6.1 A Vienna Waltz too many
It is freezing cold on this January morning in the small chapel at the manor of the von Zwangen family in ...
26.01.1835
In Lisbon, Queen Maria II of Portugal and Auguste de Beauharnais get married. The marriage does not last long, however, as the husband dies of angina on March 28th.
30.01.1835
First attempt assassination on an US President: Andrew Jackson is attacked with two pistols by an unemployed drifter in front of the Capitol, but he is not injured.
20.02.1835
Charles Darwin witnesses a serious earthquake at Valdivia in Chile.
It is freezing cold on this January morning in the small chapel at the manor of the von Zwangen family in the district of Fallersheim. Despite its abundant decoration, the oak coffin up front in the chancel, with its decoration of fir branches and candles, appears sombre. For Josephine, Simon would have hoped for more colourful decorations, but where were fresh flowers to be found in the depths of winter?
Simon sighs. He was already here with his family two days before in order to remember his dead sister and her unborn child together with the von Zwangens and to say the rosary. Today they are taking their final leave. Against his better judgement, Simon still clings to the desperate hope that this could all be a misunderstanding, a terrible dream, from which he will awaken again. But the stabbing pain in his stomach tells him something different. No – never again would there be a conversation with Josephine nor would he hear her joyful laughter … And either way, his last personal talk with his sister was so long ago – almost six years, as Simon determines with a shock.
Should they have awoken his sister as he stood at her bed with Konrad? She looked so peaceful, the way she slept there. No! In the end, her death was the result of a sequence of unfortunate circumstances. Simon could not have been able to change anything. In order to get these thoughts out of his mind, he looks around the chapel. The day before yesterday, it seemed very big to him. Today, in contrast, even with the standing room crammed full with people, it seems tiny. Only the closest relatives have been invited to the funeral, but these alone fill the available space to the last corner. Konrad’s parents suggested several times that the funeral should be held at the local church, but Konrad could under no circumstances be dissuaded from choosing the place that had marked the most beautiful day of his life.
So, Simon sits in the second row in the chapel between Thesi who is leaning her head on Christoph’s shoulder and his mother who is wringing her hands nervously on her lap. The two women are trying to keep their composure. However, they do not succeed in holding back their tears. The von Zwangen family is sitting in the row in front of them. Although Simon has only seen Konrad’s father, Count Maximilian von Zwangen, a few times before, he is certain that he is giving the people around him a feeling of safety and security. This tall white-haired man radiates sovereignty, prudence and objectivity, without seeming arrogant or to lack empathy. Already during their first meeting, the Count impressed Simon.
While the priest begins his address, directing both comforting and encouraging words to the mourners, Simon’s glance falls on the small funeral card that somebody pressed into his hands when he entered the chapel. “We mourn Countess Josephine von Zwangen …,” he reads silently to himself. Suddenly in his mind’s eye he sees himself again at the open grave of Jan ter Bruggen. Just yesterday, this other funeral had taken place. The rest of his family had not seen themselves able to take part in Jan’s funeral a day before Josephine’s burial. Thus, next to Simon, the only mourners were Corrie, her mother Benthe, and her husband, the shoemaker Bram van de Pol from Maastricht, as well as Doctor Krone.
Corrie heartily thanked Simon again for his support – and yet he was not at peace with himself. His friendship with Jan had developed over many years. Then he was away for several years, only to return at short notice to see him die. Did he overburden Jan with his extensive narratives during his spontaneous visit? Was he selfish? Did he not show enough consideration for the health of the Dutchman? And then, almost at the same time, his beloved sister was torn away from him … Josephine, who was always there … The chance for time together has run out, and the time afterwards, the time without her, has now begun irreversibly. To lose two beloved people in this way in such a short time, people who were so important despite the distance, is simply too painful.
Simon feels a huge burden on his shoulders and an inexpressible pressure on his chest. But then something else becomes clear to him: he does not want to lose a third beloved person. And this means that he has to follow Marala’s trail as soon as possible and do everything in his power to at least rescue her. Before the New Year, his parents will not allow him to travel, but directly afterwards he will commence his trip to Vienna ...
