166 Normal Life

In such situations, it never hurts to ask for advice, so I decided to present the problem to Ossoliński, of course not telling him anything about the plans for Bohemia... to say he was surprised is an understatement and although he did not know the intentions of King Charles, he suspected that something was behind this proposal, but not being sure what, he stated that Princess Elisabeth was a good candidate for a wife.

Now all I have to do is convince the King of England to my offer... the next day I went back to the Queen's House for another private audience.

We walked in the garden, the King showed me his private oranger, which contained many exotic plants brought from the colony... I was not a botanist by passion, the only plants that interested me were hops and tobacco.

"Your Majesty, what I have said is my final offer, I will not allow myself or anyone else to expose my country to a senseless war that will not bring us any good." (MC)

I made my proposal to the King of England, but I could read on his face that he was hoping for something more.

"This is less than I expected... weapons, food, gold and 5,000 light cavalry..." (King Charles)

"The emperor is weakened, he lost to the Ottomans in the Balkans, he lost to Sweden and the Protestant electors in the north. His ally, the Kingdom of Spain is at war with the Kingdom of France. The Papal State, or rather Urban VIII, does not like the Habsburgs and supports France discreetly... so my proposal is sufficient." (MC)

"Prince, I understand your position, but don't you think you are asking too much in return?" (King Charles)

"No, Your Majesty needs my help, not the other way around... a 10-year trade treaty between our countries, which you will also benefit from. Levant Company and trade with the Ottoman Empire, the past has shown that you are publicly saying one thing and secretly doing the opposite, so we have to protect ourselves... and twenty galleons or other large ships, overall, they don't matter much to you... not with your mighty fleet. Of course that's all, it doesn't matter if your niece doesn't agree to the wedding." (MC)

"Prince, can you guarantee that my nephew will become King of Bohemia?" (King Charles)

"I can guarantee that he will conquer Prague and regain the throne... but whether he will keep it depends only on him. If he gains the support of the civilian population, especially the Protestant, who is persecuted by the Emperor, he has a good chance, but at the same time he cannot alienate Catholics." (MC)

In fact, it won't live more than two months.

"Well, I will write a letter to my sister and in two weeks at the latest I will have a reply from her. Until then, please remain our guest at Hampton Court, I hope the area is to your liking, Prince." (King Charles)

Though Hampton Court was a beautiful palace, the area around it was ... boring. I said goodbye to the king and returned to our temporary residence.

To break our boredom, Jerzy and I decided to organize a few banquets for the English nobility as ambassadors, and Lady Clifford, who knew who to invite, helped us using her contacts... and it wasn't a good idea.

During one of the banquets, Ossolinski, being very relaxed, began to boast that he had never met someone stronger than me... Being in the same good mood as my companion, I started to show off my strength... someone handed me a horseshoe, I broke it. Someone else handed me a metal candlestick and I broke it too. With time, the guests began to demand something more spectacular, Ossoliński thought that I should try to lift the horse... to which I agreed.

Rotmistrz Czarniecki brought one horse from the stables and led him to the banquet hall, an animal not used to such places started to be agitated, but only when I tried to pick it up, the horse panicked, overturned tables, destroyed one sculpture and a few other things, and then he ran out through the glass window. Fortunately, he did not trample anyone.

The next day, according to the information from the majordomo, the damage was estimated at three thousand ducats... which I had to cover from my own pocket. We will also probably be the last diplomatic mission allowed to stay at Hampton Court.

"I didn't have to be so ashamed for a long time... alcohol only serves those who have a strong head. Wilkomir if you can't, then don't drink, and who came up with the idea to lift a horse?" (Jerzy Ossoliński)

"You and you persuaded me to do this, and now it's my fault?" (MC)

"Me? I don't remember... but you didn't have to listen to me." (Jerzy Ossoliński)

This is how it happens in life that success has many fathers, and failure is an orphan.

I decided to spend the following days decently, no alcohol and no women. I took Katarzyna and Galina for walks around the area, we even went hunting once. I also took them to London so that they could see with their own eyes what life in a big city is like, we visited the theater and although neither Katarzyna nor Galina knew the language, they liked the show... Both of them were also interested in another place where, for a small fee, you could see slaves from Africa and America in their tribal costumes.

"Father, do you know who they are?" (Katarzyna)

"Slaves, the darker one is from Africa, but I don't know exactly which tribe. The other one is from America... but what the Englishman says doesn't make much sense." (MC)

"What did he say?" (Katarzyna)

"He contradicts himself, first claiming that although they resemble humans, they are closer to animals and have no soul, but then said that the money he earns is going to save their pagan souls... He just babbles pointlessly, to earn more." (MC)

"Father, and what do you think, are they people or animals?" (Katarzyna)

"They are people, but they were so weak that they let themselves be enslaved... but this has nothing to do with their different appearance. If you do not have the strength to defend your freedom, no matter if white, black or yellow, you will always be someone else's slave." (MC)