[b]May 6th, 1980[/b]

[b]Gilan province, State of Persia[/b]

"Dearest Hamid, why won't you just stay here with us and rest? It would be wonderful, we haven't had hold of you in years. You're always traveling the world, going here and there, anywhere but with your friends and family." said Lady Catherine nonchalantly, as her visitor was about to leave.

"Well, truly I...

-No, no, I will not take it. Do not move. Let me have you discharged of your frock. 

-Lady Catherine, I doubt...

-Fatima, my pretty, bring a chair for our friend Hamid-dowleh. He will be staying for tea." Her waist pivoted elegantly, and she inquired, giving an appearance of concern "That is your title, my good friend? I am still so confused with persian matters! It is so very confusing." 

Her guest, reluctantly seated, but never one to displease, reassured her, "It is of no importance, truly. You are our guest here, and we are to accommodate you, not the other way 'round. Among people of proper upbringing, the exact rank does not so matter, does it? 

-I am terribly grateful to have you as such a forgiving acquaintance. Some people are despicable and perfidious, I would not want anything more to do with them than they do me, that is, the most common civilities." She paused, and gaily asked, "Pray tell me, where have you been lately? Or perhaps should I say, 'What have you been doing?'. "

As she spoke, Hamid had rose up, to wander around the room, exquisitely decorated with chosen pieces of persian and european art. He came to the large, clear window, which overlooked a ravishing evergreen forest, and fields sculpted in the mountain further down. He thought that he had missed these blessed lands somewhat, at the very least for the old british charm of his host. "My lady, I must repeat myself from year to year, but every time I pay you a visit, I cannot prevent myself from being taken by the view, the sweet flower scents, the mellifluous cascades of sounds. This is very close to heaven, and were it not for my duties, I would wish to live in these very valleys. How did you come to find yourself here? I have not often met your husband. I do hope this is not a subject painful..." he paused, waiting for a reaction to paint itself on her face.

"Oh dear lord, not at all!" she laughed. "Abolfazl is a caring man, if distant. He's a general, you see. Very martial, dignified. In his younger years he was charming, and so thoughtful! We had a love marriage, you know? It was still something of a rarity in our times. You are still a lone gentleman, I suppose you know all this. We met in Berlin, 1948. We were both 18 years old. The city perhaps wasn't as joyful as in the years prior to the Great War - you must have heard the most extravagant tales from our forefathers - but it was still very much dainty. Unter den linden, Potsdam, Sans-souci, it was the most wonderful of cities. The Republicans hadn't been so mad as to destroy the charm of their capital. Some were even quite civil. I met there this young Jew named Fitzler, Feidler, something of the kind, who was a rare gem, I can assure you!" did she exclaim joyously. "Well, to the point, Abolfazl had been sent to train with the german army. Despite the war, it still had its fierce prussian reputation. It probably served him some good. He supervised the operations in Sindh, you know? He found the right arguments to convince those rude warlords, and keep them disciplined."

Hamid, several years her junior, smiled as he listened to her recollecting memories from her youth. He had loved her, when she was still a young woman, and he a shy adolescent. He had been seduced by her fine ways, her wit and [i]prestance[/i]. But she was an other's, and he had had to wait for this youthful affection to wither away, which never it truly did. None of his loves ever quite dissipated, thinning instead into a vaporous and melancholic essence, which joined and enriched the aroma of all his past lives. He was nearly a happy man, notwithstanding. "Oh, I see. I reckon he is in Esfahan, then. I will try to arrange a little presentation during my next stay there. I would be enchanted to make his acquaintance. If he is to the measure of his wife, I have high hopes!"

"You are too kind, dearest Hamid. Have I heard though that you will not be staying here long? Already you are departing for another country?

-Why, yes, I do fear so. I believe I have a mission in Algiers later this month.

