Anne-Christine ran down the stairs to the front door. She
threw it open and ran to meet Lisabeth, who had already ridden
down a good part of the entrance drive.
"Lisabeth!" she shouted. "You're back!"
Lisabeth jumped elegantly from her horse and threw herself
into Anne-Christine's arms. Before Anne-Christine could take
her inside, Lisabeth started unhooking her saddlebag.
"Where have you been?" asked Anne-Christine.
"I'll tell you in a minute," said Lisabeth, less
enthusiastically. "You'd better help me with this heavy
bag."
"Do you have all those Hun knives in there?" Anne-
Christine asked after she had felt the weight.
"Yes, well, all the knives we've dug up."
Together they carried in the spoils. Then Lisabeth dropped
into the first chair she saw.
"My goodness," she said. "At last I'm here again."
"Are you very tired?" Anne-Christine wanted to know.
"Well it could be worse, but a brief pause won't do me any
harm."
"I'll leave you alone for a while and prepare you
something you'll like, something tasteful," said Anne-
Christine, going to the kitchen.
Lisabeth was more relaxed when Anne returned with a mug of
hot cocoa. She was already laying the knives on the table.
"I understood that you planned going to Upper Mongolia
with Gosseling," said Anne-Christine.
"That's correct", answered Lisabeth. "But things developed
in a different way. Do you like them?"
Anne-Christine looked at the knives. For her, they weren't
examples of unprecedented craftmanship but she could
understand that Lisabeth thought otherwise. For that reason,
she said:
"Certainly, we should find a show-case for them."
Lisabeth was delighted.
"You would really like that?" she asked, while Anne-
Christine pointed at a show-case which had been unused since
her father had removed all its valuables.
"Shall we place them over there?" Lisabeth wanted to
know.
"Only if you agree," laughed Anne-Christine. "But please
do tell me what happened. I've been here all alone for several
days".
"There's not much to tell, actually", Lisabeth confessed.
"You know at last that I stole the knives, for you certainly
couldn't look into my closed saddlebag earlier. The following
day, I went back to the inn, where Gosseling told me that you
had left on your own to see the King."
"That's right", Anne-Christine said. "And I've got the
Crystal Sphere. But I wouldn't be here if they had aimed just
a bit lower. However, please do continue."
Lisabeth was tired now.
"Where was I, oh yes, the inn. Well, both Gosseling and I
came up with the idea of going to Upper-Mongolia. In fact, we
planned to leave that very same day. Perhaps we were in too
much of a hurry, but anyway, we left very soon, after he had
insisted on writing you a letter, to thank you for everything.
I hope you received that letter.
Before I knew, we were on our way together. We travelled
towards the east all day long. At the end of the day, we found
ourselves an inn, where Gosseling complained about the pain
caused by his saddle. And we went to bed together!" Lisabeth
said with a broad smile.
"But he didn't touch you", Anne-Christine ventured.
"Because of the pain", Lisabeth had to admit. "But he is
gentle. In bed, he told me secrets, but I do not know if I'm
allowed to pass them on to you".
"You'd better do so", Anne-Christine said. "For I am wild
about secrets."
"Well, then", Lisabeth said conspiratorially. "He comes
from another era. He masters the art of travel through time
and space by means of concentrated thoughts. He just came back
from a future century to know more about the Muscovite
Glassware. In his era, he possesses it.
But he also came for something quite different: he thought
it was nonsense to make the voyage to Upper-Mongolia on
horseback. Instead, he proposed travelling by concentration.
He believed he could teach me how to do it, but I didn't dare
to try. So we agreed that I should travel alone to Upper-
Mongolia while he went by his own method".
"But you haven't been that far, for that journey takes
weeks or even months," Anne-Christine replied in
astonishment.
"No, I rode alone for just one day, then disliked the
whole idea and decided to return to you. And now I'm here!"
she said with a sigh of relief.
