Interlude
July 1891
Henry Strachen sat at a table in the Boar’s Head, his favorite tavern to frequent when he was able to travel home to London. He enjoyed the ambiance, generally very quiet or extremely boisterous, usually coinciding with the time of day. This was early afternoon, so the only patrons were diehard loyalists and a few diplomats, as the tavern was located close to the offices of government.
Henry had located a table off to the side in order to achieve some privacy for his next meeting. He had already sat with Lord Richard Wilson and the Lord’s man Silas Fleming for the better part of two hours. They had discussed world events, most notably the Persian Shah’s latest round of wars, and Lord Wilson was quite keen to know of the Shah’s future plans. Though Henry was not at liberty to discuss them in detail, his mission was to secure a friendly waiver of the intended attack on the Ottoman’s and given the British Empire’s long-lasting support of the dying country, it was imperative that Henry achieve his goal.
Through several pints of very good ale and much discussion, terms had been agreed to. The Shah would cease his advances onto the Indian subcontinent in return for a pledge to allow freedom of movement in the Near East. As a possible clash between the empires of Persia and the Turk would not alter the balance of power within Europe, it was an easy pledge to make, especially as it would allow Her Majesty to feel more secure of her Empire in Asia. Though the Queen might be questioned for a lack of support where it had previously been generous, Lord Wilson and Henry Strachen had agreed that no one would look too poorly on a war between two regional powers.
Throughout the meeting, Silas Fleming had remained quiet other than his outbursts of “Ahh” after each draught of ale. By the time the gentlemen had concluded their meeting, Fleming was rather inebriated and left with a parting shot,
“Mind you keeep your eyes on that man of yours, old boy.
urp His liable to bring the whhole world to war if he’s not careful
urp ... the baastard.” Henry would overlook the comment, mostly because he agreed with it.
As he sat looking at a painting on the wall above the bar, he felt himself overcome by the drink, but he quickly came about when he spied his old Russian friend Colonel, now General Petrovsky enter the tavern. Gaining eye contact with Henry, the old soldier found his way to the table. Henry could tell that his limb had grown worse since their previous meeting. As the General sat down, he sighed in relief and quickly raised his arm to signal for a pint of his own.
“I do so love the beer in this country of yours, Strachen. It is no vodka, but it finds itself very friendly in my system,” the general exclaimed.
“How goes it, Petrovsky?” Henry asked him.
“I have seen better days, my old friend. These wars with Germany and Austria tire me out and I find I have less time for exercise that I used to. Unless you call traveling by train daily as exercise.”
“I dare say not. I, myself, can’t stand the practice. But I understand there is a new invention on the horizon that night cut down on such.”
“Bah! I do not know what that could be. Give me my horse. She’ll do just fine.” A man brought the general his ale and left the men to talk. Henry allowed Petrovsky to quaff a bit before getting down to business.
“I suppose you wonder why I have asked you to meet me here today?”
“What? You don’t wish to simply enjoy my company?”
“Of course, old boy, but I have business to attend to as well.”
“Still as serious as ever Henry? I would have thought your marriage would have lightened your mood.”
“Letitia has brought me much joy these last years, but times are grave and I cannot afford to be merry as much as I wish.”
“What calamity is at hand now? Has your Shah decided to make war with your Queen?”
“I should hope not. He should find himself very much deposed at such time, I dare say.”
“Well, he has you to thank for that, to be sure.”
“Quite. But I cannot convince him of everything, nor can I hold the wolves here at bay forever. Were it to come down to it, I should not like to take sides.”
“But you must, Henry. As uptight as your people seem sometimes, they are far superior to those heathens down south. I know you value the culture there far more than I, but you must agree that the side you would take would not pose too difficult a question?”
Henry was quiet for a moment and then spoke,
“General, please allow me to come to the point. For a few years now, your country and the Shah have been of mutual understanding regarding the eastern question. Both would like to see the Ottomans removed from power or at least reduced in size. My Shah has developed plans for such action and as we speak is readying his forces to take war to the Turk. He has assured Her Majesty, as well as the other powers, that his only objective is the end of Turkish rule in Mesopotamia.
