[Inspector Faro 14] - Faro and the Royals

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 train was beginning to slow down. The Colonel sat back and gave him a brilliant smile. 'We are almost at our destination. Come along, Mr Faro. We have only minutes for you to solve my mystery. Surely, before we part, Scotland's greatest detective must have some clue to offer about the man's identity?'

Chapter 25

Faro was spared any further interrogation regarding George's parentage as the train slowed down.

 'Ah, we are there!' said the Colonel.

 Faro looked out of the window. The terrain with its pine forests and undulating hills and river did not immediately suggest the outskirts of a great city.

 'Stuttgart?' he said.

 The