One for Cards

Chapter Ten

9/5/2020: ugh. I missed last week. Better late then never? :')

ADDIE DID NOT TRULY BELIEVE THAT THEY WOULD DIE ON THE JOURNEY TO Constantinople – however tedious it was. Every care had been taken to ensure their comfort along the way, and, either way, she was not a woman of such weak constitution. Her mother, on the other hand, had seemed convinced that they were sure to perish if anything at all was out of place, and insisted on personally supervising all preparations for the trip, from the packing of Addie's luggage to the picking of suitable horses. Her people had been scandalised by the news that their princess was going to travel across the European continent on a diplomatic mission; as far as anyone was concerned, princesses were to remain safely tucked in the palace. They had no business interfering in their country's relations with an empire with such might as the Ottoman – of course, they did not know about the role she now played, however unwilling, in their bilateral ties.

Regardless of how unhappy the ton was with this arrangement, however, there was no choice in the matter. Addie had to go. If she did not, she feared the consequences for her kingdom. Failing to accept Hasan's proposal itself was already a threat enough to Lastyria; if she refused even to visit him and attempt to negotiate, if only to buy some time, their nation's damnation would be beyond question.

Her parents, who had important domestic business to be about, could not accompany her on such a lengthy expedition, but King James had decided that she would bring with her a sizable entourage of servants, guards and lords, with all her chambermaids accompanying her, as well as a guard of thirty and six members of the court. Lord Arbough – Mr Williams – would, of course, be with her as well.

It was decided, also, that along the way they would stop by noble houses and palaces, not just to spend the night but to fortify Lastyrian relations with various kingdoms and states. That way the long trip would not be for naught, and every minute of the painstaking journey one well-spent. It was a very big undertaking, to say the least, and one nobody believed their delicate princess was fit for. They hardly believed her suitable to visit one foreign nation, not to mention every one along the way there.

But it had been a week already, and Addie had been fortunate. Their journey was already a third over, and she was in good spirits. The weather had been kind to them, and all the two hosts whose homes she had stayed in so far – the first in Amsterdam and the second in Cologne – had been profoundly gracious. They had seemed happy to receive her party with cups of tea and games of cards, and she was thankful enough for their hospitality to forgive the fact that they rarely discussed anything of particular political importance with her, though they did so frequently with the men she'd brought along. It was nothing she wasn't used to, anyway.

Presently, as the Archbishop-Elector of Cologne Maximilian Franz discussed trade with the Lastyrian noblemen in the grand drawing room, Addie sat a little ways away and drank tea with Mr Williams, who never failed to protect her from feeling left out. Normally a few ladies would accompany her, discussing things like the latest fashion trends and what sort of tea was best for what sort of occasion. Today there were none, for some reason Addie couldn't remember, but she was happy enough to make do with her private secretary. They spoke quietly, as the group of men laughed raucously to the side, as if they had their own inside joke that a princess and an academic would never understand.

"The Archbishop has been terribly kind," Mr Williams commented anyway, in German so that his compliment would be understood by anyone who heard it.

"Wahrlich, but he would only discuss music with me," she replied in Lastyrian, keeping a placid smile affixed on her face. "I do have great appreciation for this patronage of the arts, but surely I know enough about my father's diplomatic policies to discuss trade and whatever else they are laughing about over there."