Borne In Blood Part 8

Now and forever.

Your Madelaine.

7.

Herr Perzeval Einla.s.s stood aside so that Ragoczy could examine his new coach, a modified Berlin but with elements of a Parisian landau, an attractive, modern carriage that would command attention for its elegance anywhere in Europe. It occupied the sunniest part of Herr Einla.s.s' courtyard, immediately adjacent to his warehouse; half a dozen craftsmen lingered in the warehouse door, waiting to hear what the Comte would say. "All the modifications you requested are complete: eight elliptical springs, just as you required, Herr Comte," said Einla.s.s. "The box has its own set of springs as well, so that the driver need not fear that he will be thrown from his place. As you see, the box is placed deeper in the body of the coach, as you requested, and there are braces on either side of the driving-box. The wheels are lip-rimmed and the spokes are reinforced, as are the axles."

"Yes," said Ragoczy, squinting a little in the bright morning. "And the interior done with padded arms for the pa.s.sengers to use? Long hand-straps as well?"

"Of course. And in your servants' coach, as you stipulated. My men will fit it out as soon as you have the coach brought down to my warehouse: all the modifications we made to your coach but the device that turns the seats into a bed. It will take less than a day to make the changes." He paused. "Most men wouldn't do so much for servants. You are catering to their comfort as much as you are accommodating your own." His expression showed that he considered this to be a bit too much indulgence for servants. He strode the length of the s.h.i.+ny new vehicle. Heavily burled Alpine fir was setoff by panels glossily black with lacquer, and the windows had black-leather curtains. "I could still arrange for your device to be painted on the door-panel, Comte," he suggested. "It would be a handsome addition to a handsome vehicle."

"Very generous, but I think not," said Ragoczy. "In these republican days I think it is prudent to keep t.i.tles unannounced. No matter how nations are led, their people are now deciding their course, and it may not always include recognizing n.o.bles." He had a brief, intense recollection of the crowds in Lyon, and the narrow escape he and Madelaine had had, thanks to the de Montalia device on her traveling trunks. The howls of the mob seemed to sound in his ears again, and he said more firmly, "The coach is elegant as it is, and suits my purposes."

Hero, who was standing a few steps away, her parasol raised against the August sun, now came up to Ragoczy, saying, "I think Gutesohnes will like it."

"The balance should please him," said Ragoczy, once more inspecting the tiered springs. "We should have less sway and more comfort over rough roads."

"I have made the changes you wanted in the seats," said Einla.s.s.

"The device you have contrived is a clever one, and I would imagine many another traveler would be glad of such improvements in his coach. Many would pay well for these improvements. It could make travel more pleasant for those who wanted your modifications, Comte." His implication was plain-that Ragoczy could make a profit if he would license Herr Einla.s.s to provide these modifications for others.

"Let me test them out on my journey to Amsterdam," said Ragoczy firmly but without loss of geniality. "If they perform as I antic.i.p.ate, then perhaps we should have a discussion." He regarded the coach-maker for a long moment, seeing something crafty in his demeanor. "You, of course, would not provide my modification to any others without securing proper contracts first, would you?"

Einla.s.s' eyes flickered. "No, Comte. Of course not."

Ragoczy shook his head. "Tell whomever you have offered my modifications to that you will not be able to provide them for yet a while. They have not yet been rigorously tested, and until they are, it would be premature to offer them to others." His voice was cordial but there could be no mistaking his purpose.

"Yes. I will. Of course," said Einla.s.s, all deference. "It is just that your innovations are so ... so ..."

"Practical?" Ragoczy suggested; in the two centuries he had been adding such modifications to his coaches, he had been able to refine them to a state of utmost utility. "Advantageous?"

"Exactly!" Einla.s.s enthused. "Those clips you have for the curtains, top and bottom, they are also a most pragmatic addition for the traveler. Do they need to be tested?"

"Another thing we can discuss later," said Ragoczy as he held out his hand to Hero. "Would you like to inspect the interior?"

"Yes, please," she said; she closed her parasol and allowed him to a.s.sist her into the new coach.

"The upholstery is just as you required, Comte," Einla.s.s a.s.sured him. "The colors are the colors you chose."

"Because this is the cloth I supplied. You would be hard-pressed to find it anywhere in Europe." He stood in the open door. "Are you comfortable, Madame?"

