The Noble Ladies' Orphanage

Chapter 7

Susana and Zdenka stole through the streets in their hooded cloaks, trying to remember the way to St. Michael's. Susana had been there before, when her father was invited to the dedication after construction was completed, but she'd ridden in the carriage and hadn't paid attention to the directions.

"I think we turn left down there," Zdenka said, pointing to an intersection in front of them. They turned left, and ran into a throng of people all headed north. They saw soldiers dressed in Hapsburg military garb and horses prancing in the excitement.

"What's all this?" Susana asked. "Is it a holiday?"

"I have no idea," Zdenka said.

Susana approached a woman who was standing on the side of the road, slowly waving a white handkerchief up and down as the soldiers passed by.

"Excuse me, Madame," Susana said.

"I don't speak Czech," the woman said in German. Susana switched to German. "Pardon," she said, "but can you tell me what's going on?"

The woman lifted her chin and said, "Your Czech countrymen in Prague have started a war. That's what's going on."

"A war?" Susana asked. "Whatever do you mean?"

"The Czech nobles in Prague threw the Hapsburg leaders out of an upper window of the castle. It's murder, and the murders have caused an uprising. Now even the common folk have turned against the Hapsburgs who have done so much for them. And you, you're one of them, aren't you. I despise you. My son is going off to war because of you." She spat on Susana and stomped away. Susana watched the woman go and then stared at her soiled cloak.

"I'm sorry, Miss," Zdenka said. She used the corner of her apron to wipe the spit off of Susana's cloak.

"It's okay, Zdenka," Susana said. "Don't worry about it. Let's keep going."

They pushed through the crowd. The girls were sweating under their cloaks in the warm springtime air. Susana grabbed Zdenka's hand to make sure she didn't lose her through the busiest intersection.

"Make way! Make way!" a booming voice called. The girls scurried to the far side of the intersection just in time. An entire regiment of uniformed soldiers marched through the street. The girls spun around to watch them pass. The young Hapsburg soldiers looked confident in their brass buckles and clean, white cravats. Their marching feet pounded against the cobblestones. It felt as though the earth were shaking. The soldiers smiled at the girls as they passed. Some soldiers were as small as Zdenka and Susana.

Safely on the other side of the throng, the girls continued their journey toward Stredova Street. As they made their way north, the streets became as quiet as they had been noisy just a few blocks back. Here and there, Czech men and women walked in twos and threes. "It's not going to be good for us," they said in undertones. "Our best strategy is to lay low and not upset them."

The sun was lowering in the afternoon sky, and long, diagonal shadows fell across the tall buildings.

"There's St. Michael's!" Susana said, pointing to a spire above a row of rooftops. They wound their way around another narrow block until they arrived at the steps of the silent, white church. Susana remembered the last time she'd been at the church, seated on stands erected for the Czech nobility, smiling at all the people as her father shook hands with the architect, the bishop, and the other Czech nobles. The Margrave had even been present. His beautiful, young bride had been the talk of the event.

"I think Stredova Street is that way," Zdenka said, pointing northeast.

"Yes, that sounds right," said Susana.