Chapter One
Secret Mission
When Janka Mikes arrived at the Hermesvilla, Kathi Schratt was gone, along with the Emperor, whose carriage drove ahead.
“There’s nothing I can do,” Sisi received her. “My husband remains silent on the matter. I had such high hopes this time as Kathi was here and really curious as well. But he became irate. And I do understand his point of view. But how I’m supposed to achieve anything in the matter is beyond me.”
“So, we have no idea where the young woman might be, Your Majesty?” Countess Mikes sighed.
“That’s about the size of it. Instead, Franz knows that I visited Franz Ferdinand in Switzerland. Well, it would have surprised me if he wouldn’t have found out.”
“Then, I will have to be extremely careful during my investigations, Your Majesty. Otherwise, they might think me a Russian spy and imprison me!”
Sisi couldn’t help but snigger.
“You know just how to maintain your good mood, no matter what. Don’t you, Countess?” Sisi voiced her admiration. “That’s worth a lot. And that’s why I’m glad to always have you near me.”
“Well, now Your Majesty will have to do without me for a few weeks,” Janka Mikes reminded her. “And I really can’t tell you how long my investigations will keep me there.”
“I realize that,” Sisi nodded. “I had just hoped to be able to give you some pointers after my husband’s visit.”
“I wonder if the Prince knows anything,” the lady-in-waiting ventured a guess with a creased brow.
“Montenuovo? Oh, I’m quite certain he does, but I can’t hardly ask him. Besides, he would probably just give me half-hearted answers and then run to my husband. So, in the end, I would know just as much as I did before…and I would have nothing but trouble to boot. Montenuovo and the Emperor have always been of one mind for many years. That only changed in recent years, since my son's death. However, I get the impression that my husband is unwilling to break with the man. And perhaps that’s because he can’t. But one thing is certain: The Prince is loyal to my husband to a fault. Perhaps a bit too loyal…” Sisi speculated. “And maybe only for his own purposes.”
She thought back to that strange morning after Rudi’s death when the Prince had been in an obviously good mood. As if he was enjoying a particularly great victory. And from that point on, the relationship between the Emperor and the Prince had perceptibly cooled. Sisi had often mulled over the matter and came up with the strangest combinations but had always been too afraid to see where these thoughts would lead. And often enough, she felt creeped out when she stood before that man.
Naturally, he was involved in the matter of the Heir Presumptive.
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