30 Dinner

I entered my grandfather's castle over a wooden drawbridge, passed the gate under the tower, on which there was a clock, and immediately behind was a outer bailey... I saw a few buildings there, by the appearance and smell it was easy to recognize that they were stables, a bakery and a pantry, a little further to the west a small tower with a kitchen and a well, all these were placed along a paved courtyard. Straight ahead was the castle, in order to get to it I had to cross another bridge and gate, when I got closer one of the guards stopped me, I told him who I was and that I had come at my grandfather's invitation.

He led me up a winding staircase to a room on the first floor and told me to wait there... I don't know about the rest of the castle, but the room reflected the status of the owner of the castle, there were coffers decorated with flowers on the ceiling, gilding on the walls and bas-reliefs depicting the military achievements of the Ostrogski family.

I watched scenes depicting battles and victories frozen in time on stone walls, and although I was not an art connoisseur, they had some charm. I heard footsteps behind me, then a voice that was familiar to me.

"Do you know who this is?" (Janusz Ostrogski)

"Yes, this is my great-great-grandfather Konstanty, the Battle of Orsza. Having 30,000 men he fought against 80,000 Moscow soldiers, lost only two thousand people, killed twelve thousand enemies and took another twelve thousand prisoners." (MC)

"How did you know it was the battle?" (Janusz Ostrogski)

I pointed to the place on the relief.

"A pontoon bridge made of boats, barrels and planks over which our troops passed ... there weren't many battles using the pontoon bridge." (MC)

"Welcome to Tarnów, I will tell the servants to take care of your luggage." (Janusz Ostrogski)

"No need, I came in three horses without a carriage, I don't have a lot of luggage." (MC)

"Like father, such son. Hieronim always used to say that if something cannot be taken on the horse's back, it is unnecessary... and how was your journey to Tarnów?" (Janusz Ostrogski)

"Rather calmly, I would have been in Tarnów two days ago, but in Łańcut I had a little fight with the sons of the devil Stadnicki." (MC)

"What happened?" (Janusz Ostrogski)

"We made a short stop in Łańcut so that our horses would rest. Stanisław and Zygmunt found out which inn I was in and they came to make a fuss, but everything ended well." (MC)

"To hell with them, I will write a letter to the starosts or voivodes to do something with them ..." (Janusz Ostrogski)

"There is no need, the matter ended well ... there are no more Stadnickich in the male line of the family." (MC)

"You killed them ?!" (Janusz Ostrogski)

"Yes" (MC)

Then I told my grandfather about the events in Łańcut, of course I missed some things ... I didn't lie, I just used the truth sparingly.

"My blood, my blood ..." (Janusz Ostrogski)

Then my grandfather showed me the whole castle, or almost the whole one, he told the story of each room. Who was a guest at the castle ... I gave up on 70 rooms, and apparently there were 30 more ... I said I had to rest after the trip. The servant led me to the guest room, I threw myself on the bed and began to plan my next steps... The easiest way to get my grandfather's recognition is through politics, especially if my analysis and predictions are right ... thinking about similar things, I fell asleep.

A few hours later, the servants woke me by knocking on the door, announced that dinner was ready, and that he would take me to the dining room. I washed my face and hands quickly and followed the servant ... the dining room was on the first floor, and it was one of the rooms I had seen before. It was also one of the largest rooms in the castle, probably 200 square meters, seven large windows, a large oak table in the middle at which twenty or more people could sit.

My grandfather was already sitting at the table, and a young woman, no more than thirty years old, was sitting next to him. A little further on the other side sat a fat boy who looked like five years old, a man next to him, the second oldest person at the table after my grandfather, and a woman who appeared to be the boy's mother... I didn't know anyone at this table, except my grandfather ... but I suspected who these people were. The youngest woman is probably the third wife of my grandfather, Teofila Tarło, a man, a woman and a little pig ... it's probably Aleksander Zasławski, his wife and also my aunt Eufrozyna and their stupid son Dominik.

My assumptions turned out to be correct ... the whole living family gathered at the table. I have to admit that my grandfather had a good eye, almost 70 years old, and his wife was 25 ... and they had been married for 10 years ... a lot of respect. The rest of the relatives gathered did not impress me in any way, they and I wanted the same, quick death of my grandfather and his money... so I treated it politely, but without emotion.

Dinner was conducted in a quiet atmosphere, polite and courteous exchanges of views, only after dinner the servants brought three pipes and Turkish tobacco, coffee was served and the atmosphere relaxed.

"I heard you were in Livonia and you were injured in the fighting with the Swedes. Anything serious?" (Aleksander Zasławski)

"Only a broken arm and a wound on the head, blowing up a barrel with gunpowder was not my best idea, and when I recovered, I returned to Jazłowiec." (MC)

"At the same time, the Lithuanian Field Hetman Radziwiłł was gathering troops to strike the Swedes and I heard that he had recaptured Mitawa." (Aleksander Zasławski)

"I heard about it too, but I also heard that the Swedes are besieging it again, although they are unlikely to get it." (MC)

"Why do you think so? You were there and saw the Swedish army, how do you rate them?" (Janusz Ostrogski)

"The Swedish army is dangerous and well-trained, in the future it will be a big problem for us. Why won't they get the Mitawy? They lack money, apparently Gustav Adolf has borrowed 700,000 ducats... Out of the empty one and Solomon will not pour. The army needs food, gunpowder, weapons, and the Swedes don't have that." (MC)

"So we will win the war." (Aleksander Zasławski)

"No, I think we will lose. The king will want to send troops from the south to Livonia, apparently he even had talks with the King of Spain so that Spanish ships would transfer our troops to Sweden ... but before this happens, Radziwiłł will sign a truce with Gustaw Adolf, we will relinquish part of Livonia. and the Swedes will slowly start to rebuild their strength ... and then another war. Of course, it's just a theory." (MC)

"You know a lot about Swedes ..." (Janusz Ostrogski)

"I took soldiers and officers captive, and then they told me what I wanted to know." (MC)

"You asked them and it never occurred to you that they might be lying?" (Aleksander Zesławski)

My uncle's questions were apparently normal, but they had little pins in them as well, as if he was looking for some lie or something that could be used to my disadvantage, something to put me in a worse light.

"But I didn't ask them questions, I just listened." (MC)

Grandpa almost did not participate in the conversation, sometimes he asked a question, but he listened and watched more, every now and then releasing smoke from the pipe.