The Ludwig Conspiracy(47)

The king was sitting in the boat, with his eyes closed.

I had been here once before with Ludwig, a favor that he bestowed on only a few of his subjects. All the same, a shiver ran down my spine when I saw him there. I was reminded of Emperor Barbarossa, asleep in the Kyffhäuser mountain until the day when danger would threaten the German Empire. But now danger threatened the king himself, and it was for me to warn him.

I cleared my throat tactfully, and Ludwig opened his eyes. A slight smile spread over his face.

“Ah, Theodor,” he said, indicating for me to join him in the boat. “Did Munich upset your digestion so much that you hope to be cured in Linderhof? I’m glad to see you here. You bring light into my dismal thoughts.”

I stepped into the rocking boat and sat down opposite Ludwig. He looked bloated, and pale as a newt that spends all its life in the dark. Yet he still had that dignity and charm that had always distinguished him as king. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a painting of a scene from Wagner’s Tannhäuser on the back wall; I could make out its details only indistinctly in the blue light. It showed a knight in a dark cavern. Little angels hovered around him, while beautiful women moved in a round dance. The man in the picture looked exhausted and happy at the same time.

“Majesty,” I began quietly, “I fear that I do not bring good news. You are in danger. Your ministers want you declared insane. They are in touch with the psychiatrist Dr. Bernhard von Gudden. He is to give an expert opinion that will describe you as unfit to rule the country.”

In a few hasty words, I told him about Dürckheim’s suspicions, my masquerade as a cabdriver, and my headlong flight. Gradually the smile disappeared from Ludwig’s face, and for a long time he said nothing.

“How certain is this?” he asked at last.

I breathed a sigh of relief. You never knew how Ludwig would react, but he seemed to be taking the matter seriously.

“As I said, I myself overheard the conversation between Secretary Pfaffinger, Dr. von Gudden, and a Prussian agent.”

“A Prussian agent?” said the king quietly. “But Bismarck has always assured me that . . .”

“The chancellor will always do what he thinks serves the interests of the German Empire,” I interrupted. “And the Bavarian ministers must have been suggesting to him that you cannot continue to rule this country.”

“Not continue to rule the country?” Ludwig’s voice was suddenly cold as ice. “Merely because I do not rule Bavaria in a way that happens to please those gentlemen? I have had to lead the country into two wars. Wherever you look, there’s saber rattling. The German Empire is too powerful to work any longer. Those damn Prussians and their lust for power.” He angrily sat up in the boat, making it sway as his weight shifted. “They’ll take us into another war that will burn this world to rubble and ashes. Where are the old ideals? The old ideas of kingship? Find me an island, Theodor. Some island where I can be the king I wish to be.”

I closed my eyes, praying that Ludwig would remain reasonable. Recently he had spoken enthusiastically, multiple times, of leaving Bavaria. He had even commissioned several of his employees to seek out some distant land—which they were happy to do, as it sent them on luxurious travels. Unfortunately, the king’s moods changed like the wind. He could write down-to-earth letters and give sensible orders, and the next moment threaten a lackey with deportation for life, or hold a conversation with the bust of Marie Antoinette.

“You must go to Munich and show yourself to the people,” I begged him. “If you make only a gesture of approach to the people, they will take you to their hearts again as they did in the past. And that will destroy the ministers’ plan. No one will believe that medical report if you show how reasonable you are.”

“So I’m to prove that I am not crazy?” asked the king. “How ironic. Do you think me . . . deranged, like my brother, Otto?”

“No, Majesty. On my honor, I think you like to dream, and you are more sensitive than most people, but not deranged.”

Ludwig was smiling again. “Sensitive.” He relished the word like a sweet plum. “I think you are correct there. Thank you, Marot. You have always been one of those dearest to me. I value your honesty.” He carefully steered the boat to the bank and climbed ponderously out. “Now, come with me. I want to show you something that will take your breath away.”

As we left the grotto, the blue light inside it changed to a shade of red.





XOIMLQI





We walked over to the castle as the first light of dawn showed in the east. I followed the king in silence until we were on the dark forecourt.