A Dangerous Climate Read Free

Zamek near Kutno in Poland at the King's pleasure; written in code and delivered from Warsaw by Royal Courier in three days.
     
     
To the most noble Ferenz Ragoczy, Grofok Saint-Germain, the greetings of Klaus Demetrius Krems on behalf of Augustus II, in his capacity as King of Poland,
     
My most dear Grofok,
     
This is to confirm your agreement made with Royal Augustus these two weeks ago, and to detail what the terms of that agreement are:
     
To wit:
     
Item the first: at the behest of King Jozef Habsburg of Hungary, you are to assume the identity of Arpad Arco-Tolvay, Hercegek Gyor (who, as you have surmised, is missing under most troubling circumstances), and travel with Arco-Tolvay's wife, Zozia, Ksiezna Nisko, in his stead to join the embassy to the Czar Piotyr Alexeievich at his new city currently being built on the delta of the Neva River at the place where the Swedes had their fortress. Your compliance is guaranteed by King Jozef, who has extended the revenues of the estate and the rank of your distant relative in exchange for your participation in this venture to Czar Piotyr's new city, which he has named Sankt Piterburkh, in the Dutch tongue, as a recognition of his fondness for the Dutch and all he has learned from them in regard to seafaring. Due to this admiration, he prefers that his intimates call him Piter rather than Piotyr. Until he invites you to use the Dutch name, continue to use the Russian.
     
Item the second: you will there establish as much of a household as is practicable in that place, and you will observe the building of the city, its state and progress as well as any actions the Swedes may take upon the Czar's efforts there, and will report your observations to me for the benefit of the most Royal Augustus. If the war with Sweden is to spread, it will be most useful for Poland to know of it, and to prepare for many demands to be made on our troops and our people. Such information obtained from you as would be useful to King Jozef, I engage to provide him as a show of good faith.
     
Item the third: for all that Russia and Poland are allies, and stand against the Swedes, it is still a matter of some moment that a Russian port on the Baltic could prove dangerous to Poland, and to that end, you are to inform me of any alteration in the Russian posture regarding Poland and Polish interests. Czar Piotyr Alexeievich is a man of impulse and ambition, and if he is frustrated by Sweden, he may turn his westward attentions in other directions. Should that occur, it would be essential for Royal Augustus to know of it with all dispatch.
     
Item the fourth: you will endeavor to aid the Czar to construct such engines as may be used to drain the marshes on which Sankt Piterburkh is being built, and to extend any other skills you may possess to the building project. Arpad, Hercegek Gyor, has done much to improve his lands, which are in a river valley, often subject to flooding; he is known to have developed several devices to move water about, to construct levees, and to drain low-lying bogs. The more you can make yourself valuable to the Czar, the more useful you will be to Royal Augustus.
     
You are granted the right to take your manservant Hroger with you, and such coachmen, carriages, and outriders as may be needed for your journey, provided that Zozia, Ksiezna Nisko, approves of the arrangements. That she has consented in this deception is not to be taken as an invitation to you to compromise her marriage. You have pledged not to lure her into adultery, and it is not only her honor and yours that are at stake, but the honor of Royal Augustus. Zozia, Ksiezna Nisko, will maintain the fiction in public, but will not extend anything untoward to you simply because you are pretending to beher husband, for she will not compromise her husband with an unexplainable child with claims to support from Hungary. As is often the case for women of such high rank, Ksiezna Nisko will indulge her right to be