1636: The Cardinal Virtues (38 page)

“The Grand Châtelet, you say.”

“Yes, Sire,” Condé said patiently. “In the dark of night.”

“And you know this because . . .”

“A young man in his service, formerly a Cardinal’s Guard, was taken with him. The young man escaped and came to my hôtel and told me the story.”

Gaston frowned. “I have no love for the members of that regiment,” he said, “but I have given no such orders. I did not know that there were any of them left in the city.”

“You did not order Tremblay’s arrest, then.”

“I believe I just said that, Henri. Is it necessary that I repeat things in a loud voice so you can hear it?”

Condé bit back a reply, and tried to determine whether Gaston was telling the truth, or simply dismissing the inquiry and turning it back with a lie.

“No, Sire,” he said. “I heard you. I can therefore assume that your lady mother was acting on her own volition.”

Gaston’s frown deepened. “My . . . lady mother arrested Père Joseph? And had him placed in the Châtelet?”

“Some days past. Nothing has been heard from him since.”

“She has not spoken to me of this,” Gaston said. He looked around the arbor, then back at Condé. “I care little for this old monk, whether the refugee holy father gave him his biretta or not. But I am
not
pleased to hear that she takes such matters into her own hands without consulting me.”

“I am gratified to hear that answer, Your Majesty.”

“And, Henri . . . why do
you
care about him?”

“We are long acquainted, my king. It is as you say—unless by your royal command, no one should be unjustly imprisoned. I would ask that you inquire of Queen Marie what she has done with him.”

Gaston walked past Condé toward the gate that led out of the garden and back into the palace corridor. Then he turned and faced his cousin. “Oh, yes, cousin. I will ask her about that, and—I suspect—far more besides.”

Without another word he passed between two servants, ignoring their bows, and disappeared back into the Louvre.

◊ ◊ ◊

Even under siege, the embassy was reasonably well provisioned—though the presence of more than twenty of Sherrilyn Maddox’s command strained the USE’s hospitality. Still, it was better fare than Terrye Jo had been accustomed to, even with a serving staff.

After dinner, they sat in the library, looking at the broadsheets and proclamations. The royal pronouncement on the treason of the duc de Vendôme, for the murder of King Louis, was still prominent, as were accounts of the action of Archduchess Isabella of the Netherlands, standing as godmother to the late king’s son—though there were comments doubting the parentage of the baby.

“That cannot stand the light of day,” Colonel Hand said. “The little prince’s parentage can’t be questioned at this point.”

“Why not?” Terrye Jo asked. “That would take away any threat.”

“True,” Hand said, laying the paper down on a table beside his armchair. “But then the question must be asked: why did he raise no objection months ago, when it was announced that Her Majesty Queen Anne was with child? They rang the bells. All of the churches all over France rang their bells. They would not ring them for a
bastard.
”

“Well,” Sherrilyn said, “if they didn’t know—”

“Insofar as anyone is concerned,” Hand interrupted, “the child is the issue of King Louis and Queen Anne. That was not challenged in the winter or the spring—it is too late to challenge it now. What remains is whether King Gaston is heir to his brother’s throne, or a usurper sitting in place of a child now in exile in Brussels.

“But I have another question for you, Colonel Maddox. I suspect it is related to this entire question, but I’m really not sure.”

“Ask away.”

“What is an ‘elvis’?”

Sherrilyn looked at Terrye Jo, and the two women laughed at once. “That’s an interesting question,” she said after a moment. Hand looked offended, then just baffled.

“I informed President Piazza of the—encounter—at the Louvre, and about King Gaston’s general mood. He said—” Hand reached into a note-case and drew out a telegraph blank. “Let me quote. ‘King is worried because CR’—by which he means Cardinal Richelieu—‘may be pulling an elvis.’ Do you have any idea what an elvis may be? And what he means by that expression?”

They laughed again, making Hand frown again. “Did I say something amusing?”

