The Coronation Ball E-Book

Eireen M. O'Brien

• Herausgeber: epubli
• Kategorie: Krimi
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 186

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

The Coronation Ball The second criminal case of private investigator Achille Corso and Pentesilea Orsini A classic whodunit Crime Novel: A new case for Achille Corso and forensic scientist Pentesilea Orsini in the exotic setting of the Castello di Sammezzano. The masked ball of an aristocrat circle on the occasion of the coronation of Charles III is the starting point for a complicated search for an unknown intruder and a trail that will lead to a murder in the past: What happened many years ago and what role plays Isabella de Medici Orsini, the first lady of the Grand Duchy of Florence in the Renaissance? Crime novel series trailer: https://www.youtube.com/@AlexanderPDyle

Leseprobe

Eireen M. O’Brien

Alexander P. Dyle

The Coronation Ball

Crime novel

I am for the monarchy, for this is my royal will - Salvador Dalí

A constitutional monarchy requires the monarch to be above politics but to be fully informed about politics – Jacob Rees-Mogg

Monarchies have some good features beyond their star qualities. They can reduce the size and parasitic nature of the management bureaucracy. They can make speedy decisions when necessary - Frank Herbert

The Invitation

Achille Corso, a private investigator for some time, and his fiancée, Pentesilea Orsini, commonly just called Pen, were in Rimini visiting Corso's family. It was the beginning of March and therefore still much too cold to swim in the sea, despite the fine weather. Nevertheless, Pen and Achille walked along the beach in the strong wind before entering the town's famous Grand Hotel. The hotel had been built over a hundred years ago and established Rimini's reputation as a fashionable seaside resort.

They entered the magnificent hotel lobby. Corso and Orsini looked around: The bright rooms with antique-style columns and gilded Corinthian capitals not only exuded the charm of the Belle Époque, but also awakened familiar memories in Achille Corso of his youth. On important family occasions or significant events, such as graduation, it had been traditional to have a gala dinner here with the family.

Today, too, there was something to celebrate in a way. Word of the successfully solved case in Croatia had spread in upscale social circles. Especially the discreet methods with which private investigator Corso had saved the good reputation of the aristocratic Beatrice.

As a result, Corso was inundated with numerous delicate commissions from high society. They were less exciting and without corpses, but excellently rewarded. At the thought of the state of his bank account, Corso smiled and twirled his elegant French-style moustache.

Pen noticed it and reflected on a strategy to reach for the razor... Achille had adopted the Baffi fashion a few months ago when he was investigating the upscale circles and noticed that quite a few of his clients wore moustaches. At Christmas, her fiancé's moustache obsession culminated in a special purchase. Corso had bought a special silver soup spoon from an antique dealer. The spoon was from the late 19th century and had a safety barrier that protected the moustache from being drenched with soup... At least Achille wore a highly elegant French moustache and not a walrus moustache....

Corso glanced at his Reverso reversible watch and said as they walked towards the reception, "We're well on time, still a few hours to dinner, my dear."

Pen had booked the beauty programme "Dolce Vita Spa Ritual" at the hotel. While Pen checked into the beauty paradise, Corso retreated to the hotel bar where he studied some documents. After an hour, he ordered himself an espresso and a Negroni drink as an aperitif. Since the investigation in Croatia, Corso had at least partially revised his rather negative opinion of cocktail drinks. Most of the mixed stuff was primarily suitable to fill people who could not tolerate alcohol by disguising the liquor with fruit juice or soda water...

Corso, however, has since made an exception with the Negroni. The drink was also genuinely Italian, as a Count Camillo Negroni had a Milano Torino drink stretched with gin in a bar in Florence in 1919.

To distract himself, Corso leafed through some magazines that were available at the bar. Once again, the scandal & monarchy papers carried some smug new revelations about the Duke of Sussex (the title had been created in 1801 for a prince who had married out of social class). This time, however, it was about the current duke and his American wife.

