The Mystery of the Comte (2 of 3)

James Patrick put the word out to others and asked his friends of noble descent to do otherwise when it came to information about the Comte St Germaine. He only had the one first person account of a meeting between the man which proved to not reveal much at all. Still, the account was original as it had not been written of in previous books about the Comte. James needed much more if he wanted to really sell the book to people interested in the enigma of who the Comte was. He was about to get a big boost when he received a message from a German Prince who was also a financial officer in one of his family's banks.

James figured it would be another journal entry of someone meeting the Comte and conversing with him just like the previous one. Still, he was interested in pursuing any new information and figured meeting a man descended from these families would be interesting itself. One of the bank's offices was in New York City where the Prince agreed to meet with James. The skyscraper was new with an art deco look to it. James went up to one of the top floors which also housed some very ritzy apartments for those who could afford them.

"I am Prince Hans of Saxony. I am glad you met with me as my great-grandfather is the one who met with the man who called himself the Comte. It sounds farfetched, but he did write it in his journal. My family is highly respected and the meeting does explain much. I do hope you read what is in it with an open mind. I still am on the block about believing what is in it, but I did some checking and things do add up on certain levels. I take it you are fluent in German as the last one my friend gave you was in the language." James nodded as he was handed another journal to read. This one was written at the turn of the 20th century right before the Great War.
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I am Prince Otto of a very well known and respected family. I write this in my journal as it had to do with our standing and wealth. Or shall I say lack of it. There were a few families who did have money and some were marrying into the new American industrialists. Many had claimed to be descended from noble and even royals like the Rockefeller family. That was off limits in my father's point of view and so was going to work. I had asked him about taking a job as a legal or financial consultant since I do have the schooling for it.

Father is a proud man and believes our destiny is ruling our state. But that has not been so since the unification of Germany. Also, we lived way beyond the means of pay from the poor residents. Father also was in good health so I knew he would live a very long time. I did want to go to work and bring money into our family's coffers again. We had servants who had gone on without pay out of loyalty to us. What my father said was the law of the house and estate so we did not disobey him.

Faced with the reality our family had no money, I set out to discreetly ask other families if they knew anyone who offered something on the side. I could then say it was a hobby even if I did collect fees for it. Not exactly truthful in Father's eyes, but it could at least pay the servants who stayed on. I soon was introduced to a man who had been called the Count of St Germaine. I joked about the notorious Comte St Germaine and the man mentioned that was who he was. I figured he had a sense of humor and was an eccentric sort of fellow. While he could be fun, I did need some funds for the family.

"Comte, as you know some royals and nobles actually work in banks and law offices. I was wondering if you knew of anyone who could use a side consultant or for temporary work? My father forbids me taking a true job, but I can say to him it is a hobby and work several hours a week so we can at least pay our servants." The Comte then laughed and told me he could give me any amount of money I wished. "As you know, I am an alchemist and can create gold, platinum and silver along with large flawless gemstones. All I ask is that you become a companion of mine when I travel." Father did want all of us children to travel and learn of the world so this would not bother him. I asked him out of respect and of course he was delighted.

The Comte had black hair and was incredibly handsome. He was not what they described in the literature about him. I also had many questions to ask him if he was the real Comte. One obvious question would be how he was still alive. Was he a vampire of some sort? The Comte just laughed those types of questions off as we went to the Orient and visited some of his friends and what he called his descendants. After a few months we returned back home to see several more servants had left. The Comte asked to meet with my father along with me being present. Even though I was an adult, I was still a son living at home and was not usually privy to any financial business. I knew of the lack of money by overhearing conversations, but it would be improper for me to be inside the room where the discussions were held.

Father was a bit upset about this but the Comte insisted. "Your son is a smart man and needs to know about these things as he is the family heir. Your family is one of the more respected ones around and many gossip behind closed doors about your lack of money. I want you to start a family bank up and begin loaning out money to the lower classes and smaller business types. I also want you to loan out to a few large companies so people understand this will be a bank of much means. I will back up all the loans with my monies. I have enough vast wealth to make this happen. Of course, my name will never be mentioned and you will tell others you not having money was a myth concocted by a few rivals having fun."

I could see Father was about to say no when the Comte insisted. "It is either this or you go broke and your son marries one of those American heiresses. I am sure you want a vulgar family head telling your son what to do." That was enough for my father to agree on. He changed his mind about work and made me the president of the new bank. We were soon opened for business and started building major offices around the countries and Europe. No one asked about the money and assumed Father had just been stingy with it. But we had none and the kind Comte filled the family coffers and banks with gold and silver reserves. Father passed away insisting I never reveal this to anyone. I tried to tell him no one would believe the Comte was the one who created all of this.

I did not learn too much about the Comte other than he loved to travel and have fun. He also loved all kinds of food and told me even though he called them vulgar he loved the Americas and the Americans. I wondered if he was the Comte or some strange eccentric. But then I ask how did he get a hold of all that money? He visited one of the vaults and said it was like a few tiny groats compared to what he really had. Sometimes I think he gave us all of his wealth so we could make it go to work for him.

I will keep my Father's word and not tell a soul about this. I do think the reader of this journal after I am gone might want to do the same. I do wonder if they will believe it or think I was an eccentric like so many other wealthy family members.
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"Again, not much about who the Comte was. I do think it is interesting he is the one who allegedly started up this rather powerful bank your family still owns." The Prince smiled and took out a family ledger around the time the Comte started to visit. "As you can see, my family had the manor, their clothes and a few possessions. Not much in the way of money and little jewelry as it was sold to pay for food and other things. Then all of a sudden we become one of the wealthiest families in Europe. I doubt the family lied on their own private ledgers."

James looked at the ledgers and agreed they made a good argument about the Comte being a possible alchemist. "It is still possible another branch of the family secretly helped start up the bank, is it not?" The Prince nodded but asked who it would of been. "The Kaiser and his family were busy running the country. Other families had little means to support themselves. Most did not really start working until they saw my family open up the bank. Then they realized it was an answer to their money problems."

James did like the new information about the Comte that showed he was indeed an ageless wonder if true. The book would now be interesting as it did have a respected person telling of their meeting with the Comte. James still needed much more if this was to be the definitive book about the Comte.

He was about to get what he wished for.