"And what about Gosseling?" Anne-Christine wondered. "That
poor soul is still waiting for you in Upper-Mongolia, all
alone".
"Yeah, that's what worries me," Lisabeth said, conscious
of her guilt.
"We'll come up with something," was Anne-Christine's
opinion, "First, we'll have this show-case arranged."
This time, Anne-Christine was the first to awake. She
looked at Lisabeth as the still feeble sunbeams aroused her
with a little jolt.
"Morning, Lisa," she teased her. "Are you awake?"
"Oh, yeah", Lisabeth mumbled, "And I've been awake a long
time." She then turned over.
"You have to get up, for I have a plan," said Anne-
Christine.
"Do I really have to, at this time of the day?" Lisabeth
wanted to know. But Anne-Christine was relentless and, after a
short while, the two friends were preparing breakfast
together.
"We'll go to Gosseling's place", Anne-Christine proposed.
"I'm convinced that we'll find some sort of clue there.
Perhaps he is there himself or perhaps we'll find a way to
persuade him to return from Upper-Mongolia. You can't tell
what we'll find there."
Lisabeth hesitated: "And what if he is waiting for me in
Upper-Mongolia? We'll be facing a firmly closed door."
"Then we can become a couple of burglars. If that's the
way we can call him back, he certainly won't mind. He might
even be grateful," was Anne-Christine's opinion. "And if we
leave right now, we can be there by late tonight".
Late that night the two girls stood in front of
Gosseling's little house, in total darkness. They rang the
doorbell, but there was no answer.
"Then we have to break in", Anne-Christine decided as she
pushed a horseshoe scraper between the window and its frame.
She moved the scraper up and down and the window slowly slid
open, enabling Lisabeth to get her fingers through. Pushing
hard together, the two girls slid the window right up and then
climbed inside, one after the other.
"Close the window", said Anne-Christine. "Someone might
pass by."
"That's nonsense, we've seen nobody for half an hour,"
Lisabeth replied, but nevertheless she lowered the window.
Anne-Christine closed the heavy curtains and lit a simple
candle which she found on the desk.
"Be quiet", said Lisabeth. "I think I hear a humming
noise."
Anne-Christine held her breath.
"You're right. It comes from the other room!" she
whispered. They tiptoed towards the noise. The door was ajar
and Anne-Christine carefully put her head inside.
"There's some sort of machinery, completely wired up," she
said.
This description made Lisabeth curious.
"Let me see!" she said pushing Anne-Christine aside.
"It keeps on turning", she mused. "But that is impossible,
isn't it? Things cannot spin forever. It must stop somehow,
mustn't it?"
"Maybe it is something from another century," Anne-
Christine thought. She opened the door wider and stepped into
the room.
"It lookes like copper," she said, carefully touching one
of the many wires which criss-crossed the room. But then she
suddendy pulled back her hand.
"It gave me a nasty shock," she said. "That doesn't seem
right".
"Do you want to leave?" Lisabeth asked.
"No, I didn't come all this way for nothing!" Anne-
Christine said firmly. "Perhaps we can find something in the
drawer of that desk."
They went to the desk.
"Now, this is most interesting!" said Anne-Christine,
reading some newspaper cuttings. One headline was "Opening of
the Crystal Palace" and both the girls read this article with
close attention.
"That's where I should be!" Anne-Christine exclaimed.
"The Grand Duke will attend the opening of this first
exhibition where the whole world is welcome. He'll display a
copy of the Muscovite Glassware and your painting will be
there too", Lisabeth read aloud, sounding surprised.
"Yes, for the real Glassware is in my hands", Anne-
Christine laughed.
"Have you ever been to London?" Lisabeth asked.
"No, but there's always a first time," replied Anne-
Christine, who had found another article.
"Do you see that?" she called to Lisabeth. Neither of them
could believe their eyes.
"Crystal Palace burnt down after 85 years," she read. "How
is that possible? It's still under construction!" she wondered
out loud.
