55. Ruled By Love

CHAPTER ONE 1820-1

CHAPTER ONE

1820Princess Zoleka of Opava dismounted, thanked her groom for his attendance and walked into the Palace.

An aide-de-camp came towards her and she asked,

“Where is His Royal Highness?”

“In the library, Your Royal Highness,” he replied.

She ran speedily through the corridors of the vast Royal Palace to the library, where she knew that her father would be concentrating on the book he was writing.

It was a History of Silesia, which would undoubtedly take him a long time.

When she opened the door, he looked up and smiled.

“You are back, Zoleka, I see.”

“I am back, Papa, and the new stallion is splendid. He gallops very much faster than all the others, so you and I must have a race one day!”

Prince Lászlé smiled at his beautiful daughter.

“I will try and manage it tomorrow, if I am not too busy.”

He rose from the writing desk as he spoke and walked across the room.

“I want to talk to you, Zoleka.”

The tone of his voice was so serious she looked at him in surprise.

As always she was struck with pride. He was a very handsome man and although his hair was now touched with grey, he still had an active and athletic body.

His daughter recognised that his healthy physique owed much to the fact that he was a magnificent rider, spending hours in the saddle or schooling his ponies outside in their magnificent paddocks.

Prince Lászlé stood in front of the fireplace which, as it was high summer, was filled with fragrant flowers, while Zoleka sat down on the sofa and waited.

She knew only too well that when her father took up this particular position, he had something serious to say.

When he did not speak, she asked encouragingly,

“What is it, Papa?”

“It is something I am afraid you will not like, but it is something you may have to do.”

“Have to do?” echoed Zoleka, wondering what it could possibly be.

“There arrived this morning,” her father continued, “a messenger from the Prime Minister of Krnov.”

“From Krnov!” exclaimed Zoleka. “Whatever did he want?”

“He wants you to travel to Krnov to take up the position of Lady-in-Waiting to Princess Udele.”

“Lady-in-Waiting! I hope you said ‘no’,” she exclaimed, outraged.

“As a matter of fact, I asked for time to discuss it with you, because I don’t really think that ‘no’ is the right answer at this particular time.”

“But, Papa, of course I don’t want to go away from you and live in Krnov. Why should I? And I believe you would miss me,” she added knowing that this would appeal to his fatherly nature.

“Of course I would miss you,” her father answered. “My instinct was the same as yours, to say ‘no’ at once.”

“Why did you not do so, Papa?”

“When I talked to the envoy who had been sent by the Prime Minister, I realised that the situation in Krnov is rather more serious than I had previously thought.”

“What situation and what is serious?”

“You should know as well as I do, my dear Zoleka, that Opava, Krnov and Cieszyn are all that is left of what was once a free Silesia.”

Zoleka was well aware of this situation.

She had been told often how under the Treaty of Berlin in 1742, Queen Maria Theresa of Austria had been forced to cede Upper and Lower Silesia to King Frederick II of Prussia.

The only exceptions to the Treaty were the three small Principalities of Krnov, Opava and Cieszyn.

In the Seven Years War, which began fourteen years later and lasted until 1763, the Austrians had attempted to recover Silesia to no avail.

At one time Silesia had comprised of sixteen Principalities running their own lives, each under its own Ruler.

In the usual domineering manner of the Prussians, Frederick II had coerced most of them into becoming part of his Kingdom.

The real reason why the Prussians were so keen to have and keep Upper Silesia was the rising importance of coal and other vital minerals.

Upper Silesia itself was destined to become one of the most significant industrial districts in all of Europe with its vast production of coal, lead, zinc and iron, all of which were mined and utilised in factories on the spot.

Lower Silesia became almost purely Prussian.

It was left to the three Principalities in the centre to hold their heads high and maintain their independence.

All these thoughts passed swiftly through Zoleka’s mind as she waited for her father to continue.

“In our country we have succeeded in proving our right to independence and I believe we have even gained the respect of our Prussian neighbours.”

“You have been so wonderful, Papa, you know it is true. So diplomatic and tactful that they no longer despise us as they did at first.”

He paused and Zoleka guessed what he was about to say.

“The exception,” he went on, “is of course Krnov.”

“You have said it before, Papa, but why is it so?”

“I feel the answer rests with Prince Majmir, who has made no effort to be friendly with his free neighbours. In fact I know very little about him.”

“But you must have heard a great deal?”

“What I have heard is not to his advantage. He is not bringing his country up to date as we have done here in Opava. He has not exploited his mineral resources as we have. In fact I think that if he is not very careful, the Prussians will take his country over.”

“They must not be allowed to do so,” cried Zoleka. “If they did, they might think of invading us and Cieszyn next.”

“That is exactly what I thought,” her father replied. “You are a clever girl and I might have known you would understand why I did not say ‘no’ immediately to the Prime Minister’s suggestion.”

