The Princess

By Nabil Louis

This is a romantic thriller, combining a powerful love story and suspense. The work belongs to the naturalistic school of story writing, evoking images, for the reader is able to visualise the action as it would happen in the real world. All characters and events, though fictional, are plausible and contemporary. The story builds up to a climax, a cliffhanger. The work is original and a page turner.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nabil Louis
• Release date: Jan 31, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005659073

Nabil Louis

The author is British and lives in the south of England, UK. He has travelled extensively in Europe.

Book preview

cover-image, The Princess

And when Love speaks, the voice of all the gods

Makes heaven drowsy with the harmony.

Shakespeare, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Act IV, scene 3

Cover: Princess Alexandra of Bavaria by Joseph Karl Stieler in Schloss Nymphenburg in Munich

Wilhelm II was the last German Kaiser and King of Prussia. After losing the support of the German military and his subjects in November 1918, Wilhelm abdicated and lived in exile in the Netherlands. The German Kingdom of Prussia was abolished. The Royal House became smaller and many descendants were excluded from the list of dynastic princes and princesses. Some, however, remain to this day.

Disclaimer:

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents, are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fiction manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events, is purely coincidental.

Chapter 1

The bright rays of the autumn sun filtered through the chink left by the drawn drapes and settled on John’s face. John opened his eyes and looked about him, his first night in this rented apartment in a charming suburb of Hildesheim. He wondered what this new phase of his life would bring. Life had not been good to him. He had suffered and he had suffered a lot according to his judgement. Well, he was now away from it all, the suffering and the alienation. He would see how it goes, not that he planned to return to London anytime soon. He had to be away, he wanted to be away, he wanted to be where no-one would know him. He studied the bedroom and he liked the layout and the furnishing. It was all too modern, different from the old antique furnishing in his small terraced house in Parson’s Green. He was lucky really to stumble upon this apartment in the suburb of Maritzburg , on a hill in the west of the town, less than a mile from the centre of Hildesheim. It had all happened very quickly, the disintegration as he saw it, his personal life, his job, his standing. Everything came crumbling at a ferocious speed. He had no time to think, to map out, to bounce back. Fate had left him no room for manoeuvre, like a tsunami, suddenly upon you, drowning you, without mercy or pity. But he did not want any pity, he wanted redress, understanding, empathy. It felt at this moment far, far away. He was no longer in that scene, he was transported somewhere else. John liked that idea, that he was somewhere else, that he could not be pursued or tortured anymore. There will be a time to address it all, but not now.

John had only been in Germany once before, seven years ago, holidaying in the Eiffel mountains, and visiting Cologne, Bonn and Koblenz. It was a happy time. He was then twenty-three years old. You go through life thinking everything will remain constant, because you feel happy and content. But life has no constancy, it is but an illusion to think it is constant. John thought that it would not be a good idea to keep on reminiscing on what might have been. He needed to emerge from all this, throw the shackles off, plunge headlong into a new life. This time it will be different, he had life’s experience on his side.

The train journey from Hanover to Hildesheim allowed him to see the topography of that part of Germany. Hanover airport was a small affair, and the Schnell-Bahn ride to Hanover itself was easy, and after a quick change of platforms he was on the train to his destination, Maritzburg in Hildesheim. He was not disappointed in the apartment which he had secured online, and so everything worked out well for him. He had brought in his suitcase what he needed to settle in, and the rest of his personal belongings should arrive in a matter of days.

Sometimes he felt he was a dreamer. And why not dream of the perfect world, the perfect human nature, the perfect relationship, the perfect in everything. It may not be reality, he thought to himself. Well, he needed to love, to fall in love, to be loved, to share what he likes, what she would like, to share happy moments, thoughts, reflections, feelings, and intimacy. He wanted a world without pretensions, interaction without calculation, love without objectives, intimacy without reserve.

It was time to get out of bed. He explored his apartment once more. Apart from the bedroom, there was a spacious lounge with an extension serving as a dining area, a large well-equipped kitchen, and another smaller room which he wanted to serve as a study, for it also had a desk besides a bed and a couple of chairs. There was an ensuite bathroom to the bedroom.

Once shaved and showered, John made his way to the town centre. He was famished and felt he needed a hearty breakfast. He walked the mile to the historic market place. He passed St Michael’s cathedral, and in no time reached the centre of the square and stopped at the fountain. He knew this was called Treffen Punkt, the meeting place in older days where people met to conclude their business or to socialise. John stood facing the large famous half-timbered house on the square, admiring the sheer beauty of the structure. He advanced with quickened steps and sat at a table in the open space and ordered black coffee, ham and cheese roll, and strawberry tart. It was approaching midday. He studied the passers-by, their attire, their mannerism, their verbal exchange, and liked the fact that it was all new to him, a distraction from past painful recollections.

