A garden interlude

An interlude in the gardens of Falkensteinburg…

With the Nabstrian Army currently disengaged from the enemy and back to its barracks to be re-equipped, there is a brief period of rest for the Burggrave and his commanding general, von Rumpfler.

After an elegant lunch, the Burggrave strolls in the gardens with his Burggravina…

'Well, I do declare, sir, that you have played with your soldiers long enough recently.  I do hope that you will be staying at home and attending to the affairs of the Burggrave for a while.'

'Yes, dear.'

'And really, my dear, this mania you seem to have for imitating the dress and habits of the King of Prussia is really too much.'

'Yes, dear.'

'The fact that you have uniformed your soldiers in the Prussian style is bad enough – can’t you come up with anything original yourself, dear?'

'Well, I…'

'And really, the request of the Chancellor that I must reduce my household once again due to the expense of the wars is really beyond the pale – where does all the money go? It’s not as if I am overly extravagant – six pastry chefs is an absolute minimum and one must maintain the status and prestige of the Burggrave however the war might be going….Indeed I often think, dear, that you have grown stubborn – can you not just make peace and make friends again with our neighbours?  I know that Chlodwig is simply dreadful and that Rupprecht is infuriating but you know, we did all manage to get along before the war, didn’t we, dear?'  

'I suppose so, dear…'

'And now I hear that King Wilhelm is under our roof and you haven’t presented me to the King once – it’s really too much to bear!'

'Yes, dear…'