“Elvis is not a thing,” Terrye Jo managed after a moment. “It’s a person. A—a singer. An entertainer. Elvis Presley. He died before I was born, except that for a long time after, people reported seeing him.”

“Singing and . . . entertaining?”

“No. In all kinds of places doing all kinds of things. Except he was already dead. There was a big museum and everything—”

“Graceland,” Sherrilyn said.

“Graceland?” Hand said.

“Graceland,” Terrye Jo continued. “People came from all over to his house, to walk through the museum and see all of his records and awards and everything. But there were always rumors that he hadn’t actually died. Even at the Ring of Fire people believed that Elvis was still alive somewhere.”

“Miss Tillman,” Hand said. “That is by any description the most
ridiculous
thing I have ever heard. But I suppose I should be accustomed to such things by now.

“So—let me see. To the original message—Mr. Piazza is suggesting that His Eminence Richelieu is . . . Elvis? He’s dead, but people believe he is alive?”

“I think that’s what he’s trying to say,” Terrye Jo said. “But he really is dead, isn’t he?”

“Perhaps. But his body has not been found: I have learned from a reliable source that there was a memorial mass at his home church of Luçon, attended by the remaining members of the Cardinal’s Guard. There was no body there either.”

“Elvis,” Sherrilyn said. “Maybe Elvis is still alive. Still in the building.”

“
Still in the building
,” Hand said. “Yes. Indeed. I think it is possible that the cardinal is, as you say, still in the building—still alive, despite everything. And it worries King Gaston. More than that, Richelieu was friendly with up-timers resident in France; that explains, at least in part, why he has become so hostile to them.

“In fact,” he continued, “it explains a great deal. But the question remains—is Richelieu alive? Is he?”

“No one knows,” Sherrilyn said. “Does your ‘reliable source’ know, do you think?”

Hand shrugged.

“I wish we knew. Fighting a battle without proper information is dangerous.”

“This is not a battle,” Terrye Jo said.

“Oh, yes it is,” Sherrilyn said. “It’s the first battle of a civil war, and it might bring the USE into it. The Spanish and the Netherlands and—what, Savoy—and who else, England?

“And Elvis is out there somewhere.”

Epilogue

On a road outside Soissons

As Simon Cordonnier made his way along the path that ran next to the small river, he spotted something floating in the water. Curious—the day’s journey had been easy enough but uneventful to the point of boredom—he bent down and reached out with his walking-stick to try and catch whatever it was. For a moment, he came close to losing his footing in the mud, but he managed to snag the parcel and bring it to shore.

The parcel was large and wrapped in brown cloth, tied together with string. It was soaked, of course. Cordonnier could see that the string had gotten torn, probably on a sharp rock. He thought there might have been a weight attached to the parcel by the string, at one point. When it broke, the submerged parcel could have been brought to the surface by the current.

Now more curious than ever, he carried the parcel across the field to a stump, where he could sit down and examine it closely. It was the work of less than a minute to untie what was left of the string and open the cloth. Within . . .

He was quite astonished. The parcel contained very fine garments, dyed red and made of watered silk, though they had seen better days: they were torn and soiled in places. A robe of some kind and an odd-looking hat—a four-peaked cap with a sort of tuft or ball at the top. He turned the hat over and over in his hands. It looked very much like a biretta, the headwear of a cardinal of the Universal Church.

Or so it appeared, at least. He’d never been close enough to a cardinal to really examine his clothing. But it certainly looked like a biretta.

But if so, who would have thrown away such well-made and valuable garments? And why?

Whatever the reasons might be, however, they were certainly none of his concern. Probably some political matter, or something involving high affairs of the Church—and a serious one. Either way, not for the likes of a humble shoemaker to question. Perhaps, if Georges was able to come home in the summer, he could ask him about it.

He thought of wrapping the parcel up and throwing it back in the river. But . . .

