‘Damn your orders,' said Dieter through clenched teeth. 'Obey mine! I am in charge here! Perhaps this will persuade you to change your mind.' And taking a revolver from his pocket he flourished it in the face of the astonished and now terrified official.
Faro only got the gist of what was being said, but it was enough for him to seize Dieter's wrist. 'Why don't you wait and see what is happening out there? Surely a short delay won't make any difference.'
The troop of horsemen was nearer now. Faro sighed gratefully. Those black-and-silver uniforms could never have been mistaken for the red bandanas of Anton's so-called kidnappers.
'Get this train going! Immediately!' shouted Dieter, at the sight of the new arrivals, and Faro had to grasp the arm in which Dieter held his revolver as the reason for his anxiety became clearer.
Were the Hussars intending to kidnap the Luxorian train? Was that why he was so upset? Faro wondered, as he watched the leader of the troop leap on to the engine.
His footsteps came towards them. The door opened to reveal a colonel, splendid in black and silver and wearing a shako with the skull-and-crossbones emblem. It was the uniform of the Death's Head Hussars, Kaiser Wilhelm's crack regiment.
The boys ran towards the newcomer and yelled in unison, 'Uncle Karl!'
The Colonel roared with laughter, put an arm around both lads and sternly nodded towards Dieter, who was still holding the revolver he had been using to threaten the railway official.
Stretching out his hand, the Colonel said sternly, 'You will not be needing that any longer, since you are almost home. You are not in any danger.' He bowed. 'You may cross the border and proceed into Luxoria.'
Dieter took a deep breath. 'Excellent! Perhaps you would care to tell me what all this delay is about. Or is it just an idle moment for a family reunion?'
The Colonel ignored him and bowed towards Faro, clicking his heels. 'We have not been introduced,' and to George, 'Perhaps you will do the necessary.'
Beaming, George introduced Faro to his uncle, adding proudly, ‘Mr Faro saved both our lives, Anton and me. We owe it all to him, Uncle Karl. Will you please see that he is properly rewarded?'
'Of course.' Another clicking of heels produced a weary sigh from Dieter.
'May we now proceed, Colonel? With your permission.'
The Colonel regarded him solemnly. 'You may proceed, by all means, sir.'
'Thank you.'
'I have not finished. I have said you may proceed into Luxoria, with the royal train.' He paused. 'Alone.' And cutting short Dieter's protest, he added, 'His Highness and Anton are to remain with me here in Germany.'
'What!' Dieter demanded angrily. ‘I have my orders to deliver Anton personally to his father.'
The Colonel shook his head and Dieter shouted, 'You will answer for this. He is the President's son.'
The Colonel smiled. 'His Highness comes with me by his mother's wishes, who still has legal custody of their son.' At Faro's puzzled expression, he explained. 'She is my sister, and Anton my nephew. Is that not so, Anton?' he asked gently.
'Yes, Uncle Karl. But I wish to stay with George,' he said moving closer to the boy he believed was his half-brother.
'Please, Uncle Karl,' George added.
Dieter could hardly conceal his fury. 'Very well. We will see what the President has to say about this. Meanwhile, I am to return George to his mother the Grand Duchess, who is eagerly awaiting his arrival in the royal palace.'
The Colonel shook his head. 'You have been misinformed. The Grand Duchess is still in Mosheim at the Kaiser's hunting-lodge where she has remained since her accident.'
Dieter looked even more angry. Touching his pocket, he said, ‘I have here a telegraph saying that she is well and awaiting George.' He turned to the boy. 'You read it.'
It was George's turn to look bewildered. He shook his head. 'How do we know it was from her, Dieter? Anyone can send a telegraph message. Helga could have sent it when she left us in Paris.'
Faro gave him an admiring glance. The boy was sharp and the full measure of the plot to separate him from his mother was now beginning to emerge. The reason for Anton's so called kidnapping to get him safe to the President. And when Gustav knew that George had survived the journey and the bomb attempt, Faro feared that his days would be numbered once he set foot in Luxoria.
