Chapter 572: Dynasties and Indiscretions
Lisbon, Palacio Nacional da Ajuda
The heavy oak doors swung open with a hush of red carpet, spilling warm golden lamplight onto the palace steps.
Liveried footmen snapped to attention as Bruno, Heidi, and Elsa ascended, flanked by discreet Tyrolean aides in dark dress uniforms.
At the top waited King Manuel II, slim and still very much princely in posture despite the streaks of silver at his temples.
At his side stood Queen Hedwig; a regal figure in deep emerald satin, Habsburg bearing unmistakable in the lift of her chin.
It had been nearly two decades since Bruno last saw Hedwig. Then she had been little more than a girl, barely an adult. Or perhaps not even. Time flew by so swiftly, Bruno could hardly remember such details these days.
But what he did remember was that she had been flush with the court’s petty intrigues, eyes that had lingered too long and filled with spite at the Prussian General who attended Franz Joseph’s funeral in full Austro-Hungarian ceremonial garb.
Now those same eyes widened just a fraction at the sight of him. The old memory flashed across her features, quickly masked by the polite composure of queens.
Bruno bowed with the easy grace of practiced courts.
Heidi, every inch the Grand Princess, swept into her curtsey with a faintly mischievous smile; she had seen that tiny spark in Hedwig’s gaze.