They really were very fine garments. Whoever had discarded them certainly wouldn’t be looking for them any longer, after all, and what was damaged could be repaired by his wife, who was a fine seamstress. The parcel wasn’t too heavy to carry easily if he tied it onto the end of his walking stick. That way come sundown it would have dried and become even lighter.

Two minutes later he was back on the road, heading for home.

Cast of Characters

Adret, Seth ben — Jewish businessman in Marseilles.

Amelia, Sister — Nun of the Order of St. Victor, resident at La Garde in Marseilles. Friend of Sherrilyn Maddox.

Angennes, Charles II de, Marquis de Rambouillet — A royal officer and soldier, the husband of the salonnière Madame de Rambouillet.

Angoumois, Phillippe d’ — Abbot of the Capuchins in Paris, one of the founders of the Company of the Blessed Sacrament.

Aubisson, Jean d’ — A member of the Cardinal’s Guard.

Baldaccio, Umberto — “Dottore”; alchemist and scholar in service to Duke Victor Amadeus.

Bassompiere, François de — Courtier and Marshal of France.Involved in the plot against Richelieu on the “Day of Dupes”; arrested and imprisoned.

Beringhien, Henri de — Squire and valet to the King.

Borja y Velasco, Gaspar de — Cardinal, Spain’s ambassador to the Holy See; currently leading a revolt against Papal authority.

Bourbon, Christine Marie de — Louis XIII’s sister, Duchess of Savoy, married to Victor Amadeus.

Bourbon, Gaston Henri de — Illegitimate son of Henry IV, bishop of Metz.

Bourbon, Gaston Jean-Baptiste de, Duc d’Orleans — “Monsieur.” Younger brother of Louis XIII, heir to the French throne.

Bourbon, Louis de — King Louis XIII of France.

Brassac et de Béarn, Louis de Galard de — Seigneur de Semoussac. The Superior of the Company of the Blessed Sacrament.

Brassac, Alexandre de — Baron de la Rochebeaucourt, de Salles et de Genté. Son of Louis de Brassac.

Bullion, Claude de — Minister of Finance under Louis XIII.

Caussin, Nicolas — Jesuit confessor to Louis XIII.

Chavigny, Léon Bouthillier, Comte de — Diplomat and Secretary of State; originally attached to Richelieu. Later chancellor to Gaston d’Orleans and an intermediary between the two men.

Condé, Prince of, Henri de Bourbon — A prince of the blood, second cousin to Louis XIII. Married to Charlotte Marguerite de Montmorency.

Cordonnier, Georges — Telegrapher in Paris; “GJBF.”

Cordonnier, Simon — Shoemaker in Soissons. Georges Cordonnier’s father.

Corneille, Pierre — Poet and playwright. Spy for Richelieu.

Crussol, François, Duke de Uzès — Gentleman in ordinary to Queen Anne.

De la Mothe-Houdancourt, Phillippe de, Comte — Cavalry commander in service to Turenne.

Du Lude, Gaspard de Daillon — Bishop, later Archbishop of Albi.

Durant, Henri — Radio operator at Castello del Valentino, Turin.

Durant, Sylvie — Radio operator at Castello del Valentino, Turin.

Épernon, Jean Louis, Duc de Nogaret de Valette d’ — Soldier, participated in the persecution of the Huguenots in Guienne under la Louis XIII.

Étampes de Valençay, Achille de — Soldier; Knight of Malta, captain of LightHorse; brother of Bishop Léonore and of Jacques, Lord of Valençay, Governor of Calais and Knight of the Holy Spirit.

Étampes de Valençay, Léonore de — Bishop of Chartres.

Gaisson, Colonel Jean de — Turenne’s commander of infantry.

Glauber, Johann Rudolf — Alchemist and chemist, in service with Turenne. Inventor of advanced and safe, non-poisonous percussion caps for Turenne’s weapons.

Gondi, Jean-François — Archbishop of Paris.

Hand, Erik Haakonson, Colonel — Veteran soldier; cousin of Gustav II Adolf,new ambassador at the court of France.

