As the French beat up the Habsburgs on the front, René attempts to return into the fray by moonlight. He doesn't go too far: he is struck by searing pain and falls to the ground. Yvonne's maidservants discover his lifeless body in the garden, beneath a trellis of crimson roses. The young lady is about to give the instructions for his funeral, and the whole shire is in mourning, when Yvonne notices that the lieutenant's heart is still faintly beating, and he has slightly quivered. So, René has got to lay in bed some more. He sleeps soundly and drinks heartily, having learned his lesson. And he even starts to make some lace!
In winter, Alois and Gerhard show up once more with their unit, their wives and three children (Karl Hermann and Elsa, as well as Hedwig's so far only child Eleonora) to garrison at the young couple's place once more. Having dislocated his right shoulder when he collapsed beneath the trellis, the young Frenchman can't return to the war front a disabled officer, deciding to stay in his homeland with his spouse plus best friend.
On the other hand, Tellagorri, who lost his right hand at Rocroi, is determined to become Gerhard’s servant… after having told the Ringstettens a secret in private, a secret that they won’t tell anyone on behalf of the sergeant’s life: he was actually in unrequited love with his lieutenant, to whom he says farewell with a passionate kiss before joining the Ringstetten-Tarlenheim entourage.
Having heard Koldo explain that Queen Christina of Sweden, who has meanwhile come of age, is seeking peace... our heroes wonder what will happen next. Unlike René and Yvonne, they have nowhere to go, and more children for each year. Luckily, due to Cromwell's persecution of entertainers, a new kind of business is growing big in France...
Cut to 1649. The Protestants and their French allies have finally won the great war.
A performing troupe is giving a show on the main square in Varennes.
The motley group is composed of Gerhard and Liselotte with their five children, and Alois and Hedwig with their three children, plus retired sergeant Koldo Tellagorri and some tag-along orphans of war. They have also frequented their good friend René, his dear Yvonne, and their five little children, three girls and two boys.
The play deals with the exploits of Gustavus Adolphus, played by Gerhard's eldest son Hermann. His best friend, Hedwig's and Alois's eldest daughter Eleonora (a straw wig on her raven hair) plays her namesake the Queen of Sweden. The veterans themselves star on the enemy side as Tilly and Wallenstein, respectively (characterized as an exaggeratedly devout Catholic and a bloodthirsty sociopath). Liselotte doubles as Pappenheim and as Johan Banér, acting over the top in both parts. Hedwig herself is brilliant as Lady Fortune, who serves also as a Winged Victory, a Voice of Conscience, and the Lemony narrator of the tale. The Ringstetten and Tarlenheim children have grown up in carriages travelling all over France, having learned to read and write on their travels.
In the commandant's residence, where they reside before hitting the road for the umpteenth time, they receive a visit from an unusually blond and pale envoy: he has sought them far and wide across France on behalf of Queen Christina, carrying some deeds to give Alois and Gerhard as reward for their services to the Swedish state.
Such an unexpected opportunity takes both families up north to their respective estates: the Ringstettens' shire is located in Värmland, on the shores of Lake Vänern, and the Tarlenheims' in the more northern and industrialized province of Dalecarlia.
Amidst dark firwood, glittering lakes and scattered wooden cottages, two whitewashed chateaux have found their rightful owners by royal decree.
Though the Tarlenheims have had, the whole clan (including Koldo), to convert to Protestantism to reside in Sweden, where Catholicism is banned.
The Ringstetten patriarch employs his spare time in making lace and writing his memoirs. In hindsight, the battles and other confrontations he has taken part in appear like massacres. One late autumn day in 1654, when riding in the woods, Gerhard meets the Queen herself, who is currently staying at Läckö, on the southern shore of the lake. He is invited by Her Majesty to visit her at the La Gardie residence on Läckö before she returns to court.
Paudel: SXII- Remarkable! As you’ve shown that even in the midst of luxuries, people harbor pain and suffering. Christina though as a Queen of the Swedes had some sad recollections and Gerhard, chose to isolate himself when he had a chance to live comfortably.
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