-So you have to deal with the Spaniards? Pardon me, but I quite despise them. They are so haughty and vulgar. Have you heard of this dreadful statue they erected to celebrate their 'republic'? By Jove, it represents the acting prime minister, Sotelo, Sotilo, and his deceased predecessor. A bronze statue! And a monumental one, at that. It is entirely lacking in taste. I feel quite sorry for my friend Joana of Medina-Sidonia. A republic, and [i]that[/i] kind of republic. I say Spain is a threat. It cannot refrain itself from meddling in everything and anything, especially what it shouldn't and has no right to."

The diplomat, somewhat surprised by what he was hearing, hesitated, "Spain isn't a communist country.

-Oh, I know!" she said. "That's why I am so upset. That China act rashly, I could understand. But Spain! It's supposed to be on [i]our[/i] side. "

Hamid observed her, speechless, for a few seconds. He instinctively shook his head and regained his composure, as she continued criticizing the Iberians. 

"What do you plan to do about the Gibraltar dam? What kind of idea is that? It's mad. Can you imagine the damage? I tremble thinking of the Riviera defaced, not to mention Venice. Simply suggesting that should be a crime! Venice is the loveliest city. I am no scientist, but I heard from a professor friend of mine that it might lead to the collapse of some buildings? I'd faint just saying it." did she explain, outraged, and shuddering. " It's treason not to act. Someone has got to do something. 

-I do hear you, my friend." he sighed. "We have been trying to reason them for years now, but they just won't listen. I shouldn't tell you this - it's a diplomatic secret, you see - but somehow I feel it can only end badly. What I can tell you is that the strait of Gibraltar is vital for persian trade, and...

-Absolutely! Even the communist parliament wouldn't once think of doing such things! I don't hold it very dear in my heart... truth be told, I find this situation most absurd. A communist monarchy seems very contradictory to me. But then what can we do? Nowadays the popular vote is an important thing. One cannot simply discount it. I hope His Highness will succeed in limiting their folly. Dear Hamid, how do you deal with all these political eccentricities? I dare hope a socialist, or marxist, whatever they call themselves exactly, hasn't had the impudence to give you directives?"

He laughed lightly, before petrifying quite entirely, his only movement being the regular tap of his fingers on the fine-grained table. He stood still a few long moments, and confessed, "To say the truth, the communists do not hold so much sway as one could be lead to believe. Within their own majority they are far from the sole group, and have to compose with a dissonant chorus. In the government, beyond the ministers themselves and their aides, and aside from the lone employee, it cannot be said their ideology is espoused with much enthusiasm. It isn't just a joke that bureaucracy chokes most change; the most inconsequential, or least damaging reforms pass through the net, but those dearest to the communists are left ensnared in a hopeless morass. I digress" he chuckled, "No, I do not obey to any of them. Worry not. Sane people are still in command. 

-You see me reassured, my good fellow. I wasn't alarmed, but, you must understand, somewhat worried. There were talks of irresponsible land reform and wealth redistribution. I do not object - I try to go with the times - to the poor getting a better living, but I don't think everything should be so much as reversed. 

-We can trust His Highness to wisely navigate Persia through these difficult waters. Have you ever met him, Lady Catherine?

-Yes, yes, naturally. How could I not!" did she utter, theatrically shocked at the mere thought Hamid suggested. " He is a fine man. An excellent man. So refined, delicate, yet distinctly firm. In a word, he is a perfectly noble man, in the best sense of the word. My only fear is his youth, really. He is becoming more than a young man, now, but thirty-two years to govern an empire, in such troubled times, is such a daunting task! 

-May I share my thoughts with you, my lady?

-But of course!" did she say invitingly, weighing on each word. "We are of one mind."

He kindly looked at her, and pursued "I must say he most impresses me with his knowledge and acute understanding of the world. I have noticed however his idealism. He holds very dear to certain ideas, freedom, democracy, happiness, right, and sometimes turns a blind eye on what might trouble his certainties. He is still young, but right now ideals aren't the right thing to have. A country can't afford itself the luxury of overlooking its interests.

-He will learn, I fear not. We all do." she mused indulgently. 

Outside, a slight rain was knocking on the window, veiling the gently sloping mountains.