Page 14 of Jonathon, After All

“Mark my words: that man is not real.”

Jonathon laughed, shaking his head. “What are you talking about? Of course, he’s real.”

“Ha!” She stabbed at the gravel with her cane. “That man is not a real butler. I could tell he was a fraud the moment he opened the door before he even opened his mouth.”

“How can someone be a fake butler? He is literally employed as a butler, Muriel.”

She pulled a face and mumbled a prayer for patience. “He may currently hold the position, but I assure you it is the first time he has ever been employed as such. You or von Hessen wouldn’t notice, but Sabine surely must have. She’s far too concerned with the future Margrave to give it any thought, though.”

“What is there to notice and why wouldn’t von Hessen see it if Sabine does?” Jonathon asked and Muriel’s eyes and smile took on a wicked gleam as she hugged his arm, pulling him closer. Jonathon leaned in, eager to learn more about the dashing margrave and his enigmatic assistant. “Tell me,” he whispered impatiently.

“Her family is old and their money is even older. They’ve been in European trade and shipping and have held a great deal of influence here since this country was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Sabine was raised in houses like this and has spent her whole life around servants.”

“Wow.” Jonathon nodded, impressed. “I see why she was chosen to be von Hessen’s assistant.”

That got a snort out of Muriel. “I dare say she was chosen by the Foundation to be a great deal more, but we know von Hessen isn’t interested.”

“No, he isn’t,” Jonathon agreed, biting down on a grin.

She hummed suggestively. “It’s a shame you aren’t a touch older, Jonathon. I’ve heard the Margrave is a bisexual.”

Jonathon huffed dismissively, hoping she wouldn’t notice him blushing. “I doubt I’m von Hessen’s type. He wasn’t raised in houses like this with servants?” He was eager to change the subject and learn more. “I thought the von Hessens were an even older and wealthier family.”

Muriel gave him a pointed look. “They are, but this particular von Hessen was raised primarily in the country and comes from rather…modest stock.”

“What do you mean?” Jonathon whispered excitedly.

“There was a falling out.” She cleared her throat suggestively. “Something to do with Leopold’s father. He married an Italian and her family was rather common. From Umbria, if I remember correctly. That might have been the reason…” Her eyes narrowed as she stared past the fountain, then shrugged. “It was ages ago, but they weren’t heard from or seen in society until Max von Hessen chose Leopold to be his successor.”

“So the new Margrave wouldn’t have been raised with servants. He acts like he’s used to being in command,” Jonathon noted and she hummed in agreement.

“I suspect it’s because he’s been the head of that family for some time now, and I heard he was always a quiet, serious child. The only one of the bunch, it seems. The youngest is said to be a hell-raiser and it sounds like the other two are making a name for themselves.”

“How unfortunate for Mr. von Hessen,” Jonathon murmured as he recalled the Margrave’s concerns about his youngest brother, but Muriel made a pfft! sound and waved it off.

“Everything’s coming up roses for the von Hessens these days. Max got his divorce and he’s going off to be an American, and Leo and his brothers will be the new Princes of Hessen. I’m rather pleased with how it’s turned out and I hope the old margraves are rolling over in their…” Her eyes flared behind her glasses as she beamed at him. “Graves,” she whispered, causing Jonathon to erupt in a snorting giggle.

“That’s awful,” he scolded. “I thought the late Margrave was a friend of yours.”

“God, what a miserable man,” Muriel muttered. “But most of the people we knew were miserable. Our fathers were in business together and Daddy wanted me to be an archduchess, but von Hessen laughed at him because we were American and British. I knew Maximilian’s mother—we went to school together and I was invited to the wedding. She was miserable too,” she added with a sad sigh.

“Oh. Why?” That surprised Jonathon. He couldn’t imagine being miserable about being an archduchess, especially if you were married to a man like Maximilian or Leopold von Hessen.

Muriel shook her head. “The archduchesses usually are. I can’t tell you if it’s the House of Hessen—if that line is cursed—or if the men make terrible husbands and fathers, or if it’s the Foundation.”

“What is the Foundation?” Jonathon asked. “I’ve heard them mention it a hundred times,” he said, hitching his chin at the house.

Muriel let out another heavier sigh. “There is the House of Hessen family, and there is the Foundation of the House of Hessen. Maximilian, his archduchess, his daughters, Leopold, and his three brothers are all that survive of the family and are only margraves in name. Austria did away with its monarchy before the wars and the von Hessens went to America in protest of the Nazis. The Foundation was established when they returned and oversees and controls nearly everythingthese days and Maximilian and Leopold are merely the mascots.”

“So much for the fairy tale,” Jonathon said sadly but Muriel scoffed.

“There are far worse things than being an honorary prince,” she replied, waving her cane around them. “This is Max’s idea of a starter castle. The new Margrave will inherit several properties and a fortune after the assumption ceremony. Not that he was a pauper before. You know how it is when nobles are poor. They simply stop traveling and hosting parties and they don’t pay their bills until someone else dies and bails them out.”

“Or gets a divorce,” Jonathon observed.

“Indeed. Things might have been dire in Leopold’s case. He had three brothers to support and put through school with whatever his parents left him,” she conceded, then gave Jonathon a nudge. “He’s been to university.”

“Leopold? I believe he went to Oxford and has a DPhil, even,” he recalled and she gasped, exasperated.

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