Ruled by Love (3 page)

“It does sound to me as if I am going to have a very hard time learning anything in Krnov, Papa.”

Her father smiled.

“And I have never known you not to learn what you wanted to learn. Also we must not forget that astute little ‘Third Eye' of yours, which you used to talk about when you were a child.”

When Zoleka was quite young, she had been given a book about Egypt.

In it she had seen that the Egyptian Pharaohs had a strange bump on their foreheads.

Her father explained to her at the time it was what the Egyptians called their ‘Third Eye'. They used it to know instinctively and clairvoyantly the truth, which other people failed to see.

Zoleka at the time had thought it amusing and she had walked about with a paint mark on her forehead, which she informed her father was her Third Eye.

He told her stories of how people had saved their lives by using their instinct and how others had made many precious discoveries. They had been made aware of many truths that were hidden from ordinary men and women.

Zoleka had practised using her intuition from the time she was twelve.

Now she sensed that she knew almost instantly the character and personality of men and women she met.

Long ago she had learnt that what she actually felt about them was in fact the truth.

At the time her father would encourage her to tell him exactly what she thought some dinner-guest was really like, and later he had her sitting with him when he engaged a new
aide-de-camp
or a servant.

“Now tell me what you think,” he would say when the candidates left the room.

He was forced to admit that Zoleka was very clever in spotting a weakness in someone they had talked to.

As she grew older she used the same powers to choose those whom she wished to be her friends.

She refused point blank to speak to one visitor at the Palace. Desperate to be accepted, the visitor constantly bought Zoleka and her mother bunches of flowers and presents.  Before too long it became difficult to accept the woman's kindness and still not invite her to any Royal festivities.

“She is bad, Mama,” Zoleka had said. “And I have no wish to accept her presents.”

“You can hardly refuse them, dearest,” her mother had replied firmly.

Zoleka had accepted the largesse and thanked the woman politely, but later her mother found she had made a bonfire and burnt the presents until they were nothing but ashes.

“How could you do anything so foolish, Zoleka?” she scolded. “If you did not want them, there are plenty of girls your age who would be grateful for them.”

“They are bad, Mama, and I don't want anyone to touch them,” Zoleka insisted.

It was a year later that the woman in question was found to be an addict and arrested for smuggling drugs into the Palace.

Her devoted servant had tried to physically restrain her in a desperate bid to prevent her smoking opium, but she had resisted so violently that the man had nearly died in the struggle.

After that it became clear that she would never give up taking or selling drugs and the woman was barred from the Palace and forced to leave the country.

Zoleka's father and mother had been compelled to admit that she had been right all along.

“How did you know she was like that, dearest?” her mother enquired fervently.

Zoleka smiled.

“I looked at her with my Third Eye!”

*

When the young diplomat, Anton Bauer, who had travelled from Krnov to meet her father, was introduced to Zoleka, she thought he was quite pleasant.

He was clearly frightened of saying the wrong thing concerning his visit.

Zoleka smiled at him.

“Do tell me about Princess Udele. Does she find it rather hard being an only child, as I have?”

“I expect so and it will be very nice for Her Royal Highness to have your company,” replied Anton Bauer.

Zoleka asked him other questions about Krnov, all of which received rather vague answers.

She began to think, like her father, that perhaps the whole country was limp and ineffective.

In which case the Prussians would certainly start to infiltrate it.

As her father had said to her, the sooner she went to Krnov, the sooner it would all be over.

Zoleka agreed to the arrangements he had made and began to choose those whom she would take with her.

Marla, her lady's maid, was an obvious choice as she had been in her service for more than six years.

The
aide-de-camp,
whom she chose next, was forty-year-old Pieter Seitz. Pieter was known to be a sensible man and she thought he could probably use his easy going manner to visit places where she would be unable to go and talk to people she was unlikely to come into contact with.

She was quite certain that he would be most useful in finding out what she needed to know.

*

Finally the day arrived when they were to travel to Krnov in two carriages.

It was not a particularly long journey, but some of the route was over mountainous roads.

The night before Zoleka left, she dined alone with her father, which they always enjoyed so much more than when they had to have other people with them.

“You must take extra good care of yourself, Papa, whilst I am away and think of me every day.”

“You know I will, my darling. I shall miss our rides and the times like this when we can be together and talk without being afraid of being overheard.”

“That is one problem I was thinking about. Do you imagine that the Palace in Krnov has concealed holes in the walls through which a spy can see or overhear? I have heard so many stories about this happening in Russia and other countries.”

“I think, my dearest Zoleka, that they will simply treat you as a charming young girl, who will be a nice companion for their young Princess.”

He smiled before he continued,

“I don't think that Anton Bauer would believe for a single moment that you might be an Ambassador for your country.”

“An Ambassador with a keen eye and ear who will miss nothing!” exclaimed Zoleka.

“What you must not do is to put anything down in writing,” her father warned.

“Then how am I to tell you what I have found out?”

“I think the wisest way would be to take a second
aide-de-camp
with you who we trust. He can always be sent backwards and forwards ostensibly with gifts and to fetch items for you, but really to tell me what you want me to know.”

Zoleka clasped her hands together.

“You are quite right, Papa, we should have thought of it before. If it is something very serious, I will come back myself, but if we take a special messenger, he will make me feel that I can reach you very quickly if I want to.”

“You are not to anticipate anything really nasty or untoward happening. If you do, it might perhaps prejudice you unreasonably.”

“It would not do that, Papa, it is just that I think we should be prepared.”

