“What wedding?” the astronomer asked.

“The wedding!” she hissed. “Wilhelmina’s marrying the Count Palatine of Zweibrücken next month, you don’t know that? We’re not really supposed to talk about it in front of Margaretha though, if we can help it.” She whispered: “I’m on flower-petal duty!”

And the astronomer said: “When, if I may ask, did Prince Heinrich pass away, was this all very recently?”

And Katharina said: “Oh, no, it was months ago, months and months and months and months ago!”

And he said: “And how, if I may ask, did Prince Heinrich pass away?”