He wasn’t yet willing to stop the marriage. After all, a morganatic marriage’s advantages were still there. But Gundaker would find a way to prevent this LIC from wasting the family fortune on building a railroad.
He started working out further arguments against the railroad.
Eisenberg House, Vienna
Amadeus walked into his father’s office, noting his father at the table and, in passing, his father’s secretary, Hans, in one corner at an up-time designed desk, pen in hand. “Father—” Amadeus ignored Hans. “—how would you feel about me courting the daughter of the emperor’s mechanic?”
“Hayley Fortney? The girl at the party? She’s not the one who took Father Lugocie to task, is she?”
“No, Father. That was the one called Vicky.”
“A shame, that. I was rather impressed. Still, she is the daughter of Sonny Fortney. You know he’s a spy, don’t you?”
“Who?”
“Sonny Fortney. Janos Drugeth is convinced that Herr Fortney works for Francisco Nasi and is sending him regular reports. Nasi is a Jew and Fortney is an up-timer. How is a man supposed to judge the true rank of either? Especially with this inverted pogrom that the Committees of Correspondence seem to be carrying out in the USE.”
Amadeus ignored the reference to Jews and just said, “Von Up-time.”
“Oh, don’t be silly. Just because . . .”
“Just because God picked them up and put them here. It seems enough to me to justify a von.”
“Perhaps. But what sort of a von? A minor nobility or a duke? How many princes in the Ring of Fire?”
“I don’t know, Father, but Hayley Fortney is quite wealthy. I have been looking into things out at Race Track City since the party. And I think she, more than the Sanderlins, is the one who financed the whole project.”
“They got thirty-five thousand reichsthaler for that car, and they get fifty reichsthaler a month. That’s quite a lot of money.” Peter paused. “No. You’re right. It’s not enough to pay for the canal and all the projects that they have out there. But you’re saying it’s the girl, not the father? Nasi is no spendthrift, but he is not ungenerous to his agents. I hadn’t really thought about it.” Peter paused and rubbed his nose. It was a mannerism that Amadeus knew well. “I should have, though,” Peter continued. “In fact, I should have even more if it had been Sonny Fortney financing the project.”
“What? Why?”
“Because: Why is a spy for Francisco Nasi financing a whole city just four miles from Vienna? Would it not be nice for Gustav to have a fortress next door to Vienna?”
Amadeus laughed. He couldn’t help it. “Race Track City? There is no wall. No fortifications of any sort. There are fifteen soldiers that the emperor sent and a bunch of craftsmen. It’s a lovely place to spend a summer day, but it couldn’t hold off a tercio for an afternoon.”
“Except that until this news about the pope there was increasing agitation among the They of Vienna to put a wall around Race Track City, or even to extend the wall to surround it and make it part of Vienna proper. The argument was that it would put them under the city’s authority. The emperor was, of course, opposed to the idea because he has found placing imitation-Hofbefreiten there both convenient and profitable. But a likely compromise might have been a wall around Race Track City, and some sort of separate city status, like Buda and Pest.”
“Which would put a walled city just a couple miles from Vienna, with a large part of the population loyal to their patrons, the Sanderlins and the Fortneys. Then Gustav invades and Race Track city declares for him.” Amadeus shook his head. “No, Father. It’s a flight of fancy. It would never happen. Yes, the Sanderlins and the Fortneys are popular, but so is the emperor. His drives are a major draw and the making of many of the businesses in Race Track City.”
“You’re probably right. Almost certainly right. But even a slight chance of such a coup would be worth a considerable risk of funds. Especially if there was a good chance that the investment would make an ordinary profit.”
“I think you’re hunting monsters in my wardrobe, Father.”
“Probably. Particularly if it’s the daughter, not the father. Still, I think I will have a talk with Moses Abrabanel about the wealth of the Barbies and where it comes from.”
“Fine, Father, but about my courting Hayley Fortney . . . ?”
“You were serious about that?”
“Yes, Father, I am very serious about that.”
Peter held up a hand, then examined Amadeus carefully. “All right. I won’t say yes right now, but I will talk to Moses. Depending on what he says, I may have a talk with the girl’s parents on the matter.”