Hapsburg, Doña Ana Maria Mauricia — “Anne of Austria,” Queen of France.

Hapsburg, Fernando — Cardinal-Infante, Governor and later King in the Spanish Netherlands; married to his cousin Maria Anna of Austria.

Hapsburg, Isabella Clara Eugenia — Archduchess of the Low Countries.

Hapsburg, Philip IV — King of Spain.

Jeannin, Alois — Squad commander in Maddox’s Rangers.

La Tour d’Auvergne, Frédéric Maurice, Duc de Bouillon — Prince of Sedan, older brother of Turenne. —

LeBarre, Jean-Baptiste — Warden of the prison in Château de Miolans in St. Pierre d’Albigny in Savoy.

Logiani, Artemisio — Turin resident, handyman and trained radio operator and technician at Castello del Valentino.

Lorraine, Marguerite de, Duchesse d’Orleans — Sister of Duke Charles of Lorraine and second wife of Gaston d’Orleans, Prince of France.

Maddox, Sherrilyn — Former physical education teacher at Grantville High, later member of Harry Lefferts’ “Wrecking Crew.”

Maillé-Brézé, Urbain de — Marshal of France. Brother-in-law of Richelieu.

Matewski, Katie — Part of the “Steam Engine” people; employed as a nurse for Anne of Austria.

Mazarini, Giulio Raimondo, Cardinal — In France, “Jules Mazarin.” Diplomat and soldier, protégé of Richelieu and partner-by-arrangement to Anne.

Medici, Marie de — Queen-Mother, widow of Henri IV, mother of Louis XIII and Gaston.

Mirabel, Don Antonio de Zuñiga y Davila, Marquis de — Spanish ambassador in Paris. —

Miro, Estuban — Spymaster for Ed Piazza.

Montausier, Charles de Sainte-Maure, Marquis de — Huguenot soldier in French service.

Noyers, François Sublet de — Intendant and later secretary of war; superintendent of the Bâtiments du Roi (the king’s architectural projects).

Olivares, Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of — Chief Minister of Philip IV of Spain.

Orléans, Anne Marie Louise de, Duchesse de Montpensier — Gaston’s daughter by his first wife. “La Petite Madamoiselle.”

Piazza, Ed — President of the State of Thuringia-Franconia. “The Principal.”

Richelieu, Armand-Jean du Plessis — Cardinal-Duke, chief minister of France.

Rohan, Marie-Aimée de, Duchesse de Chevreuse — Principal lady-in-waiting to Queen Anne.

Rubens, Pieter Paul — Painter, who also served as a diplomat both for Marie de Medici and, more recently, the Infanta Isabella.

Savoy, Victor Amadeus, Duc de — Duke of Savoy; brother-in-law of Gaston and Louis XIII; hired Grantville team to build a radio in Turin. Married to Christina Maria, daughter of Henry IV of France.

Servien, Étienne — Servant and intendant to Richelieu.

Soissons, Louis de (Bourbon) — Count of Soissons, and cousin of Louis XIII. Créature of Gaston d’Orleans.

Tillman, Terrye Jo — Radio operator; currently in the employ of Victor Amadeus, Duke of Savoy.

Tremblay, Joseph Francis LeClerc, Cardinal de(Père Joseph) — Capuchin monk, friend of Richelieu; recently made Cardinal in pectore by Pope Urban VIII.

Valbelle, Cosme II de — Seigneur de Brunelles. Head of a Marseilles noble and mercantile family.

Vasa, Gustav II Adolf — King of Sweden, Emperor of the USE, High King of the Union of Kalmar.

Vendôme, César de (Bourbon) — Louis XIII’s oldest brother, légitimé de France, son of Henry IV by Gabrielle d’Estrées.

Vendôme, François de (Bourbon) — Duc de Beaufort. Louis XIII’s nephew, son of César de Vendôme.

Vendôme, Louis de (Bourbon) — Duc de Mercoeur. Louis XIII’s nephew, younger son of César de Vendôme.