Eddie leaned forward. "I don't understand. What did your mother do that was so bad?"
More tears brimmed in the girl's blue eyes. She lowered her voice and spoke slowly in English, evidently not wanting to be overheard. "She had a lot of . . . gentlemen friends, one in particular. A German cavalry officer. He was quite handsome, and I fear Mamà was . . ." She bit her lip, then switched back to German, evidently lacking the English vocabulary. "Indiscreet."
"Oh." Eddie sat back. His mind whirled. "That's a bummer, but what does it have to do with you, especially now that she's gone?"
"Mistress Sehested says I come from 'bad stock,' that I will be no better than Mamà was, like a 'cat in heat.' Already, she says, I spend far too much time with—" She broke off and her cheeks flushed.
"With me," Eddie finished for her. He felt his own cheeks warm. Anger surged through him and he struggled onto his remaining foot, supporting himself against the massive table. What he wouldn't give to punch Mistress Sehested right in the middle of her aristocratic snout!
"But you can't marry an old goat like Dinesen!" He almost lost his balance, then sat down again. "That would be utterly—bogus!"
Anne Cathrine's depthless blue eyes regarded him, then her nose crinkled and she was laughing through her tears. "An 'old goat,' yes!" she exclaimed in German. "That is exactly what he looks like with that stringy little beard!"
"An 'old goat' you are fortunate to have, young lady," a female voice came from the threshold. "And you will not even have that much, if you are heard speaking in such an outrageous fashion."
Eddie turned to see Anne Cathrine's governess, Mistress Sehested, standing in the doorway. Still in her late twenties, she was regarded as a handsome woman throughout the court, though her expression was perpetually severe. Today, she was dressed in turquoise satin, and the cut was fine as any he'd seen in the palace. Her face was tight with anger.
"How can you even think of letting that man paw Anne Cathrine?" he demanded.
"She will do her duty," Mistress Sehested said, "as do we all. But I expect a commoner like you would know nothing about that."
Eddie's hand went to his stump, concealed in a baggy fold of hose. "Now, there you are wrong," he said, holding his head high. "I do know a bit about doing one's duty, however hard it gets."
The woman followed Eddie's gaze down to his truncated leg. "Any peasant can get in the way of a cannon ball. There's nothing noble about that." She stared at Eddie coldly. "Anne Cathrine, your presence is requested by your father." Then she left with a sweep of her full skirts.
"You should not anger her like that." Anne Cathrine's voice was only a whisper. Her fingers wrung the wet lace of her handkerchief. "She never forgets a slight, nor fails to remedy such."
"Neither do I," Eddie said, and was surprised at the steel in his own voice.
Three weeks later, the answer to the king's latest missive arrived from Grantville. Christian summoned him to the royal study.
Anne Cathrine was already present, head bowed, very subdued since the king had accepted Dinesen's petition for her hand in marriage. Her half-brothers, Princes Christian and Frederick, stood at the back of the room.
The King pulled the single sheet of creamy paper out of the envelope and read:
"Most gracious King Christian IV,
"We send you greeting, with renewed good wishes for your health and that of your family.
"Again, we are glad for word of Lieutenant Cantrell's continuing recovery. We hope to see him safe in Grantville in the near future.
"Upon receipt of your letter, we dispatched Herr Presley along with a long-range rifle, complete with telescopic sights, to Denmark, but word has reached us that he fell prey to bandits and the gun was lost. We have sent troops to recover the weapon, and rest assured that when it is found, we will send it promptly to you.
"In the meantime, please accept our regrets for the delay and tell Lieutenant Cantrell that his betrothed, Miss Marilyn Monroe, remains in good health.
"Respectfully,
"Michael Stearns, Prime Minister, United States of Europe"
An involuntary snort escaped Eddie. He tried to muffle it with a faked sneeze. Marilyn Monroe? Mike was really getting into the spirit of things.
"You are betrothed?" King Christian motioned him forward, so Eddie hobbled with his crutch across the inlaid wood floor. He was steadier now than he'd been even a week ago and moved with more assurance. The monarch's cold blue eyes studied him. "She is very beautiful, this Monroe woman?"