Into the Lion's Den (83 page)

“Hello, Ferdinand.”

“Hello, Konrad. Something wrong?” Ferdinand asked.

“It's contained. A sleazy tabloid wanted to publish some lies about me and Guntram. I have reached an agreement with the owner. We buy all the magazines for €280,000 and give him a loan for €350,000 more at one percent for a year. I want that you send someone to arrange the details and check the company thoroughly. The name is Alexander Weber and the magazine is “Stars and Stories”.

“Which magazine and he only wants that??”

“Give all the material he gives you to Goran. I'm sick of these attacks on Guntram. Sooner or later, one of them will affect him and this I will not consent this.”

“Twice in a month? This looks very suspicious.”

“Someone is behind and we have to find out who was it. I will not let that anyone hurts Guntram to attack me. He's out of all this.”

“Konrad, since he became your Consort, he's in, whether you like it or not.”

Guntram lifted his gaze from the drawing and noticed his love entering in the room looking very worried. “Is everything all right, Konrad?”

The Duke preferred to ignore the question and focus on the sketch pad and the images of a group of bears dressed like humans. “That's quite a change in your style. Is this for this book?”

“Not really, I dropped the idea as you're so against it. Ostermann gave me a lecture too on not dealing without his presence and much less taking commissions that he has not approved before. These are sketches for watercolours for Klaus and Karl's bedroom. I still think they should have something on their walls and if you don't like Mickey Mouse, I thought perhaps traditional stories would be fine. We are not going to hang a Monet or a Degas!”

“That would be very nice of you. Who are those bears?”

“Goldilocks. The official trespasser.”

“Well, there's a moral in the original version; the bears cast her out because they couldn't eat her as she was an ugly, bony old woman, worthy of being sent to a working house,” Konrad intoned very seriously.

“That's not possible! They returned the little girl to her house and became friends!”

“Read the original English story. Those are three male bears living together, but in different sizes.”

“I'm not so sure if this is a good idea.”

“Do you know that the original Red Riding Hood was the wolf's dinner, according to Perrault? Good advise for women; don't trust strangers and wolves with a silver tongue are the most dangerous of them all.”

“Are you really all right, Konrad?” Guntram asked when he heard the sullen tones in his voice.

“Yes, now I am. Everything is fine, my love. Should we make a list of stories?” Konrad said, recovering once more his inner peace while he held his kitten closer and heard his soft voice speaking about the unborn babies.

'He's more excited about their coming than I. I only hope those little rascals agree to share him with me.'

Chapter 28

March 2nd, 2006

“You're very early today,” Guntram was very surprised that Konrad was at 5 p.m. at home, standing in his own studio, kissing him on the neck and checking what he was doing. “Playing the ant or inspection visit?”

“Both, of course,” he answered and continued his kissing for a few moments more. “Besides, I couldn't get those two in the bank without losing all my credentials there.”

“What have you been doing?” the boy asked with a mixture of puzzlement and fun. Konrad certainly looked as if he had been naughty.

“I saw them in Frankfurt this noon when I was leaving the meeting, and thought that maybe they could fit in here. I'm glad I have a jet of my own. Any airline would have forced me to buy a ticket for them.”

“What did you bring home this time? We said nothing more till the rooms are finished. The furniture should arrive in three weeks and they're painting it. That woman has still to choose the fabrics. Wait, there are no toys stores in front of the European Central Bank.”

“Around the corner then. I'm not a GPS,” Konrad protested.

“You went for it, you mean.”

“I might have taken a detour on my way to the Airport. I need a bigger car, coming to think,” Konrad pondered, hoping that this new topic would distract Guntram.

“How big is it?”

“Natural size.”

“And it is a…”

“Comes from an old German company. Everything manufactured in Germany in the old tradition. I was surprised by their quality. We have the whole family now; the mama, the papa and two children. I think if we buy animals they should be in the form of families.”

“What?”

“
Wildschwein mit Frischlingen.
I don't know the words in English. I think the men had finally got them in one of the rooms near the nursery.”

“So that was the noise I been hearing for the past hour?”

“You can't get them without a fight. It's a well known fact of life.”

