Je T'aime.

XLIII. Making Arrangements

"Liesl!" I called out, dashing through the palace, even though I knew she couldn't hear me from halfway across the complex. Somehow it felt better to say her name, to remind me of our desperate destination. "Liesl!"

Isabella was running beside me. Our shoes were clicking on the polished floors, in a kind of rhythm that was reminiscent of a galloping horse; four legs working together, not two. "Where's her apartments?" She asked, panting.

"Upstairs, all of the way on the south side."

"Jesucristo."

We dashed up the stairs, whipping around the corner and nearly crashed into a laundry maid. I pulled Isabella into me and we missed her just barely, my shoulder scraping against the wall. Twisting my waist, I got away with not swiping a prized painting of my deceased great-uncle off of the wall.

Sliding on the floor, Isabella and I careened into Liesl's door. Hurriedly I knocked in our sibling code: one two three four five, one two three. Isabella and I panted, leaning against the doorframe, as we waited for Liesl to come to the door. From within, I heard the slight, narrow sounds of Liesl's unbothered footsteps. "Come on!" I pleaded, motioning to knock again.

As I did, the door opened, revealing Liesl wearing a beaming, oblivious smile. "Well, how nice to see you two!" her brow furrowed, and she pointed to my neck. "What's with the fichu?"

I pleaded, "Nevermind that. Can we come in?"

"Of course! I'll call for some tea," I wasn't really waiting for an invitation. Isabella quickly followed me into Liesl's apartments, shutting the door behind her.

Liesl's apartments were a mess. We had only been at Schönbrunn for less than a day, but there was a rainbow of different colored fabrics scattered across every piece of furniture. Shoes, hats, gloves, fans, and jewels were also out on display. Stepping over a pile of jostled petticoats, I commented, "Damn, Liesl, it's like a grenade went off in here."

"Oh, yes," Liesl laughed nonchalantly, "I was looking for this caraco and of course I found it under everything else," she motioned to her crisp blue jacket. "Made a large mess out of it, though."

A large mess was an understatement. Stepping vicariously over the mounds of possessions, I found my way to her furniture, moving a stack of petticoats before I could sit down. "Now, Liesl-" I tried to explain, but she wasn't listening.

She picked something up from the clutter atop her tea-table. "Aren't these diamonds darling?" she sighed, holding a pair of sparkling earrings up to her ears. "A whole three hundred Thaler, could you believe it?"

Isabella and I made panicked eye contact at the cheery giggling of my sister, who gathered silks and muslins in her arms and moved them onto another pile. "We have to talk to you about something, Liesl," begged Isabella, imploring my sister to sit beside her. "Please."

Liesl collapsed into a chair, a fashion-plate figure in a flurry of azure silk and fluffy tulle trimmings. Her nearly platinum blonde curls were pulled carelessly out of her face, and as she tilted her head one escaped and cascaded down onto her shoulder. "So what did you want to talk to me about?" She rested her chin on the heel of her hand.

Sighing with relief, I finally began, "Well, it's about-"

A door opened. "Oh, yay!" Liesl clapped excitedly, "The tea!" The tea came out on fine Chinese porcelain, which Liesl immediately began arranging between the three of us. As her servant curtsied and left, she commented, "Did you know her brother's a cavalry officer? He's cute, I have to say it." she lifted a brow with implination and bit her lower lip. "One lump or two, Isabella?"