Kingdoms Fall - The Laxenburg Message (28 page)

“Since you wired me that you had a scheme of
your own in mind, David, are you prepared to tell us what you have been
plotting?” Mackenzie asked.

“Have you?” Wilkins asked. “Tell us.”

           
“Mackenzie, do you recall when we were on Imbros that we once discussed whether
there was some means or other to eventually knock the Austrians out of the war.
I immediately began to consider whether there might be some method, not unlike
what you have in mind for Arabia, that would undermine the governance of the
empire. I now have such a plan in mind, and by it I mean to destroy the
Hapsburgs.”

Wilkins laughed aloud. Oh really, and how would
you propose to do that?”

“When the Archduke Charles becomes the Emperor
of Austria and Hungary, I would see to it that he makes a fool of himself, so
the world will see him as a simpleton, the Germans will see him as an
incompetent traitor, and his own people will demand his head.”

           
“But how would you actually accomplished that worthy goal?” asked Mackenzie,
skeptically.

           
“There was a time when I was a lad in Manchester, after my mother had passed
away, when I lived in the streets with many other orphaned children. We waged
our own bloody wars. We fought with knives and broken bottles mostly, because
they were the only weapons we could get our hands on, but the killing was real
enough. One day, my best mate got cut up pretty bad and he bled out alone in
the back of an abandoned factory that was full of rats. I found him, what was
left of him at least. Well, the next day, the dumb ruthless bastard that had
killed him, he was all shook up about something; I’d rather not say what. But
he came to me on the street and said we should call it
pax
, a
no-harms-done sort of thing. I couldn’t believe it. I mean, after finding my
mate that way in that factory, all chewed up and all, well, you can’t just
pretend something like that didn’t happen, can you? You see how what he was
proposing was impossible.

“This war is like that one – only millions will
be killed, lands and lives destroyed, innocent people exterminated. You have
both seen the cruelty and hatred it has inspired. But even after all the
killing and misery, you can be sure the kings and emperors, they’re all going
to want to pretend it didn’t even happen. I don’t think they really know what
is
happening. But the people have seen it, they do know, and they will not
forget or forgive so easily. They’ll be bloody angry that their sacrifices and
misery and the deaths of their sons and husbands and fathers all amounted to
nothing in the end. So when Charles becomes Emperor and says
pax
and
suggests we all go back as if it didn’t happen, what do you think his people
will say about that?”

           
“Is that what Charles will do?”

“It is, once Wilkins and I plant the idea in
his head, and I know just how to do it. Charles is still a young man and he
knows nothing of war, he’s inexperienced and sheltered. But when Franz Joseph
dies any day now and Charles ascends the throne, he’ll surround himself with
advisors and ambitious generals. That is why we must reach out to him before
the Emperor dies. We’ll go to him in Austria, plant our seeds, and then get out
fast. I want you to come with me, James.”

Wilkins shook his head in disbelief. “So this
is what it has come to, and I suppose I am not surprised. But quite frankly I
am still shocked by your suggestion, David. The Hapsburgs have ruled in Europe
of a thousand years, and you want to incite a rebellion against them? And what
precisely do you believe will happen to Austria if you succeed, without an
emperor able to maintain peace and order? It is an empire made up of many
peoples who hate each other. I fear that anarchy will only beget more
violence.”

“I am no anarchist, James, but I could not care
less what happens to the Austrians. Surely what happens to Austria and Hungary
will be matters for their people to decide once this war has ended, and what
they will want above all is peace and security.”

“That is precisely what Napoleon promised to
the French year after year, and all they got was more war.”

“Perhaps, but now France is our ally and has a
government that is answerable to its people, as do we in Great Britain,
notwithstanding the crown.”

“That will take time to achieve in Austria,
even if it is inevitable. And as for the Hapsburgs, as I have said before, I
will not become involved in anything that might become an embarrassment to my
family, and to purposefully embarrass the future Austro-Hungarian Emperor? It
is simply too much.”

           
“Well, James,’ Mackenzie said, “I must dispose of your objection, and I can do
so without difficulty. I have brought you a letter from your father.” He handed
a sealed envelope to Wilkins. “Would you please read that now?”

           
“Yes, of course,” said Wilkins, startled, as he broke open his family’s wax
seal on the envelope and recognized his father’s handwriting.  He read:

My
Dear James,

I
pray this letter finds you healthy and in good spirits. Your mother and I miss
you and your brothers terribly, but we are very proud of your service to our
country during these terrible days. Word of your injuries on the peninsula
reached us quickly, but we are relieved to hear that you recovered without
difficulty. You have always been the bravest of our children as well as the
most clever and insightful. That is why it is a great delight to me that you
have come to know my good friend and colleague, M., with whom I have shared
many a long and thoughtful conversation as to our conduct of the war. I have no
doubt he shall set you on the proper path, if you are so inclined. Of course,
you may serve our nation in the manner you best see fit, but he and I agree
that your talents predispose you to becoming an exceptional asset to the
Service. I hope your experiences to date have swayed your own mind in that
direction, for it is by your labour and that of your compatriots that the
future of our civilization is to be determined. You must put aside your
fondness for the past and look beyond the crystal palaces to the future which
lies ahead. Nothing ever changes without loss, my boy, but it is your duty to
ensure that the many upheavals which are now clearly upon us do not occur
without true purpose and noble intent.