"Look at the date!" said Anne-Christine, "This paper is
dated 1936!"
"So he really can travel through time!" Lisabeth had to
conclude.
They read both articles more than once before they put
them back where they had found them. Anne-Christine then
pulled out a few drawers and very excited, went through the
papers she found.
Lisabeth had found herself a chair. Fatigue began to take
its toll. Anne-Christine didn't spend much more time looking
at papers but said:
"I know enough by now, shall we go?"
"With pleasure", said Lisabeth fighting against sleep.
A few days later, Anne-Christine was preparing her journey
to London to attend the opening of the Crystal Palace. She
also hoped to meet the Grand Duke of Transsyldavia there.
Because he had displayed the painting, she did not think that
he had discovered the theft of the Glasswork already, or, if
he had, wouldn't contribute the theft to her, for, when she
had left the treasure room, she was not wearing clothes so she
had not been able to hide the Glasswork on her.
"With his help, perhaps I can attend the opening," she
said to herself.
Anne-Christine was relieved that Lisabeth had already
proposed to guard the Castle of Weezebeecke for, since her
last voyage to France, Anne-Christine considered Lisabeth an
uncertain factor in relation to her own plans.
The voyage to London was uneventful and Anne-Christine had
found a suite in a big hotel, not far from Hyde Park. From her
window, she could see the entire Palace. It was made of dozens
of columns, with innumerable glass panes between them. One
could look right through the vast building.
The opening of the Crystal Palace was due the next morning
and the whole city seemed to be looking forward to that
exciting moment.
After various investigations, Anne-Christine had
discovered that the Grand Duke of Transsyldavia was staying at
another hotel on the other side of the park.
"This must be the hotel", she thought as she stood in
front of the building bearing the right name. Once inside, she
went to the reception and requested for an audience, not with
the Grand Duke himself but with his Adjutant who was delighted
to meet her.
"Lady Anne-Christine, what a pleasant surprise!" he
exclaimed as he met her in the lounge.
"I hope I am not disturbing you?" Anne-Christine said.
"By no means. You are the heroine of all Transsyldavians
and how can someone like that disturb anyone?" he asked.
"You are as charming as ever," said Anne-Christine. "I'll
be straightforward, my dear Adjutant. I came to London for the
opening of the Palace but I'm not invited. Being Lady van den
Weezenbeecke is not nearly enough. One has to be a baroness or
a queen at least."
"That's right", the Adjutant said. "So you are thinking of
attending the opening, together with the Grand Duke?"
"Exactly," Anne-Christine answered.
"I'll have to negotiate with his Majesty on that", the
Adjutant said. "But it doesn't seem impossible to me. The
Grand Duke is very fond of you, since you visited him. He
spoke of you to me on more than one occasion."
"The pleasure of being with the Grand Duke was also mine"
Anne-Christine lied.
"I'll tell you what: you can follow me upstairs. I think
we may disturb his Majesty right away."
The Adjutant showed her the way to the floor that was
rented by the Grand Duke. They stopped at one of the most
impressive doors, where they entered after a brisk knock.
"I have a pleasant surprise for you, Sire", the Adjutant
said to the the sovereign who was writing a letter, his back
to the new arrivals.
He slowly turned around and Anne-Christine saw his face light
up when he saw who was standing in front of him. He couldn't
find words at first, but stood up and offered his hand to
Anne-Christine, who took it between hers as if they were
lovers.
Anne-Christine started the conversation:
"I came here to ask you a favour, Sire," she said, looking
him straight in the eyes.
The Grand Duke had meanwhile recovered his casual
attitude.
"And what do I gain from this?" he asked her.
Anne-Christine looked to the Adjutant, who thought it
better to leave the room. Once he had left, Anne-Christine
went on:
"I hope to attend the opening of the Crystal Palace with
you but, to be honest, I can't offer you very much in return.
It was a real pleasure sleeping with you, but today I have my
monthly period and I am not feeling very well. I hope you'll
understand that."
