“I can’t influence her; I can only analyze her,” William Mina said seriously. “She’s a thorough conservative. Her biggest compromise was pretending to shake hands with the Democratic Party to ascend the throne. Schneider understands this, which is why he chose me—and that’s brought me trouble. I’ll settle the score with him later, but I’m prepared.”
“What preparation?” Karns asked.
At that moment, Angela entered, looking confused. “Willy, there’s a gentleman downstairs who asked me to give you this card.”
William Mina smiled triumphantly at Karns and took the card.
“Who is it?” Karns asked.
“The Grand Duke of Luxembourg.” William Mina opened the wardrobe and started selecting clothes. “He wants to invite me to dinner at the Pearl Restaurant in the Imperial Tower.”
“Are you joking?” Karns shouted. “That fat, boring Grand Duke of Luxembourg.”
“Don’t be like that, Karns. He’s really nice.”
“Yes,” Angela said. “He’s a gentleman, not arrogant at all. And he’s not that fat.”
“He’s as fat as the mayonnaise doctor in advertisements.”
“Don’t be so harsh, Karns,” Angela said. “You look muscular and handsome now, but when you’re over forty, you’ll be bald and fat. You have no idea when the goddess of beauty will lose her favor.”
“That’s still twenty years away.” Karns stood up angrily. “Willy, you don’t need to compromise yourself. Is this what Hans Borg taught you?”
“Don’t stand there and point fingers at me!” William Mina had changed into a dress and walked out of the bathroom. “I’ve been used as a political bargaining chip, pushed around without freedom. And Owen is not by my side.”
She grabbed her handbag and rushed out, slamming the door. She rarely got this angry, leaving Karns and Angela silent for a while.
“You overreacted, Karns,” Angela said softly. “You shouldn’t have mentioned Hans Borg.”
Karns sat on the floor, holding his head.
Angela continued, “And she’s right. None of us can help her; only the Grand Duke can.”
“Do you want her to marry that mediocre man?”
“Of course not. I think her best marriage prospect is Selleberg,” Angela said. “But if you want her to marry you, sitting here complaining won’t help.”
