As the flames subsided, smoke gushed through and set them coughing. But there was worse than smoke now to contend with. Faro heard a sharp crack as a bullet hit the stone lintel of the door, narrowly missing him.
He fired at the moving shadow on the edge of the grass. The shadow jerked like a puppet. He heard an exclamation and realised he had hit his target.
Amelie peered over his shoulder. 'Well done. You managed it. We're safe.'
'Oh no, we're not. He wasn't alone. Listen.'
'Father - father -' The voice was Vince's. 'Come quickly.' A scream - and silence.
Amelie stared at him. 'That was Vince. You must go to him. He's been hurt. I'll be all right.'
Faro turned, handed her the gun. 'Can you use this?'
She smiled mockingly. 'I've been through a revolution. Of course I can use a gun - and anything else it takes to stay alive,' she added. 'Now go -'
Opening the door a fraction, he turned and said: 'Shoot to kill. Remember it's you they want, not me.'
'What about you - you're unarmed?'
'I can still use my fists. Don't worry about me.'
As he ran lightly across the grass, his main concern was for his stepson. It hadn't been Vince calling, of that he was sure. Although it sounded like his voice, the lad never called him anything but 'Stepfather'.
In the shrubbery he almost fell across a body. He thought at first it was Vince. It was Batey, shot in the shoulder and leaning against a tree. Realising he had hit his target but not fatally, Faro snatched up his gun and, followed by Batey's curses, ran swiftly back towards the house.
The sudden dimness of the interior blinded him. With relief he saw Vince stagger forward apparently unharmed. But Vince was not alone. From the shadows behind him, a voice -
'You have a choice, Jeremy. Your stepson or Her Highness.'
The smiling face was that of his cousin, Leslie Faro Godwin.
But where was Amelie?
Chapter 21
Although all the evidence had indicated the assassin's identity, Faro's heart had resolutely refused to accept what his head knew to be true. To the bitter end, he hoped that some miracle would prove his growing suspicions regarding his cousin to be false.
He watched in a daze of unbelief, Vince struggling. 'Damn you, Godwin. Damn you.'
But Leslie held him in an iron grip. 'Throw down your gun, Jeremy. You won't be needing that.' As Faro put the gun on the table, Leslie pointed to a chair. 'And do sit down, if you please. On your feet, you make me feel nervous -'
Faro did as he was told and playing for time he asked: 'Why? Just tell me why?'
Leslie laughed. 'Can't you guess? Money, my dear fellow, always money. Lost heavily in the casino in Luxoria, thrown into jail. Then the President's highly efficient intelligence service hinted that all would be forgiven if I obliged them - in a certain manner. There's no need to look like that. It isn't the first time.' He paused, then added slowly: 'You should know that by now.'
Allowing that information to sink in, he continued: 'If you want to believe in my reputation, then accept that it is only a very small step from killing a man you don't know or hate on a battlefield, risking your life for nothing but glory, to killing a man - or a woman -' he emphasised grimly, 'who is someone else's deadly foe. And being handsomely paid for your trouble.
'While I was at the planning stage, I was housed here as a guest at one of Sir Piers's shooting parties. I saw the unique and admirable possibilities the dower house presented with the family abroad.
'Incidentally, Amelie was followed all the way from Luxoria and Batey rode out to meet them when they landed at North Berwick. He managed to arrange the accident despite that cursed storm. Amelie died (or so we believed) most obligingly, of fright. Not a hand laid on her.
'And all the time while I was at the regimental dinner being reunited with my cousin Inspector Faro, Batey - with the help of the Hogans and Sandy Dunnock - arranged for the body of Her Highness, with nothing to identify her, to be found in the Wizard's House. So that there could be no connection, the drowned coachman was to be hidden in Mrs Dunnock's closet - for a day or two. Mrs Dunnock got upset after that, complained that the smell was upsetting them.
'But where was Miss Fortescue? That worried me, but Batey assured me he'd seen her roll down into the water. Anyway, I was overcome with curiosity. I had to be certain my mission was successful before claiming my bounty. But when I followed you into the Wizard's House, I realised we had got the wrong woman. Same colouring, age and so forth. Batey's fault, but understandable in the dark with a storm raging. However, as far as we were concerned they were all dead, with two of the three bodies accounted for.'
He stopped and, smiling, pointed at Faro. 'And then you, Jeremy, most obligingly, told me Miss Fortescue was at Lethie Castle. I knew I had to work fast after that. Damned nuisance.' The smile was replaced by a scowl.
'So Batey broke into Wrightson's study and stole the headed notepaper from Holyrood -'
Leslie grinned, his charming self once more. 'He did. Wrightson had bragged about his drawer of royal mementoes, that evening before you arrived. Another of Batey's modest accomplishments, which alas has put him behind bars in the past, is being a damned good forger. I hope he doesn't die out there. You'll be to blame. I had to leave him, the urgent need for more important quarry.'
As if remembering, he held the gun at Vince's head. 'And what have you done with Her Highness? I shall count to three and if she doesn't appear, then you can say goodbye to Vince. One
