I
-°-oOo-°-
Chapter Four: By the fireside
I
-°-oOo-°-
Pemberley
I
-°-oOo-°-
December 1822
I
-°-oOo-°-
- Ladies and Gentlemen, as often these last years we are here, in Pemberley, at Christmas' eve and at what has become one of the most awaited moment of the year. I'm Joan Loaksley and I'm life from the Pemberley Television Studio and my guest as it is every year is her Grace the Duchess of Aquitania, Jane d'Arcy and her guest, soon to be her daughter in law, Russia's Regent Elizabeth Romanova.
Joan, a tiny little brunette with the warmest voice you can imagine turned around to look at her guest while the camera was focusing on Jane and her guest.
They both smiled to the camera even if it wasn't the usual welcoming smile of more peaceful years.
- Thank you for having us, your Grace, said Joan while nodding in the Duchess' direction. And thank you to be with us, Your Majesty.
- You are welcome, said Sissy after a small nod from her soon to be mother in law. And I asked to be here today because I'm quite sure that, after this year's tragic events, your audience will probably have questions about the situation in Russia. And, in agreement with the Duchess, I think that I should be the one who answers those particular questions.
- And we are very happy to have you with us, said Joan before looking back at Jane.
- Your Grace, you have the floor.
Jane nodded, smiled and looked at the camera.
- Greetings from Pemberley to all of you, friends and guests from all over the world. This year's Christmas is a special one since it is a Christmas we will spend while, God be blessed, peace is back in most parts of the world and especially in Russia that has been hurt and shaken earlier this year. For once we've got what every military man has ever dreamt of: a short victorious war.
She looked at Sissy who was no longer smiling.
- And, as always, the term victorious is bitter-sweet since even if the bad guy has been beaten, Russia has probably lost a lot in the confrontation.
She shook her head.
- You all know that I loathe conflicts and that war is, in my mind, always a sign of failure. When a Nation enters an armed conflict with another one, it is clear that those who had the power to avoid it failed. And, even if we had only a small influence on Russia before the coup, we, and by this we I mean the family, we failed our Russian friends.
She let out a discreet sigh.
- Hindsight is an ugly prosecutor and there are lots of things we now know that we should have done differently. But we didn't and because of those decisions of ours we have lost friends who were also good people.
She looked at Sissy.
- I know that a lot of people will see the main reason in yesterday's war in Alex's refusal of taking drastic measures against his brother. I know, because I spoke with him and his wife, that his reason for not having his brother executed was his love for him. Alexander was one of the exceedingly rare good people who had to bear the burden of power.
She shook her head.
- Because of whom I married, I know quite a lot of rulers. And I'm very sure that none of them, my dear husband included, would have dithered to get rid of such a threat. Because Nicolaï was a threat and we all knew that he was plotting to get the Throne for himself. Alexander knew it too, he wasn't an idiot, but to the last moment he believed that his love could touch his brother and change his very nature. That's the problem with good people becoming rulers. They soon discover that being good is a liability for the Nation they rule and, most often than not, for the people they love.
She smiled at her soon to be daughter and took her hand in hers.
- The fact that Nicolaï, because he was ready to do whatever was necessary to reach his goal, would probably have been a better Czar than Alexander doesn't assuage his sins but it explains why this coup was launched.
Joan who had listened made the tiny hand move signaling her desire to ask a question. A small nod gave her the floor back.
- You Grace, are you sure that you mean what you've just said? It seems to me that you just said that good people shouldn't get the chance to become rulers. Isn't that a very extreme judgement?
Jane looked at Sissy who refused to take the floor. She would intervene but not yet. Not on matters Jane d'Arcy knew a lot better than herself.
- It is and it must be nuanced. In Russia's recent History the key person wasn't the Czar Alexander! The man around everything was turning was his brother. Nicolaï could have been his brother's main supporter. Alexander loved and admired him, and he would have listened to his brother's advice. And said advice would have strengthened the Czar because Nicolaï was smart and had an intimate knowledge of how to handle the Boyars. Together they could have become a formidable team.