In Lisbon, Queen Maria II of Portugal and Auguste de Beauharnais get married. The marriage does not last long, however, as the husband dies of angina on March 28th.
30.01.1835
First attempt assassination on an US President: Andrew Jackson is attacked with two pistols by an unemployed drifter in front of the Capitol, but he is not injured.
20.02.1835
Charles Darwin witnesses a serious earthquake at Valdivia in Chile.
It is freezing cold on this January morning in the small chapel at the manor of the von Zwangen family in the district of Fallersheim. Despite its abundant decoration, the oak coffin up front in the chancel, with its decoration of fir branches and candles, appears sombre. For Josephine, Simon would have hoped for more colourful decorations, but where were fresh flowers to be found in the depths of winter?
Simon sighs. He was already here with his family two days before in order to remember his dead sister and her unborn child together with the von Zwangens and to say the rosary. Today they are taking their final leave. Against his better judgement, Simon still clings to the desperate hope that this could all be a misunderstanding, a terrible dream, from which he will awaken again. But the stabbing pain in his stomach tells him something different. No – never again would there be a conversation with Josephine nor would he hear her joyful laughter … And either way, his last personal talk with his sister was so long ago – almost six years, as Simon determines with a shock.
Should they have awoken his sister as he stood at her bed with Konrad? She looked so peaceful, the way she slept there. No! In the end, her death was the result of a sequence of unfortunate circumstances. Simon could not have been able to change anything. In order to get these thoughts out of his mind, he looks around the chapel. The day before yesterday, it seemed very big to him. Today, in contrast, even with the standing room crammed full with people, it seems tiny. Only the closest relatives have been invited to the funeral, but these alone fill the available space to the last corner. Konrad’s parents suggested several times that the funeral should be held at the local church, but Konrad could under no circumstances be dissuaded from choosing the place that had marked the most beautiful day of his life.
So, Simon sits in the second row in the chapel between Thesi who is leaning her head on Christoph’s shoulder and his mother who is wringing her hands nervously on her lap. The two women are trying to keep their composure. However, they do not succeed in holding back their tears. The von Zwangen family is sitting in the row in front of them. Although Simon has only seen Konrad’s father, Count Maximilian von Zwangen, a few times before, he is certain that he is giving the people around him a feeling of safety and security. This tall white-haired man radiates sovereignty, prudence and objectivity, without seeming arrogant or to lack empathy. Already during their first meeting, the Count impressed Simon.
While the priest begins his address, directing both comforting and encouraging words to the mourners, Simon’s glance falls on the small funeral card that somebody pressed into his hands when he entered the chapel. “We mourn Countess Josephine von Zwangen …,” he reads silently to himself. Suddenly in his mind’s eye he sees himself again at the open grave of Jan ter Bruggen. Just yesterday, this other funeral had taken place. The rest of his family had not seen themselves able to take part in Jan’s funeral a day before Josephine’s burial. Thus, next to Simon, the only mourners were Corrie, her mother Benthe, and her husband, the shoemaker Bram van de Pol from Maastricht, as well as Doctor Krone.
Corrie heartily thanked Simon again for his support – and yet he was not at peace with himself. His friendship with Jan had developed over many years. Then he was away for several years, only to return at short notice to see him die. Did he overburden Jan with his extensive narratives during his spontaneous visit? Was he selfish? Did he not show enough consideration for the health of the Dutchman? And then, almost at the same time, his beloved sister was torn away from him … Josephine, who was always there … The chance for time together has run out, and the time afterwards, the time without her, has now begun irreversibly. To lose two beloved people in this way in such a short time, people who were so important despite the distance, is simply too painful.
Simon feels a huge burden on his shoulders and an inexpressible pressure on his chest. But then something else becomes clear to him: he does not want to lose a third beloved person. And this means that he has to follow Marala’s trail as soon as possible and do everything in his power to at least rescue her. Before the New Year, his parents will not allow him to travel, but directly afterwards he will commence his trip to Vienna ...