“I am afraid you may be disappointed, my dearest. You will find Krnov exceedingly dull and may learn very little after all.”

Zoleka threw up her hands.

“Now you are trying to put me off the trip, Papa! You know I will find it dreadfully boring. In which case I will return home at once and then the Krnovians will have to look after themselves.”

“I have the feeling that is what Prince Majmir really wants. It is only that I am so very frightened of losing our independence, which is so precious to us all.”

“Of course it is, Papa, and something we must not lose whatever happens. I will do my best and no one can do more.”

“I wouldn't mind betting that your best will be very good indeed, as it always has been.”

“Now you are flattering me and I love it!”

“When you come back,” her father suggested, “we will throw a ball, which will be the finest ball we have ever given.”

He put his hand over hers.

“I am feeling rather guilty that I have not given you enough parties, which your mother would have wanted for you now that you are eighteen.”

“I have been perfectly happy riding with you, Papa, and doing all the things we have done. The balls can wait, as can all the young men, who I do know at the back of your mind you believe should be around to amuse me.”

Her father smiled at her.

“I admit I have been rather selfish. I have wanted you all to myself and have not concentrated on counting up how many eligible young gentlemen there are to be found in the neighbourhood!”

“If you mean eligible for me to marry, Papa, I can tell you here and now that I do not wish to marry anyone for several years at least!”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because it would be so terrible to be forced into an unhappy arranged marriage. You and dear Mama were so happy, but of course it was a million to one chance against that you should have fallen in love with each other. You could so easily have hated each other and then what would have happened?”

“If I am honest, that was what I was afraid of, but it was so very important for our country that I should have a Consort. Luckily fortune smiled on me and no one could have been more in love than your darling mother and I.”

“That is why I am now asking how I can be sure of being equally lucky.”

“We shall just have to pray that Heaven is listening to our plea, and you must now use your Third Eye on every unfortunate individual who lays his heart at your feet!”

Zoleka laughed.

“I am not going to worry at all about the ones who lay their hearts at my feet. It is those that say I would be of great assistance in building up their own country or keeping the enemies from the gate who frighten me!”

Prince Lászlé knew exactly what she was saying.

He realised that because of her rank it was exactly what might happen to her in the future.

“Forget it, Zoleka,” he told her affectionately. “Just believe you will find real happiness as I did and it will happen when you least expect it.”

“That is so exactly what I want to believe. When I marry I want to be as happy as Mama was with you.”

“And as I was with your mother,” her father ended wistfully.

She realised by the sad expression in his eyes that once again he was grieving over the wife he had lost. He was obviously feeling that nothing could ever be the same without her.

Zoleka rose and placed her arms round her father's neck.

“What we both have to believe, Papa, is that Mama is guiding us. Maybe it is Mama herself who has suggested to the Krnov Prime Minister that he should do something urgently about his country?”

“It is what I would like to believe, Zoleka, and then I should not feel so guilty in sending you there, because I know instinctively it is going to be very dull for you.”

“I shall have to think of some way of livening it up, Papa! In the meantime concentrate on thinking how soon I can come back to you.”

“I will certainly do so,” he promised her, “and you must be quick in finding out all I want to know.”

Zoleka gave a little sigh.

“I can only hope the Palace is busy like ours, with people coming in and out and something happening every half-hour and the people in the City are all happy and contented.”

Her father laughed, but he did not comment.

Then Zoleka continued,

“Instead of which I have a feeling that their Palace will be filled with a fleet of courtiers bowing and curtsying every few minutes. The food will be horrible and nothing will happen unless there is a thunderstorm from one week to the next!”

The Prince chuckled as she meant him to do.

“It could not possibly be as bad as that!”

“Mama warned me that that was what most Palaces, where she had stayed, were like. She found them so dull, which made her so determined that here in our Palace life would always be fun with everybody laughing.”

“That is exactly what your mother achieved and I think you and I have carried it on.”

“Of course we have, Papa. But if you expect me to create that wonderful atmosphere out of nothing in Krnov, you are mistaken.”

“Now do not be prejudiced before you actually get there,” he warned her. “Then if you have to wake them up with a bang do so and come back to me quickly.”

“That is just what I am planning to do!”

She put her arms round her father's neck again and kissed him.

“The trouble is, Papa, there are not enough Princes like you in the world to make it as much fun as it should be.”

Her father did not say any more but kissed her on her cheek.

Only when Zoleka retired to bed did it occur to her that her father would undoubtedly be lonely and miserable without her.

‘I think my real duty is here with Papa,' she mused, ‘rather than trying to cheer up some obscure and tiresome people who have not the sense to amuse themselves.'

As she undressed, she recalled the real reason why she was being sent to Krnov.

The Prussians with their gaudy uniforms, their guns and long marching columns of men were waiting poised on the borders.

One day they would march straight into the country and Krnov would lose its independence overnight.

‘I have to save them from that ghastly nightmare, if I possibly can,' she determined.

At the same time she had not the slightest idea how she could possibly do it.

She did not want her father to find out, but she was feeling afraid.

Before Anton Bauer started out for Krnov to report that Her Royal Highness, Princess Zoleka, would be most delighted to be Lady-in-Waiting to Princess Udele, Zoleka had a long talk with him.

Her father was back working on his book, so there was no interruption.

She was quite determined to find out as much as she could about the Palace in Krnov.

“Tell me all about it,” she urged him coaxingly.

He seemed more relaxed than he had been with her father.

“As a matter of fact, Your Royal Highness, I have brought with me a plan of the Palace, thinking I might be asked for it.”