"Let's see what kind of show this will make at the coronation of Charles III...", Corso thought to himself, when a clearing of the throat by a hotel employee interrupted him in his thoughts.

"Mi scusi signore, è stata consegnata una lettera per la sua promessa sposa." the man addressed him and handed him a letter in a noble envelope which bore a letter seal on the back.

It couldn't be a commission, Achille guessed, because the letter was addressed to Pentesilea Orsini. Forensic experts almost never got their orders from their clients, but from the public prosecutor's office....

Being a gentleman who does not read other people's letters, Corso put the letter on the table and waited until Pen came out of the SPA.

About half an hour later Pen appeared in all her glory. She was now even more beautiful than usual, the flaxen hair shone, likewise the aristocratic pale complexion was radiant like that of the goddess Aurora when she appears on the horizon in the morning.

At first, he admired and praised her dazzling appearance before informing her that a letter had been delivered for her.

Pen Orsini recognised the family coat of arms and said:

"It is from the Marquese de Spinola... probably an invitation to a ball or party..."

Achille remembered that in exalted circles invitations were always sent to the lady of the house and were also accepted by her or gratefully declined with an apology. Pen seemed to read her fiancé's mind, for she said:

"Men tend to misplace the invitation card..."

Now she carefully opened the precious envelope and pulled out the letter. Enclosed were also two admission cards with the names.

Pen began to read aloud:

"The Marchese de Spinola gives himself the honour of inviting to a ball in a castle on the event of the coronation of Charles III."

A personal invitation for the Roman patrician Pentesilea Orsini and fiancé, Pen noted as she skimmed through the rest of the text. Then she said:

"It is a masquerade ball, so guests are requested to bring appropriate costumes and masks."

"I had just read something about the coronation..." said Corso.

Pen nodded in agreement and continued:

"The event starts the day before the coronation with a series of lectures and the Marchese di Spinola asks me to give a lecture on a topic as well. Then on May 6th, the coronation of Charles III will be on video transmission, followed by a grandiose masquerade ball..."

Pen turned the page further and said:

"The Marchese here gives a list of costume loan companies from which upmarket costumes can be hired or made."

Corso liked the idea of a costume ball immensely. "Maybe I should go as Lorenzo il Magnifico..." he mused to himself.

Pen recalled in her mind's eye the portraits of the Renaissance prince and patron of the arts. As was customary at the time, "il Magnifico" wore no beard - a chance for the razor....

"Wonderful my love - I will go as Simonetta Cattaneo Vespucci..." announced Pen.

"She was the most beautiful woman in Florence then..." agreed Corso.

"Where is the ball actually going to be held?" he asked afterwards.

"At the Castello di Sammezzano, outside Florence - that's why the Vespucci came to mind," Pen said.

"Is the Castello di Sammezzano inhabited, then? I didn't know it was private property again..." wondered Corso.

"It's not, it's still publicly owned and mostly unoccupied - but it can be rented for special occasions," explain Pen.

"That will probably be expensive. " Achille opined.

"Hugely expensive, as it has hundreds of rooms and spaces - but the Marchese and the monarchist circle around him really have a lot of money." agreed Pen.

The two then turned their attention to the delicious dinner.

The subject did not come up again until a week later. Pen had accepted in writing the day after the dinner and now a letter arrived again with more specific details of the occasion.

"Dyle and Leroy will also be coming to the occasion - both are giving a lecture..." called Pen to Achille, who was just entering the flat.

"I have a surprise for you too - you'd better come with me to the garage right away..." said Achille in a mysterious undertone.

Pen followed her fiancé; Achille opened the garage door.

"Since we need a car and since the case in Croatia the Topolino 500 has a special meaning for us..." began Achille as Pen fell around his neck and kissed him passionately.

In the garage was a dark blue spray-painted Fiat 500 Topolino in the roadster version, adorned with a large white gift ribbon.