Guntram sighed, trying to do his best to look serious, but it was impossible with Konrad. “You're going to spoil the children!” he whined before cleaning his hands with a rug, decided to see what was there. He left his studio, next to the nursery and walked toward the babies’ playroom that was interconnected with the bedroom, bathroom and studio for when they were much older. There was also a small room for the night nurse.

Friederich was in the corridor and caught him by the arm. “Not in the rooms, they're just painted and wet. The hunting pavilion is in the nanny's bedroom,” he said very sarcastically, opening the door to the medium size room.

Inside was a big wild boar, one big sow and three small piglets, in natural size and very sturdy. “You can ride those things!” Guntram said very shocked.

“It was designed and built to hold a thirty kilos child. If they're heavier, they don't care so much about plush animals,” Konrad explained gently.

“As his Excellency can testify,” Friederich said from the entrance. “If I remember correctly we had one of them.”

“Now that you mention, I remember so. What happened to it?”

“The Duke and Dr. von Kleist used it as target for your arrows when you were ten years old.”

“I don't remember that part. Perhaps Ferdinand knows something about it.” Konrad kept his sternest face and poise, while Guntram looked at him astonished. “Tea in the winter garden, it's warm enough today.” Friederich smirked and left the room, leaving a still shocked Guntram behind.

“Where are we going to put those two? Should they not be exactly the same animal?”

“No, Klaus and Karl should learn to share their things. It will be good if they do.”

“How big is this? Do I want to know how much they costed?”

“About 125 cm and you don't want to know because I don't want to tell.”

“And the shop just had a family standing there?”

“Not really, they had it for me,” Konrad confessed finally.

“I see. How long?”

“One month to manufacture it. It's a painstakingly long process. Quality has always a good price. Don't you like them?”

“They're fantastic, but this is too much. They're babies. They will sleep the whole day when they come!”

“Not forever. Sooner than you think, you'll get two young Lintorffs jumping on top of you or using your dog as horse. Better they have these ones. They should play with the pigs and leave you for me.”

“You're impossible! Worst than children!” Guntram smiled and kissed Konrad. “You can't be jealous of your own babies!”

“Our babies, kitten and I know that the minute they cross the door, I'm out from your life!”

“No, you can't be out of my life because you have to support those two pigs and their family too,”

Guntram joked and hugged the much larger man. “Do you have any idea how much they can eat?”

“If it's too much, then we have something for next Christmas. Albert plans to return with all his children once more.”

“Konrad, you know I love you,”

“I know,” he answered strangely embarrassed and took the youth's head with his hands to kiss him possessively. “You're mine and I would never let you go away,” He intoned the words looking into the soft blue eyes and Guntram smiled warmly. “Now, show me what this woman has been doing,” the man broke the spell.

“It's a very nice beige and she has taken several of my drawings for framing. She liked them and wants to buy some more for her other clients, but I told her no.”

“Good, they are for our children, not for others.”

After a late walk around the forest, they returned to the library where Konrad decided to look at his laptop and Guntram carried on with his reading: “The First three years of a Baby”, losing his courage more and more with each page he read.

Friederich entered the library and whispered something unto Konrad's ear.

“Send the Prince and Adolf in,” Konrad said and rose from his desk to receive his visitors, but against many years of education and self restrain, both men almost ran over Friederich in their mad entrance to the room.

“Good afternoon,
mein Fürst
, Adolf,” Konrad said, frowning just a bit because he had already realised that there was something very wrong ad this was not a social call. Guntram left the book and stood, slightly bowing his head to the old man, but both Löwensteins didn't pay attention to him.

“I'm sorry to interrupt you,
Hochmeister
, but this is a most urgent matter,” Adolf said gravely.

“Please, do sit down, gentlemen,” Konrad said indicating them the sofas where Guntram was gathering his book and things to leave as the magical word told him that those were “Order's business” and he didn't want to be a part of them.

“If you would excuse me, Sire,” Guntram told to the old Löwenstein, looking more ashen than normal.

“Father, this also concerns the Consort,” Adolf stopped the boy by the arm, much to his surprise. “This is all your fault. Your boyfriend kidnapped my little Claudia!”

