Okay, now looking up the various appearances of Frau von Keith again, I note that in v.2, p 280, Lehndorff - who sees her again and thanks her for helping his mother, and hears from her about the state of Berlin - mentions not just one but TWO sons - "she is travelling to Braunschweig, to which place she's also ordered her son,, who is studying in Götttingen, in order to entrust him with his younger brother, whom she wants to send there (to Göttingen, not Braunschweig) as well.
But you know, I do think not only is this always the same lady, but it's in fact Peter's wife, because on page 428 of v.2, it says: "Everyone is now busy getting into trade. The bank is installed at Jägerhof. Frau v. Keith, whom the King had left Jägerhof to use for her lifetime, is generously recompensed by his Majesty through an annual rent of 1300 Taler instead." Since Jägerhof was in fact the estate given to Peter, that means it is his widow. Which also means Peter had two sons. Congrats, Peter? Göttingen is of course about to become the top university of Germany. (Still boasts of producing the most Nobel Prize winners.)
Also: it occurs to me that if Lehndorff is on such good terms with Peter's wife and later widow and regularly sees her since both attend EC's court, chances are that the two summing-ups he gives of Peter's backstory - once when Peter is still alive, the other, longer one after his death - are most likely than not at least indirectly from the horse's mouth. Including the impression in vol.1 that "the more mature way of his majesty's thinking could only condemn the services that had been rendered to him in his youthful folly, and thus Herr von Keith did not find the reward that would have been appropriate for the ten years of fears and plagues".
Re: Peter Keith - aha!
But you know, I do think not only is this always the same lady, but it's in fact Peter's wife, because on page 428 of v.2, it says: "Everyone is now busy getting into trade. The bank is installed at Jägerhof. Frau v. Keith, whom the King had left Jägerhof to use for her lifetime, is generously recompensed by his Majesty through an annual rent of 1300 Taler instead." Since Jägerhof was in fact the estate given to Peter, that means it is his widow. Which also means Peter had two sons. Congrats, Peter? Göttingen is of course about to become the top university of Germany. (Still boasts of producing the most Nobel Prize winners.)
Also: it occurs to me that if Lehndorff is on such good terms with Peter's wife and later widow and regularly sees her since both attend EC's court, chances are that the two summing-ups he gives of Peter's backstory - once when Peter is still alive, the other, longer one after his death - are most likely than not at least indirectly from the horse's mouth. Including the impression in vol.1 that "the more mature way of his majesty's thinking could only condemn the services that had been rendered to him in his youthful folly, and thus Herr von Keith did not find the reward that would have been appropriate for the ten years of fears and plagues".