The Journey

Two weeks before the ball, Pen and Achille's costumes had arrived. The rental company had appropriate Renaissance costumes in stock, but they still had to be adjusted to Pen and Achille's size. For the role of Lorenzo di Medici, Corso had chosen the red robe as the artist Girolamo Macchietti had painted the Renaissance prince. For the hair, Achille had to choose a wig because he did not want to let his hair grow so long. Pen convinced him that the Renaissance Prince could not wear a French moustache. With a brief whir of the razor, the moustache fell. Pen had chosen the light, bright robe from a painting depicting Simonetta Vespucci, Sandro Botticelli's muse. In her mind, Pen imagined how her personal rival, Valeria di Colonna would appear at the ball. A few days before the coronation ball, A. P. Dyle, the chronicler, arrived at Achille Corso and Pen Orsini's house. With astonishment, Corso noticed that Dyle had grown a pencil moustache, likewise his bearded sideburns were much longer than usual. When asked, Dyle explained:"I shall go as Phileas Fogg, Esquire and Gentleman... and therefore take my cue from David Niven, who is, as it were, the icon of the gentleman..."Corso was already secretly afraid that all the gentlemen might appear at the coronation ball in beard fashion.Some time afterwards, Corso asked Pen what she knew about the host. The Marchese de Spinola d'Este, was the main organiser, but the Marchese de Farnese was apparently also involved. "Nicolo, the current Marchese de Farnese is, if I remember correctly, from a side line of the Dukes of Parma. Convinced monarchist and very cultured.""Probably wears a moustache..." grumbled Corso."Last time I saw him he was wearing an abnormal moustache in the style of King Umberto I..." said Pen and when she realised Achille was about to say something, she added: "I like you much better clean-shaven - and Lorenzo just didn't wear a beard..." Pen consoled him. In the meantime, the exact programme had been fixed and the courtly dances customary in aristocratic circles had also been announced: Not only Viennese waltzes, but also a quadrille and a pavane were on the programme.Pen, who was well versed in both dancing and courtly occasions, decided to give her fiancé, as well as his chronicler Dyle, appropriate instruction."During the course of the evening, in addition to standard dances such as waltzes, we will also dance a quadrille de Lanciers," Pen lectured."This dance is still taught and danced in Danish high schools and at the Vienna Opera Ball. It is a contra dance originating in France during the time of Napoleon Bonaparte. Today, however, only the variant Quadrille de Lanciers, created after 1850, is still common."The dance lesson proved more difficult than Pen had imagined. For one thing, neither her fiancé nor Dyle were born dancing talents - to put it euphemistically - and the courtly contra dances simply looked ridiculous if you didn't dance them in garments from days gone by. The statement that you could dance in any clothes - if you could dance, that is - might be true for today's dances. But a "La Pavane des Saisons" only looked really good in baroque dresses and allonge wigs for the gentleman, and like a stiff hop around when modern clothes were worn...On the morning of May 5th, Corso and Pen took off in their new Topolino roadster. Fortunately, the Renaissance costumes were not overly bulky and could be transported in suitcases that Achille had strapped to the back of the car."I bet Valeria de Colonna needs a truck for her rococo costume and wig..." sneered Pen as Achille mounted the suitcases."How do you know she's going to wear a rococo costume?" wanted Dyle to know."Her favourite period..." said Pen with the tone of a fortune teller."You never told me in more detail how she became your favourite rival..." said Corso. "Valeria de Colonna also showed up once in the study of forensics and pathology, but wasn't talented enough for that. She stirred up lots of rivalries for that before moving on to law..." said Pen."I see, now she's a lawyer?" asked Corso."Exactly. People I take to court, she then gets out..." confirmed Pen.To avoid the many road works and toll roads of Florence, Pen, followed by Dyle drove over the Ponte Santa Trinita and past the Palazzo Pitti and the Giardino di Boboli and entered Monteripaldi via country roads and only from there did they turn onto the A1 motorway. After about 50 minutes, the two cars left the A1 at Ciliegi and curved along the regional road into the town of Leccio."There are advantages to knowing the back roads across the country..." said Pen. "Presumably they know the other participants too..." said Corso."What makes you think that?" asked Pen."You must have noticed the various luxury limousines on the A1 that roared past us..." replied Corso."Oh yes, a Rolls Royce Silver Cloud, probably built around 1960, and behind it a Rolls Royce Silver Wraith, also a DeLorean DMC-12..." said Pen, car-savvy as ever."Did you know that the Silver Wraith, built after the Second World War as the successor to the Wraith was the last series of the manufacturer, where Rolls Royce only supplied the engine and chassis, but the bodywork was built by various independent companies mostly to customer specifications...?"Corso replied in the negative.They passed a pretty house with a somewhat faded inscription. "That must be the Due Passi dal Castello," said Corso."Then we must turn right immediately afterwards." replied Pen.The road now became narrow, with no pedestrian area, and led into a wooded area. "The area doesn't seem to be very populated." noted Corso. Then the tarred road ended and a roadblock was visible. Here was a small church and the grave of Fernando Panciatichi Ximenes d'Aragona. "Here is the grave of the nobleman who realised his personal dream with the Castello di Sammezzano," Pen said."And a personal check..." replied Corso.A private security service controlled the access to the event at the