Warned in advance of his arrival, the whole Monastery had turned out to greet their latest guest. What they saw was a coach, a group of men on horse back and a Company of soldiers marching in formation along Anenska Street coming from the direction of the station.

Confusion struck almost at once as the party arrived at the main Monastery entrance. The porter ran out and opened the door of the Station Brougham expecting to help the passenger down onto the roadway, instead, what he found was an empty coach, piled with boxes and trunks.

The monks, who had watched the carriage in anticipation, suddenly found themselves at a loss, not knowing who or where their guest was. Their confusion did not last long, a handsome rider of one of the horses cried out to his uncle, and Abbot Napp recognized at once his distant nephew.

"Ludwig, welcome, welcome indeed. Come here and let me look at you."

What he saw as a man of medium height, dark in complexion with strong hands gripping the horse's bridal. As the rider descended from his mount, he shook the reins off to a waiting soldier and strode towards his uncle.

He worn soft leather knee-length boots with suitably fashionable wide boot legs that showed off his longish legs. His greatcoat was open at the front and the front skirts swept back over his belt and sword. In contradiction to standing orders, under the coat he was wearing his Waffenrock or parade dress jacket. Strictly speaking, wearing the jacket in this way was against regulations, but Oberstleutnant Ludwig Reishach did not look like someone who paid too close attention to such details.

His handsome face was capped with a regulation shako with correct front decorations, but even here, the Feldzeichen stuck into the cockade support on top of the shako was placed at a rakish angle. Across his chest, however, were a very serious selection of military medals and decorations.

The Abbot and the Officer grasped each other and gave each other a huge hug. Then they stepped back and the Oberstleutnant placed both his hands on the monk's shoulders. "And how have you been, Onkel Cyrill, it has been a long time since we last met?"

"Too long, nephew, I'm well, quite well thank you - and you?

"A slave to duty, Uncle, a slave to duty. Until five weeks ago I was with my regiment dozing away the days trying to make sense of all the new regulations streaming out of the bureaucrats in Vienna. Those fool German liberals in the Reichsrat had slashed our budget yet again - it's down to only 96 million florins by now, you know - and we were trying to find ways of saving gulden while also trying to keep our country safe. Then all hell breaks loose, and we get orders to move the regiment up to Olomouc and defend ourselves against Bismarck's Prussians without so much as a needle rifle to our name. I ask you, is that fair?"

Tactfully Abbot Napp did not reply. He considered himself one of the 'German Liberals' who had, until recently, sort to keep civilian control over the military budget. This was one of the few waning powers of the Reichsrat, or assembly. But since the suspension of the February Patent, which had produced a bicameral Reichsrat and reduced the powers of the provincial diets, the military was once again over spending.

"How long will you be staying with us?" the Abbot asked, glancing at the piles of boxes being unloaded from the coach.

"Only long enough to complete our conscription," his nephew told him, "probably no more than a week or two. All the regiments are supposed to assemble around Olomouc before the end of the month." Then he turned to one of the other officers who had been riding with him. "Steefel, how long will we be staying with my uncle?"

A short, nervous officer with narrow hips, dark sunken eyes and large moustaches twitched on being addressed by his superior, but, clutching the reins of his horse, he came over to the group by the gate. "We have orders for Olomouc before the 23rd, Herr Oberst," he said.

"Excellent. Onkle, let me introduce my adjutant and aide, Hauptman Erste Klasse Manfred Steefel, he will be needing a room next to mine."

Napp saw a young man wearing the coat and insignia of a Captain in the infantry, but his chest was almost bear of medals or ribbons, and his sword looked suspiciously new. Against a pale, almost yellow face his dark eyes appeared set back, and their contents were hard to read. "Of course," said Napp, holding out his hand.

Hauptman Steefel looked surprised by the gesture, but took the Abbot's hand and shook it briefly.

"Steefel, start moving my things inside. Set up my room at once," the Oberstleutnant commanded with a wave of dismissal. "Onkel, I would like to see your garden while my quarters are being made ready. My mother has spoken many times about your Monastery, and when she was here last, she found the gardens remarkable." Reishach was clearly someone who was used to taking charge.

"Could I introduce you to some of my fellow monks first?" Napp asked gently. Most of the Monastery had been waiting with Napp, and were curious about their Abbot's military relative. Prior Sembera, who was the most knowledgeable about Napp's influential family, had told them that nephew Ludwig was one of the sons of Cyrill Napp's elder sister - who had once visited her brother 20 years ago, and never returned. But the family were on good terms, and Abbot Napp kept up an intermittent correspondence with his relatives, including his sisters and their children. Nephew Ludwig, however, was a mystery.

"Of course," replied the nephew, and turned towards the expectant group of monks. Abbot Napp introduced them all in turn, all except Brother Matthew who was still in disgrace and was sulking in the library.

"Brother Gregory is now in charge of the garden, until recently he was using part of it for his scientific researchers into plant hybrids," the Abbot told is relative, "perhaps he can come with us and describe the various features?"