The sovereign had to think about that. Normally he didn't
care much whether women felt ill or not.
"I tell you what?" he suggested. "Let's have dinner
tonight. Then it'll be all right with me. Very often my
thoughts go back to the wonderful dinner we had together in
Transsyldavia. Never in my life have I known a night as
delicious as that night with you! I'll arrange a carriage for
you this evening", he contnued. "Give your address to my
Adjutant".
The then sovereign turned away and went back to work
without bidding goodbye.
This dinner cost Anne-Christine yet another spoiled dress,
but the evening had satisfied her.
"It could have turned out worse", she thought as she
filled the bath at her hotel to wash the remains of food off
her body. And when she climbed into bed, without any Grand
Duke to keep her company, she already looked forward to the
next day.
After a deep, long sleep, she ate a light breakfast. The
Grand Duke was waiting for her outside the hotel in his
carriage.
"You look marvellous", said the sovereign, when Anne-
Christine entered, helped by one of the coachmen she knew so
well. Together, they were driven a short distance to the
Palace, where all the guests were welcomed by the British
Queen and the Prince.
The ceremony began soon after the Queen had sat on her
throne, set on a stage. Strangely, all the other guests had to
stand and they formed the most peculiar company that Anne-
Christine had ever seen. These distinguished persons had come
from all over the world to represent their country on this
most international exhibition ever held. She saw Arabic sheiks
and Indian and Pakistani sovereigns. She herself was standing
between the Grand Duke of Transsyldavia and a Chinaman in a
silk coat, with dragons embroidered on the front and the
back.
The Queen's words of welcome didn't take long. She spoke
mainly about the efforts of her husband, who was the organiser
of this event. She seemed to love him intensely and, when
concluding her speech, called for an applause for the Prince,
which wish was fulfilled by the visitors.
Then they found their way to the exhibition which on that day
was open only for noblemen.
Anne-Christine was eager to see the copy of the Glassware and
the painting that Borislov had made of her. As the Grand Duke
was interested in contributions from other countries, he and
Anne-Christine had agreed to go their own way for a few hours.
Immediately, Anne-Christine hurried to the Glassware,
displayed at the end of one wing of the Crystal Palace.
She was astonished to spot from a distance the Chinaman who
had been standing next to her; he seemed to be examining the
Glassware intensly. She asked him:
"How did you manage to get here so soon? A moment ago you
were standing at my side."
"Time and space are not important when sheer beauty is
involved", the Chinaman spoke in riddles.
"So you like the Crystal?", Anne-Christine asked, not
really knowing how to reply.
"The Glassware is beautiful and the painting, hanging over
there, is even better, but it is nothing compared to the
beauty of the real lady behind the Glasswork," the Chinaman
said making Anne-Christine blush.
"You seem to be a wise man", she answered. "And you make me
think of a friend of mine who is in Upper-Mongolia at this
very moment. This friend can move through time and space, just
like you do. He uses concentrated thougts for that. Is that
how you do it?"
The Chinaman avoided to answer. He closed his eyes.
"I can see your friend. He is waiting for a girl who shows
much ressemblance to you, but who is someone else. He is
worried"
"Just as I thought," Anne-Christine said uneasily. "But I
can't reach him".
"You can start an expedition to save the girl. Something
has surely happened to her and together you can go to your
friend in Upper-Mongolia".
"Couldn't you look to see where my friend Lisabeth is,
right now?" Anne-Christine asked, a little confused.
"No", the Chinaman said, "I can see her nowhere".
"Are you convinced this is the best thing for me to do? A
journey to the east is not without hazard", Anne-Christine
said anxiously.
"You can manage it", her strange partner concluded and he
had just turned away when Anne-Christine called him back.
"A nice effort, Mister Gosseling, but to fool me, you need
more than some cotton-wool in your mouth and some glue on your
eyelids"
The Chinaman turned around and burst into laughter.
