Chapter 50 – London Bridges
August 1772
Friedrich III accepted the tea cup from the servant as he listened to his advisors and generals drone on about recent events. He winked at the servant, careful to be sure that only the young man saw him. Fredrich III silently grinned as the servant scuttled from the room, trying to hide his reddening face. The young man was Fredrich III’s new bedroom favorite, but he still missed Anna.
“....the Pope is prepared to yield control over most of Italy.” Continued von Cocceji. There were times that Fredrich III regrated hiring the prodigy, as the man preferred to use his talents to enrich and empower himself. Fortunately, he spent so much time playing the different factions in the Imperial court, Landtag and von Gersdorff family off each other that his meddling was contained.
“And the plan is still to turn those provinces over to Urbino once they have been fully integrated into the Empire?” asked Prince Ludwig Karl von Derflinger. The Emperor’s nephew made no secret of his interests in parceling out land on the Italian peninsula. The ambitious prince was known to utter disparaging comments about Princess Paula and her son Albrecht. However, Fredrich III believed that opportunities for personal wealth and glory in Italy would satisfy his nephew’s ambitions.
“Yes,” added Princess Paula. Friedrich III could see now, years later, how he had hurt her by carrying on an affair with and marrying her close friend. He often forgotten that his daughter was more or less raised by Ratsky and was consequently more uptight that he was. At least, with time, she started talking to Anna enough to take her advice about potential for English spies infiltrating the court. “With Austria accepting peace for money, there is little resistance remaining on the continent.”
“But what about that other war?” interrupted Lodewijk Karel Coen. The scientist was Friedrich III’s age, but looked twice as old. A lifetime of breathing fumes from experimental alloys in the blast furnace had wrecked his body, and his condition deteriorated each year.
Friedrich III tried not to roll his eyes. Lodewijk was referring to an ongoing war between the two former Prussian vassals to the north, Pomerania and Mecklenburg. Both belligerents had allies elsewhere in the Empire, but Prussia had prevented the war from escalating by denying military access to all parties.
Nikolaus Holtzendorff was following the war closely. “Mecklenburg seems to be victorious and will claim one province off Pomerania. Now both duchies are two provinces in size.”
“That would be more equitable, then,” added the eighteen-year-old Prince Albrecht. He had only just started to attend these meetings. Friedrich III thought his grandson was intelligent enough, if a little naive. He was amused by the unique insights that Albrecht would sometimes bring.
“Back to the issue at hand,” said Holtzendorff, “Should these be the final terms that we offer England? The southeast corner of England, London and environs, and the return of the Scottish cores?” Friedrich III was glad that they were able to maintain a professional relationship decades after their affair fizzled out. There may have been some jealousy regarding Anna and resentment towards the Empress for trying to have Nik replaced, but the military advisor was as shocked as the rest of them when Anna turned up dead. Her body was found in a canal less than a mile from the palace, exactly two years ago. He was consumed with solving the mystery of her death. So far, the most promising lead was a hint that she might have been meeting one of her secretive contacts, and now that most of the English Channel was in Prussia’s grasp, he had the luxury of sifting through the contents of the government offices of the city on the Thames.
He had been disinterested in the war lately but was pleased to hear that Prussia was successful once again. Aware that by now his advisors were awaiting his response, Friedrich III spoke for the first time. “I think London looks good this time of year.”
October 1773
Hans was awoken from an afternoon nap by a knock on the door. He had fallen asleep while reading in in his new home in Brunswick. After his children had left and his wife had died, he had decided to move out of the chaos of Berlin. During his days in the army he had marched from one corner of the Holy Roman Empire to the other, and Brunswick was one of the areas they had passed through the most. As it was halfway between Prussia proper and the English Channel holdings, he had continued to pass through the region periodically throughout his life while on business. With few positive things keeping him attached to Berlin, he decided to move to a happier place for the rest of his years.
Squinting in the faint light, he realized that it was far later in the day than he had originally thought. He had been reading about the events of Hesse annexing Ansbach. Many newspapers believed that Prussia’s efforts to expand were weakening its ability to control the smaller Imperial princes. In addition to conquests in the British Isles, Prussia had made several interesting diplomatic moves in recent years. First, the annexation process was started on Scotland, as it had served its purpose as a beachhead. Then, new alliances were sought. A royal marriage to Hanna von Mansfeld, who would become Friedirch III’s third wife, brought the influence of the electorate of Switzerland closer to supporting Princess Paula’s claim as the next Emperor. Also, Morocco had regained its trust of Prussia and was willing to sign a new alliance as a counter to Spain.