'Are we ready to leave?' asked the Colonel. 'Very well, if you care to look out of the window, Anton, you will see that the Imperial train is approaching on the line behind us. We just transfer from one to the other.'
With their luggage gathered together, the boys and Faro jumped down on to the track. An angry-faced Dieter watched them from the window and the Colonel went over and spoke to him briefly as the train gathered up steam to cross the border into Luxoria. Not even Anton gave Dieter a backward glance or offered a word of thanks to his ex-bodyguard.
The Imperial train was waiting for them some hundred yards down the line. The carriages were painted dark blue and ivory outside; the Kaiser's drawing-room carriage, as Faro was soon to discover, was magnificent in upholstered blue silk with crystal chandeliers that tinkled like musical chimes as the train moved smoothly on its way.
Such delights were of no interest to George and Anton who insisted, with Uncle Karl's permission, that once again they ride on the engine, a much grander locomotive than the one they had just left, with engineers and footplatemen in tall hats and frock coats.
The Colonel relaxed in the chair opposite Faro. Removing his shako, he took out a gold cigar case. Faro declined the offer. At that moment he would have given much for a pipe of tobacco and a dram - or several - of an excellent Scotch whisky.
He was intrigued by the magnificence of the Colonel - the uniform, the splendid moustache, the famous Prussian 'peg-top' haircut. The lightest brightest blue eyes now regarding him with equal curiosity and ready to crinkle into merriment could, he did not doubt, also turn to ice. Even on this, the merest acquaintance, Faro felt that beyond the bravura there lurked an honest man, one he would trust with his life. It was the same instinct that had made him dislike and distrust Dieter from the very outset of their journey.
After some polite exploratory conversation in which the Colonel continued to regard him with that friendly but curious intensity, it became clear that he had reached the same deadly conclusions about the President's actions regarding George's future.
'I presume that the fake telegraph regarding his mother, sent to the Orient Express, was arranged with one of the man's fellow-conspirators. Once the President had him back in Luxoria, he would be useful as a hostage.'
'A hostage?' asked Faro. 'I don't understand. It seems to me that he would want to get rid of him more permanently.'
'By no means, though that might have come later. First he planned to use George as an instrument to give the President enormous bargaining power over the Grand Duchess - and Luxoria. He knew that Amelie would give anything - anything - '
He paused and added what Faro already knew. 'It is my opinion that she would sign any agreement to save her only son. Even to handing over the country and forsaking all future rights of George as heir. That is how much the boy means to her.'
'And the Grand Duchess's health?' Faro put in carefully, trying not to sound too eager for the news he longed to hear.
'She is recovering. The spray of bullets which killed the two servants hit her near the right lung. Her life was despaired of, but with the Kaiser's excellent doctors, although she is still very weak, she has a good chance of survival.'
The Colonel paused. 'There is another matter of Luxorian politics which you might not be able to understand, another reason for George's bargaining power. It has long been well-known amongst those of us who are close to the Kaiser - myself included as a lifelong friend - that he wishes to annex Luxoria to Imperial Germany.'
'So I have heard,' said Faro. And when the Colonel's eyebrow raised a little at that, he added, 'We have our sources of secret information too.'
The Colonel laughed. 'Of course, a senior policeman in the service of Her Majesty Queen Victoria. Stupid of me!'
'I begin to see your reasoning, Colonel.'
'Excellent! Proceed.'
'The President could use George's future to force his mother to refuse the Kaiser's wish for annexation with Germany.'
The Colonel shook his head. 'I think you are oversimplifying matters a little, Mr Faro. George has no "future" as far as the President is concerned. He is expendable, since the President wishes to have his natural son Anton made heir to Luxoria.'
'But surely George is his legitimate heir?'
The Colonel smiled. 'Ah, now there is a point! Suppose we ask why Gustav should want to destroy George, the son of his marriage, forced perhaps but legal, to Amelie.'
Leaning forward, he raised a finger. 'The answer is very plain, surely - ' Pausing, he laughed, 'especially to a detective of your powers, Mr Faro?'
'I don't follow you,' said Faro, trying to look blank despite his fast-beating heart.