"This time you win, Anne-Christine!", he laughed, "but I
wasn't that bad after all, was I?"
"Come with me", said Anne-Christine and she took him by
the arm to one of the restaurants.
"I can't make any sense of it," Anne-Christine confessed.
"Why did you want me to go to Upper-Mongolia?"
"Because I've been there a couple of times and Lisabeth
just doesn't show up," Gosseling said.
"Oh, keep those fairy tales for yourself", Anne-Christine
said angrily. "Why are you always causing so much trouble?
Take that time-travelling thing. That serves no purpose at
all. I think you are nice and gentle without all that. I gave
you an expedition to France which only brought back a Crystal
Sphere and which almost cost me my life. I went to bed with
you, so what else do you want?"
Gosseling did not know how to answer her sudden
outburst.
"So you think I can't travel through time. You don't
believe I was in Upper-Mongolia or that I possessed the
Glassware in my own time. Very good. You are entitled to think
whatever you want, but did you test the Glasswork and the
Sphere in the sunlight?" he asked, looking straight into her
eyes.
"Of course I did", said Anne-Christine in a cool voice.
"And, since you seem to be interested in the result, I can
reveal that I saw a great many strange things. But afterwards
I wondered how it happened. From your letter I expected to see
something extraordinary and I tested the Glassware at my
arrival at Weezebeecke, immediately after a long journey.
I took no rest and I have to admit that the colourful images
are overwhelming. Sometimes, when I may be somewhat over-
romantic, I can't fully control myself and can easily see
something that doesn't really exist. That's why I saw all
those wonderful images, that I shall remember all my life.
But I am fully convinced that a second test will have a
negative result", Anne-Christine ended briskly.
"You have changed Anne-Christine," Gosseling noted. "Or
parhaps you haven't. Sometimes you are hard, which is not
pleasant for people around you. So now I have a contest ahead
of me. That second test will take place as soon as we are in
Weezebeecke again. But I am certain you'll lose".
"If I lose, the Glassware is yours", Anne-Christine said
very confident. "And if I turn out to be the winner, you may
show your skills in bed, for that's another doubt I have about
you".
"What is the point in me having a Glasswork that belongs
to you?" Gosseling asked. He had hardly finished speaking when
Anne-Christine saw the Adjutant of the Grand Duke of
Transsyldavia walking towards them.
At first, she thought she had been careless but then
realized that the Adjutant couldn't have overheard their
conversation.
"The Grand Duke offers to guide you to your hotel,
mylady", the Adjutant said.
"There is no need for that," Anne-Christine said. "I
prefer to stay here for a while. But nevertheless, I would
like to thank him. When does the Grand Duke leave?"
"At this very moment," the Adjutant said. "He must hurry
if he is to catch the ferry to the Continent".
"Then I would like to write him a little note of gratitude
instead," Anne-Christine proposed. "Do you have some writing
material?"
The Adjutant nodded politely and took, from the pocket of
his coat, a small map with paper, a little bottle of ink and a
small quill.
"Would the gentleman be annoyed if I were left in my own
company for a few minutes?" she mischievously asked the
'Chinaman'. Gosseling jumped back into his role at once.
"Does the fair lady allow me to support her spiritual
efforts by purchasing some profane drinks?" he asked with a
Chinese accent.
Anne-Christine smiled and nodded.
"I shall write a letter to the Grand Duke, but you could
do me a great favour by delivering a second note to my Castle.
Would that force you to make a detour?"
"The coachmen know the way, mylady", the Adjutant said
helpfully and he waited silently until she had written both
notes.
"And I would like to thank you as well, sir, and I wish
you a most pleasant journey", Anne-Christine told him after
the Chinaman had returned to her table. The adjutant bowed to
both of them and then left.
"A nice man, that Adjutant", mused Anne-Christine
dreamily.