She stopped to sigh.
- Had there not been Nicolaï's excruciating ambition. He wanted more than just power and wealth, he wanted the status and the title. He wanted to be at the top of the food chain. And because of that he lost everything and will be forever recalled as a regicide, a traitor and a fool who's wasted his forefathers' heritage.
She looked at Sissy.
- Do you want to add something, dear?
- Indeed, said Sissy. I'd like to thank the people of Great Britain and France for what they have done to support me and my family. I know that even if it was a short and victorious war, it hasn't been a bloodless one. People have died. Lots of Russians, of course, since it was a civil war, but also a few hundred soldiers of the allied armies. I wanted to thank the mothers of those men and few women who died to give Russia another chance to become a better Nation. Your sons and daughters died for a foreign country and some of you will probably have problems to understand why your rulers chose to intervene.
She looked at Joan because she still had problems to focus on the camera.
- Why they chose to send your sons and daughters to die in a country they never swore to protect. And, no, it is not because I was Great Britain's ruler's fiancée. Not only, at least. It was primarily because Nicolaï was about to destroy the new world the world's rulers have been building together for the last ten years. That world is, perhaps, an illusion like so many others before, but we all have hope that if we go on showing good will, we will succeed.
She smiled when she felt Jane support her by tightening her grip over her hand.
- We are about to build a world where the rulers speak with one another on a daily basis. A world where rulers spend time together to know each other and to fathom what the others are thinking. It won't probably eliminate all risks, but it will reduce them mightily. At least the rulers will discuss and ask for explanations before sending troops to fight another war.
This time she forces herself to look at the camera.
- I swear that your sons and daughters didn't die for nothing. If everything goes as we planned it, their sacrifice will have saved thousands of lives in wars that we will be able to avoid. I know that joy will be difficult to find in all those households who are currently mourning a loved one, but nevertheless please remember that their death and sacrifice has probably brought peace where otherwise war would have taken hold.
I
-°-oOo-°-
- Ladies and Gentlemen, we are back after the interruption and we are now alone with Her Grace since the Regent has chosen to let us go on without her.
She smiled at Jane.
- It has been a difficult year, your Grace…
- It has and the civil war in Russia has been its horrible height. But there had been good news too and for those countries who have been spared from war, it was even one of the best when you look at the economy and at the distributed wealth.
- And there is your coming journey to India…
- Indeed there is and even if I do love the culture there I will admit that I'm a little worried about it.
- Worried, Your Grace? Did your husband hear about plots?
- Not at all, our Indian citizens are quite happy to see us coming and I will admit that I am excited to face that new challenge but my worry stems from the respect I have for a civilization that, even if it has failed to jump easily on the train of progress like all the countries my son manages all over the world, represent something I dread to destroy.
- Destroy? Why would you use that term?
- Because it is what we do, my dear Joan. We destroy things to replace them with other things we believe better suited for our time. And since, here in Europe, what we replaced was very similar with what we brought in it was, more or less acceptable and accepted. But India isn't similar at all with what we are here in Europe. And I do fear that, even if I really try to understand and accept the differences, we will be unable to import the cultural changes we want to set up without breaking things we don't want to break.
- But they do treat their women as second-class citizens… That situation cannot go on unchallenged!
- I agree and I disagree, my dear Joan. I agree because as a woman who has been able to free herself and her sisters -in a very broad application of the word- from male subjugation, freeing all other women from any type of subjugation is clearly the fight of my life. But I must disagree when you say that it cannot go unchallenged. I will challenge it while I am there and I'm already challenging it thanks to all the d'Arcy Orphan Homes my sisters and I have created all over the Indian Subcontinent.
- Which is, if I look at the numbers, a great accomplishment.
