--------------------------------- July 1960 - Lisbon, Portugal --------------------------------- Dom Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganza, was enjoying his afternoon tea in the gardens of the Palácio da Ajuda, while his wife and three children played a spirited game of croquet against a pair of maid servants. It had been some time since he had been out and about, his health had been suffering as a result of his drinking habits, but he was three months clean now and well on his way to a full recovery. A pile of papers sat next to him, pinned in place by his tea saucer, the business of the nation, or what business the Portuguese National Assembly allowed him to take part in. It still rankled that they would not allow him to be named King, nor to take direct part in running the nation. In truth he was nothing more than a "stamp" to be used for royal approval, though that was mostly symbolic. Those very limitations were perhaps what had brought him to this point on that fine spring afternoon. Sitting, talking, and enjoying tea, all the while plotting to retake his throne with the help of the Spanish King. It was true that he wanted nothing more than to be King himself but that would never happen, and certainly not while a bunch of peasants were running things. At the moment, and it was high time it had happened, the working classes had found out that the National Assembly and its "representatives" were nought but a bunch of crooks swindling money from the nation. More and more, thanks largely to his own agents and money from the Spanish government, the rumblings for the return of a benevolent king had been circulating. A return to the days when the King took care of his people. He had seen the flyers. They were ridiculous and overlooked any number of terrible things previous Kings had done, but that didn't matter. The people wanted change and he would give it to them. A shadow fell across him and he was delighted to see the Spanish Ambassador, Marc Marginedas, standing next to him. The tall Spaniard bowed correctly and then sat in the offered chair, thanking the servant who slid forward to hand him a cup of tea. "A fine afternoon, your Majesty." The Ambassador said as he blew gently on his tea before taking a sip. "That it is Marc, that it is!" Nuno declared happily. "All the better to have you out to join us of course." "Your Majesty is to kind, I am put a humble public servant." "Humble, maybe, a public servant most certainly." Said Nuno with a chuckle. "How are things in Madrid?" "Well enough. The Communists are making plenty of noise and the French are still working themselves up to another civil war. The King is in Granada enjoying some time with young friends, and the country is as well as it has ever been." Marginedas grimaced as he burnt his tongue and finally put the tea down on the small table between them. "Granada eh? I seem to recall the Alhambra being a beautiful building from my last visit." "And so it is, a lovely building. I am glad they did not destroy the Moorish influences as the King once wanted to do." "That would have been a shame." Nuno said with an almost wistful sigh. "Filthy religion but they did build some wonderful buildings." "Yes indeed. I have seen some fine examples in your own country." Replied Marginedas as he sat back in his chair, his considerable bulk making it flex alarmingly. "To true, to true." Nuno said, and then abruptly changed the topic to the one he actually wished to discuss. "Have you delivered my plan to the King?" "I did." Marginedas said as he nodded slowly. "The King thinks that your plan to continue working to destabilize the National Assembly is a wise one. I am authorized to continue funding your majesties efforts." The Duke rubbed his hands together and chuckled. "Excellent! Excellent! And what of the frictions in your own Government. The last time I spoke with the Royal Council there was some concern about the... reliability of certain army units." A shadow passed over the Ambassadors face and then he shrugged. "There are always such rumours. None are true that I am aware of." But the lie was to pat, to quick. Truth be told, Marginedas was not sure what was about to happen in Spain itself. The Royal Council and the nobles still controlled the land and much of the countries wealth but that was only any good if you had someone to protect it. The military and police, long proud institutions in their own right, had become wary of the Royal Council and the recent decision to limit high ranking posts to people of noble birth only had not helped. "Whatever you say Ambassador." Said Nuno with a knowing smile. Another truth, and one that Marginedas kept close to his heart, was how much he hated this pretentious little man. He knew, as well as did anyone on the Royal Council, that while Spanish money might fund the unrest and a promise of Spanish troops had been made, they were all being wielded as weapons to see that Portugal was absorbed into the Kingdom of Spain. Like it or not, Portugal was a little nation on the edge of far greater ones and her fate, like those of many other nations, was to be conquered.