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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

When he didn’t answer, she continued. “I must remind you that Elisabeth is”—Sophie searched for a word, waving her fingers through air—“unpredictable. Court requires politeness and gentility. Neither word describes the younger duchess.”

She was right, of course: Elisabeth was many things, but Franz would not describe her as demure, polite. But who was to say that those were the only things that could work at court? Just because unpredictable people had been kept out didn’t mean they couldn’t survive there—even thrive.

Sophie and Franz had had this conversation more than once since returning to Vienna. But each time his mother reiterated her objections, Franz found them easier to dismiss. The more Elisabeth’s letters piled up, the less his guilt or fear could break through the bond they’d built.

Franz’s voice was comfortable when he answered. “That’s ironic given how thrilled you were when I invited Maxi to the capital. He’s the very definition of unpredictable.”

Sophie shook her head slightly. “But he’s a man, darling. There are more ways to be a man at court than to be a woman.”

Franz hadn’t thought about it quite like that before, but she was right. The women at court fell into a few well-defined categories. He’d never realized that maybe they had to. The thought chafed at him.

“You’re saying we haven’t given women the chance to be anything else at court. So why not start now?”

Sophie redirected the conversation. “Franz, you have always been a sensible man. Even as a child, you were the smartest, the most self-controlled of your brothers. You always made the hard choices, the good choices. And you’ve grown into the exact man you needed to be to rule this empire.”

She paused. “Please, darling, see reason. There’s still time to call this off. To be sensible. Is the girl beautiful? Yes, of course. She’s charming and draws all eyes in the room. But those are not the qualities you need in an empress.”

Franz closed his eyes slowly, opened them again. It was a shame that Mother did not approve, did not want Elisabeth for a daughter-in-law. But he was a new man now, one who let his heart and mind guide him together, not separately. He would not cut one part of himself off from another.

“Mother, you’re going to have to accept this.” He stood from his chair and motioned for Sophie to leave. “The empress will be here soon.”

FORTY

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THE CARRIAGES STOPPED ON A TREE-LINED LANE, FOREST stretching around them like a rich green blanket. The slightest hint of autumn colors had come early, turning the edges of the forest lightly gold. Elisabeth could feel the brightness in her very soul, pulling her toward Vienna.