- It would be, but I do fear that it isn't. The girls in our AOH do get the best available education we are able to provide. And we raise them to be proud of being a woman and to be proud of their achievements. But I must recognize that most of those girls don't stay in India. What's even more unfortunate, they don't want to stay there. They prefer to emigrate to Great Britain, America or Australia where they are sure to find a job, a good income and for the great majority of them, a husband willing to share his life with a woman who is clearly a foreigner even if culturally they are perfectly adapted.
- What do you do to reverse that trend?
- We do nothing, Joan…
Once more Joan looked shocked.
- But why, these women are an asset for India. Without them India will have even greater difficulties to become the striving force we all hope to see one day!
- I agree but we've studied the reasons they evoke to justify their departure and it is evident that those who tried to stay have had humongous difficulties to find a place within the Indian society. India's males are the problem. They refuse to consider the girls coming out of the AOH as acceptable mates. And it is not only because we refuse to pay the dowry those men do find necessary. It is more because they culturally don't like educated and strong-willed women…
A small smile appeared on her lips.
- Maureen who's not very charitable with men says that they are scared shitless and that they don't have the balls to envision a mate that isn't meek and obedient. I'm no specialist of male psyche but it could really be that Indian Mothers do raise their sons to be dominating bullies.
Jane took a few seconds to think about her next words.
She knew that the Christmas speech was one of the rare things that would find its way everywhere over the world. Tomorrow or the day after that, most people would have seen it or read the official report of her words.
She couldn't forget to be tactful here.
- That's why when we will be in India, we won't try to meet young girls or young marriageable women. Those have been already forced into the traditional cultural mold men there are wishing for. And we are very aware that the parents will never let their young daughters speak with us. We are too alien for that. So, we will focus on the matrons. Mothers and grandmothers will be our main targets. Quite a few will be polite but, the moment we are out of their homes, will push us immediately out of their memories. But all will listen! After all, we are the wives of the most powerful men of Grand Great Britain. We are, as they are, the power behind the power and they will respect us and listen to us because of that. They won't like the message, but they will nevertheless listen to it and they will see what result it had on us. Some of them will understand that what we propose is an acceptable way for women. And they will begin to adjust their education to what will be tomorrow's new standards.
- That will take an awful lot of time.
- It will, but are we really in a hurry? Don't forget that we speak of a culture that has been slowly forged by passing centuries. We want them convinced and in agreement with the message. I understand your impatience, but we need to be prudent here. If we force our way into their minds, they will reject us, as I would reject some arrogant stranger who tries to force her worldview upon me. If we can convince ten per cents of all matrons, we will have a beachhead from where our ideas will be able to work from within. If with each generation we convince ten per cents more, we will have reached our goal in less than a century. And we will have done it without being the invader who forces his worldview on unreceptive people.
- But it also means that for a century more, a lot of our Indian sisters will go on being second-class citizens.
- Some of them, will, indeed. I'm quite sure that in other parts of GGB in a century there still will be women treated like cattle. But let's not forget that India represents half of the commonwealth's womenfolk! If we do it with respect and tact it could be that in ten years ten per cents of the new marriageable women could look at the world like we do here. And I'm quite sure that their baby girls will be raised as their mothers have been. We are facing a huge challenge and we won't risk to waste our chance by being impatient.
- Why not work on the men's psyche?
- Because we are women, Joan. Women who are about to enter an exotic world where men still believe themselves superior. It's a good idea but it will be Geoffrey's and Fitzwilliam's task to convince India's menfolk. They both have the clout to succeed but our interference would trouble the waters. So, we will avoid being too visible. In those Eastern cultures, men are in front and woman work from behind. That's exactly what we are going to do. It will remind us our youth when we thought about ways to change the world.
She smiled at the camera.
- We did quite well I think, wouldn't you agree?
Joan did agree.
- So, there's no reason we won't be as successful in India as we have been in Great Britain or Europe. We'll just have to adapt our methods to the peculiarities of the land we are about to discover. The Subcontinent is considered by William as the most promising part of the Commonwealth. He could be right on more than one level, and that's what we are about to show.