The Colonel shook his head, and said triumphantly: 'George is not his child.'
They were interrupted by the arrival of a waiter bearing some excellent schnapps. Not quite Faro's preference but, at that moment, strong enough to down in one gulp and hopefully still the anguish of hearing what the Colonel had to impart.
'Permit me to let you into a secret, Mr Faro.'
Chapter 24
Pausing, the Colonel looked out of the window. ‘This secret goes back a long time and is a very personal one.'
Sighing, he smiled. 'I have been in love with Amelie for a very long time. But to go back to the beginning, Wilhelm - the Kaiser - and I were childhood companions. I knew all his secrets. He told me how he had met this wonderful lady while visiting his grandmother Queen Victoria at Balmoral.'
He paused. 'I believe you know it well, Mr Faro, and that you are a trusted intimate of Her Majesty.'
Faro bowed. 'Hardly that, sir. I have been a useful servant only, on many occasions.'
The Colonel laughed. 'Ah, like John Brown, perhaps. The servant who taught her to enjoy your Scotch whisky in her tea.'
And Faro smiled wryly at another reputation ruined by crossing the English Channel. 'No, sir. I am a policeman - a detective - on several occasions when there were threats to her life.'
'Ah, yes - assassination attempts like the one on Amelie?'
Faro nodded. 'Very similar.'
'And you were able to avert them. A pity you had not been present at Mosheim.' Again that intense look. ‘I understand that you were also responsible for Amelie's safety when she visited Scotland some years ago.'
‘I was.'
The Colonel smiled. 'Scotland has a fascination for us, a beautiful country. I once had the honour to accompany Wilhelm. He loves his grandmother, a rather formidable lady, according to Bismarck.' Pausing, he asked, 'Did you ever meet His Imperial Majesty?'
'I never had that pleasure.'
'A pity, for he is a remarkable man. Not only as my good friend but as a statesman and a soldier. Someone once said of him that he is eager to impress everyone. That he wants to be the bride at every wedding and the corpse at every funeral. He is a great raconteur, few can match him telling a story. And physically too.'
His face darkened momentarily as he continued. 'Although he has overcome a physical disadvantage that is not publically referred to,' he touched his left arm delicately, 'to become a great horseman. You must be wondering why I am telling you, a stranger, all these things, Mr Faro. The reason is very obvious. Compare this man with what you know of Amelie's husband, President Gustav.'
He shrugged. 'The man is a savage, a moral degenerate. Would it surprise anyone that Amelie, a beautiful cultured woman, would prefer His Imperial Majesty to such a fellow?'
Faro listened, fascinated now. They had come some distance from George's parentage, but was the Colonel hinting that he thought that Wilhelm was the boy's father?
'We were all a little in love with the unhappy Grand Duchess who Wilhelm had brought into our small circle. We all wished to see her free of such a marriage. My own reasons were intensely personal. My sister Melissa was born with the gift of a voice, she defied family tradition by going on the stage. Gustav saw her, charmed her by some means unknown to the rest of us. Perhaps his savage background had a sexual fascination after her gentle upbringing.'
He stopped and sighed again. 'Who knows? She was young, beautiful, ambitious and with a passionate nature. She became his mistress and Anton was born. As his own marriage was childless after many years, he decided to be rid of Amelie, and marry my sister.'
He shook his head. 'For me, this was a very difficult situation personally. I was in love with Amelie.' Smiling gently, he added, 'And I still am. I have been faithful to her for many years.'
Pausing again, he regarded Faro intently. ‘I am telling you all this because there is a mystery which has long intrigued me and one I hope you might be able to solve. It is rather personal, but I gather from your dealings with Amelie's godmother, your Queen, that you are a man of discretion, a man who can be trusted with secrets.'
Regarding Faro as if expecting some affirmative and when there was none, he went on. 'As you know, Amelie went to Scotland all those years ago to seek refuge from Gustav. Her life was in constant danger. There had been attempts to poison her to clear the way for Melissa who, of course, would not listen to any of us. She adored Gustav and wanted to marry him, have their child legitimised and made his heir.'
