Hand nodded. "Thank you. That's quite helpful, I think."

Now that he was on the scene in Berlin, Hand could see that the doctor's assessment had been quite helpful. It gave him what he most needed as a guide to action: a time frame.

Six months, Hand decided. That would be his framework.

Chancellor Oxenstierna had escorted the colonel into the room in the former Elector's palace where Gustav Adolf was kept. He'd been silent since, allowing the king's cousin to interact as best he could without distraction.

Now, finally, he spoke. "As you can see, Erik, he does not have his wits about him any longer."

Hand thought it would be better to say that the king's wits were wandering somewhere inside his brain, trying to find a way out. But under the circumstances, the less he said to Oxenstierna, the better.

So he simply uttered a noncommittal sound. A hum, you might call it.

Oxenstierna turned to face him. "Will your current assignment…?"

Hand raised his hand a few inches. "Please, Axel. Despite my cousin's current condition, I feel obliged to maintain his confidentiality."

"Yes, of course."

The chancellor seemed on the verge of saying something further, by the expression on his face, but after a few seconds satisfied himself with an equally non-committal grunt.

He then gave Hand a polite little bow. More in the way of an exaggerated nod, really. "And now I'm afraid I must be off. Urgent affairs of the realm, as you can imagine."

Hand returned the not-quite-a-bow. That was slightly rude, on his part. King's cousin or not, Oxenstierna still ranked him in Sweden's hierarchy. But Hand couldn't afford to give any impression, especially to Oxenstierna, that he was in the least bit intimidated by Gustav Adolf's predicament.