- When will you move?
- Fitzwilliam and Lizzie will depart as soon as the Pemberley and Lambton Festivals are closed. Lydia and Donald who have already a lot of experience with the people of the Subcontinent will be with them. I will join them with the kids and the rest of the Clan as soon as they have found a place where we will be able to settle the whole circus. I'm not sure but it will probably take two more months before I move with the kids.
- Will all your sisters move with you?
- Mary will join us once or twice but since Gérault has his duties in Croatia she won't be able to stay the whole year. Kitty and Charles will join me and the kids. We will probably have the pleasure to aboard Orbiter One for his Maiden Flight.
- Another Bingley Airship?
- No Airship at all, Joan. Orbiter One will be Charles' first private Spaceship. We will climb to the orbit and he will be, at last, able to see Earth from orbit. It has been Charles' dream for years. It seems that he's about to grant himself another techno wish.
- Won't it be dangerous?
- Who knows? Last Maiden Flight he offered us we discovered what could very well be called the source of eternal youth. Let's hope that this time the only surprise will be Earth's Ethereal Beauty seen from orbit.
Joan's eyes began to sparkle.
- Will there be a television crew with you?
- Of course, there will, dear, we will have, as usual the Company's crews with us. Since our little detour in South America we do monitor and store every journey a member of the family undertakes. You know that we tend to be very thorough when it comes to be able to counter slander and defamation. But if you wish to join with your crew, I'm quite sure something can be arranged. It will be safe or I wouldn't risk the kids lives.
- I'll contact the network's management to organize the whole trip with protocol.
- Do that and I'm quite sure that your spectators will greatly enjoy the show. Those who already went up there were all really enthused by the sights.
I
-°-oOo-°-
London, aboard the Athena cruising over the Thames River
I
-°-oOo-°-
31 December 1822
I
-°-oOo-°-
- Ladies and Gentlemen, The King…
The Anthem had opened the broadcast while the camera had travelled over Athena's airfield to the Air squadron's headquarter where William the Fourth was sitting in front of the office's fireplace.
And when the Anthem came to its end the speaker had announced William.
Who smiled at the camera.
- Fellow citizens from all around the world, welcome aboard Great Britain's latest warship. I'm proud to have been able to let you see Athena from within and I'm quite sure that her crew has been honored to give you the opportunity to have a look at her entrails.
William took a long breath and smiled at the little crowd of officials he had invited to be part of these first King's New Year address.
His cousin Richard was present and so were Vancouver and Nelson and every other general officer who had served during the last Russian campaign. They were here because William wanted to honor them and their action but also because he hated speaking to a little green light over a huge lens.
The light and the lens were still there but they were in the background and not the most prominent feature in the room.
- This year, I've decided to follow and even enhance a family tradition my dear mother has created and, if what my staff says is true, is one of the main event of the year.
He took a few seconds to sort his thoughts.
- I can't say yet if this will be a recurrent event but it appears that since we have the means to share a moment together I should use it to give my people a summary of what we've done during the past year and what we intend to do in the one that's coming.
He crossed his finger in front of him and looked in his Uncle Richard's direction.
Who happened to be in front of the camera.
- Last year we went to war. It was the first time since I was crowned that I decided to send men and women to fight in a war. We won but we still lost too many of our soldiers, especially crews of our gallant air force who, once more, had to notice that Russian Rockets are not only dangerous but lethally efficient when it comes to destroy planes and airships. I have personally seen the families of those men who have fought for our Land and made the supreme sacrifice to get us a victory. It has been my personal decision and that has raised a fair amount of criticism.
He nodded at the camera.
- And I'm also here to explain why it had to be done and why it wasn't a decision born of my own personal and familial interest.
He pointed at the globe standing on the office at his right.
- You have probably wondered why I really decided to send our troops to meddle with what was clearly a civil war. And, no, it hasn't been because my fiancée asked me to since her wish had always been, from the very beginning, that I refrained from sending my army. She argued that it would hurt my image. She feared that some would say that I was manipulated. A
A small smile appeared on his lips.