"I am," she said. "So many windows, and such well-padded seats." She ran her hand over the rich damask silk that covered the seats, walls, and ceiling of the interior. "You've thought of everything."

"Probably not, but I have antic.i.p.ated most problems, or so I hope." Ragoczy moved out of the doorway and gave his attention to Einla.s.s. "I will send my coachman tomorrow morning with the team and the harness."

"Grays?" Einla.s.s asked, knowing the Comte's penchant for gray horses.

"No: matched liver sorrels," he answered. "Very elegant animals, all four of them, from the same sire; sixteen hands with strong forward action. I had them from a breeder near Verona." Although it was more than two hundred years since Olivia had died the True Death, he never missed her more than when he was buying horses.

"They are at the chateau; they arrived just eight days ago," said Hero in a carrying voice as she prepared to emerge from the vehicle. "Very fine animals. Their coats are so dense a brown they are almost purple, and their manes and tails are pure flaxen. They will set off this coach admirably."

"Will you take them all the way to Amsterdam?" Einla.s.s asked. "You keep teams at inns along the road, I know."

"It will depend on how we do. If we go straight through, then we will need to change teams on the way, possibly at Liege and Saarbrucken, or Zemmer. If, however, we spend a day or two along the road to allow the team to rest, then I may not change them until Amsterdam." Ragoczy helped Hero to come down from the coach. "Do you think you will enjoy the journey?"

She nodded. "Oh, yes. This will be much easier than traipsing about after my father."

"Very likely," said Ragoczy with a nod to Einla.s.s. "Be ready for my coachman-Otto Gutesohnes is his name."

"Your courier?" Einla.s.s was a bit surprised.

"Hochvall is recovering from an injury; Gutesohnes is driving for me while he does," said Ragoczy.

"I had heard something of the sort," Einla.s.s admitted as if he rarely listened to gossip. "Very well. Everything will be ready after eight o'clock."

"I a.s.sume the payment I provided was sufficient to your supplies and labor?" Ragoczy asked, well-aware that the sum he had advanced Einla.s.s was more than sufficient for the work he and his men had done.

"You have a credit with me, one that I will provide in my accounting at month's end." Einla.s.s bowed, then wiped the sweat from his forehead, doing his best to keep a determined smile on his face and reminding himself that all patrons should be as forthcoming and generous as Comte Franciscus.

"Thank you," said Ragoczy, and started across the courtyard to where his calash was waiting, two striking gray horses harnessed to it. The top was down, so as Ragoczy lowered the steps he gave Hero his arm to a.s.sist her into the carriage, lending her his stability as she mounted the narrow steps. When she was settled Ragoczy climbed into the driving-box, took the reins and the whip, loosened the brake, and put his pair in motion. As he tooled the calash out into the street, he said over his shoulder, "Would you like to stop for dinner, or would you prefer to return directly to the chateau?"

"How long will it take to reach the chateau?" she asked, her parasol open and her face in its shadow.

"Just over two hours, I should think," said Ragoczy.

"Two hours," she repeated. "The horses are not too tired in this heat? They would not be worn down?"

"Not too exhausted, no. And they have been watered and walked while we saw the coach." He could feel the pair pull on their bits as he kept them to a strict walk along the cobbled streets; they were ready to return home.

"I think I would prefer to go back to the chateau, then," she said after a brief silence. "I wouldn't like to be on the road in the late afternoon. They say that robbers are attacking travelers, and there are more abroad after sundown."

Ragoczy, who carried a primed pistol in the deep pocket of his four-caped driving-coat, said only, "Robbers can rob at any time of the day or night."

"But they more often prowl at night," said Hero, frowning a little. "Darkness aids them, light works against them."

"Probably so," said Ragoczy, expertly threading his pair through the confusion of wagons, carriages, carts, buggies, traps, and coaches that filled the streets of Yvoire. At the market-square where potters displayed their wares, Ragoczy pulled his horses in to a slow walk, saying to Hero, "These wares are fragile. I would not like to damage any in a rush to leave the town."

"No doubt the potters know what they can afford to lose," said Hero, then sat up, chagrined by what she realized sounded like callousness. "I didn't mean that, not entirely. I meant that they know not to put their most valuable work where it could be broken."

"I should hope so," he said, and edged the calash past a large wagon laden with haunches of smoked meat.

