Page 7 of Jonathon, After All

“Good idea,” Jonathon said as he raised his coffee at her. “Think I’ll check out the conservatory. Should be gorgeously moody in there,” he predicted and Muriel hummed in approval.

“You’ll love that. The dowager archduchess was fond of roses and there used to be an impressive variety here.”

“Are you fond of roses?” Leo asked Jonathon.

“I am,” he replied, suddenly self-conscious as Leo studied him. Jonathon rubbed his chin against his shoulder, blushing. “They remind me of fairy tales and mythology. I noted that roses are in numerous Grimms’ tales and they’re associated with Aphrodite’s love for Adonis. They were her symbol.”

“The white rose, I believe,” Leo said and Jonathon nodded.

He opened his mouth to ask if Leo would like to explore the conservatory with him when Sabine made a vague, dismissive sound and tapped Leo’s arm as it rested on the table.

“That’s lovely. I have to leave for Vienna in an hour and won’t be back until later, but I want to show you how to log into your email here. Andreas will be emailing updates so you don’t have to call as often.”

This time, Leo didn’t hide his grimace. “It’s quicker just to call instead of trying to remember passwords and logging in and checking.”

She hummed knowingly. “Be that as it may, the rest of us would prefer to handle it in an email. It also helps to have things in writing. Unless it’s the sort of thing you don’t want in writing. In that case, handle it face-to-face when you’re sure no one’s listening,” she advised Leo with a saucy grin.

“When would I have the time for that sort of thing?” Leo returned, shaking his head. “That’s why I need an assistant,” he told Jonathon and Muriel. “She manages my emails and web things because I don’t trust technology.”

Sabine made a weary sound. “It’s true. Leo still uses a Blackberry and wants to call everyone like it’s the ‘90s. We’re about to confiscate it, thank goodness. He’ll get all new devices and private accounts as soon as he’s officially Margrave and it will make my life so much easier.”

“Smartphones are pure evil, mark my words,” he said, causing Sabine to sigh and roll her eyes.

“Seriously, Leo. Wielding axes and evil phones? Did you take something before you came downstairs?”

He slid Jonathon a flat look. “Do you know anyone who doesn’t have one of these ‘smart’ phones?” he asked and Jonathon didn’t hesitate to shake his head. “Exactly,” Leo drawled, turning his attention back to Sabine. “Nearly every person on the planet has one now and is being conditioned to ‘upgrade’ every few years without ever considering who’s making all these phones and the damage that’s being done to the planet to produce them. In a few years, we’ll believe that even children need them and that books are obsolete and a waste of space, despite the millions of outdated smartphones cluttering landfills and leaching chemicals into our soil and drinking water.” He took a deep breath, as if he needed to reset, then stabbed a berry with his fork and ate it petulantly.

A long silence followed. Both Muriel and Jonathon blinked at him and Sabine nodded faintly as if she’d heard his rant before and was more concerned with her tea. She sipped and sniffed at it, her nose wrinkling as she stared into her cup.

“I say, was this made yesterday? It’s practically tepid and…” She shuddered and held it up as a footman hurried over. “Bland. Tastes like it was made from the dregs of an old pot.”

The butler jumped and flinched but recovered quickly, striding to the tray on the sideboard. “Apologies, Frau Aigner. I will have a fresh pot prepared immediately,” he said in a low murmur, then rushed from the room.

Leo’s tongue pushed against the inside of his cheek as he watched. He shook his head at her, cutting his eyes. “This will always mystify me: you’d rather harass a butler and behave like an entitled brat. Simply admit that you can’t enjoy a cup of tea unless you know the pot was brewed just for you. You aren’t fooling anyone and the end result is the same, Sabine.”

“Perhaps,” she said with a wide, sweet smile. “And perhaps you’ll stop dragging that soapbox behind you and making us all feel guilty for having phones, of all things. You cannot save the world if no one can see or hear you and they stopped using Morse code and the telegraph a while ago, I’m afraid.”

They shared strained sarcastic laughs, rolling their eyes at each other and there was another long pause.

Jonathon cleared his throat, hoping to lighten the mood. “I don’t think I’ve ever stopped to think about how bad smartphones are for the planet and I hope we can do something to mitigate all the damage. But I think they do have the potential to bring a great amount of beauty into the world and put art into the hands of people who wouldn’t have experienced it before,” he mused quietly. “The creative mind can turn a single post into a canvas and a page into an entire gallery that anyone around the world can experience without having to leave their home. And anyone with a phone can visit virtual galleries and museums. More and more of our great institutions are using smartphones to make exhibits more accessible and that can’t be bad. Imagine a child in Kansas ‘visiting’ the Louvre,” he said with a soft laugh. “I think that’s wonderful, actually.”

“It is,” Leo said as he bowed his head, smiling thoughtfully. “I rarely consider how they can be used for good. I will the next time I find myself worrying over them.”

“Brilliant!” Sabine replied, settling the matter. “We are no longer all monsters for having phones because they can make art,” she said with a great deal of condescension.

Leo’s expression suggested that he thought she might still be a monster.

Of course, the very first thing Jonathon and Muriel discussed once they had reached the music room was the fact that Leo and Sabine definitely were not a couple.

“I don’t think he likes her much at all, the more and more we see of them,” Muriel whispered excitedly.

Jonathon cringed, shaking his head. “Neither do I.”

“Which is all the better for us,” she declared, making him laugh.

“I don’t see how.”

She smirked, her eyes twinkling. “I’d much rather see them bicker and get on each other’s nerves than witness another boring affair.

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