The Hanover court could be a fun place to be if one were titled, rich and handsome. Erasmus Fogg considered himself two out of three, if one counted his family estate. That wasn't his, but could count just from being from it. The one deficiency he allowed wasn't holding him back. The lack of an aristocratic title, along with his birth order, kept him humble, which was a good thing. Otherwise, the dashing second son, sharp witted, with a ready smile and strong taste for mischief, would have been impossible.
With his big brother gone all this time, Erasmus wasn't feeling much like a spare. In Phileas's absence, he had taken the brunt of the work as his father's second in command. In doing so, his experience had grown fast. There was a strong purpose in Erasmus Fogg's step and a twinkle of arrogance in his eyes. It was not due to the privilege inherent to the firstborn, but well-earned confidence in his own abilities.
He had come to Berlin as just what he was, a member of the English gentry with strong ties to the royal family. He was visiting Princess Vicky, as her first child's birth came near. In older times, he would have been called a courtier, or hanger on, or leach, depending on his behavior. His job was to promote a mission, the unification of Germany. It was the Queen and Prince Albert's goal, and his father's, making it doubly important.
Erasmus paid his respects to Princess Victoria, who was barely holding up under poor treatment from her new family. He found her lacking the spirit he had always found attractive. Her eyes were kept downcast. When not, they a wounded animal's, watching for traps.
Prince Fredrick made up for most of it with his loving, tender treatment. That earned him Erasmus's respect and goodwill. The princess needed all the kindness she could get. Her position at court and this first pregnancy bore hard on her.
His first visit only lasted a few minutes. Afterwards, he and her husband discussed the lay of the court and how the King's illness had worsened.
"It is an awful time," Prince Fredrick said. "We are more isolated by the day. One isn't sure if conducting oneself for mourning is right or not. Our views complement each other perfectly, but it puts us at odds with the stricter approach my uncle set. Worse, Queen Augusta has taken great dislike to Vicky. She takes every chance to find fault, so others do as well."
Erasmus listened sympathetically. Princess Vicky was an English royal, trained for her father's aspirations. Yet, she wasn't versed in Prussian culture, not enough to live in this climate comfortably.
Making Germany a united whole again could have happened after the revolution in 1848. Sir Boniface's history lecture to him had complained of King Fredrick William's refusing the Imperial Crown from the Frankfurt National Assembly based on not giving an elected body the power to legitimize his divine rights. He might have accepted it had an assembly of German Princes offered it to him. But that didn't happen. Added to that, the Prussian constitutional framework had been deluded by revisions until Parliament had almost no authority and the ordinary people had no stake in the government.
Erasmus's job was to find like-minded people who would prepare the reforms needed to make a united Germany happen. To that effort, he settled into life at court under the prince's patronage. He cultivated acquaintances who were like-minded against the current establishment. Through them, he pulled together an intelligence circle that kept him well abreast of everything going on at court and planted seeds to get the two sides talking.
One such person, Carl Schmidt, was a young soldier. He was about Erasmus's age, also a second son, a cavalry officer in Prussia's Army. He had been assigned to an aging general as an aide. The general didn't require his services often. Being his aide was a formality given to a respected veteran who had slipped deep into his dotage.
Carl's chief duties involved seeing the old man to occasional ceremonial functions and escort the general's granddaughter about. That gained him the lady's affections and her grandfather's approval for marriage. It was an excellent arrangement all around. He had been elevated to higher visibility because of it, which gave Erasmus an even better view of what was happening at court and in Prussia's military circles.