The Colonel sat down by the bedside, shook his head and said, 'I could not let him kill you. Even had I wished to do so, it was too late,' he added wryly, 'since George and Anton had appeared on the scene. They had been on the archery course, heard the shots - '
'Then it was true - what Dieter told me.'
The Colonel nodded. 'That you were never meant to leave Luxoria alive. To bring George back and then you were to be disposed of.'
'What was it to be? What had you in mind?' Faro asked bitterly.
He smiled grimly. 'A convenient accident, Mr Faro. This is just one of the sad facts of political necessity. You are not a foolish man, surely you can realise that.'
'Did Amelie know?' Faro put in anxiously.
'Of course not,' was the scornful reply. 'She would never have allowed any harm to come to you. Perhaps if she knows that I spared your life, she will be grateful.'
Faro said nothing. He had no emotions to spare for a lovesick Colonel who had sacrificed a family life for a useless infatuation for the Grand Duchess Amelie of Luxoria.
The Colonel was looking at him wistfully, obviously hoping for a consoling response but all that Faro could say was, 'I don't think one should mistake gratitude for love or that any man would want a wife on such conditions.'
There were more urgent matters on Faro's mind. 'And the Kaiser? Did he know of this plan?'
The Colonel shrugged. 'I think not. But perhaps he suspected something was in the wind and that was why he diplomatically absented himself. He seemed anxious not to meet you, Mr Faro. I know him well and this is not quite in character, especially since you are a close and trusted servant of his beloved grandmother.'
By whose orders he had been instructed to return George to Luxoria, Faro thought coldly. He was beginning to suspect everyone in this plan to dispose of him, even Her Majesty the Queen.
The Colonel was saying, 'Wilhelm has no reason to hate you, unlike myself. As my rival for Amelie's affections, you have long been the unknown man who stood between us and I would gladly have had you dead. But if I destroyed you it would not make Amelie love me and I never give up hope that someday she may.'
He smiled sadly. 'And then I did not know you, but now we have met and I have put a face and body on this hated rival. Then there is George, whom I love like my own son. In Amelie's many difficult times, when she has sought refuge here, I have felt that I stood in ‘loco parentis’. I was in a quandary. I could see the boy had formed an affection for you, as well as my nephew Anton. You had saved their lives.'
He spread his hands wide. 'But what could I do? The arrangement had already been made.'
And Faro remembered the scene he had witnessed, the brief tense words between the Colonel and Dieter as the latter apparently departed with the train to Luxoria.
'Dieter was to return, make his way to Mosheim and kill you. I could not do it myself, although I have killed of necessity in battle, I have never taken any man's life dishonourably. But Dieter is a hired assassin. It is merely another job of work with him.'
Leaning across, he put a hand on Faro's arm. 'But you are safe now, Mr Faro. You have my word as an officer and a gentleman. Now perhaps I can help you into these - ' he indicated a shirt and jacket on the chair nearby.
'Another new suit,' said Faro wryly.
'There are wardrobes of them here in the hunting-lodge, as I told you. Besides, those ones were required elsewhere,' he added grimly.
At Faro's puzzled glance he continued. 'There is a mill-race you will remember passing by on the way up to the old woodcutter's cottage. By now it will have received Dieter's body in your clothes. By the time it is recovered, it will be unrecognisable as the policeman from Edinburgh,’ he added grimly. ‘And President Gustav will be satisfied, having received secret information that his orders were carried out.'
'What of Dieter - won't he be expected to return to Luxoria, now that he is no longer needed as Anton's bodyguard?'
The Colonel shrugged. 'Dieter would not be welcome. He failed in his mission to return Anton to his father and to eliminate George. Such services are expendable and since it is in the nature of hired killers to come and go without anyone expecting explanations, no awkward questions will be asked.'
And with a swift change of subject, he leaned forward and held up the shirt. 'But this, I am afraid, is going to be awkward -and painful.'
It was.
When the last button was fastened, a tap on the door announced George and Anton.
George rushed over to him. 'Are you all right, sir? We were on the archery course waiting for Mama to arrive.'
Faro glanced in the Colonel's direction, who shook his head. Amelie waiting to receive him in the woodcutter's hut had been part of the well-laid trap.
'We heard the shots and decided to have a look, especially as there isn't supposed to be any shooting up there,' said Anton.
'You must come and see our archery course and my falcon,' said George eagerly. Then looking across at the Colonel, 'Mama is waiting to see Mr Faro, Uncle Karl.' And to Faro, 'She heard that Anton's horse had thrown you. Please don't tell her what really happened. She might be frightened.'
'I cannot believe it,' said Anton. 'Dieter must have gone mad to have attacked you like that, Mr Faro. And after saving all our lives, too.’
Faro could think of no answer suitable for the boys. 'I was very thankful that your uncle arrived in time,' he said with a grateful smile in the Colonel's direction.
'It was dreadful,' said Anton. 'I had