As they went along the edge of the market where fruits and flowers were sold, Hero said, "It looks as if there will be more fruit this year again."

"Wise housewives will still make preserves and comfits, and put up berries in brandy, in case the cold returns," said Ragoczy.

"Or there is another war," added Hero as she heard a distant roll of thunder from the clouds piled up against the mountains. "We will be late for dinner, won't we?" Without waiting for an answer, she settled back, and said nothing more until the town was behind them and the horses were moving at a steady trot down the dusty road. As they pa.s.sed over a narrow stone bridge, she said, "There seems so much to do before we depart. Do you truly plan that we should leave for Amsterdam at the end of this week? That is only three more days."

"Yes. I can see no reason for more delay, and after the first full day of travel, we will be glad to have a day to rest." He noticed movement at the side of the road and saw a fox sitting in the bushes, calmly unimpressed by the calash.

"There is so much to do." She stretched out one hand as if to try to gather in everything that had to be dealt with.

"Inform Rogier of your needs, and he will make sure the maids have all your things ready. Take what you would like-the coach can carry a fair amount of luggage." He checked the grays as they came to the turn-off for the chateau. "This won't be like following your father into the desert, or preparing for an expedition to distant ruins, you know. Amsterdam is a proper city, and you need not fret-anything that you may wish to replace, you will be able to find without trouble."

She laughed. "I know that. The habits of my youth stay with me; I never travel but I believe I must take provisions of all sorts for a year, and everything that I might need in any circ.u.mstances, no matter how unlikely." She leaned back on the squabs once more, then asked, "Do any habits of your youth linger, after so long?"

"Other than my nature?" he inquired. "There may be a few, faint echoes. I always remember that I was born at the dark of the year, during the five days of the Solstice. It was the time of my birth that selected me to join the priests of my people, and to be one with them upon my death."

"The Solstice is a single day," she said, a bit startled that he should make such an error.

"In these enlightened times, yes, but I was born almost four thousand years ago; the priests who protected my people had to measure the long nights by the burning of measured amounts of oil; this could not be precise to the exact day, but it could show the five days that were dark the longest." His dark eyes were distant. "For some reason, I cannot, even now, fail to count the years."

"Does that sadden you?" she could not keep from asking.

"Occasionally. There was a time-many centuries ago-when such reckoning only served to bring me pain, for it reminded me of what I had lost, and I could not yet comprehend how much I had gained. I had only loathing and dread around me, and no means of learning, since I knew only a few words of the languages of my various captors. I found a barbaric justification in my ferocity then. That was before I understood that the blood is touching, and that touching nourishes more than this un-dead body, which is beyond nourishment of that kind: intimacy restored my humanity and brought me to value all life for its uniqueness and its brevity. If you decide to rise at your death, you will learn these things for yourself. Unless you plan to die the True Death at the end of this life, you will have my life, and will have to learn what I have learned. You needn't decide now, but before you die, you will need to choose what you will do." In the silence that followed this warning, he reached the gate to his chateau, reined in the pair, set the brake, and jumped down from the driving-box to unlatch the gate and swing it open. He secured the gate, returned to the calash, drove through the gate, halted the horses, got down to close the gate, then climbed back onto the box and drove the last tenth part of a league to the stable. "Clement!"

The head groom was already emerging from the stable, half-running toward Ragoczy's carriage, two other grooms following in his wake. "Comte," he said, not quite bowing as he came to a halt.

"The wheeler has a loose on-side front shoe. Other than that, they'll need to be walked for a quarter hour, then brushed. Have Joachim tend to the shoe after they're fed, and he has had his supper."

"He's in the smithy. I'll tell him," said Clement.

"And do you know if Gutesohnes is in his quarters?"

"He is tooling the spider around the orchard, working in the young English bay," said Clement. "He said he was getting ready for the journey to Amsterdam, loosening up his arms."

"Will you tell him I would like to see him in my study when he returns?" Ragoczy asked.

"Of course, Comte," said Clement.

"Thank you." He got down from the box, a.s.sisted Hero out of the carriage, and watched while Clement attached a lead-rope to the chin-strap of the lead gray's bridle. "There may be a thunderstorm this afternoon, so keep this pair in the exercise arena in the stable; turn out any horse who gets restless into the arena with them until the storm pa.s.ses. I do not want them to kick their stalls to flinders."

