"I have been following the news closely, Kristina, as you know. Why did the chancellor of Sweden send away the American Moor Nichols? Everyone knows he's the best doctor in the world. So why is he no longer at your father's bedside in Berlin?"
Kristina looked uncertain. "I…?I don't know, Ulrik. But maybe Uncle Axel has a reason."
"Oh, yes, I'm sure he does. In fact, I'm sure I know what he would say to me right now if he were in this room and I asked him the question directly. He'd say that he sent Dr. Nichols away because the doctor himself said there was not much more he could do, now that he'd saved the king from the infection in his body. And so-being as he is such an important physician-it would really be best if he returned to Magdeburg, since everyone knows Magdeburg is becoming the great center of medicine in the Germanies. It might even have surpassed Grantville and Jena, by now."
"Well…?doesn't that makes sense? It sounds like it does."
"In and of itself, yes. But it simply raises the next question, which is-"
Caroline interrupted. There was real anger in her voice.
"Which is why the hell didn't James Nichols take your father back to Magdeburg with him? So what if there's not much more that can be done for him? 'Not much' isn't the same thing as 'nothing,' and whatever can be done for your daddy can be done a lot better in Magdeburg than it can in Berlin."
So. Platzer had come to the same dark conclusion as Ulrik had. Axel Oxenstierna would not kill his own king. But he was willing to risk letting him die, wasn't he?
Still, Kristina soldiered on. Ulrik was very proud of her.
"But…?maybe the travel would be too hard on Papa."
Ulrik shook his head. "I'm sure that's what the chancellor would say. But it's simply not true."
Baldur finally gave up the softball act. "To put it mildly!" he said, in a caustic tone. It sounded so much more like him, too, it really did.
He'd been leaning against a nearby wall. Now, he levered himself away from it with a little heave of his shoulders and took two steps toward Kristina. "They hauled your father in a horse-litter across western Poland and Brandenburg-which is to say, along cow trails-for five and a half days, didn't they? And he survived, didn't he? Don't let anybody ever tell you otherwise, girl. King or not, emperor or not, your Papa is as tough as men come."
Kristina looked pleased, as well she might. Baldur Norddahl passed out praise the way a miser passes out coins to the needy.
The Norwegian shook his head. "It's all crap. You've ridden in a plane."
"Yes, it's wonderful!"
Baldur smiled. "Probably not so wonderful if you're badly injured. Still, if the pilot is being careful, the ride won't be any rougher than a trip in a horse-litter."
He raised a finger. "But with one great difference! It took Stearns almost six days to get your Papa to Berlin. How long would it take to fly him from Berlin to Magdeburg?"
The princess frowned. "Well, I've flown from Luebeck to Magdeburg. And that's even farther, isn't it?"
"A lot farther," Ulrik said. "Berlin is less than a hundred miles from Magdeburg. The truth is, Kristina, there are several ways your father could be brought to Magdeburg, where he'd be able to get the best medical care available in the world. An airplane would be the fastest, but it's not actually the one I'd propose. Speed isn't critical any longer."
"Barge," said Baldur. "The Havel river runs right by Berlin. It's navigable-for a shallow barge, but it doesn't need to have much of a draft for this purpose-and it will take you down to the Elbe. The Havel enters the Elbe near Werben. Then you'd transfer him onto one of the newer and bigger powered barges and bring him up the Elbe to the Magdeburg."
"It's a roundabout route," said Ulrik. "Still, it can't be more than three hundred miles all told. Three hundred miles on river barges which could be prepared beforehand for the trip would take far less time than the trip your father already took to Berlin. And be far more comfortable and easier on him."
"I'd rather be on a well-made river barge," added Baldur, "than be stuck in Berlin."
Kristina's jaws got tight. "I'm getting mad now."
"As well you should," Ulrik said.
"So what should we do?" she asked. "We can't stay here. Uncle Axel's word is law here. It really is. I never liked Stockholm anyway. Should we go to Copenhagen?"
Caroline Platzer looked alarmed, until she saw that Ulrik was already shaking his head.
"No. That would be a very bad mistake. I think it's essential that you and I stay together and-"
"Oh, yes!" Kristina exclaimed. "You have to stay with me, Ulrik! You have to!"
Her hands were gripping his as tightly as they could, now. Her eyes were wider than ever, her face as pale as he'd ever seen it.
"You have to!"
He drew her near and gently kissed her forehead. "You are my betrothed, Kristina," he said softly. "And I am not a man who takes my vows lightly. I will not leave you. I swear that on my honor, here before God."
She released his hands and threw her arms around him, clutching him tightly. "Good. That's very, very, very good. It would be so hard for me, without you."
After perhaps a minute, she relaxed her hug and stepped back a foot or so.
"But why not go to Copenhagen?"
"Because if we both go-and we would have to, since we've agreed to stay together-it would look as if I'd coerced you. And was trying to take advantage of the crisis to advance the interests of Denmark."
"Oh." She thought about that for a moment and then nodded. "That makes sense."
Caroline spoke up. "We probably don't have much time left, do we?"
Ulrik glanced at the pile of newspapers. "Not much, no. Uncle Ax-Oxenstierna is summoning all of them to Berlin. Well, Wettin is, officially. But I'm sure the chancellor is really the driving force now."
Ulrik had met Wilhelm Wettin and spent several hours in his company. He liked the man. But like him or not, the prime minister of the USE had recklessly plunged into the depths. Ulrik did not think those waters would suit him much. But into them he'd gone, nevertheless.
"Summoning all of who?" Caroline asked, frowning.
"Who do you think? Most of the major figures in the Crown Loyalist Party, to start with. But this goes beyond narrow politics. Important disgruntled noblemen, of course. Wealthy and resentful burghers. If a man has influence and wishes profoundly that the Ring of Fire had never happened, he's probably on his way to Berlin by now. He certainly got an invitation."
Caroline stared at him. She was now quite wide-eyed herself.
"You're guessing," she said abruptly.
"To a considerable degree, yes." He flicked a dismissive forefinger across the stack of newspapers. "Most of these are fairly wretched, and the ones that aren't come irregularly. So, yes, a lot of this is guesswork on my part." He flashed a little smile. "But on this subject I'm a very well educated guesser, you know."
"Well…?yeah, I guess that's true."
"So we have some time still, you think?" That came from Baldur. It was about as far removed from an idle question as could be imagined. Ulrik could practically hear the blades being sharpened, the pistols loaded…
The outrageous lies and subterfuges, of course.
"Yes, but not all that much. The chancellor-nor the prime minister, certainly-won't take any drastic public steps or measures until they have their own people organized." He snorted disdainfully. "As much as you can organize such a sullen pack of dogs. I swear, they make even Danish noblemen look like paragons of civic virtue. But once they feel they have the wind at their back, then-yes. If we're still here in Stockholm, they'll simply have us arrested if we haven't obeyed Oxenstierna and come to Berlin already."
"You too?" asked Kristina. "Won't that make your father very angry?"
"Probably. But…" Ulrik sighed. "I am very fond of my father in most ways. But he's simply not a king you can depend on in a crisis."