The True Prince of Vaurantania by Brenda Clough

Author:Brenda Clough [Clough, Brenda W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Victorian thriller, historical adventure, action/adventure
ISBN: 9781611389562
Publisher: Book View Cafe
Published: 2021-05-11T05:00:00+00:00

Walter Hartright’s narrative

It is hard to give it credence, but at the period of my birth there were no railways at all. By the time I came to manhood steam had arrived. The mere act of travel became thrilling, galvanically modern – getting on the train, watching the world whirl past at stupendous speed. By middle life I found travel, alas, merely tedious. Trains were no longer enjoyable for their own sake. I wanted to arrive, and get to work.

But a diplomatic train was supremely good for this. We whipped through France at an unheard-of speed, and looked to arrive in Switzerland by Thursday. Lord Gastrell was the minister in charge of the British delegation to the Geneva conference, and he had a dozen other diplomats and assistants on board. There was some vague rationale for my presence, since I was an MP. But since I knew nothing of the mission or the conference I took care to keep out of the way and not draw attention to myself.

Instead I told my story to Roderick Donthorne. Although he was lax in his principles where women were concerned, he was one of Marian’s family friends. A loyal supporter for years, he ran tame in the Camlet household. And, having interviewed Lottie at her school in North London, he was aware of the problem.

I showed him Marian’s wire. “Only ten words, which tells me she is gravelled for lack of funds,” I said. “But she has made every word count.”

“‘Theo In Geneva,’” Donthorne adjusted his pince-nez and read again. “‘Vaurantanian Legation. Rescue Utmost Urgent. Use Caution.’”

“And it’s from Aquileia del Friuli, the capital.”

“Does the Camlet family have any connections in Vaurantania?”

“Never heard of the place until this week. Is it a nation of political importance?”

“Purely because of its location. The Austrians have been intriguing to derail the Italian unification process for a generation. Now that the Italian states are finally cobbling themselves together into a nation, the Austrians strive to carve off as many of the Alpine polities as they can before it’s too late. It shall take a war to force them to disgorge the Venetian region, but Vaurantania borders on Hapsburg Croatia and is more digestible a morsel.”

My most recent portfolio has been Central American matters, so this was all new to me. “Does the population incline one way or the other?”

“Would that they did! No, the place is a hotbed of treachery and plotting. One cannot trust one’s own parent – the current Prince’s mother famously decamped to the enemy. Matters have not been helped in the last several generations by the exceptional folly, treachery and disunity of the royal house. Policy has changed with every ruler, of which there have been too many this century. As a breed the Princes of Vaurantania incline towards dissolution, extravagance and indolence, and they war with each other at the drop of a hat. The current Prince seems set on signing on with Victor Emmanuel. He may have turned over to his other side by the time we arrive.

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