With a shake of his head, he added bitterly: 'She has learned the truth about Gustav, but all too late. But that is another story. When Amelie returned to Luxoria, it was for a reconciliation with Gustav and I am afraid my foolish sister was distraught when this resulted in a child. Immediately her own relationship with Gustav began to fall apart. She had served her purpose and now she was no longer needed. There were other younger, prettier girls he could take as mistresses and she returned to her neglected career.'
'Had he any other children by these unions?' Faro asked.
The Colonel smiled. 'Your question interests me exceedingly, Mr Faro. We are obviously thinking along the same lines. But he has no other offspring than Anton, that we are aware of.'
Pausing, he looked out of the window. The landscape had changed, in Faro's eyes again confirming the reason why the Prince Consort had found Deeside so attractive.
The Colonel said, 'We will soon be at the end of our journey and I must make haste since the two boys will be returning to the carriage and we may have no further chance of an intimate conversation like this. And I will go on never knowing the answer to this little mystery.'
'How do you think I can help you, sir?' asked Faro, knowing that four simple words could clear up the mystery of George's birth, four simple words that would never pass his lips.
The Colonel put his fingertips together and regarded Faro gravely. 'In your short acquaintance with Amelie, was there anyone in Scotland with whom she might have had a temporary infatuation?'
Regardless of his fast-beating heart, Faro said: 'I cannot answer that. We met only briefly during a visit to her friends in East Lothian, near Edinburgh.'
'Then there might have been someone at this place?' the Colonel asked eagerly.
Shaking his head, Faro said truthfully, 'I hardly think that would be possible. There were no suitable or eligible men from my acquaintance with that particular family.'
The Colonel looked disappointed and, frowning over his schnapps, Faro felt uncomfortably aware of his penetrating gaze. At last he shrugged.
'Perhaps I am all wrong, what you call "barking up the wrong tree".'
Faro pretended to be puzzled. 'You have said yourself that there was a reconciliation, so why shouldn't George be the President's child?'
'Because, Mr Faro, Gustav has found out the truth.'
'I don't understand,' lied Faro, who understood perfectly.
The Colonel spread his hands wide. 'All the evidence is confirmed by
things that have happened lately. The assassination attempt at Mosheim - who else would want to be rid of Amelie, who else realises that this annexation with Imperial Germany would topple the President from his power?'
Faro's thoughtful expression suggested that he was considering this possibility. 'But if this is such a well-kept secret, about the child, how could he have found out?'
The Colonel shrugged. 'Who knows? In a moment of terror or desperation, perhaps Amelie confessed the truth. Certainly his behaviour towards George - Amelie is terrified of what might happen to the boy - seems to confirm that the President is now aware that the boy is not his son.'
Pausing to let this sink in, he added, 'I have known and loved Amelie for a long time. I have asked her to marry me, knowing it was unlikely although my blood is better than that of her President. In Germany the Junkers are country gentry, a noble class of landowners formed in the Middle Ages. They do not correspond to any other society in Europe. We belong to men who are not too proud to join their estate workers during the harvest but are proud of their right to carry a sword for the King of Prussia.'
He smiled. 'So I have always loved Amelie, always hoped that she perhaps loved me a little. But one day, when she was staying at Mosheim, she told me that although she was grateful she could never return my affection. And she hinted - just a mere hint - that there was someone else. Someone she had loved from the first day she met him and would love to the very last day of her life.'
He shook his head, as though still bewildered. 'It was a great shock to me. I had never suspected such a thing.’
'Perhaps the Kaiser?' said Faro helpfully, just to ease the tension.
'No. I am sure of that. We have talked of Amelie's little mystery, Wilhelm and I. He is somewhat vague and at one time I suspected they might have been lovers, very briefly.'
'You might be right,' was the cautious response.
'No,' said the Colonel emphatically. Leaning forward, he subjected Faro once again to that intense gaze. 'The secret lies in your country. Someone she met, someone we know nothing about, a brief love for a mysterious man her heart still aches for. Whoever he was, that man is undoubtedly also George's father.'
The Final Enemy. An Inspector Faro Mystery No.12. Page 14