"We'll attend to it." Clement, who was half-a-head taller than Ragoczy, deferred to him automatically, whistling to the grays as he led them away, the calash rattling along the flag-stones that marked the front of the chateau.

"What shall we do now?" Hero asked, putting her hand through the crook of his arm.

"You will want to compile your list for Rogier; I will make sure the household prepares for our absence. Decide whether Wendela or Serilde will accompany you, and have her choose a portmanteau for her clothes. I will join you after you have supper, and we can spend a private evening in the bath, if you like."

Her smile broadened. "That would please me very much, especially the bath," she said, as she furled her parasol and allowed him to open the door and usher her into the chateau. "I will attend to the lists and other matters of travel before supper, do not fear. And while I dine, I will decide which of my maids will accompany me. I will look for you in the antechamber of the bath after sundown." She leaned over to kiss his cheek. "And I promise I will think about what you said just now."

"I will be at your service, after sundown," he promised her, and went off to his study, where he received Otto Gutesohnes some ninety minutes later, just as the sky began to darken and the clouds took on a lurid, bruised light.

Gutesohnes was covered in dust and his brow shone with grimy sweat, but he was smiling as he accepted Ragoczy's offer to sit down. "That English bay works well between the shafts. I wouldn't have thought he'd do well as a single horse, but I've changed my mind. Keep him for the lighter carriages and the lanes, and he'll give real satisfaction."

"Very good to know," said Ragoczy. "I had hoped he might prove good for solo harness."

"He should. It would be wise to have a horse for these hilly roads; you can't take the calash everywhere." He clapped his hands and a small cloud of dust erupted from his gloves. "I wanted to thank you for those hearty Spanish horses you provided me on my last ride to Praha. I was doubtful about them at first, but after my third remount, I realized I would save a day on each side of the journey. They're strengthy and they've got excellent wind, and light mouths, all of them."

"Very good. I will continue my orders for the Andalusians for my courier. You will find them at posting inns from Calais to Roma, and from Praha to Barcelona, all in my name," said Ragoczy, reflecting that ten years ago most of his courier's horses had been confiscated by Napoleon's armies for his cavalry and aides-decamp; Ragoczy continued in the same tone, as if the loss meant little to him. "Tomorrow I am sending you riding postilion into Yvoire with the liver sorrels to fetch the new traveling coach. We will leave at first light on Sat.u.r.day morning, and at the end of the day, we will find an inn where we can spend Sunday as well, so the horses will be fresh on Monday. I want to use them all the way to Amsterdam if it is possible."

Gutesohnes considered this. "I imagine I can keep up a good pace without exhausting them. Where the roads are flat and in good repair, we will go at a trot, and otherwise at a walk. That should keep from wearing them out." He grinned suddenly. "After this journey, I should know the way to Amsterdam in my sleep."

"So long as you are awake when you drive," said Ragoczy. "We will break the journey at Zemmer, to inspect the work being done on my holdings there, and we will have a full day in Liege so I may consult with my trading company there. I will stay in Amsterdam for about ten days. I will give you four days' liberty while there, and I will provide you spending money, so that you may make the most of the liberty. I depend upon you to be sure the horses are properly cared for during our stay. I have decided that Osbert Nadel will drive the servant's carriage, and that they will have the four Nonius geldings in harness. They should be able to keep up with us without trouble."

"From the horses, no, but Nadel is lazy," Gutesohnes warned.

"He will not learn to be less so unless he is given work more demanding than driving the hay-wagon and the buggy. He must begin to expand his knowledge or he will stay on this mountain for all of his life, which he claims not to want to do." Ragoczy folded his arms and said, "Give him a trial, if you like: have him ride postilion with you tomorrow when you go to get the coach."

"If you think it best," said Gutesohnes in a tone that barely escaped insolence.

Ragoczy ignored his manner. "You will have the opportunity to correct his faults while you are with him. Try not to demoralize him completely. He is only seventeen, and a youngest son."

"Seventeen is old enough to have some purpose in life," said Gutesohnes. "But I will do as you instruct, Comte."