“I have secured for him a pledge of non-interference from these powers and would like to gain the same from your Tsar. Further, I must request that he honor his pledge to allow Persian troops to travel on Russian soil, else the army would never be able to bring the Turks to their knees. What say you on these developments?” General Petrovsky downed his ale and ordered another as he thought about Henry’s statement.
“I see you are backing the Shah in these endeavors.”
Quickly Henry replied, “Not so much backing as doing my job. Being in the Shah’s employ is not an easy post, but it has brought me many riches and years of foreign travel and import. I shall not attempt to shirk these duties now that one or two issues have arrived between the Shah and myself. What kind of man would I be if I were to do so?”
“Perhaps a man of principle?” These last words stung Henry, as he knew them to be true.
“Sir, if I am not principled, would you be seated across from me?”
“Da. If I allowed that to dictate my acquaintances, I would have none indeed.” As both men laughed at this, the tone of the conversation lightened.
“Henry, listen to me. The Tsar has more important things to think on presently and should not interfere with the Shah’s actions. But sooner or later, this decision of yours will come to pass. I will not ask you again, but you must give thought to your influence on the Shah and position at home. Even if you did not support the man, many could look less than kindly upon your previous backing and come to the conclusion that you cannot be trusted. Were any other Russian man sitting across the table from you, your questions would not be so kindly answered, I assure you.”
“And I value our friendship for that and many other reasons,” Henry replied. “Your points do not go unheeded, I assure you. But if I am to keep any influence that I may still have, I must return to my Shah positive news of this meeting. Else I might find my return trip to Persia a short stay in the extreme.”
“I am sure your wife would be more than happy to return to England.”
“I’m not sure a return would be the outcome.”
“Do you suggest that he might have you imprisoned?” Not receiving a reply from Henry, he continued, “What? Death?”
“Quite. You have nailed it, sir. The Shah is not a man to take chances, don’t you know? He shall do whatever it takes to keep his power and punish any man that challenges that. I must keep my head about me and continue to force the issue with that damned Kabir.”
“Ah yes, the so called prime minister. This is a joke, da?”
“You are correct. And I shall see him fall from grace if it is the last thing I accomplish for Nasir al-Din Shah.”
“Then you are a brave man, Henry Strachen. Brave indeed.”
“Brave, you say? I’m not sure I would concur, but contrary to your assumptions, I am principled and I shall see this through. But for that, I must make sure that we are in agreement.”
“Of course. I’ve told you of our position. You shall find no truck with us, my dear Henry. The Tsar will even allow the use of our less than adequate railway to send your men north. Is this assurance enough?”
“Sir, you do me a great honor in this help and I shall not ever forget it. I pray that your current war is over soon so that you might, once again, enjoy a peaceful life.”
“Hrmph. Peaceful life? I know nothing of this. Never have. I wonder…why is it that Russia is always at war when we meet?” the general asked.
“That, sir, is a question for your Germanic neighbors and not myself. But pray good luck. I should like to see both of our countries at peace very soon.”
“Then you had better move much more slyly against Kabir or your wish will not come true anytime soon. But luck be with you too, Henry. I apologize, but I must go and meet with the Swedes. They complain of our help in the Baltic and there is nothing worse than a angry Swede, except for my wife…that is most definitely worse!” The general rose and saluted Henry before walking out of the tavern. Henry watched him as he made his way back to the entrance and noted that his frame seemed slighter than before as well. “Years of warfare can do that to a man,” he thought to himself.
Henry ordered another ale and sat for a piece before sending a cable to the Shah. The war would be on, and the Turk most likely subdued in short order. But how long would the peace last after that? Tossing back the rest of his drink, he rose to his feet and dropped some coins on the table. Gathering his belongings, Henry walked out of the tavern on his way to send word to Nasir al-Din that his plan could be put into action. As he exited the bar, he said out loud to no one in particular,
“How long indeed.”
Henry surely has his work cut out for him, as does the Shah. Before all is said and done, I dare say Bismarck has nothing on this guy! 