John’s mind wandered once more to the past. He thought about his parents, now dead. All he knew as a child was security, which you ever chase once you move into the world of adults. Life at school was not bad, he played his favourite games, he was in the top echelon of his class, and he mingled well in a large circle of friends. He had decided he wanted to be an architect, and four years later he qualified from University College London with a first. Corporations saw in him a high flyer. After a period of apprenticeship, he was head hunted, and was offered a place in one of the top architectural firms on the South Bank, Pearson & Paris. Within a few years he rose in seniority and became a junior partner. His architectural designs won praise all over the country, and this brought a wealth of clients and work for the firm. His success did not stop there. He was by then also a well sought after bachelor. Three years before, in one of the annual regular forums in the world of architecture designs, he met Laura, a beautiful, well spoken, highly intelligent woman, two years his junior, and he found himself falling head over heels for her beauty, her charm and her intelligence. She moved in with him, and life seemed to be complete and perfect. Thinking back, he now realised that success, after a while, is never really tolerated, and as much as you form alliances on your way to success, in the end, those alliances desert you, resentment and rivalry flourish in their place, and you had a hard task balancing yourself on the summit your have reached. Everyone loses but you lose the most. There is no constancy, there is no perfection, there is only change of fortune, and this is the way of the world.

Having finished his breakfast to the last morsel and sipped his coffee, John decided to go for a walk and explore the town. He payed his bill at the till desk and tipped the waitress on his way out, after all he would be back to eat at this place time and time again in the months to come if not years. He noticed a park not so far from the square and made his way there. The sun was still shining, there was a mild southerly breeze, and he felt warm in his jumper and corduroy trousers. He liked the warm feel of the sun caressing his face, and decided in his mind that his perfect first day must be an omen of good things to come.

He sat on a wooden bench under a large oak tree. He could thus enjoy the sun and yet benefit from the shade the tree offered at the same time. He watched this new world go past him, children enacting a battle, ladies catching up on the latest gossip in a prolonged conversation, older men strolling with their hands clasped behind their back, and dogs chasing each other on and off the grass. How come, John thought, that behind the apparent calm and serenity, there is always some agonising secret, some painful circumstance, which the observer’s eye does not see and does not even contemplate its existence, and yet behind that all too obvious constancy of happiness and relaxation, there lurks tumult and sadness at some stage and may be always, which the soul has learnt to hide and camouflage. He thought about Laura. Is he still in love? Has love been replaced by antipathy or even hatred? He did not know, he was not sure what he felt. There were so many emotions within him to the point of confusion and mental exhaustion.

He thought about the job he was starting the next day. It was at Baustil Entwurf. He was told the name translated architectural design. He would take a taxi the first day. He wanted to concentrate on the days ahead, the job, his future, this new country, but his mind kept wandering back to the events of the last year. He knew he would have to go back in a few months when his court case came up. He would keep in touch with his barrister. He was not as much sad at being thrown out of the firm, as at Laura saying to him

‘ If you expect me to stay with you, then you do not understand life. ‘

‘ Why Laura? What has changed? I shall get a settlement and then start all over again. Only not so long ago, I was in the hot seat when it came to finding a job. ‘

‘ Things have changed, John. You’ve been blackened by your partners. I don’t even know what to believe. ‘

‘ I’ve been framed, and you know it. I have always acted straight. There is not a shred of evidence of what they accused me of. It was just a ploy to get rid of me. ‘

‘ Then prove it. ‘

‘Prove what? These matters don’t get proven. Their letter of sacking did not even mention specifics, only that I lost the trust of the board. What a load of nonsense. "

‘ John, I am not staying. You no longer have a job or a good reputation. I have a career to aspire to and a good life to live. I did not bank on this. ‘

John felt sad at recollecting all this. He felt let down by Laura, whom he had truly loved. May be she did not reciprocate that true love after all. It was too late to know. He would not have acted in this way if she was the one in his shoes. He had clutched at all his good chances, but cruel chances reached out and hit him. The cruellest thing for John was the injustice, and Laura’s injustice was even crueller, hedging, the hands off approach, holding back even empathy, failing to reason and to understand, judging and siding against him unwittingly and unreasonably.