"I thank you for that," said Ragoczy, just a tinge of sardonic humor in his dark eyes. "I will expect you to tell me how the coach handles when you return tomorrow, and to make note of any problems you may have with it so they may be addressed before we are on the road. It is easier to fix an antic.i.p.ated problem than a realized one." He considered for a few seconds, then added, "I think it best if the servants travel in the Bohemia; it may not be completely fas.h.i.+onable, but it is st.u.r.dy and it can carry a heavy load without being much slowed by the weight. Also, it drives well." He had driven it before on two occasions, and both times the Bohemia had performed better than he had hoped.

"Does Nadel know which coach he is to drive?" asked Gutesohnes.

"No; I will inform him before supper," said Ragoczy, giving Gutesohnes another long, measuring stare. After a minute or so, he asked, "Would you like to return to coaching, or do you want to remain my courier when this journey is over? Have you a preference? You may be candid in your answer."

"I do like driving a coach now and then-especially well-made vehicles with fine teams-but I much prefer being a courier. The work is more varied, fewer things can go wrong, and I have a greater apt.i.tude for it." He pulled off his gloves. "I must go wash. I'll be cased in dried mud if I don't."

'The bath-house has been heated, if you want to use it," said Ragoczy.

"On such a warm day? No, I'll wash down behind the stable with the others. When it turns cold again, I'd welcome the bath-house. For now, the washrack will do as well for me as it does for the horses. Two buckets of cool water and a good scrub with a brush and I'll be fit for company." He rose from his chair and nodded to Ragoczy. "About tomorrow: I'll be off to Yvoire shortly after dawn, and should be back in time for dinner."

"Very good. I will look for you then." As he spoke, a flick of brightness came and went. "The storm is gathering. You'd best hurry if you want to get washed before the"-he stopped as thunder trundled overhead-"storm begins."

Gutesohnes touched his forehead and left the study, whistling as he went as if defying the elements to overwhelm him.

It was another hour before the rain began, accompanied by dramatic crashes of thunder and sudden eruptions of lightning, often so close together that they seemed to be in the same instant. The windows of the chateau rattled, the heavens let down their bounty in profusion, and half the household kept to their quarters, waiting for the tempest to pa.s.s; Ragoczy sat in his study, unperturbed by the display the storm provided, although the abundance of running water made him a bit uncomfortable. As the light dimmed, he did not bother to light the lamps but continued to make entries in his notebook, his dark-seeing eyes unhampered by the fading day. After a while the aroma of roasting boar filled the chateau, and while the sunset began to delineate the break-up of the clouds, the household of Chateau Ragoczy gathered in the servants' dining room for their supper, and Hero ate in solitary state in the smaller withdrawing room above-stairs.

As night came on Ragoczy left his study and went out to the bath-house; the air was clear, the ground was wet, and the sky was luminous with the last vibrant glow of sunset. He stood at the bath-house door for a minute or so, taking in the end of the day, then he stepped into the vestibule and began to remove his clothes, hanging them on pegs before retrieving a large, square Turkish towel, which he wrapped around himself before he stepped into the steamy room where the three large, water-filled wooden tubs waited. The room smelled of damp and witch hazel, and was lit by six lanterns set in gla.s.s-fronted wall-niches. Ragoczy went to the bench at the foot of the largest tub, dropped his towel, and went to climb up the steps and into the oblong tub. Quite warm water rose to the middle of his chest, made pleasant by his native earth under the tub, and the advantage of advancing night. He lay back, letting the water support him while he waited for Hero to arrive.

It was twenty minutes later that she came into the room, her towel in one hand, her dressing-gown wrapped around her. "I'm sorry," she said. "I couldn't get away until just now."

"No matter. The holocaust keeps the water warm." He held out his hand to her. "Come in."

She folded her towel and took off her dressing-gown; she laid this on top of the towel, then removed her slippers before climbing into the tub to join him. "I wish I knew how you managed to keep hot water flowing through these tubs-probably another Roman technique," she said, adding, "but don't explain it to me now. Tell me later." She slid into his arms and his embrace with ease, delighting in their kiss. "I have been waiting for this all evening."

"How kind you are to my vanity," he said lightly, his hands trailing over her with the movement of the water.

Her laughter was low and delicious. "You have less vanity than any man I have ever known. All your centuries of life have burned it out of you, I think." She pressed up against him and with one hand loosened the knot of her hair, so that it cascaded around her shoulders and fanned out around her in the water. As she tossed the two ivory pins out of the tub, she murmured, "Such locks will then/Ensnare the hearts of men."