Grantville – November 1635
Bernard Brenner was frowning. He was standing on the front porch of the home his family shared with the Pridmores. The late afternoon sun turned the front yard a deep golden brown, and two young people were at the gate, hand in hand. He couldn't keep silent any longer. "Hanna, it's time for you to help your mother with dinner. Herr Pridmore and his wife will be home soon."
Even that didn't break the two young people apart. Bernard could see his daughter look up into the eyes of Ulrich, the young man with her. He could see her adoring glance, and knew that his troubles were even more serious than he had believed.
Another moment of Hanna and Ulrich murmuring to each other, and Bernard cleared his throat more loudly than necessary. Hanna threw a worried glance at her father, then dropped Ulrich's hand, and hurried past Bernard, and into the house without a word.
Bernard looked at Ulrich for a moment. "Young man, I think it's time you and I had a talk."
Ulrich's face betrayed his worry. Silently he followed Bernard, sat when directed, and waited.
"I have noticed lately that when Hanna attends group activities, these are the same activities you choose to attend. And I have noticed that you walk her home as often as four or five days a week. I need to know your intentions, and your capability to take care of my daughter."
Ulrich gulped. "Herr Brenner, I love your daughter. She is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. I have been released from the Army, and I have been working as an apprentice in Nat Davis' shop for a couple of months now. They all think I have good prospects down there. And right now, machinists are in demand all over Europe. When I finish my training, I'll have more opportunities than you can imagine."
"You have no idea what I can imagine. As a matter of fact, right now I'm imagining a lot of things that are not beneficial to your well-being. Hanna is only just turned nineteen, and I don't want you interfering with her future. Neither of you is old enough, yet, to be thinking of marriage."
Ulrich had nothing to say to this statement. He just frowned miserably at the floor.
After a moment of silence, Bernard took pity on the young man, and continued in a more friendly voice. "I have an idea that may get you ahead faster than you think. You know that Herr Pridmore is preparing to take his airship to Denmark. And there is nobody besides Herr Pridmore that knows more about the airship than you."
Ulrich looked up from the floor, and his eyes were alight with possibilities. Still he said nothing, letting Bernard continue.
"I think it would be wise for you to accompany Herr Pridmore to Copenhagen. You can use the money he'll pay for driver and assistant. I know he'll need one, and hasn't hired anyone else yet. What do you think?"
Ulrich was silent no longer. He sprang to his feet, and shoved his hand at Herr Brenner. "Oh, sir. I think this is the best of all possibilities. I was speaking with Herr Lawler this morning, and he said his friend Arie De Vries is there already. Maybe he can pick up my apprenticeship, and I can continue to learn everything I can about airships. I will be able to afford a home and family so much quicker this way."
Bernard stood and shook Ulrich's hand, and before he could say another word, the young man had vacated the porch. Well, at least he will be far away from Hanna. Perhaps he will meet someone else.
* * *
Marlon hadn't been this busy since the days just before the first flight of the Upwind. He wanted to make sure he had whatever he might need, so he was sorting his Hot Air Enthusiast magazines and any technical papers needed to describe how the Upwind worked.
Just now, though, he was not sorting or packing. He was reading. He had come across one of the books that Reva had given him for Christmas many years ago. It was a coffee table book with photographs of hot air balloons and airships. He always enjoyed it, but it was still almost like new with the original dust cover.
He was about to return the book to the bookshelf of his den, when he had a thought. This book certainly contained more information than any encyclopedia he'd ever seen. So he packed it in his luggage on the off chance that he needed to present anything at court. The letter didn't mention the king, but Marlon liked to be prepared.
* * *
Reva was at her best organizing the trip. Right now she stood in the kitchen, surrounded by everything she thought she needed. "Hanna, I can't think of anything else I could need for the couple of months we'll be there."
Agnes put her hands on her hips. "No, Frau Pridmore, but what about Christmas? Next week on the calendar, we were supposed to start baking. What do we do now?"
"Well, it's late enough in the year, that I won't be here for the holiday. I'll send gifts home from Copenhagen, and depend on you to make what's needed. I've looked over my reserves, and I'm practically out of chocolate. I don't know what I'll do for that, but I'll worry about it later. You have the recipes we used last Christmas. Just be sure that my brother's kids get something special."
Agnes turned toward the sink, and surreptitiously dabbed her eyes. They had been living in the same house for almost four years, and this sudden departure was a little hard for her to take.
Hanna saw her mother trying to get herself under control, and began to cry as well. "Oh, Frau Pridmore. I will miss you so much."
"Well, for heaven's sake." Reva pulled a hanky out of her pocket, and sniffled for a moment. "You two are going to make me cry too. It's not like I'll be gone forever. We're just going to Copenhagen for a little while. We'll be back."
Agnes took a deep breath, and turned back from the sink. "Of course you will. It's not like there are marauding armies roaming the countryside. It's perfectly safe. And you will be able to write letters, won't you?"
"Of course I'll write. And I look forward to hearing from you as well."
Finally, once they were in control again, Reva said, "We better get all this out on the porch so that Ulrich can load it into the wagon. I just hope there's room for us to sleep. I might have packed a little more heavily than I should have."
* * *
Coleman looked worried. "Now Marlon, make sure that you have all the papers in order. Did you get another formal doublet made? We don't know how many high-power meetings you'll have to attend. We don't want them to think we're a bunch of hillbillies out here."
Marlon stifled a grin. Coleman was the kind of boss that liked to worry about the details. Marlon's briefcase included a large packet containing the bank's proposals and positions. The inner envelope had stamps and ribbons galore.
Coleman continued. "You know what we need. Don't let them pull a fast one on us. You have the bank's power of attorney. And if you need it, get on the radio and talk to me. If we have to, I'll pull the Federal Reserve card out of our hat."
Marlon offered his hand to his friend. "You got it, Coleman. I'll get the best deal we can."