Hager brushed it off. “Whig Radical. Enlightened Radical. It is all the same, and can be summed up under the term of Jacobin Sympathiser.” He flicked the note with a finger. “This note is a testament that it seems to have rubbed off on you, too.”
Pippa stared at him with horror. “This is not true. I have no political sympathies with the Jacobins.”
“What do you know of the Society of the Torch?”
“I have never heard of them.” She shook her head emphatically. “Who are they?”
“I do believe she is speaking the truth, sir,” Agent August said.
“Then how do you explain this?” Von Hager tossed several books on the table with a loud crash that made her jump. “These were found in your possession when your things were moved to your new quarters in the Archduchess’ apartments.”
“How dare you go through my things!” Pippa flared up.
“Greta brought them earlier. Why are you harbouring forbidden books?”
The truth was that she had forgotten she had them. They were some of the books she had found hidden in Klemens’ desk, and taken with her. Thank the heavens they had found them with her, and not with Klemens.And Greta! She had trusted the girl, and believed her to be her friend.
“They came from my father’s library. He was a thinker and philosopher and natural scientist. If you read the title, you will recognise one book to have been written by my father. Of course I would want to keep it as a keepsake, since he died recently. It would never, ever occur to him to collude against the government and to cause a revolution. He was a man of peace.”
Von Hager looked at her through narrowed eyes. “Prove it.”
Pippa threw up her arms. “It is me. The Black Poppy. I am the Black Poppy! It is a reference to myself.”
Both Von Hager and August scowled, but August laughed. “So you were deliberately trying to deceive Metternich.” Turning to Hager, he said, “It is harmless. We know that sometimes they invent messages when they cannot find anything of consequence. She attempted to play a trick on Metternich. That is all.”
Pippa nodded so emphatically that her curls bounced. “Yes. A trick. That is it, exactly. Metternich put pressure on me to deliver messages and threatened me, but in the urgency of the moment I did not know what else to write, so I wrote this. Poppy really is a nickname for myself.”
“But the Black Poppy...” Von Hager was not quite convinced yet.
Pippa pointed at her hair. “What colour is my hair, pray?”
Both men stared at her hair.
“Are you telling me you wasted our time over nothing at all?” demanded Von Hager.
August grinned. “Not necessarily.” He folded the missive. “Your lordship could decide to have the message delivered anyhow.” He paused. “To confuse the Prince. Just a bit.”
Von Hager stared at him, then his face broke into a smile. It was rather frightening to behold. He wagged his finger at him. “You are quite something. In revenge for all the trouble he gave us the other day. Yes. Let us do that.”
Pippa looked from one to the other. It appeared they were not particularly on good standing with Metternich, either, she concluded. Which was just fine, as long as she was kept out of it.
“Well. If there is nothing else, I must return to the palace. The Archduchess is waiting for me.” She pushed her chair back.
“The books have been confiscated,” Von Hager announced. “And if you draw attention to yourself again in this matter or cause any trouble at all, we shall arrest you on the spot. Is that understood?”
Pippa bit her tongue to prevent herself from saying he could go jump in the nearest pond, swallowed, and smiled. “Yes, mein Herr. I thank you a million times for your most gracious graciousness in releasing me.”
She dipped a curtsy and swept out of the room.
Pippa returned to the Hofburg in a daze. What had just occurred? It had been a perilously close escape.If the secret police had truly uncovered her connection to Klemens, the consequences might have been catastrophic.Von Hager’s warning echoed through hermind, that whispers of radical thought or Jacobin sympathies could stain Klemens’ reputation and land him in serious trouble. It could ruin him.
And so the cold truth settled over her like frost on glass. To protect him, she must place as much distance between them as she could manage.
To save their future, she might have to surrender it entirely.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Being an archduchess’companion was not all it was cracked up to be, Pippa concluded for the tenth time that day, as she paused on the stairs and wiped her damp forehead. When one was not being apprehended by Metternich or hunted by the secret police, one was required to run up and down endless staircases like a very determined rabbit.