- And of course some did but still I didn't follow her wish. And I chose to go to war for three reasons.
He used his fingers to count.
- First, I had been informed, by my father and with Napoleon's approval, that the French were already in place and that they would intervene to get rid of the fratricide. As you know by now it was my father who was in command of the French armies stationed in Poland. Nothing would have stopped them and had we not followed suit, the risk that some liberated territories would have found their way into the French Empire would have been too large. With Elizabeth present and surrounded by a British army or two, those risks were a lot smaller.
William had, a long time ago, fathomed that playing cool with Napoleon was a losing proposition. The French Emperor was greedy, determined and shameless when it came to enrich himself or increase its Empire. But he wasn't petty. He knew himself quite well and he never held a grudge if what you said to him was the truth. Slander him with lies and he would never forget or forgive. But the truth he could handle.
Especially if it served his badass image.
- Second, since I had, with Athena, the means to bring that whole folly to a very speedy end, I decided that the whole operation needed to be built around Athena's huge firepower. Even the Best Russian Rockets had not the power to scratch her paint. So, having her there filled a double purpose: showing the Russian Officers who were not yet on the side of Nicolaï that any resistance would be futile and suicidal.
He let the small smile reach his lips again.
- And most of Russia's officers, even if they weren't really Loyalists, chose to side with Elizabeth to spare their men. They weren't enthused with what we offered but it was way better than the senseless bloodshed Athena could and would have delivered had they made the bad choice.
He let his smile increase minimally.
- The second, more trivial reason was that Athena had the room to house the fifty thousand men I wanted to send over there to support the ongoing offensive. Each one of them loved the fact that the only distance they had to walk was from the deck of the delivering airship to Athena's upper decks or inner storage rooms. They never were in harm's way and never had the chance to shoot a bullet, but had we needed them to occupy the country we would have had them only a few miles away from their targets. Athena and her sistership Ares, that has been sold to France, are game changers and will, in the future, at least we hope so, reduce even further the risks of a real open war between the major powers.
He took another long breath.
- Let's come to the third and final reason I chose to send troops and intervene in what could really have been considered as an inner Russian affair where we Brits had no real interest. But that wasn't true, we had an interest, and that interest was to avoid having an ambition-ridden ruler at the helm of the one of the richest countries of the world. Nicolaï was ambitious, smart and shamelessly unscrupulous. To the point where he chose to kill his own brother, his sister in law and his nephew even if, thanks to his mother's precautions the latter never risked anything. Such a man would have been a danger for its neighbors as soon as he would have rebuilt his military. And he had the means to do just that… So, I made the decision to do what was necessary to eliminate that risk. And as you've seen we won. I don't know if we did right, but since it's the victor who writes history, one could say that it was the right thing to do.
The hint of the smile disappeared from his face.
- But by intervening, "we", I should say I but since France was siding with me, let's stick to "we", have opened a box of Pandorean proportions. We have shown the world that we will react and intervene wherever and whenever we think it is the right thing to do. We have, and in my case I did knowingly, chosen to become this world's police force. Now everybody knows that should they do something I don't agree with, I have the means to do what's necessary to see it undone. We Britains have just begun to wear the suit of the world's police force or, in most of those outsiders' minds, we have become the planet's bully.
He took a long breath.
- It won't probably worry you very much because your ruler and, in the end, you are in the right position at the stick's end. We are those who decide what's good and what is bad. That's cool, isn't it? Now, place yourself in the position of those who will be on the receivers' side. You wouldn't be happy, who would? And you would clearly begin to wonder how to act in the future. Are you going to do everything in your power to avoid falling under the Police's scrutiny? Or are you, from now on, entering a phase of open opposition to those who believe they can force you to behave?
He shook his head.
- As said since you are on the 'good' end of the stick you probably don't give a damn that some people, out there, are, as we speak, feeling threatened. But this, our, new position will have consequences. And some of those consequences will be dire since the Human Beast when cornered is capable of quite a lot of mischief.
