Deryn's jaw dropped. She looked at Alek and noticed that his face had turned a deep shade of scarlet and he was staring nervously at his feet. The boffin looked slightly shocked and Volger looked Deryn in the eye and gave an evil knowing smirk.
"You're barking ENGAGED?" She stammered. The girl next to them giggled.
"I wouldn't say that." She replied for him. "We had a betrothal agreement between us written about four years ago, but nothing permanent as an engagement has been discussed in full," She then looked at Alek with a wink, "as of yet."
Deryn couldn't speak. She just kept looking between the two. Even if it wasn't actually a bloody permanent engagement, it still sounded like a pretty serious commitment to her. No wonder Alek was so nonchalant about Lilit. Why should he care if a pretty girl in Istanbul didn't fancy him when he had this gorgeous dame waiting for him in Japan? And not just some barking dame, but the daughter of the flipping German Ambassador as well.
"Well, I think we had best be on our way." Doctor Barlow stated, interrupting the long awkward pause. Soon, Lady Elsie had them all piled into her horse drawn buggy and trotting down a wide dirt road. Deryn was unfortunately sitting next to the new girl and therefore had ample view of her slender waist and perfect hourglass proportioned chest and hips. It made her gag.
"Enlighten me," Dr. Barlow said suddenly, giving Elsie a long hard stare while adjusting her bowler hat, "how is it that you, being a German, are not giving Alek up to the German government? I have to say, when the Count told me that the Hapsburgs were close with the German Ambassador, I was quite surprised."
Elsie flashed a sweet smile and replied "My family has known Alek's forever. We were friends growing up back when I lived in Frankfurt. They made sure we visited at least every Christmas. You could say we are almost related."
"We are related." Alek said grudgingly. He was still not making eye contact with anyone and currently was staring out the window at the passing scenery.
"Very distantly," She continued. "My Father and Alek's were cousins."
Well that's just barking gross. Deryn thought. She remembered back to her Darwinist lessons how genes could become messy when inbreeding was involved. If Alek did end up marrying this girl, then they could have flipper children, or so her mother used to say. She could tell that Doctor Barlow was also not too keen about the news.
"I realize that traditions may be different in your families," she said, "but my studies have found some nasty troubles can arise from keeping a small gene pool."
Volger gave the boffin a sneer. "Don't go filling their minds with your godless filth." He blurted. "The Hapsburgs come from a strong line of leaders directly descending from Roman Empire with blood ties dating back all the way to Christ himself. It is very important to keep the blood strong, and within a certain royal boundary."
Deryn snorted. Well that sounded like a load of blether. "So Alek has to marry his cousin so that his kids stay related to Jesus? I'm sorry, but didn't Alek's dad already mess that plan up when he went and married his Ma?" They all glared at her, even Alek pulled his eyes away from the window to give her a long angry stare. She realized then that she had said too much.
"Second cousin." Elsie Corrected her. Her smile was completely gone. "And we realize that Alek's family history is not perfect. And that's why he needs to marry me; to strengthen his bloodline in order for his children to be able to inherit the crown."
"Pardon me?" Alek finally spoke, "But I thought your father refused the marriage contract for the exact opposite reason, because our children would not be able to inherit anything. I'm the heir to nothing, remember?" He was furious. The redness had returned to his face and Deryn had heard a low commanding tone in his voice that was downright frightening.
Elsie didn't answer. She just shrugged and put on another smile.
"I'm sorry, but you still didn't answer my question." Doctor Barlow interrupted, "You are still a German, Miss Elsie, and I'm quite certain that your father has loyalties to his country before his loyalties to Alek and his family. Surely you must have to turn him in?"
Elsie shrugged again. "There are certain things that the German government cannot learn about when we are all the way over here in Japan. You forget that you are in a Darwinist country now, which has just declared war on Germany. My father and I are stuck in a country filled with enemies, we are like prisoners. If we say anything, or do anything that the Japanese people do not like, it could end in tragedy for us. So certain arrivals of Austrian Princes have to remain secret for our safety's sake."
