Constantinople. Elisabeth’s heart leaned into the idea. What would it be like to be able to pick up and leave like that, go wherever you wished? Constantinople, Geneva, Greece, Hungary. The places he’d told her about in his letters. The cage of court hadn’t kept Maxi in. Perhaps he was the one who could tell her how to be here, be with Franz, and yet escape court’s confines.

Elisabeth reached out and took the cigarette, let him light it for her.

“How do you do it?” she asked, watching the end of the cigarette smolder into life.

“Do what?” He put out the match.

“Travel. Live. Joke. Retain your sense of self here at court. Free all these people from their courtly confines for a night. Every time I think I know you, you turn out to be something different. Jokester in Bad Ischl. Traveler in your letters. Something even more expansive here. Please, tell me your secrets.”

He shrugged. “I’m but a lowly second son. Being the family mascot doesn’t come with as many expectations.”

She frowned. Was that the answer, then? Did position dictate everything? Had she chosen hers without understanding what it meant—just like Mother said?

“I’m glad you came tonight. I knew you would.” Maxi smiled, a real smile again, none of the performative arrogance he put on during court proceedings.

“Will Franz come later?” she asked. She needed to see him more than ever.

Maxi raised an eyebrow and shrugged dramatically. “Apparently he has something better to do. And on the eve of his own wedding!”

Her disappointment must have shown on her face because Maxi handed her his untouched Champagne. Feeling reckless, she downed it all at once. If she couldn’t find Franz and couldn’t get any useful answers out of Maxi, at least she could try to relax, enjoy the one not-stuffy thing about court. Maxi looked impressed and snapped his fingers at a servant to bring them two more flutes.

Elisabeth took a long, slow drag on her cigarette and let it wash over her: the room, the party, the people, the alcohol, the nicotine. Her body settled into itself, a skin-deep sigh of relief—though she could tell the panic was only temporarily calmed. A glass of bubbles didn’t solve what had happened today. It didn’t solve the problem of a court that was already suffocating her.

She downed another glass.

“Do you know where he is?” she asked after a beat.

Irritation flickered across Maxi’s face, then disappeared behind good humor once again “Franz? He mentioned some latenight meeting. Trying to be a man of mystery, but I doubt it’s anything interesting. Probably has to go watch Croatia and Hungary insult each other all night. You’d be shocked at how boring even fighting is when it’s political.”