On the threshold of the final resolution, Archduchess Marianne takes a moment to look back at how it all began. Fittingly enough, this happens in the privacy of a small chapel in St Stephan’s Cathedral, in the company of a few of her trusted confederates. It all comes back to her now – the whispered […]
We all know those moments when our steady efforts seem to progress at a snail’s pace – and then, suddenly, the last piece of the puzzle falls into place, and as if by revelation, we grasp the whole picture. That is exactly what Archduchess Marianne experiences in St Stephen’s Cathedral while waiting for the service […]
The intriguing title refers to another peculiar episode in Princess Schwarzenberg’s troubled life — her unpaid dowry. As the attentive reader already knows, this financial disagreement was a constant bone of contention between Prince Schwarzenberg and his father-in-law, Prince Lobkowitz. What is more, the Prince used the arrears of the dowry as his main pretext […]
Archduchess Marianne attempts to speculate about the nameless Danish envoy and his possible mission in Vienna. The name of the County of Rantzau reappears in the narrative, dropped casually by the competent Mademoiselle Juliana. It was part of the Duchy of Holstein, situated in the remote borderlands of the Holy Roman Empire, next to the […]
Thanks to the thorough information provided by Father Franz, a new understanding of the case she is investigating begins to take shape in Archduchess Marianne’s mind. It appears that three fathers are involved in their children’s unauthorised affair. Prince Schwarzenberg senior, Prince Lobkowitz, and Count Althann each view the matter from a different perspective. Every […]
At this advanced stage of her investigation, Archduchess Marianne urgently needs to learn about canon marriage law — and Father Franz, her trusted confessor, is precisely the right person to brief her on the subject. Temporarily blind and deaf to the rest of the world, the two engage in a long, focused conversation, eagerly examining […]
As the attentive reader has noticed, Countess Karolina Althann — still a rather enigmatic figure at the heart of the intrigue — was related to an even more mysterious Dane, an envoy accredited to Vienna in connection with some legal undertaking. The further circumstances of his mission — not to mention his name — remain […]
Despite Archduchess Marianne’s quiet life in Hetzendorf, the affairs of Realpolitik had not stood still. It was time, therefore, to learn what had been happening on the theatre of war. The conflict that would come to be known as the Seven Years’ War still centred on Prague. Since the battle of 6 May, the city […]
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