a marble-topped washstand with jugs and basins on it and, on the opposite side of the room, against the wall, a large canopied bed upon which Rupert Hentzau reclined, fully dressed, smoking a cigarette and staring at the ceiling. He was alone inside the room.
“Hentzau!” Finn whispered.
Hentzau sat up in bed and glanced towards the window. “Ah, it’s you, play-actor! Have a pleasant swim?”
“Never mind the witticisms, just help me in,” said Finn.
Hentzau came over to the window and stood there, looking at Finn clinging to the rope. He grinned, made a small “gun” with his thumb and forefinger and made a popping sound with his mouth,
“You see?” he said. “How easily I could have dissolved our partnership. Perhaps now you will trust me a little more.”
“I’ll trust you to help inside,” said Finn.
Hentzau reached out and took Finn’s hand, pulling him into the room. He then untied the rope and let it drop into the moat.
“You’re dripping on the carpet,” he said. “You’d best change, unless you wish to leave a trail of water behind you. My clothes will be tight on you, but I think that we can manage to squeeze you into a pair of Michael’s boots and breeches and perhaps one of my larger shirts. This was Michael’s room, you know. I’ve decided that he would be more comfortable in my old quarters. They’re a trifle smaller, but then I don’t think he will protest. I’ve locked him in.”
While Finn changed into the white breeches, high black boots, and loose, flowing white shirt that Hentzau gave him, Rupert quickly explained the situation to him.
“The king is in the dungeon directly below us,” he said, “the first room off the stairs. There is a guardroom outside it, where Detchard and Krafstein will be stationed now. The way to reach it is by going out the door here, turning to your left, going down the corridor and across the main hall of this part of the castle. You will see several passageways leading off this hall. The largest one, with the great vaulted arch above it, leads to the main section of the castle. The one you want is immediately to its left. It leads to a stairway going down to the lower level, the upper level of the dungeons. It isn’t even properly a dungeon. They were once servants’ quarters and have now been converted to hold a considerably more illustrious tenant. The actual dungeons are below the main section of the castle, but they need not concern you. You would not wish to go down there in any case; they are teeming with rats. You will have to watch yourself when you cross the hall. I will try and make the way clear for you, but you shall be completely in the open and you will have to move quickly. Should anyone see you, I will do my best to prevent an outcry, but it would be better all around if you avoided being seen. Now, once you have reached the stair, you go down one flight and you will reach a landing. From there, the stairs turn sharply to the left. At the bottom, you will be near the entrance to the guardroom. I suggest that you pause upon that first landing and listen carefully. If the way seems clear, proceed down to the bottom. Take care to look before you step off the bottom stair. If either Detchard or Krafstein are anywhere near the middle of the room, they will be bound to see you. You will need to find a place of concealment. There is a short passage of sorts, a hall between the bottom of the stairs and the guardroom itself. It is no more than seven or eight feet long and there are no doors there. However, if you press yourself against the wall on either side, just before the archway, you will be in a shadowed corner and more or less hidden from sight. Once you have gotten that far, your greatest problem will be if either Krafstein or Detchard should decide to go upstairs for any reason. If they do, they cannot avoid seeing you. In that case, you will lose the advantage of surprise with one of them, at least.
“Here is a pistol for you. I advise you to shoot Detchard first. I do not know if he carries his pistol on him, but he always carries a knife and his reactions are devilishly quick. Hell have that knife in you before you blink. So I advise you not to miss. As for Krafstein, he always goes armed, but he is nowhere near as quick as Detchard. He does, however, shoot well. Think you can handle it, Play-actor?”
“Just make sure you do your part,” said Finn, “If that drawbridge does not come down, I’ll make certain to save a bullet for you.”
“If the drawbridge does not come down,” said Hentuu, with a grin, “then save that bullet for yourself. It will mean that I have died in the attempt and I would advise you to kill yourself rather than be taken by the countess. That’s a bitch with a thirst for blood that is unmatched. She once showed a bit too keen an interest in the implements of torture down there. I believe she chafes to try than out on someone.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” said Finn.
“Are your people in position?”
“By now, they should be,” Finn said. “The lowering of the drawbridge will be their signal to attack.”
“Good. Once you have achieved the stair, I shall count to twenty, then lower the bridge. It shall be rather noisy, I’m afraid, so you had best be ready.”
“What about the others?”
“You leave than to me. Just dispose of Krafstein and Detchard as quickly as you can, then enter the king’s cell and do away with him. There is a grate across the window of his cell that swings away. Beyond it is a pipe. Place the king’s body in the pipe and weight it, you will fund all you need there ready to hand. Once the king has gone into the moat, release the pipe and it shall drop in after him. Then, Your Majesty, hasten to me, for I will require protection from your friends.”
“Very well,” Finn said, nodding. “When do we go?”
Hentzau walked over to the door, opened it, peered out then nodded at Finn. “Now,” he said.
Albert Lauengran reached the top of the stairs, glanced quickly down the hall, and then moved swiftly to the door of Hentsn’s old room. He paused, listened, then turned the key In the lock and swung open the door.
Michael Elphberg was sitting on the edge of the bed, bent over, his head in his hands. When Lauengram came in, he looked up quickly. His fact was puffed and bruised. His nose was splayed across his features at an odd angle and several of his teeth were missing. Both his lips were cut.
“So,” he said, “they’ve sent you to do me in, have they?”
Lauengram held a finger to his lips. “Hush, Your Lordship,” he said softly. “Not all have turned on you.”
“What do you mean?” said. Michael, sitting up straight and staring at Lauengram with the beginnings of hope.
“Though she has promised to double our wages,” Lanett-gram said, “we are not keen to throw in with her. There is more honor-and more profit, to be sure-in following a king… Your Majesty.”
Michael stood. “Who is ‘we?”
“Detchard, Krafstein, De Gautet and myself,” said Lauengram.
“And Hansen?”
“We did not ask him,” Lauengram said. “He seems too enamored of the countess and too anxious to receive his doubled wages. Besides, it was he who locked you in here, remember.”
“Yes, I remember all too well,” said Michael. “You can tell the others that their pay is to be tripled henceforth and that they may look forward to more once I have attained the throne. As for Hentzau, he does not live out the night.”
“We had already agreed on that,” said Lauengram. “And the countess-”
“That she-devil is mine,” said Michael, vehemently. “Give me your pistol.”
“I would prefer to keep it,” Lauengram said. “Should we run into Hentzau-”
“Then I will shoot him down like the dog he is!”
“No offense, Milord, but my hand is steadier.”
“What, then, are you afraid? You have your sword.”
“Aye, and I’ll not draw it against Heotzau. With a gun, I do not fear him, but I am no match for Rupert with a blade”
“Would you question your king?” said Michael, holding his hand out.
Reluctantly, Lauengram handed him his pistol.
“Where is Heotzau now?” said Michael.
“In your chamber right below us,” Lauengram said.
“And the others?”
“Krafttein and Detchard are with the king. De Gautet keeps watch for Hentzau in the main hall. As for the