"You just say that to annoy me", Gosseling said. "But
we'll see what happens when we go to Weezebeecke. In the
meantime I don't want to quarrel with you, Anne. I think you
are someone special and I don't want to lose you, whether or
not I win our strange bet".
"You are right", Anne-Christine agreed. "But you know, for
me too, sometimes it is not that easy. You always seem to be
one small step ahead and I can't stand that. I only wonder if
that is because you possess supernatural gifts. Instead, I
think your only real gift is that you can make people see the
things they already want to believe."
It was late in the afternoon when Gosseling and Anne-
Christine stepped out of the diligence which had come to a
standstill in the drive of Weezebeecke Castle. The sun was
shining almost the same way it did when Anne-Christine had
tested the powers of the Glassware the first time.
"Here comes Lisabeth!" said Anne-Christine, pointing at a
dot at the horizon.
"I'm not sure yet that it will be possible, but shall we
prepare everything so that she may play judge?" Gosseling
proposed.
"That's a very good idea", Anne-Christine replied.
Together, they walked to the Castle. Once inside, Anne-
Christine easily found, in the attic and among some clothes,
the basket in which the Glassware was kept. She carried it
into the parlour just when she saw Lisabeth was throwing
herself into Gosseling's arms as if she inteded to stay there
for ever.
"The door was open and I imagined that Anne-Christine
would be here", said Lisabeth. "But both of you being here is
an even better surprise. I'll go and unsaddle my horse, then
I'll prepare something to eat. After that, we'll all tell each
other what we've done these past weeks, now that we are
together for the first time for a long while".
"Forget about your horse for a moment, Lisabeth", Anne-
Christine replied. "We are going to test the Crystal now,
while there is still some sunshine left. After that, you'll
have to explain exactly what you have seen".
"My goodness, is it that important?" Lisabeth asked
sounding disappointed. "I am not prepared for that kind of
complication, you know".
"Just tell us what you have seen. That is all we ask of
you", said Gosseling, opening the windows.
Lisabeth closed the door and Anne-Christine started to
arrange the Glasses around the Decanter. As before, the room
was immediately filled with the most extraordinary colours.
None of them spoke a word until a thick cloud moved across
the sun and Anne-Christine just said: "And that's the end",
and started to repack the Glasswork into her basket.
"Well, you've lost, Gosseling, haven't you? Nice colours,
but nothing in perticular!" she summed up the results.
Gosseling was astonished.
"But I.. I did see something", he stuttered. "I seemed to
see an entire battlefield. Everything was there, warriors,
arrows and lances that flew over my head. And, what's more,
you were there too!", he told Anne-Christine.
Anne-Christine laughed.
"You certainly are a bad loser, aren't you? Are you that
afraid to show your skills in bed?"
"May I perhaps add something to this conversation?" asked
Lisabeth.
"Yes, why of course, what did you see? You can make the
final decision", the others agreed.
"Well, I've seen much the same as Anne," said Lisabeth.
"The colours are truly magnificent, but I saw no battle, nor
anything like it. They were just wonderful colours".
"Now you see!" said Anne-Christine triumphantly. "And now
to bed!" She walked to the door, followed by Gosseling showing
disbelief.
"I really saw it," he kept repeating.
In the bedroom, Anne-Christine began to undress, though
Gosseling seemed to pay not the slightest attention to her.
Only after she had climbed, naked, into bed did his eyes start
to twinkle. He dashed to the door and threw it open. Anne-
Christine could hear him running to the study and then down
the stairs. A few seconds later, the banging of the front door
showed that Gosseling had left the Castle.
Anne-Christine jumped out of bed and saw him mounting
Lisabeth's horse. He rode down the lane at full speed, holding
a little basket in his hand.
Soon afterwards, both girls were in bed together,
laughing.
"That's Gosseling, the laundryman", cried Lisabeth. "How
did you know he was no good?"
"He only wanted us to be as far away as possible, so that
he could steal the Glassware. But there is something else, and
that I'll explain to you later", Anne-Christine cried,
laughing.