“But what can I do? Even if I went as a Lady-in Waiting, the Prince would hardly listen to me. I would just be miserable away from you and would not be of any use to Krnov.”

“I don’t believe that’s true. With your intelligence I am sure you would see for yourself what is wrong at Krnov and make suggestions as to what could be done.”

Zoleka did not answer.

He walked towards his desk and back again before he added,

“If I try to interfere, or even pay a State visit to Krnov, they would undoubtedly tell me to mind my own business. What I require is a great deal more inside information to find out what is really going on. If there is real danger, then I can consult with Cieszyn and together we must do everything we possibly can to ensure that we maintain our independence.”

“I do understand what you are saying, Papa, but the whole idea is so frightening, and I do not wish to go away from you.”

“Do you really think, my dearest, that I want to lose you? I love having you beside me and since you finished with governesses and tutors you have made me very happy. You have prevented me from feeling as miserable as I was when I first lost your mother.”

“I know, Papa,” Zoleka murmured gently. “And I still miss Mama more than I can ever say.”

“How could either of us feel anything else?”

There was a note in his voice that instinctively spoke to her without words. The pain of losing her precious mother was just as acute as it had been when she died.

Hers had been such an unexpected death.

Princess Helen had seemed to be not only radiantly happy but extremely healthy.

She paid many visits to the poor, which she firmly accepted as her duty.

Then while doing so, she had caught a foreign fever from a man who had just returned from the East.

The fever was unknown to all the local doctors who did not realise how serious it was.

By the time the Prince had urgently sent to Vienna for its most renowned physician, Princess Helen was dead.

It was a major blow to the whole Principality, as everyone who knew her had loved her.

She was almost worshipped by the poor people in the City.

She had cared for them, assisted them and looked after them in a way that no ruling Princess of Opava had ever done in the country’s history.

No less than her adoring husband and daughter, the people found it hard to believe that they had really lost her.

Princess Helen had been born English and was a distant relative of Queen Victoria.

Theirs had been an arranged Royal marriage and yet her husband had fallen head over heels in love with her straight from the moment they had first met.

She loved him in the same way as he loved her.

They were blissfully happy, although she regretted that she could not give her husband a son.

Even so they both absolutely adored their delightfully pretty daughter who they thought looked just like an angel sent to them from Heaven.

Thinking of her mother, Zoleka asked aloud,

“Do you suppose, Papa, that Mama would want me to go to Krnov?”

“I think your mother,” her father answered quietly, “would feel that, as we have received a cry for help, we are honour bound to do something about it.”

“A cry for help,” Zoleka repeated almost beneath her breath. “Do you really think that is what it is?”

“From what I have been told, the Prime Minister of Krnov and his Cabinet are feeling very worried. Reading between the lines I believe they are not as astute as they should be. But before I pass judgement I need a great deal more information.”

“Which you think I would be able to find out for you?”

“You can but try, my dear. I am not only worried about Krnov, but about us.”

Zoleka gave a little shudder.

The one thing no one ever wanted was to be under the yoke of the Prussians.

They were a most efficient people and there was no doubt at all that Upper Silesia had become richer since they had taken it over, but that was not to say that the Silesians were any happier under them.

There were frequent tales of persecution, besides a great number of protests against new and severe taxation.

There was a short poignant silence between father and daughter until Zoleka asked,

“If I do agree to go, Papa, how long must I stay?”

Prince Lászlé thought for a moment.

“Just long enough to find out everything we want to know. And whether you think that we should take a strong line before it is too late.”

“That is the real question, Papa. If we are aware that things are in a bad way, you can be quite certain that the Prussians know it too.”

“I am not too sure of that. According to the man I talked to this morning, the majority of the people of Krnov are content with their life as it is. It is the Prime Minister, who has not been in office for very long, who is worried that laissez-faire might prove disastrous to their country.”

“As it has done in many places,” remarked Zoleka.

Not only was she naturally very intelligent, she was also very well read. Her father had a magnificent library that continually broadened her knowledge and kept her learning.

He so enjoyed reading every new book published on the subjects that he was interested in and Zoleka followed his example.

They enjoyed debating everything they had learned from each book, deliberately arguing just for the fun of it.

Secretly, because it was a mistake to make trouble unless it was absolutely necessary, they both disliked the Prussians.

They found it hard to feel convinced that the increase of prosperity both in Upper and Lower Silesia was worth the overwhelming presence of Prussians, who treated these countries contemptuously and their people like serfs.

At the same time they drew an enormous amount of advantage from them.

If there were failures, the Prussians were very angry and more aggressive than usual.

When the gold and silver mines became exhausted, they squeezed what they could out of the peasants.

Each time this occurred the three free Principalities shivered and increased their defences.

But recently Krnov had not been following the lead of the other two.

They all realised that if it came to another war they would not be able to stand up against the vast resources of the Prussians.

There was no one alive who did not still yearn for the day when Silesia could look towards Vienna rather than the Prussian Hohenzollerns.