Page 12 of Hell to Pay
Sebastian said, “Augustus the Strong is right. I’m exhausted just imagining it.”
“How do you know that?” That was Ashleigh, who was traipsing around with us still, and had been extremely disappointed when she hadn’t been allowed to film the collections.
“I heard it from one of the maids,” I said, “and asked my father. He told me to ask my mother. She told me that young ladies didn’t speak of such things. Later, once the internetexisted, I looked it up, and it’s true. That number may even be low.”
“Thisplace,”Sebastian said. “And I thought quarterbacks got paid a lot.”
“And got laid a lot, you want to say,” Alix said.
“No,” he said. “I was passing on saying that, because we’re with your grandmother.”
“Ha,” Alix said. “Oma is a modern woman.Shewas thinking it.”
“But not saying it,” I said. “Implying it. Much more tasteful.”
“Ha,” Alix said again. “Look at this solid gold coffee service. Holy wealth inequality, Batman.”
“Wait,” Ashleigh said. “Have you seen these things before, Mrs., uh, Mrs ...?”
“Oh, yes,” I said. “Many times. It’s Mrs. Stark.” Ashleigh had learnedsomehistory during her journeying, if only that acquaintances hadn’t always used each other’s Christian names. “Here—let’s go to the next room. You may enjoy this one more, Ben.”
“Holyshit,”Ashleigh breathed, as we stepped into the Jewel Chamber.
“You probably shouldn’t swear around Tante Marguerite,” Ben said.
“Sorry,” Ashleigh said. “It’s just—” She waved a helpless hand. “Wow.”
“Come see this.” I’d forgotten my aching feet and back, unused now to hours spent on marble floors, in the excitement of being here again. “My English governess,” I told the others, “called it ‘treasure beyond measure.’ I used to whisper that under my breath sometimes. I liked the sound of it. Here. This is what I wanted to show you. The Moors, they’re called. Moor with crystals, Moor with pearls, and the main one inthe center here, Moor With Emerald Cluster. Very fine, are they not?”
“Holy cow,” Alix said.
“You can say that again,” Ashleigh said. “Are those really?—”
“Yes,” I said, wishing as I always had for the case to be opened so I could touch. The center statue stood about two feet high and was lavishly decorated with gold and jewels, but the real extravagance was what the Moor carried before him on a tray. “He’s painted pearwood embellished by silver, gold, emeralds, rubies, and sapphires. The large stone in his breastplate is a ruby, and that on his feather crown an emerald. And then, as you see, there is the huge cluster of uncut emeralds he carries, the reason this statue is so well known. The real artistry, though, is in his expression, his joyful stance. Look how he’s laughing, how real he seems. Brilliant. The three Moors were a gift from the Holy Roman Emperor, Rudolf II, to Augustus II. Trading favors, you could say.”
“That’s a pretty big favor,” Ben said. “They must all have been so rich.”
“Indeed,” I said. “Rudolf was King of Hungary and Croatia, King of Bohemia, and Archduke of Austria. Then and now, a ruler needs allies, and Rudolf was not a very effectual ruler. He may have caused the Thirty Years’ War, in fact. He also had affairs with his valets and never married, and was famously fond of nude artworks as well. Rather scandalous in his day.”
“I’ll bet your mother didn’t tell you that one either,” Alix said.
“No,” I said. “I read it in a book and told my governess, and she told me that nice girls didn’t speak of such things.”
“And yet here you are,” Alix said, “speaking of them.”
“Yes,” I said. “Human nature interests me. It’s very isolating being a king, and even when a king married, it was generally not for love. With one’s valet, perhaps, one could let one’s hairdown, although Rudolf may have taken that to the extreme. Now, the ‘Moors’ here, the statues, are actually meant to be South American Indians—the rumors at that time, around 1700, would have it that the streets of South America practically ran with precious metals and jewels—but as you see, the sculptors had no idea what color the Indians were, and enameled them in near-black. They do look happy, though, don’t they? They aren’t meant to be servants, you know. They’re meant to be warriors, though why they’re carrying precious gems is definitely a question. Because they’re pretty, I imagine. And over here?—”
I’d hit my stride now, and was hurrying despite my sore feet to the other side of the room, where a group already stood around a display at least five feet in diameter, the largest and most elaborate exhibit in the place, and my favorite. “The Royal Household at Delhi. India was rumored to be a most resplendent place, where the rulers wielded absolute power. There was a bit of a fad for India among the European nobility as a result.”
“Absolute power,” Ashleigh said. She was now recording my voice, I suspected, because she’d stopped typing. How young people type so quickly with their thumbs, I’ll never understand. “As opposed to this Augustus guy’s obvious communism. Shared the wealth much, did he?”
I laughed, nearly giddy with seeing the beloved court scene again, with all its personages and all its little dramas. “You may well criticize, but there’s no denying it’s a beautiful piece. Look how each figure, only a few inches high, is a fully realized person, so well crafted and painted that you can see their personalities.”
“I’m more stunned,” Sebastian said, “by all that bling.”
“Almost five thousand diamonds,” I said, “a hundred sixty-four emeralds, and a hundred sixty rubies. Somebody counted, I assume. The most beautiful dollhouse in the world, was how I saw it, as the figures were movable, and oh, how Iwished to move them! This piece cost Augustus II more than building Moritzburg Castle.”
“Wait,” Alix said,“anothercastle?”
