TRIP CHANCE TO PICK HIS BRAINS STOP
There. That fitted in perfectly with her 'Judy the Barracudy' rep. And it was true. Just not all the truth.
* * *
They were at the train station, which was the old B&O depot, waiting for the train to head out. William and the girls were chattering a mile a minute. All of Judy's invitees, save Millicent, had successfully reasoned, wheedled, screamed or otherwise buffaloed their parents into agreeing to "the field trip."
Hobbes was not happy. The point of going to Magdeburg was to get away from the girls. Not to escort them to the big city and teach them how to play royal tennis, to boot.
Not that Hobbes had any problem with teaching women. He had long been of the view that all humans are naturally equal, which implied that women are equal to men.
The problem was that if William got into any foreign romantic entanglements, his mother Christian would certainly blame Hobbes.
Upon interrogation, William had confessed that Judith Wendell had invited him to the movie. And then invited herself and her buddies along on this trip to Magdeburg.
It was small consolation that this Judith Wendell was, in some respects, a suitable match. She was the daughter of Fletcher Wendell, who was the "Secretary of the Treasury." As near as Hobbes could figure out, the equivalent British position was the "Chancellor of the Exchequer." The chancellor of the exchequer was almost always a nobleman; the present title holder was a baron, Francis Cottington. So it was safe to assume that this Fletcher Wendell was a nobleman, too.
Yes, yes, Hobbes had been told that the Americans didn't have a noble class. As a historian, Hobbes was familiar with several governments which were republican in name, but run by a small group of families. The Most Serene Republic, for example. Hobbes assumed that Grantville had a similar system.
The thought of William marrying Judy was amusing, in one respect. William had no idea how much Judy looked like William's mother Christian, when she was sixteen. Both pretty, redheaded wenches, accustomed to getting their own way.
The rail line from Grantville to Halle, when completed, would be almost ninety miles long. The track crossed "the ring," and then followed the west bank of the Saale as it leisurely wound its way through the forested limestone hills of Thuringia.
The train was powered by what the girls called a "pickup truck," and it drew three wooden cars on metal-topped wooden rails. The rails were not unfamiliar to Hobbes; there were similar structures serving a few British collieries. The "pickup truck," however, was a source of great amazement.
The train traveled at the astounding speed of ten miles per hour, without rest. William was quite excited, but Hobbes caught the quickly concealed smiles on the part of the up-timers. This is slow, by their standards, he thought.
Their parties occupied much of one rail car. The five in the Cavendish party of course, Judy and some of her friends, and two hired guards. This amused Hobbes a bit. He suspected that they were present to protect the girls from William as much as from bandits. Whereas Hobbes was intent on protecting William from the girls.
The first stop was at Rudolstadt, just outside the Ring of Fire. About three hours later, they pulled into the station serving the university town of Jena. Some students came onboard their car. One, more courageous than the others, spoke briefly to Heather, who was sitting nearest to them. She spoke to the young scholar with great animation, but occasionally glanced at William. To see if he is getting jealous? Hobbes wondered.
An hour and a half later, they were in Naumburg. This was the end of the line for now, so they hired coaches and continued on to Halle, where they would spend the night.
They had reserved the following day for seeing the sights, and playing tennis. The next morning, they would board the barge to Magdeburg, another fifty-odd miles away. It would be slow, even though they were traveling with the current, but the girls weren't accustomed to riding long distances.
"This place is really gloomy looking," Vicky said. The walls and ceiling of the tennis court were painted a solid black. Nor did the flagstone floor do much to cheer up the look. "Is this a home for Goths?"
Hobbes looked puzzled. "The Goths? Well, they are a Germanic tribe, and we are in Germany, but I don't think they played tennis. At least, I don't recall any reference to it in Jordanes' Getica."
"She means, why all the black?" said Gabrielle.
"Oh. To make it easier to see the ball, which is white."
"Why not whitewash the walls, and use a black ball?"
"They do that in Spain, but nowhere else in Europe."