castle. A barrier and various cars blocked the access road to the forest."The monarchist scene prefers discretion and occasions without royal enemies," Pen said, showing the invitation. The security guard skimmed the invitation, thanked her and signalled to open the barrier. Dyle was then also checked and let through.Shortly after, the road they were driving on was more of a forest track, which eventually led past a ruined building."What is this abomination?" asked Corso."The ruins of a failed hotel project, abandoned while the shell was still in place," said Pen.Only a moment later, the castle appeared with its reddish-brown façade and lawn."Here we are." declared Pen.The lawn today reminded one of a meeting place of car posers - with the difference that the automobiles were really exclusive and fantastic. Various Rolls Royces, an old Bristol 400, the DeLorean that had passed them on the car road and a Ferrari 250 GT Pininfarina....When Pen recognised the Ferrari, she knew that Valeria de Colonna had already arrived. "It's a wonder she found the castle and didn't spend half the afternoon wandering around the neighbourhood..." she quipped.Also on site were some security guards, recognisable by their sunglasses and jackets that presumably concealed firearms, and a catering service with countless small trucks.Meanwhile, Dyle's BMW Isetta had also arrived, while Pen parked the Topolino next to an unusual car."Look there..." she said in a joyful voice, "They must be guests from Spain - a Hurtan Albaycin and a Hurtan T2+2. You practically never see anything this nice...""How unfortunate that the European Union is going to ban the petrol engine..." said Dyle as he joined the two."You're not serious?" said Pen with horror on her face."Unfortunately, yes, it has been decided. But the implementation will fail anyway because of the lack of electricity for electric cars..." Dyle tried to console."We are a dying species..." opined Pen."The nobility or the petrol car fans?" asked Corso."Both." replied Pen."For the next few days at least, we'll be well catered for." said Corso, referring to the catering and guest services that greeted arriving guests on the snail-shaped walkway.The company had come with its own fleet of cars, consisting of Fiat vans and some passenger vans, all painted white and bearing the company logo. The reception consisted of dressed personnel wearing livery, a Bauta mask and a powdered wig. They took the suitcases from Dyle, Orsini and Corso and informed them that the cars would be permanently guarded by the staff.They climbed the steps of the entrance scroll and found themselves at the entrance to the Belle Etage in the Atrio delle colonne. The room bore its name with good reason. Several double columns with a Corinthian chapter adorned the room and supported an arch decorated in bright rainbow colours. This is where rooms were assigned based on the invitations. "Buffets are taken in the Sala d'ingresso, which adjoins just behind the Atrio delle colonne," explained the receptionist in elegant business look. "You must be Dr Dyle..." she addressed the aforementioned gentleman. Dyle affirmed."Your lecture will be the first and will take place at Ottagono Dorato in three hours. She then handed out a programme of the occasion including a map of the main floor to those present. Pen noted with delight that responding to the invitation early had proved extremely beneficial in allocating rooms. Pen and Achille had been allocated the Sala dei Pavone as their room for the night."The room is legendary..." marvelled Pen. "I hope they like its vibrant colourfulness." said the lady from the reception. "To put it simply, the ball and social occasions take place in the left part of the palace - as seen from the entrance. The masked ball is in the Sala Bianca, which the owner had also built as a ballroom. Lectures, buffet and discussion sessions will be held in the rooms and corridors around the white ballroom."On a floor plan, the lady showed other rooms and said, "The rooms and spaces to the right of the entrance will be used to accommodate guests."Corso and Orsini noted that the rooms were numbered and marked with the names of the guests.Then the receptionist pointed to the structure inside the palace, which was written as Capella."On Sunday mornings, a church service is also celebrated in the Capella," the receptionist elegantly explained. Then the catering staff escorted the three new guests to their rooms.Dyle excused himself because he just wanted to quickly check into his room and then immediately set up the lecture in the golden octagonal room.Giacomo Emmanuele Filiberto Gustavo Marchese de Spinola d'Este, the main organiser, opened the event at lunchtime. Corso thought the Marchese fit the image of the cultured nobleman exactly. The man was estimated to be sixty years old, his hair dark - probably dyed - and his complexion as pale and aristocratic as that of Corso's fiancée, Pentesilea Orsini. Moreover, the Marchese was tall and could easily have attained the title role in a vampire film. A real aristocrat, so to speak. "I think he's the owner of the Rolls Royce Silver Wraith that passed us on the motorway..." whispered Pen to Dyle, who was standing beside her. "A ball is a demonstration of power." announced Nicolo, the Marchese, co-organiser of the coronation ball. Pen was amused, for the truly high nobility were in London today, as were the truly powerful men of the world."The ball ensures that the ruling class remains the ruling class." Pen whispered to Achille."...Or wants to become again." replied Achille so quietly that no one but Pen could hear. "And it looks like none of the visitor were clients of Debit Suisse - and they all survived the financial storm in March unscathed..." said Pentesilea with satisfaction."What makes you think that?" asked Achille."The limousines and sports cars parked here."Just before the first lecture, the first Italian-style sandwiches and mineral water were served.