“Konrad was with me the whole afternoon!” Guntram protested energetically.

“The Russian!” Adolf roared, unable to restrain himself any longer. “Six of them stopped my wife's car on the sixty-two near Forch when she was taking the girls to their classes. They took Claudia away!”

“Constantin wouldn't do something so stupid!” Guntram said, unable to believe it. “Why? He has no need to! ”

“Be quiet, Löwenstein! Konrad shouted. “Leave Guntram out of this!”

“Out of this? This is all his fault! Go back to Russia!”

“Enough, Adolf!” the Prince ordered his son very sternly. “We need to speak with the
Hochmeister
, not with a young boy. Our family has already enough troubles.”

“Guntram, go to your room,” Konrad said, but the young man looked at him in disbelief. “Very well, stay but be quiet.”

“Yes, sir,” Guntram whispered, already feeling very sick and in need to sit.

“What was your wife doing so far away the country club?” Konrad asked.

“I don't know!” Adolf roared. “Six Russians shot against her car and forced her to stop aside.”

“On the 62? It's impossible to do something like this there! It's a highway!”

“On a small road near it! By Forch! They took the girls out of the car and the oldest hit my wife several times and told her that Repin wants a friendly talk with Guntram. You should return the boy to him!”

“Why only one girl?” Konrad said very coldly. “Knowing them, they would have taken the two.”

“He came up with the crazy story that “he would be delighted to put a bullet in the head of the little slut who tried to poison Guntram! Repin is crazy!”

“What??” Guntram croaked, but no one paid attention to him as Konrad and Adolf were arguing more heatedly than before.

The old prince sat utterly defeated next to Guntram, but didn't say a thing to him. He only looked the bitter argument rising and raising more in volume and intensity. The discussion continued in German and increasing its volume. Guntram felt very tired and utterly disappointed at the two men; Konrad and Constantin. Like two children who didn't care about anything beyond their desires. One had taken a little girl as hostage and the other didn't mind if the child was hurt in the process. He took a pill from his box and slid it back to his jacket, a gesture that Gustav zu Löwenstein didn't miss.

“
Mein Fürst
, may I use your phone, please? I don't want my number to be registered. It's a long distance call,” Guntram whispered to the old man as the other two men were on the phase of shouting with each other.

“Certainly, my child,” The old man extended his mobile phone to the young man and he took it, without minding any longer the heated argument.

Guntram remembered by heart Massaiev's and Constantin's private numbers. Probably the later had been changed many times over the last year, but if Constantin was after him, Massaiev should not be far away. He dialled and nervously smiled to the old prince, looking at him astonished. “Hello, Mikhail Petrovich. May I speak with him?”

“This is a surprise, Guntram. I was not expecting your call. How are you?” the man said, almost dashing to get his boss, shouting enraged on the phone with Oblomov.

“Fine, thank you. It's very important that I speak with Mr. Repin. Could you get him for me, please?”

“One second please,” and he entered in the room without knocking or anything. He stopped dead on his tracks when he saw the semi automatic weapon pointed at him. He took a deep breath and only said: “It's Guntram, Mr. Repin.” and offered the phone to his boss, who tore it off from his hands. Massaiev left the room without waiting to be asked.

“Hello, my angel.”

Guntram felt his heart rush at full speed when he heard the well known voice, but he gathered some courage; 'if you show weakness now, all is lost,' “Good afternoon, Constantin. I understand that you have something that belongs to the Order and I would be very grateful to you if you return it before nightfall.”

All the Germans in the room were speechless and stopped their heated argument, but Guntram ignored them as he focused on Constantin's reaction.

“Indeed I have something, but I want something in return and you know perfectly well what it's. I've paid my debts and want all my guarantees back.”

“Constantin this is the most stupid thing you have done in your entire life, my friend,” Guntram used a calm voice, doing his best to conceal the fear in his stomach. “If you don't return what you took this afternoon, you will open the hunting season on your own children! Sofia, Constantin, Vladimir and Vania deserve much better than this! Lintorff will not negotiate with you and cares nothing about this matter!”