With
loving affection,

Your
Father

“You
are a man of many surprises, Sir, to show up in Corfu with a letter like this,”
said Wilkins, with thick emotion. He took a large sip of his brandy and sighed.

           
“As you see, our objectives are those of Great Britain, and you are a young man
who can do great things for his country, James. You should not be reduced to
being cannon fodder.”

“Fine, I’ll do it. I will go with you, David.
We will do what we can.”

           
“I am terribly relieved, James; I thought you might refuse to come along. You
will see. Everything will work out in the end.” Gresham turned to Mackenzie:
“What do you think?” He asked.

“I see now why you asked for the false
passports, but to enter Austria right now – they are a clever and cautious
people, David, I must warn you.”

“Surely you can help us think up a gaff to get
us in from Switzerland, and we won’t be doing anything besides talking, so they
can watch us as much as they like. All the better, in fact – we’ll make a big
show of ourselves. We won’t go near anything or anyone that would raise
suspicions. James, you’ll have to be a real spy this time, use a false identity
and all. No more objections, I hope.”

“No, I am with you. We must do what we can.
Charles’ wife Zita, has a brother in the Belgian army whom I met last year in
Paris. I can contact him, as he is certain to be in Austria for the holidays
and no doubt he can arrange an opportunity for us to speak with the Archduke.”

“
M
?” Gresham asked Mackenzie again.

“I suppose it’s worth a shot even though you’re
playing the long game. I know that
Control
would like it. I like it;
it’s a grand plan. If all you do is get in and out unharmed, news of that by
itself would be a coup for the Service. The Austrians won’t know what you’ve
learned, and it will scare the hell out of them. And it will be a political
nightmare for Austria if word of Charles making peace overtures was leaked,
especially in their relationship with the Kaiser. We shall have to make sure it
is made public. But I want the two of you getting out of Austria unharmed, and
if you can’t approach Charles, then you must escape as quickly as you can. Do
you agree?”

“Absolutely,” Gresham replied.

“You will need quite a lot of money, I expect.
As you say, you will need to put on a show.”

“All to the best, then,” said Gresham, “but
there is one thing I will want, and I’d better keep you out of it, too,
M
.
James and I have developed our own connections among the Serbians.
I’ll speak to them.
”

“As you wish. I suggest you fellows make your
way to Geneva as soon as possible; I’ll arrange some aliases for you to use
once you arrive there and you’ll need an account to draw funds. And I do hope
you’ll have a very Happy Christmas, gentlemen. Please buy each other something
wonderful at government expense. You deserve it.”

A
light snow fell on the
farms outside Vienna as the train neared the great capital of Austria. Gresham and
Wilkins sat opposite each other at a table beside the lace-curtained windows,
drinking tea from the fine Imperial State Railway porcelain and eating rich
pastries that were replenished by the wait staff whenever their platter was
half-emptied. Travel between Switzerland and Austria was inconvenient, and few
people made the journey between the countries anymore unless they were certain
to have no difficulties getting into or out of Austria. Since they had passed
the border, Gresham and Wilkins had been politely questioned twice, their
passports had been scrutinized, and their luggage and belongings had been
examined to the extent of undressing and allowing the Austrian authorizes to
check their clothing – pockets, seams and buttonholes. Most of the passengers
remaining on the train either worked in the Austrian or Hungarian governments
and had been to Switzerland on official state business or they were
journalists. On this particular train, the journalists included one David
“Kelly,” formerly of Ireland, and one James “Kruger,” born in German East
Africa, who were collaborating together on a new biographical book about the
Archduke Charles for the König Verlag publishing house in Geneva. Their
credentials were entirely in order.

“Kelly” and “Kruger” (enjoying their tea and
pastries) were quietly discussing the scar on Kruger’s left cheek and his
mangled left ear. Kelly was adamant that the injuries must have been caused by
an attacking lion. Kruger, however, recalled that his injuries were caused by a
misfiring elephant rifle, but he wasn’t sure.

“You can’t be unsure, James. You must remember
the event vividly.”

“I am unaccustomed to play acting.”

“Just think it all out, every detail, until it
feels true.”

Wilkins had also grown a beard – albeit a rather
short and sparse one – that helped to distract from the long red scar and
better disguised his identity. There was a risk that Wilkins could be
identified by someone he had met as a lad, unlikely though that might be. The
beard also fit with the pretense that he was the son of a Boer from the West
Cape Colony, one of Moritz’s men who had fled to German East Africa during the
wars with England, and that would imply an underlying enmity towards the
British that would be reassuring to the Austrian authorities.

Gresham was finally embracing his Irish
heritage: he had assumed the identity of David Kelly, a newspaper man from
Ulster infamous for his anti-British writings, who had disappeared in 1913. The
British knew that Kelly had actually gone to America, but for the sake of the
ruse, Gresham was supposing that Kelly had fled to Switzerland. Gresham removed
a slim silver case from his breast pocket, a recent Christmas gift from
Wilkins, and withdrew a fancy pre-rolled cigarette for himself.