The knocking continued, so Hans made his way to the door. Now that he had realized the hour, it did seem odd for someone to be visiting at this hour. When he opened the door, it was the last person he had expected to see.
“Nik! What the...?”
“Hans! Listen, I only have a few minutes. I need a quick favor.”
“Sure, I’d love to help, but what...”
Before he could finish talking, a large bag was hoisted into his arms. Nearly falling backwards, he placed the bag on a chair before inviting her in. She entered, carrying a second bag, and closed the door behind her after glancing nervously around the quiet dusky town.
“I’d love to stay at catch up, Hans, but I need to continue on to Berlin. The problem is...I don’t trust anyone there.”
Hans opened the bag and saw various books and documents. Nervously, he picked one up, noticing the royal seal of the Plantagenets on the cover. As he flipped through it, he noticed that most of it was in English. He did not know the language, but he recognized several place names, as well as the names of Friedrich III, the late Empress Ana, Princess Paula, Prince Ludwig, Minister von Cocceji, several Prussian generals and prominent politicians, even Nikolaus Holtzendorff herself.
“What are they?”
“State secrets. For either the Emperor or Princess Paula’s eyes only. But I can’t risk taking them into the capital.”
“Sure, I’ll help. But why...” suddenly it clicked, “Who else might be looking for this?”
“No one that would know you. That’s the idea.”
May 1776
As the Prussian Landtag sat for the new session, the newest representative, Franz Elsner, watched in awe as his fellow delegates took their seats. He had arrived early, as was his right, and wanted to be able to see the faces of each of his colleagues as they entered the chamber at their leisure. He was only 19, and was the youngest member of the Landtag in many years. His grandfather, the late speaker, had impressed upon him all the honors and duties of serving in the Landtag. Now that he had inherited the seat, he intended to uphold his family legacy.
As the Holy Roman Empire expanded, the Prussian Landtag remained a calm, steady core in the middle of the legal system. Both outside of normal Imperial law yet also above it, the nobility continued to look after the interests of the Prussian Kingdom itself.
“I see you made it, my boy,” said a friendly voice. One of his father’s political allies and a frequent presence at the Elsner home, Georg Brilz approached him, shook his hand and had a seat next to him.
Franz nodded in greeting. “How was your meeting with von Cocceji and the Scots?”
“Amusing enough. They were disappointed that they would not receive any representation in the Landtag, but at least they finally accepted annexation....”
Brilz trailed off when he saw another man approaching him. “Elsner, I want you to meet this man. I think you know his son?”
“Frederick Hafter, Herr Elsner,” said the newcomer, extending his hand. “Your grandfather was a legendary legislator.”
Franz knew of Hafter as another legendary legislator, and it was an honor to finally meet him. He did indeed know his son, August, from University. August went into the army rather than politics however and quickly rose to the rank of major. He participated in the most recent war of Imperial Liberation, which lasted less than a year. Prussia had intervened in Ansbach to force them to return unlawful land; in short order Ansbach, as well as its allies of Munster and Pomerania, were quickly sieged down before their largest ally, Austria, could adequately respond. All three were required to pay war reparations, and Muster released Cleves and Ansbach released Hesse and Cologne, restoring more princes to the Holy Roman Empire. As important as the Imperial Diet was, Franz felt that the Prussian Landtag actually had more power.
“Are you going to run for speaker, Herr Hafter?” asked Brilz.
“I haven’t decided. I do know that several of the old military families might run, and of course we are waiting to see if the Emperor doesn’t just decide to appoint someone, as many of his ancestors were wont to do. I am not as tempted by the position as other might be. It is a prestigious but thankless and nearly powerless job.”
“You are the most experienced of us, you’d have our support, right Herr Elsner?”
Elsner tried to keep his expression in check. “You are the most experienced. I will trust you when you say the job is thankless and powerless. You have had a long and commendable career, if you do not think the extra prestige is worth it, I understand. Considering that, some of us are short on prestige and power...”
Hafter chuckled. “Are you serious?”
“Yes. If you are not that interested, I think will run for my grandfather’s old position as speaker.”
“Running for speaker in your first term? Before you’ve even served a full day? Your grandfather was right. You are ambitious.”
