The Habsburg Winter Ball

The drive down from Burg Hohenwerfen to the imperial city of Salzburg was a breathtaking descent through an alpine winter wonderland. The armored Mercedes Maybach convoy glided smoothly along the Autobahn, the snow-covered peaks of the Untersberg rising like jagged white giants against the twilight sky. Inside the rear passenger compartment, the atmosphere between Maximilian and Genevieve was charged with quiet, expectant anticipation. Genevieve sat smoothing the heavy folds of…