BooksBarbecue
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

She searched for something to say, and his horse appeared at the edge of her vision. “It’s a beautiful morning for riding.”

He nodded. “It helps me think clearly.”

“I know the feeling.”

And now, an unguarded smile. Elisabeth couldn’t help but notice how it softened his face, made him seem approachable. Her idea of an emperor had been all power and severity. But this man was amused by her, sweet with his horse, and smiling at her like a regular person. Like he could be anyone, and she could talk to him, and they could be—

Friends.

After a long pause and a thoughtful look, he said, “If you would excuse me.”

He inclined his head and turned back to his horse, leading it away past the fountain and into the trees. As she watched him go, something pulled at her to follow.

In her palms, the little bird regained its senses, fluttering delicate wings.

She opened her hands and let it take flight.

ELEVEN

image

FRANZ COULDN’T REMEMBER THE LAST TIME HE’D laughed like that. His face still tingled with the memory of it. The laugh had sounded small, but the relief of it was full body—an untightening, unwinding. His shoulders, so tense only a few minutes ago, had loosened. His agitated mind: now calm.

He glanced over his shoulder at the girl as he mounted his horse, her dark hair somehow a dozen shades of brown, gold, and auburn in a patch of sunlight breaking through the trees. She was watching the bird fly away: it free, she its rescuer.

He hadn’t asked her name. He knew who she was, of course. Helene’s younger sister. But if his mother had ever mentioned her name, he hadn’t been paying attention. He could kick himself now. This was a pretty girl rescuing a bird, caring more about that bird’s tiny disaster than about preparing for an official meeting with his family. Someone whose name he wanted to know, not one he was forced to memorize.

He liked her, he realized. Liked her more than anyone he’d met at court in years.

His horse made a small, impatient noise and Franz reached down to pat her on the neck. “All right, I won’t keep you from the hills.”

He turned and urged her out of the gardens, through a slice of forest, and into the rolling green fields that surrounded the villa. The landscape was draped in the last bits of fog that the rising sun had yet to burn away. He could feel his mare relax beneath him. She loved getting away from the palace, and he should really take her out more. He wondered if Helene’s sister would like to ride out later in the day. Perhaps he could invite her.