CHAPTER 3 – A Merry Evening with a Distant Relative

In Chapter 3 of “The Prisoner of Zenda,” titled “A Merry Evening with a Distant Relative,” our protagonist Rudolf Rassendyll encounters Johann, a servant of the Duke of Strelsau, who offers Rudolf accommodation in the capital as a substitute for his own unclaimable lodging. Accepting the offer, Rudolf plans a detour through the forest to reach the railway, immersing himself in the natural charm of the woods and ultimately nodding off against a fallen tree trunk. His serene slumber is curtailed by the startled exclamations of two men, who are struck by Rudolf’s uncanny resemblance to the King of Ruritania. The men, Colonel Sapt and Fritz von Tarlenheim, servants to the King, introduce themselves, and the trio’s banter is soon interrupted by the arrival of the King himself. The resemblance between Rudolf and the King is so astonishing that it initiates a bout of laughter and marvel from the monarch, who extends a spontaneous invitation to Rudolf to join him for dinner. Rudolf accepts.

Their journey leads them to a hunting lodge in the forest, where the King insists on a hearty meal accompanied by an abundance of wine, dismissing any objections with a royal wave of hand. King and Rassendyll’s camaraderie grows over the meal, fueled by tales of past glory, musings on the future, and the bonds of newly discovered kinship, albeit through a distant and shared ancestry. They revel without concern for the next day’s commitments, chief among them the King’s obligation to travel early to Strelsau for the guard of honor, which further cements the festive mood.

By the evening’s zenith, they find themselves indulging in a special bottle of wine from the King’s brother, Duke Michael, symbolically offered as a peace gesture. The narrative revels in the ironies and jests of royal life, the complexities of identity and familial bonds, and sets the stage for a tale of adventure that questions the essence of nobility and the whimsy of fate, captured through a jovial yet poignant dinner that links the lives of its participants inexorably.