Dr. Barlow nodded. The group sat in silence for the remainder of the trip. Even Bovril was strangely quiet. Deryn allowed herself to examine the world outside her carriage window as they drove past. The buildings were strangely symmetrical, and built mainly out of wood and stone. They had odd flat roofs with points coming up in the corners and large gardens adorning the yards. They must have been in a very wealthy neighborhood, because all the buildings were immensely large. The yard work looked painstakingly cared for with elegantly groomed trees and ponds. She even saw garden workers trimming the trees with tiny clippers, carefully and slowly removing each uneven growing bud. Even though it was late spring it must have just snowed the night before, because she saw several workers brushing off fresh snow from the pathways and plants. Either than the workers there were very few people out and about and it seemed that the neighborhood was almost uninhabited.
Eventually they stopped in front of a four story building with a tall spear shaped tower on top. Each floor was smaller than the last making the building resemble a large oriental wedding cake. A butler greeted them at the door and Deryn and the rest were ushered into a large sitting room with lavish couches. It was dark and drafty inside, but the butler offered them some hot tea and Deryn settled into a very soft armchair.
They sat for a few minutes and discussed some things in German that she couldn't understand. Alek still looked furious. He didn't include himself in the conversation and didn't touch his tea once. When Elsie finally asked him a question he slammed the cup onto the short table in front of him, spilling the contents on his sleeves.
"NIEN!" he yelled. Then in English, "No, I am not alright, in fact I feel rather ill. If you will kindly excuse me, I think I need to lie down." He then stood and hastily exited the room in a huff. Everyone stared after him for a moment before Elsie said,
"Well, I think it best than if I show you to your rooms. You all must be tired from your trip. I will have the cook prepare us something for dinner and you can all freshen up a bit before that. Perhaps everyone will feel better after a good meal." She then motioned for the butler who led Volger and Deryn the way Alek had left, while she stayed to talk to the boffin. They were led up two staircases and down a dusty cold hallway. The butler unlocked a large wooden door and ushered Deryn in. He then bowed and led Volger away without another word, closing the door behind them.
Deryn was appalled by it all. She had never seen Alek so angry. Plus, Elsie seemed like a very odd young woman. Beautiful, yes, but she knew way too much and she was German.
She allowed herself to forget about Alek and Elsie for a moment, and examined the room around her. It was very dark, even this early in the afternoon, so she had to light a small oil lamp that was situated on the desk which omitted a cozy warm glow. As much as she loved the Leviathan, the glowworm lamps were not nearly as nice as a simple flame. The room itself was large, larger than any bedroom on the ship. In the center was a huge four post double bed with a half dozen pillows and feather blankets. It was definitely European in style and so was most of the furniture in the room. Off in the corner was a smaller room, which on further discovery she realized was a personal bathroom. Not only was there a toilet, but the bath was connected to the wall in a way that she could turn a spout and instantly there was hot water flowing into it from the wall. She marveled at it in delight before throwing off her clothes and jumping into the marvelous warm water.
It had been weeks since she had taken a proper bath, probably not since she was in London. The Leviathan had only small showers that you had to rinse off fast in because water was a precious commodity when on board. And they were never this lovely hot. She found some bath oils and salts on the edge of the tub that looked like they hadn't been used in years. But they smelled wonderful when she opened them and she didn't waste any time dumping some flowery oil into her hair and giving it a nice good scrub. She soaked for a good hour or so before finally getting out of the tub and drying off. It seemed foolish to put back on her dirty officer clothes, so she opened up her bag and pulled on some boys' trunks and her cloth strap that she used to wrap up her breasts.
She was too exhausted to put on more clothes, and it could be hours until dinner, so it seemed best to just take a nap for now. Besides, she had stayed up all last night sewing and deserved a good long nap. After blowing out the lamp she hopped into bed, pulling all the blankets on top of her. They smelled like old moth balls and dust, but she didn't care. The moment she closed her eyes she had fallen into blissful sleep.