House of Bathory(84)
“I have been overseeing business in upper Hungary,” responded Thurzo. “And meeting with commanders on the Ottoman Front. I wanted to see with my own eyes what progress the royal army has made. I will give you a full report tomorrow.”
The King grunted. “And naturally you would have taken lodging in the Bathory family castles behind the front lines?”
“Your Majesty, they are my relatives—my wife’s cousins, aunts, and uncles. And mine. Of course I would enjoy their hospitality.”
“Perhaps you had time to meet with family members in your travels. How did they embrace the news of a murderess staining the Bathory name?”
“Your Majesty?”
“Thurzo!” the King shouted, pounding his fist on the oak armrest. “Are you loyal to me or to your Bathory relatives?”
“I am forever loyal, steadfast and true to the Habsburg crown,” said Thurzo, bowing low and fingering his velvet cap in his hand.
“Yet, Thurzo, you do not convince me that your devotions are not divided. I ask you again. What say the Bathorys of Erzsebet’s murderous ways?”
“They beg you send our cousin to a convent,” said Thurzo, lowering his eyes before the King. “She would spend the rest of her days behind the church’s walls.”
“Ah. Of course, a convent,” sniffed the King. “An ironic place for the remaining years of a Calvinist-turned-Lutheran countess. She will never be heard of again, and her riches would remain in the Bathory family, except for a handsome dowry paid to the Catholic Church.”
Thurzo touched his beard, and then dropped his hand to his side.
“The family pleads with you, King Matthias, to keep the secret of her vicious bloodletting. If the common people learn there is truth to the rumors, we will have peasant uprisings as we did forty years ago. Our family—your allies—will be in danger. Your political and military strength on the Hungarian Ottoman front will be compromised.”
“Do you not think the Countess should be tried for her blood crimes?”
“Let the family convince her to enter a convent, I beg you, Your Majesty.”
“NO!” roared the King, slashing the air with his bejeweled hand. “Neither I, nor any Habsburg, shall be blackmailed by the Bathory family!”
“Your Majesty!”
“Gabor Bathory betrays the Crown and bargains with the devil himself in Constantinople. Loyal servants have reported two envoys have been sent to the Sultan on Gabor’s behalf!”
“Gabor is indeed a Bathory, but he does not represent—”
“No, Thurzo. Hear me: You shall apprehend the Countess and bring proof of her crimes to me. She shall be tried before Parliament. The Bathory name shall be a curse word in the mouth of generations to come. Bring me proof!”
“My Lord—the girls who have disappeared or died are servants. Lawful conduct—”
“No,” said the King, looking again at the chessboard. He made a swift move, capturing Klesl’s knight. His frown eased in satisfaction. He turned to Count Thurzo, knowing that the Count was very much aware of what the King was about to tell him.
“My distinguished Palatine…the Countess has made a fatal move. She invites daughters of impoverished noblemen to Čachtice. Should she lay a finger on those girls, the House of Bathory will fall. As King and defender of the law, I shall see that Erzsebet Bathory is tried and beheaded.”
And that, thought the King, is how the game is played.
Chapter 70
BRATISLAVA, SLOVAKIA
DECEMBER 25, 2010
Daisy, a blanket wrapped around her damp shoulders, accepted the clerk’s offer of slivovica—Slovak plum brandy—and sipped it slowly. She tried to stop her body from trembling.
“Let me escort you to your room,” said the clerk. He flipped up a sign at the desk that read I WILL RETURN MOMENTARILY. “You should take a hot shower. I can bring you food, yes?”
“No. No, thank you. I just want to rest.”
The man pressed the button for the glass elevator.
“I am so sorry, Slecna. We have so little crime here. But now, with this killer loose, it is not safe for any girl.”
He took her room key and unlocked the door. He snapped on the lights and gasped.
“Holy shit!” said Daisy.
The room had been torn apart, ransacked. The mattress was flipped over, her clothes strewn across the floor. Her empty backpack was tossed in a corner.
Daisy shook uncontrollably, her teeth chattering.
“I will call the police immediately,” said the clerk. “You will stay next door, take hot shower now. I will pack up your belongings and deliver them. Put on chain. Do not open the door for anyone.”