The sun was now lower on the horizon but still spread its warm rays on nature and people alike. John got up and made his way back to his apartment. He needed to stop at Kaiser supermarket on his way, he decided. He had noticed this supermarket on the way down to the town centre. He had a few more minutes of walking to go, and he thought again about what had happened. How could Guy, Valerie and Maurice accuse him of double dealings. Was he not also independent like all three of them?

‘ You have been double crossing us, and shunting work away from the firm and to your account, when that work had initially approached the firm and not your services specifically. ‘

‘ No Guy, that is not true. You do private work, Maurice and Valerie have also their own clients, and the firm has its clients. I have always made the distinction, and I have never muddled the two ‘ John had replied.

‘ Well, that is not what I have found, and what I have been told in the city ‘ Guy had said.

‘ Then show me what you’ve got against me. ‘

‘ John, you’ve lost our trust. It is not going to work out for you here. We do not wish you any harm, but your services are no longer required. We can settle your share, obviously taking into account the harm you have done us and the firm, but we will be fair. ‘

John reached the supermarket, and made his way in. He noticed the un-posted, but generally agreed by customers , one way system along the aisles, and smiled to himself. Talk about discipline in Germany, he thought. He picked up what he needed and after clearing the checkout, walked the rest of the journey carrying two large shopping bags.

Once home, he made himself a quick meal, and enjoyed the freedom of being alone, no interruptions or opinions from others, no compromise or going along, no amended decisions or forced engagements, just him, just his wishes, just his opinions and desires.

John reclined on the sofa, and his mind drifted once more to the events in the London office. He was now thirty years old. He joined the firm seven years before. Some architect had left, and the remaining three had wanted another pair of hands. John’s reputation as a talented architect had preceded him, and he secured the job over many other candidates. He thought he had landed a jackpot, for the firm was well established in the market, and had a great reputation in attracting building projects. He got on well, he was instrumental in coming up with many designs that won contracts for the firm, and he could see himself being financially solvent, with no mortgage or loans.

John thought about his senior partners. Guy pulled the strings, even if he did not show it. Nothing in the firm moved forward without his approval. A tall handsome man, in his forties, Guy dressed sartorially and spoke eloquently. He commanded respect in the city, and made things happen if he wanted to. John could see that Guy was not the genius in architecture that he made himself out to be, but when he spoke to clients or in business meetings everyone was fooled in believing he was a top notch and an ace. Maurice was the sneaky one, and John did not like him at all. He always tried to keep a distance between them, but Maurice was Guy’s right hand man. Short, ugly, in his fifties and suffering from ankylosing spondylitis, he had a crooked rigid spine which was bent forward, giving him a hunchback appearance and a frozen neck. When he turned to one side or the other, his whole body shifted, for he could not turn his head to either side without the whole of the spine following in turn.

Valerie was one of the two females in the office. The other female, Pauline the secretary, stayed hidden in her small office, audiotyping, and preparing manuscripts. Pauline was tall and beautiful, divorced with a teenage-girl. When you spoke to her, she displayed a very attractive and pleasant smile, that won you over. Being hidden behind her office door, John did not have to interact with her except on rare occasions. Pauline was the property of Guy, so to speak, and she only had ears for him.

John remembered the day Valerie cosseted him. He had only been in the firm a few months when Valerie walked in his office and stood next to him with her left arm round his shoulders, inquiring about some design. As he showed her the schematic outlines on his computer, she bent over and squeezed herself against him, that John could feel her large well-formed breasts pressing against his right side. Within a matter of weeks, John and Valerie became intimate, and Valerie had fulfilled her desire of bedding John. It had been at the home of a female friend of hers where she had asked John to meet her. Valerie shied away from meeting John openly, and the infatuation went on for several months before Valerie called it off. They would have the occasional flesh encounter from time to time. John did not mind all this, and saw in Valerie a sensual woman, a man eater, a sexual predator of the female type. He always wondered how many times Valerie had used her sexual power to entice whom she liked of the male species, and likely clients though he had no evidence of this. Valerie was not only of great beauty, but had all the body curves in the right places. Her amazing beauty, with pale blue eyes, proportionate nose and mouth, and side dimples, and the shapely body with its soft skin, gave her the quintessential look of the Venus of modern times. It was only later that John discovered that Valerie was a married woman with two young children. Luckily he had kept quiet about the affair, and could then understand why Valerie pursued secrecy about their own encounter, which he originally put down to office ethics. The only time he saw Valerie’s husband was at their annual Christmas