into this book
Other Books in This Series:
BAEN BOOKS by DAVID WEBER
Honor Harrington:
edited by David Weber:
with Steve White:
Baen Books by Eric Flint
Joe's World series:
The Belisarius series, with David Drake:
Part I
Chapter 1
'How utterly delightful!' exclaimed Richelieu. 'I've never seen a cat with such delicate features. The coloration is marvelous, as well.'
For a moment, the aristocratic and intellectual face of France's effective ruler dissolved into something much more youthful. Richelieu ignored Rebecca Stearns entirely, for a few seconds, as his forefinger played with the little paws of the kitten in his lap. Rebecca had just presented it to Richelieu as a diplomatic gift.
He raised his head, smiling. 'A 'Siamese,' you call it? Surely you have not managed to establish trade relations with southeast Asia in such a short time? Even given your mechanical genius, that would seem almost another miracle.'
Rebecca pondered that smile, for a moment, while she marshaled her answer. One thing, if nothing else, had become quite clear to her in the few short minutes since she had been ushered in to a private audience with the cardinal. Whatever else he was, Richelieu was possibly the most intelligent man she had ever met in her life. Or, at least, the shrewdest.
And quite charming, in person-that she had not expected. The combination of that keen intellect and the personal warmth and grace was disarming to someone like Rebecca, with her own basically intellectual temperament.
She reminded herself, very firmly, that being disarmed in the presence of Richelieu was the one thing she could least afford. For all his brains and his charm, the cardinal was almost certainly the most dangerous enemy her nation faced at the moment. And while she did not think Richelieu was cruel by nature, he had demonstrated before that he was quite prepared to be utterly ruthless when advancing what he considered the interests of his own nation.
She decided to pursue the double meaning implicit in the cardinal's last sentence.
' 'Another' miracle?' she asked, raising an eyebrow. 'An interesting term, Your Eminence. As I recall, the most recent characterization you gave the Ring of Fire was 'witchcraft.' '
Richelieu's gentle smile remained as steady as it had been since she entered his private audience chamber. 'A misunderstanding,' he insisted, wiggling his fingers
