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Back The Empress Save as PDF
Chapters (68)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. 1853
  4. PART I
  5. ONE
  6. TWO
  7. THREE
  8. FOUR
  9. FIVE
  10. SIX
  11. SEVEN
  12. EIGHT
  13. NINE
  14. TEN
  15. ELEVEN
  16. TWELVE
  17. THIRTEEN
  18. FOURTEEN
  19. FIFTEEN
  20. SIXTEEN
  21. SEVENTEEN
  22. EIGHTEEN
  23. NINETEEN
  24. TWENTY
  25. TWENTY-ONE
  26. TWENTY-TWO
  27. TWENTY-THREE
  28. TWENTY-FOUR
  29. TWENTY-FIVE
  30. TWENTY-SIX
  31. TWENTY-SEVEN
  32. TWENTY-EIGHT
  33. TWENTY-NINE
  34. THIRTY
  35. THIRTY-ONE
  36. THIRTY-TWO
  37. THIRTY-THREE
  38. THIRTY-FOUR
  39. THIRTY-FIVE
  40. THIRTY-SIX
  41. 1854
  42. PART II
  43. THIRTY-SEVEN
  44. THIRTY-EIGHT
  45. THIRTY-NINE
  46. FORTY
  47. FORTY-ONE
  48. FORTY-TWO
  49. FORTY-THREE
  50. FORTY-FOUR
  51. FORTY-FIVE
  52. FORTY-SIX
  53. FORTY-SEVEN
  54. FORTY-EIGHT
  55. FORTY-NINE
  56. FIFTY
  57. FIFTY-ONE
  58. FIFTY-TWO
  59. FIFTY-THREE
  60. FIFTY-FOUR
  61. FIFTY-FIVE
  62. FIFTY-SIX
  63. FIFTY-SEVEN
  64. FIFTY-EIGHT
  65. FIFTY-NINE
  66. SIXTY
  67. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  68. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Now there was another surprise. Helene’s eyebrows twitched upward. She had heard plenty about the unrest, the assassination attempt, both back at home and here at the palace. Was Maxi expecting his brother to be dethroned? But if the unrest was to blame, why would Maxi expect that he might rule instead?

Maxi answered her unasked question. “There’s going to be a war, and Franz doesn’t want anything to do with it. If he won’t get involved, the generals will put someone on the throne who will. You need to stay away from him; he can’t keep you safe.”

Alarm spiked across Helene’s pulse. She could feel it speed up in her neck, her chest. Bitterness gave way to something she hadn’t felt in months: real, unfettered, untainted concern. Fear for her sister.

Was Sisi in danger?

It was one thing for Helene to want to see Sisi suffer from Helene’s sharp silences, Sisi’s various faux pas at court, the consequences of her actions. But it was another thing for her to be mixed up in whatever Maxi was talking about. He clearly wanted to keep Sisi safe; Helene could feel his sincerity from across the room. But if what he was saying was true, could he protect her?

Maxi closed his eyes and took a long, slow breath.

“Just tell her how you feel,” he said to himself. “Tell her you love her.” Then, nodding as if those last words had given him courage, he pushed off the windowsill and slipped out of the room, never noticing that Helene was there.

She stayed where she was for a long time, pulse still racing. And, for the first time, she wondered if it might be a good thing that she wasn’t going to marry the emperor.

FIFTY-TWO

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EVEN ESTERHÁZY’S PINCHED EXPRESSION COULDN’T dampen Elisabeth’s spirits. She could still feel Franz’s fingertips on the skin of her neck, feel the way his body had responded to hers, pressing in as she deepened her kiss. She was almost floating as she followed Esterházy through the halls, reaching a hand out to run it along sleek wallpaper and over gilded portrait frames.

Esterházy led Elisabeth back to her rooms, throwing open the double doors and ushering her in. Elisabeth smiled at how familiar it felt, even after such a short time in the palace. This was her home now. These were her rooms: the diamond-patterned wood floor, the doors a muted blue green, a bookshelf full of new titles, and a cheerful little statue in white plaster reaching toward the heavens.

Elisabeth wanted to reach up with her.