Pictures 1

Seal of Garsende de Sabran, Countess of Provence. © 1

Castello di Sammezzano. © 2

Castello di Sammezzano, Sala degli amori. © 3

Castello di Sammezzano, Rotunda bianca. © 4

Castello di Sammezzano, Sala degli stucci oro. © 5

Castello di Sammezzano, Sala dei Pavoni. © 6

The Lecture by Dyle

Now the moment had come for the grand entrance of A. P. Dyle, Esquire and Gentleman. "Excellencies and Grandees, Your Graces, the Duke of St. Verulan and Baron of Sandridge Forrest and the Duc d'Albufèr de Magenta, My Lords Marquess, Marchese de Spinola d'Este, Marqués de Púbol, Marchese de Farnese, Lords and Ladies, Sirs and Dames, Hidalgos, Esquires, Gentlemen, Milady's and all those who have contributed to this occasion..." he said, slouched elegantly and strode to the lectern where the lecture lay ready. He cleared his throat aristocratically and began:"As announced, the lecture will revolve around the complex subject of a succession of rulers. In an existing dynasty, the succession of rulers is usually clear and undisputed. But if there is a break in the rule and several noble houses have a claim to a newly established rule, then the matter can become complicated. I do not want to debate controversial claims to the throne at this point...""No Jacobin claim to the throne of England?" whispered someone in the room.