'Was she aware of that?' asked Faro.
'Indeed she was, very aware,' said Julian grimly.
A maid appeared at the door. 'Yes, Simms. Lunch in half an hour. That suit you, Faro? Where was I? Oh yes, Luxoria.'
And he went on to tell Faro what he already knew from Amelie herself.
'The situation between them was made worse - if that were possible - when it became widely known that the President had a son by his mistress. And President Gustav was so eager to replace Amelie, any excuse would do. Lord knows how she's survived so far in her own country, he must be quite desperate to get rid of her to risk an assassination attempt in Mosheim.’
‘What if the Kaiser had been in the carriage with her?’
Julian shuddered. 'An international incident that doesn't bear thinking about. The consequences could have been a war in Europe. Any excuse would do for countries who are watching Germany's policy of annexing smaller states.' And regarding him thoughtfully, he added:
'This is top secret, Faro - quite unofficial, of course - but rumour has it that the Kaiser has indicated he would be more than happy to gather Luxoria under his own imperial umbrella, offer Amelie and her loyal countrymen his official protection. Certainly, Her Majesty would approve.' He laughed. 'Indeed yes, she would even add a grandmother's blessing. I had that piece of information from Her Majesty's own lips. Very pro-German as you would guess and she loves to relate how her beloved Albert often theorised with the Kaiser's grandfather that he wished to see a liberated united Germany under the leadership of an enlightened Prussia.'
He sighed. 'I was glad to get out of Luxoria, and in one piece, I can tell you. Gustav's ambition was boundless. I fancy a case of "After Luxoria, the rest of Europe",' he added wryly. 'A madman, but I imagine if Kaiser Wilhelm gets his way, he will sort him out. And despite his imperial ambitions, it will be no bad thing for Amelie. He's been her friend and supporter ever since they met, you know.'
Pausing, he smiled. 'It was at Balmoral in '78.1 was an equerry then so I had a ringside seat, you might say. They were both favoured visitors, adored by Her Majesty and meeting for the first time. Despite the difference in their ages, or maybe because of it, there was an instant rapport between them. Amelie, gentle, sympathetic and quite beautiful, was every man's ideal of a princess and I could see Willy, as everyone called him, was very taken with this lonely woman, unhappily married, with a young baby, who seemed to understand all his particular problems that no one else wanted to know about. And that did not include the physical infirmity of a withered arm, for God knows, the lad had gallantly overcome that through the years.
'He was nineteen years old and everyone at Balmoral knew he wanted to marry Princess Eliza Radizwill but, essentially Prussian in outlook, he had accepted the impossibility of alliance with a non-sovereign princely family. But he pined for his lost love and carried her miniature with him. I understand he and Amelie wrote long letters to each other until their next meeting, six years ago, again at Balmoral, at one of those innumerable royal weddings.
'Willy had done his duty, made the best possible marriage for Prussia, but not the happiest for himself, with Princess Augusta Victoria, generally known as Dona, of the House of Augustenburg. Once again the bond between two unhappy people was renewed. Once again both were seeking sanctuary and I am fairly certain that was when Willy, an inveterate traveller, offered Amelie the refuge of his hunting-lodge.
Julian smiled. 'It's at Mosheim, near Heidelberg. Wooded country, on a hill-top, overlooking a river, picturesque and with stunning views. Twenty years ago while on a tour in the Odenwald, his parents discovered high above the town, in a forest noted for its wild boar, a picturesque but almost derelict medieval castle. Restored and modernised, they realised this would be the perfect setting for their shooting-parties.
‘Amelie has been a regular guest, popular with even Kaiserin Dona, who doesn't regard the older woman as a potential rival although she's lost nothing of her charm for Willy. Poor Amelie, she's had such rotten luck. What's more, for many years she's gone in daily terror of her life.
Her husband, she knows, has been behind several unsuccessful attempts to have her poisoned, and once the wheel of her carriage was tampered with and it went off the road down a ravine. The coachman died, but miraculously she and the young prince were thrown clear. That was just a couple of years ago.’
He frowned. 'About this latest assassination attempt, it must be obvious that Luxoria cannot survive the present turmoil in Europe and Amelie can no longer hold the reins single-handed. Seeing the results of the President's disastrous military rule, I suspect she has needed little persuasion that the people of Luxoria would be better off under the canopy of Imperial Germany.'
For Faro, listening, many things were becoming clear and he was thankful indeed that he had accepted his old friend's invitation. Julian's connection with Balmoral was well known to him, but his link with Luxoria was an unexpected bonus.
'You think that was the reason behind the hunting-lodge incident?
'Oh, indeed yes. It takes little imagination to see President Gustav's hand very clearly directing the assassin's gun. Another thing, I suspect that it was on Willy's advice that Amelie decided to send the boy over here to school last year. An only child, she adored him, would do anything - ' he shrugged, 'even I suspect, turn Luxoria over to Germany in return for the Kaiser's protection. Doubtless it's a bargain package and he has promised to restore the boy to the throne when he
