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The Viennese Waltz(74)

By:Paula Goodlett


Gundaker’s son, Hartmann, had been to Grantville too, if only for a short time. He laughed. “Someone certainly has, though I had no idea that the girl was more than peripherally involved. I told you, Father, that they do things differently in Grantville.”

“They do things stupidly in Grantville, then,” Gundaker said. “Those idiots out at Race Track City are giving credit to all the wrong sort of people and they are going to lose their wealth when their debtors are unable to pay.”

“I wouldn’t count on that, Uncle,” Karl said. “Sarah is quite well off, but her younger sister is even wealthier. And a good part of—” Karl managed not to say “my wealth” and converted it to “—our wealth is due to the investments that the Barbies have made for me. I’ll have Josef look over the situation out at Race Track City when he gets here, but I suspect that they are in better shape than it might seem at first.”

“One hopes,” Maximilian said, “that they, or at least your Sarah, can help us to prepare for the Turks.”

“I don’t think that’s likely, Uncle,” Hartmann said. “At least not the young ladies. Julie Sims is more the exception than the rule, I think.”

“Are there rumblings from the Turks?” Karl asked.

“Yes, there are,” Maximilian said. “We’re not sure how serious it is yet, but His Majesty is starting to be concerned. Or, at least, his close adviser Janos Drugeth is concerned.”

“And you want Sarah’s help?”

“Moses Abrabanel seems to think she is some sort of financial genius,” Gundaker said, doubt clear in his voice.

“Well . . .” Karl paused. “Yes. But David Bartley is the real businessman. Sarah is more oriented to the big picture, as she calls it. Understand, no actual economists came back with the Ring of Fire, but copies of economics books did. Sarah Wendell has read every economic book available. Literally, everything that is known in this time about economics, Sarah knows. That is not the same as knowing what they knew up-time, but in at least one way it’s better. They have some records of how the economy of the HRE developed in their history and they have the development of the USE since the Ring of Fire to compare it to. That is something the up-timers never had. Sarah has written several papers on comparative economics, focusing on the effect of monetary policy.”

* * *

While the men were at their brandy, the ladies were having wine and sweet cakes in another room. Sarah Wendell had pled fatigue and escaped to her rooms. Karl’s aunt Katharina was just as glad Sarah hadn’t joined them, since she would without doubt be the topic of conversation among the ladies this evening. The arrival of Sarah Wendell had brought to mind several things that were bothering her.

Her sister-in-law, Elisabeth Lukretia von Teschen, Gundaker’s estranged wife, was living in territory that was now under Wallenstein and apparently quite happy to do so. Most of Katharina’s own lands were now in the hands of Wallenstein as well, and at least nominally still in the family as long as Karl Eusebius remained in Wallenstein’s good graces.

Katharina started the ball rolling. “Did you see Gundaker’s face?”

The ladies chortled or sniffed as dictated by their attitude about the up-timers in general. There was considerably more sniffing than chortling.

“What do you expect? All the up-timers are peasants.” Countess Aldringer, whose husband had been made a count by Ferdinand II, was a countess mostly because of her husband’s money.

“Careful, dear. From what I understand she could buy your husband out of pocket change,” Katharina advised with a certain malice.

Countess Aldringer was clearly less than pleased at that observation. “There are other things than money.”

“Yes, there are,” Katharina said. “Charity, honor, piety. What I am less sure of by the day is how those things apply to the up-timers. And how they apply to us. When, after all, was it decided that showing appreciation of service lacked in charity, honor or piety?”

“It lacks in both charity and piety!” Countess Aldringer insisted, “because it encourages the sins of pride and sloth in the serving class. It confuses them as to their proper role. It is well known that the peasantry is at best easily confused and must be reminded of their station constantly. She did the serving girl no favor by her condescension.” She sniffed. “Not that it was much of a descent for that one, but how is a serving girl to know that?”

“Yet God put them here, and seems to favor their endeavors,” Gundaker’s daughter Maximiliana Constanzia, called Liana, said.