“I understand that you are seeking to be hired as a musician.”
“How did you know that?” She looked at him suspiciously.
The man’s eyes gleamed. “There is very little that we do not know. It is almost impossible for someone without a patron or a member of the music guild to get a commission. Especially not from them.” He jerked his chin up to nod at the splendid palais in front of them. “Yet you have tried knocking on the doors of all the great ones, at all the noble families, not only Metternich, but also Arnstein, Esterhazy and Kaunitz—alas, all in vain.”
Her fingers gripped her reticule tightly. “Who are you?”
“You may call me August.”
Lena moistened her lips. “August. Are you a secret agent?”
She couldn’t see his eyes, but his thin lips curled to an unamused smile. “I see you are quick. That is admirable.”
“Are you?”
His teeth gleamed. “My employer is Baron von Hager.”
Everyone knew that name. The head of the Viennese secret police. She exhaled. “Von Hager reports directly to Metternich,” she muttered. Even she knew that.
August inclined his head.
Metternich had set up the most sophisticated and elaborate spy network in all of Europe. The city was swarming with spies and agents, now more than ever before all on account of the Congress, of course.
Lena tightened her grip on her reticule. “Agent August. What do you want? I don’t have much time.”
“Because your children are waiting for you.” He smiled again and she couldn’t help but feel a shiver run down her spine.
“I’ll get straight to the point. We can help you get the commission you want. We can help you getanycommission you want. Anywhere. Do you want to play in the Hofburg? It shall be done. No more futile knocking on closed doors, begging to be heard. All that will be a thing of the past. Because Baron von Hager—or should we say Metternich?—himself will be your patron.”
Lena’s heart beat heavily against her ribs. “In return for my spying for him.”
He flashed his teeth at her. “That’s a given.”
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.
Her breathing increased.
It was impossible, of course. Immoral. Unethical. She could never do it. She could think of a hundred, no, a thousand reasons why she should immediately turn and run away from Agent August as fast as possible and forget she ever talked to him.
“You and your family shall begin with a performance at Metternich’s soiree next Wednesday,” August continued talking. “If you so wish. We can arrange it in the blink of an eye. It won’t matter that there are two women in the orchestra. You’ll be protected. We can ensure that in the future, you will not lack any musical commissions, either. In return, all you have to do is be our eyes and ears.”
“It is espionage. It is despicable.”
“But when it comes to putting food in the mouths of the hungry hordes, a parent will do anything, even spy on high and mighty aristocrats who don’t care a fig about us. We must help ourselves. The welfare of my children comes before safeguarding the political secrets of thearrogant nobility. Trust me, I have four little ones myself.” He leaned forwards and whispered. “As one parent to another, I would seize the opportunity.”
Spying on people was abhorrent to her. “I cannot reconcile it with my conscience.” She shook her head. “The very idea disgusts me.”
August smiled. “You have a strong conscience, a strong sense of what is right and what is wrong. That is good. Think of it this way: what are these foreigners to us? They will be gone in a few weeks. You’ll never see them again, and there won’t be any harm done.”
Lena picked at the little flakes of dry skin on her lower lip. He had a point. What were those foreigners to her, anyway?
Nothing at all.
“In the meantime, you’ll have done our nation a great service, and you’ll be regarded a true patriot. The financial rewards are not to be scoffed at. You want the opportunity to perform regularly in the salons of the toffs? It shall be done. All you have to do is find out who says what to whom and where. Metternich, the Emperor, and the entire Austrian empire will be in your debt.”
“I don’t care a whit about the Emperor and whether he’s in my debt or not,” Lena said truthfully. “It’s just not right.”
“Very well. I see you won’t be swayed.” August tipped his hat up and she looked into a pair of shrewd, pale green eyes. He was younger than she’d expected. He straightened his cuffs and made a gesture as if to leave. At the last moment, he changed his mind. “It’s just that I know whathappens to young widows and their children when they can’t afford to keep their livelihood. Have seen it with my very own eyes. Although—forgive me—you’re not exactly a widow, are you?” His jade green eyes bored into hers.
