The Noble Ladies' Orphanage

Chapter 17

"Who else is on our list?" Maria asked. Archduchess Eleanora rummaged around on the carriage seat next to her. The list had slipped beneath her silk skirt, but she pulled it out and read the remaining names. "Ursula Deines, Elizabeth Zeit, Margareta Hummel. Hm. We're running out of possibilities. Whom should we visit next?"

Maria and the Archduchess were on a mission to round up two more Hapsburg girls to join Maria at the Noble Ladies' Orphanage. So far, only one other girl had consented. Joanna Hoch had been living with her aunt and grandmother since her father had died from the plague during his last visit to Vienna. She didn't get along very well with her aunt and grandmother and was happy to find somewhere else to live. But the other girls they had visited were not interested.

"I think I remember Ursula," Maria said. "Have you met her? She's tall and has medium brown hair. It seems like maybe I met her at the theatre."

"The theater?" the Archduchess asked. "Then she must have cultured relations. Yes, let's try her." Maria and the Archduchess sat back and discussed the placement of furniture for the dining hall and soon ran out of things to say. The carriage stopped in front of a gray wooden door. The whitewashed façade of the building was faded and silent.

"The Deines residence," the coachman announced. The footman opened the carriage door and held out his hand for the Archduchess and Maria. They knocked at the door and waited, but nobody answered. Maria knocked one more time and could hear movement in the house, but no one answered.

"Oh well," the Archduchess said. She lifted her silk skirts and turned to go back to the carriage.

"Just a moment," Maria said. She knocked one more time and put her ear to the door. Then she cupped her mouth and yelled, "Hello? Ursula, are you in there?" After several seconds the movements came closer.

"Who is it?" came a tepid voice from inside.

"My name is Maria Roth," Maria said. "I believe I met you once--at the theater."

"Maria Roth? I don't remember," said the voice. "Can I help you?"

"I certainly hope so," Maria said. "Could you open the door so we can speak to you in person?"

By this time the Archduchess had returned to Maria's side and stood expectantly. The door opened, and the Archduchess gasped. A dark-haired bony girl stood before them in a dirty dress that at one time could have taken her to the theater.

Maria tried to hide her shock. "Ursula! It is you. It's so good to see you. This is the Margrave's wife, Archduchess Eleanora of Austria. Have you met her before?" The Archduchess stepped forward and kissed Ursula's cheek, but she didn't do as good a job at showing how shocked she was at Ursula's condition.

A long strand of dull brown hair hung in Ursula's blue eyes but she didn't bother to push it out of the way.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ursula," the Archduchess. She stepped away from the door slightly, and Maria knew the smell from the inside of the house was bothering her.

"Your highness," said Maria, "would you mind if I speak with Ursula alone in her house?"

"No, not at all," the Archduchess said. "I'll just wait here in the carriage."

Maria curtsied, and Ursula copied Maria and curtsied as well.

"May I come in?" Maria asked.

Ursula stood aside and let Maria walk through the door. Maria tried not to breathe as she made her way through the foyer and into the receiving room to the left. The house was dark as the shades were drawn, and dust covered most of the one table and two chairs in the far corner of the large room. Otherwise, it was empty. Three cats leapt off the sofa when Maria approached it, but there was nowhere to sit on the sofa that wasn't covered in cat hair.