In fact, the more he listened to Reece, the more it appealed as he realised this was the chance of a lifetime, never to be repeated. The first and last chance he would ever have of spending time with his - with George - a lifetime of getting to know the lad in a few precious days.
And that, come what may, was the deciding factor. He was ready to take on any odds for this unexpected hand destiny had offered him.
He had never expected to see Grand Duchess Amelie again. Now he would return her son to her. If she lived, please God. If she did not, then George was heir to Luxoria.
A wave of paternal pride swept over him. A secret that could never be divulged, but how he would relish hugging it to his heart for the rest of his life.
And so it was all arranged by Reece with military precision.
On the following morning, once George had had time to rest and recover from his ordeal, the royal carriage at Perth Railway Station would be linked with the express from Aberdeen which would convey both boys and Dieter to Edinburgh. There Faro would join the train at midday.
The travellers would include Helga, a servant at the school suggested by Dieter himself. She had left Germany some years earlier and was anxious to return to her now widowed mother.
‘It is an excellent arrangement to have a maid's services. Helga will attend to the laundry and take care of the personal ablutions of the two boys,' the Headmaster told Faro.
Before leaving Glenatholl to catch the Edinburgh train, Faro insisted on inspecting the old stables where George had been found.
He invited Dieter to accompany him and the bodyguard stood around looking bored and rather cross as Faro examined the faintly discernible footprints, for the weather at the time of George's kidnapping had been dry. That was unfortunate. But Faro realised from the evidence that Anton's description of George's captors had been correct. One was a large man wearing heavy boots, the other smaller. The lack of a carriage and the use of the old stables seemed to confirm that Crane's suspicion of a practical joke by the boys was correct.
He wished he could believe it.
In Sheridan Place, hastily repacking his valise to include a passport and his revolver, which he prayed he would never have to use, while bravely fending off Mrs Brook's anxieties about how many shirts and sets of underclothes and socks he might need, Faro told Vince and Olivia that something very important had happened.
'I am going to Germany immediately.'
Olivia's immediate reaction was delight at this news. Her face brightened and her expression said more clearly than any words that she believed Faro and Imogen were planning to marry at last. He could only guess at her disappointment as he told Vince of his plans to escort the heir to Luxoria back across Germany. In the interests of sparing them both unnecessary - he hoped - anxiety, he made no mention of the events at Glenatholl which had brought this about, beyond saying that it was Her Majesty's wish.
Olivia looked pleased and proud at that, but Vince, whose chief concern was always his stepfather's welfare, protested.
'Do they know whether the Grand Duchess is still alive? The newspapers have been remarkably silent about the extent of her injuries.'
On his arrival in Edinburgh Faro had visited the special and highly secret department of the City Police whose business was the acquiring of such information.
'They knew nothing. No news was good news, or so they told me,' he said consolingly.
'Are you sure you want to be involved in all this, Stepfather?' asked Vince, unable to keep the anxiety out of his voice.
'I have very little option, lad.' Faro shook his head. 'Even I cannot ignore a royal command.'
'But she knows you are retired,' Vince protested.
'Yes, indeed. How very unthoughtful,' said Olivia. 'A great strain on you.'
'Wait a bit!' Faro protested. 'I'm not exactly decrepit.'
'Olivia is anxious, as I am,' Vince put in sternly. 'Besides, how do you deal with anything when you don't even know the language?'
Faro shrugged. 'I will cross that particular bridge when I come to it, if ever.'
Vince sighed. 'I do wish I was going with you, Stepfather.'
'Since you don't know the language either, we would both be in trouble,' said Faro. While appreciating their concern, his patience was running thin.
'I would very much like to meet this prince,' was Olivia's tactful rejoinder.
"And so you shall, my dear, when you see me off tomorrow,' said Faro, glad of her diversion.
They drove him to the station the next morning, where a very wide eyed Olivia was ushered into the handsome royal carriage which looked so dark and unassuming from its exterior.
She curtsied to the boy, who took her hand and bowed. Anton did likewise, as did Dieter, while Helga curtsied nicely.
Olivia was charmed by George and so was Vince, in spite of himself and his fears. Already he had his suspicions that he had not been told the whole truth and that his stepfather was embarking on no ordinary assignment. Reading between the lines, a matter he had become skilled at in their early days, Vince guessed shrewdly that if some person or persons did not wish the heir of Luxoria to set foot in his native land again, then Faro's mission was perilous indeed.
As they watched the train steam out of the station, Olivia said, 'What a charming boy. I have never met a prince before and George is such a very English name.'
'But it owes its royal origins to the Hanoverians,' said Vince leading the way back to their carriage.
Olivia emerged from her cloud of euphoria. 'He doesn't look in the least foreign, not like the boy Anton. George looks more like, well, a Viking.'
'Precisely,' said Vince drily, for the resemblance to Faro was unmistakable and he hoped no one in Luxoria was aware of the outcome of the Grand Duchess's
