Mayerling (3)

The Doctor's Tale

The female died of blood loss from the womb.
The Court declined my offer to exhume
her. Age of seventeen, of thereabouts.
There doesn't seem to be the slightest doubt
that this was an abortion, badly-botched.
My best guess is, the male sat there and watched
his lover die. He may have waited hours
before he acted. It took all his powers
of self-control to do the thing he did.
No actus interveniens, tertium quid.
He knew he'd killed her. Overcome by dread,
discharged his pistol here. Side of his head. 

Author's Note

The Doctor's Tale -- In his private report to the royal family, the physician gives a dry, matter-of-fact account of his findings -- and in doing so, offers us some fascinating new information.
The female -- Mary, Countess Vetsera
blood loss from the womb -- It now seems that Mary was pregnant, an appalling piece of news, because her lover Rudolf was heir to the (very Catholic) Austrian throne. The doctor is in no doubt that Rudolf tried, somehow, to give Mary an abortion.
The Court declined my offer -- The doctor was willing to have the hastily-buried girl dug up, to confirm his findings, but the royal family refused. The less that was known about Mary, the better!
sat there and watched -- Rudolf, seeing his lover bleed to death, realises he will have to commit suicide. This scandal can't be effaced in any other way. From the time of death, the doctor supposes that Rudolf needed several hours to steel himself for the inevitable.
actus interveniens -- intervening act (Latin): in other words, this incident involved only the two people in the room.
tertium quid -- third party (Latin)