He let a few seconds float away without him speaking.
- I don't regret what I did, and it is not only because it gave back to my soon to be nephew his legitimate heirloom. No, deep down I see it as an improvement of the current world's situation. You probably remember the hollow project Prussia and Austria have been promoting for years. That United Nations' illusion that would have been created to become the world's arbitration court. It never was realized because none of those who were wielding real power had any interest in letting it appear.
He shrugged.
- And now it will never ever be implemented. Because we don't need it anymore. We, those who count, we have decided that what happens anywhere on this Earth is our business and that we won't accept anything to happen that could destroy the current balance of powers. It's not very high on the scale towards equality but it is time that some so-called, small Nations begin to understand that like it is within a society, real equality doesn't exist and will never exist. There are alpha dogs and there are those who have no choice but to follow what others have decided. Even here in Grand Great Britain where we do what's possible to give everybody all the opportunities they need to reach their apex by acquiring the skills they are good at, there are and there will be in the future, inequalities.
He pointed at himself.
- I'm the boss here. That's a fact and even if the Members of Parliament have the means to restrain me and even, should the need come up, to get rid of me, until then I'm the boss and I'm making the decisions. Same in your counties, cities, towns and boroughs, there are people who have been designated, elected, or chosen to make the decisions. And until he or she is replaced by somebody that agrees better with you or me, it will go on with him or her being more powerful than you. It's not perfect, it's not fun and, if you hate the guts of the man or woman who's walking on your head, it can even be very frustrating, but it is how our society works!
The small smile came back.
- And we have improved it in such manners that, should you really have the mind, the will and the endurance to work to replace him or her, we will give you the means to overcome your frustration and to acquire the skills you'll need to succeed. And in the end, you'll be able to show us how it should have been done. It won't be easy but, should you succeed, you will have proven that you deserve the place you've reached.
Slowly the smile was erased from his lips.
- Of course, what is possible within a Society is a lot more difficult for Nations. But it is not impossible and I'm quite certain that China will, in the coming years, do what's necessary to become a world power whose opinion counts. Same for Spain and its Empire and, perhaps, the Central Asian Confederacy. Even Prussia and Austria could reach new heights would their rulers forget to be selfish idiots more concerned with their own Status than their Nations' position in the world. But soon, very soon, all the slots on this world's ruling board will be occupied and the Six or Seven major Nations will give themselves the means to manage the world. If possible, in peace and while being respectful for each other, if necessary, by waging war against those who refuse to accept the new world order.
He looked this time at the camera.
- Grand Great Britain has been granted an extraordinary position within said world order. We are renowned for our diplomacy and most Nations respect us because of how we've increased our territories while using as few violent means as possible. The coming years will be important because it will be the years when the World Council will decide how it will work. I give you my word that I'll be true to the commitments that have been mine and the Regent's. We don't want to assimilate foreign cultures and we don't want to force our ideology on foreign Nations. We want to create a common house where everyone will be welcome and accepted for what he is. Peace will be at the center of my reign and I really hope that this years' war will be the last for a long, long time.
His eyes roamed the room and he looked into each and every pair of eyes.
- Thanks to all of you. Thanks to have fought for our Great nation and won an important victory! Thanks to the public to have been behind me and my armed forces during the months of strife and violence. War is not an answer I like but it is also not an answer I will systematically avoid. I am, like our country, peaceful and respectful but to all those who could mistake those virtues with weakness I solemnly swear that I will do what's necessary to ensure the safety of my people and the integrity of the lands God charged me to protect.
A real smile invaded William's face.
- Next year will, hopefully, be a year of peace and wealth for all of us. And, as usual, it will be a year in which science, technology and knowledge will reach new limits. Together we will reach new Heights and each year my people's achievements make me a little prouder. God bless you all.
I
-°-oOo-°-
Soon to come: Minds and Mishaps