The Secret Crown

of the sharply peaked roof to the banister of the second-floor veranda. The mystery woman was standing underneath the overhang, partially hidden in the shadows. Though he couldn’t see her face, her naturally blonde hair and fair complexion had given her away.

‘How often do you scare tourists?’ he called out as he walked up the hillside.

‘Only when they scare us first. We thought there was an avalanche,’ she said.

Payne kept walking, still unable to see her face because of the shadows. ‘Why did you think that?’

‘Why?’ she said sharply. ‘Because most people walk here.’

‘Uh-oh,’ Jones whispered. ‘We pissed off the house.’

Payne told Jones and Ulster to stay put, then focused his attention on her. ‘Sorry about the helicopter. We parked down below to minimize the noise. I hope you can forgive us.’

‘That depends.’

‘On what?’

‘On the reason you didn’t hike here like everyone else.’

When Payne reached the top of the hill, he could finally see who he was talking to. Dressed in jeans and a dark sweater, the pretty blonde stared at him, her emotions partially concealed by the long hair that danced across her face in the crisp mountain breeze. In a well-practised move, she casually grabbed her hair with one hand and slid a band off her wrist with the other. A few seconds later, a blonde ponytail dangled back and forth behind her head.

‘I’m still waiting,’ she said impatiently.

As Payne walked closer, he noticed several small things about her – the freckles on her nose, the way her jeans hugged her hips, the curves underneath her sweater. But most importantly, he noticed a twinkle in her light blue eyes. It let him know that she was sassy, not angry.

‘I’m waiting, too,’ he shot back.

She stared at him. ‘For what?’

‘For you to say hello. Or isn’t that ritual observed up here?’

‘Hello,’ she said sarcastically. ‘Now answer my question. Why didn’t you hike here?’

‘Hello to you, too,’ he said, ignoring her question. ‘My name’s Jon. What’s yours?’

She sighed. ‘Heidi.’

He stuck out his hand. ‘Nice to meet you, Heidi. I like what you’ve done with the place. When did you move in?’

But instead of shaking his hand, she stared at it coldly. ‘Sorry, Jon. No more kindness from me until you answer my question. Why didn’t you hike here like everyone else?’

He lowered his voice to a whisper. ‘Can you keep a secret?’

‘Depends on the secret.’

Payne pointed back towards Jones and Ulster. ‘I’m not going to name any names, but one of my friends is slightly out of shape. To be perfectly blunt, we didn’t know if his heart could handle a four-hour hike, so we convinced him to fly instead.’

She peeked round Payne – since he was too tall to glance over – and studied his friends. It didn’t take long to figure out which one he was talking about. ‘What if he wasn’t here?’

‘You mean, if he was dead?’

‘No!’ she gasped. ‘If he wasn’t with you, would you have made the hike?’

‘Come on, Heidi. What do you think?’

Now it was her turn to check him out.

Starting with his feet, she noticed his hiking boots. They were worn and caked with dirt. His muscular legs stretched his cargo pants to their limit, yet somehow the seams didn’t burst. Earlier, she had noticed his hand when he had attempted to shake hers. It wasn’t the hand of a working man – the nails were too clean and his fingers were free of calluses – but she had noticed some scars near his knuckles. Clearly he had been in a few fights over the years, and judging by his size, he had probably won most of them. For some reason, she found that quality – the willingness to fight for something – very attractive in a man.

She patted him on the arm. ‘If I had to guess, I’d say no.’

‘No?’ he said, laughing.

‘You’re too big to hike. I’m guessing a guy like you has no stamina.’

‘Trust me, Heidi. I have size and stamina.’

She ignored the innuendo. ‘Why are you here?’

‘To see the house. Why are you so mean?’

‘Not mean, protective. Big difference.’

‘Not to the person you’re yelling at.’

‘Trust me, I’m not yelling. If I were yelling, you’d know.’

‘In other words, you’re a screamer?’

This time, Heidi smiled. ‘Does this approach work often?’

‘What approach is that?’

‘Your whole flirty-comment thing.’

‘First of all, my thing isn’t flirting. If it was flirting, you’d know. Secondly, you’re the one who started it. My friends and I were having a personal conversation, and you butted in.’

She poked him in his chest. ‘Only because you shook the mountain.’

‘With our talking?’

‘With your helicopter,’ she snapped. ‘Tell me, do you know why King Ludwig chose this remote location for his house?’

‘Because he wanted to get away.’

‘From what?’

‘Civilization.’

‘Do you know why?’

‘Not really,’ he admitted.

She explained. ‘Because up here, Ludwig could look down on the world instead of the world looking down on him.’

Payne smiled, impressed. ‘That’s pretty deep. Did you just make that up?’

She stared at him, trying to decide if he was being sarcastic. Eventually, she decided he wasn’t. ‘As a matter of fact, I did.’

‘You’re pretty passionate about this place. How long have you worked here?’

‘Since June. That’s when we opened for the season.’

‘And before that?’

‘Ludwig’s other castles: Linderhof, Neuschwanstein and the Munich Residenz.’

‘Are you a student?’

She laughed at the question. ‘I’m too old to be a student.’

‘Maybe for high school. But there’s no age limit on learning.’

‘Now look who’s deep.’

Payne smiled. ‘If you’re not a student, what are you? A tour guide?’

‘Something like that. I work for the Bavarian Palace Department. We oversee all the castles and royal properties in Bavaria. My area of interest is Ludwig Friedrich Wilhelm von Wittelsbach, but most people call him Ludwig.’

Payne laughed. ‘That’s because most people can’t remember Ludwig Friedrich von blah blah blah – or whatever you said.’

She smiled, revealing a perfect set of white teeth. ‘So, why are you here? From your accent, I would say you’re from, um … Ohio?’

He shook his head. ‘Western Pennsylvania.’

‘Oh, well. I was close.’

‘And based on your diction and mild accent, I’d say you were born in Germany but went to school in the States.’

She nodded, impressed. ‘Big and smart. Now I’m doubly curious about your