The Zenda Vendetta

10

“I have never seen anything like it,” Hentzau told Bersonin. “I tell you, Karl, he was beaten senseless!”

The lanky mercenary gave Hentzau a highly dubious look. “And you think the countess did it?”

“She did it, for a fact,” said Hentzau. “Go and see for yourself if you do not believe me. Look at her hands. Her knuckles are cut from knocking out his teeth. Evidently, Michael had the temerity to strike her. She took her pound of flesh, I can tell you. The coach is spattered with his blood.”

“Really, Rupert,” said Bersonin, smiling as if his leg was being pulled, “you expect me to believe that a mere woman-”

“A mere woman who can handle a sabre better than many men I’ve met,” said Hentzau. “I tell you, she’s an animal! God, she’s absolutely magnificent!”

“You must be mad.”

“Mad, am I? Well, we shall see who’s mad. We shall see who calls the tune from now on, Michael or Sophia. You wouldn’t care to place a little wager?”

“I think-”

He was interrupted by Falcon entering the hall. She had changed from her evening gown to a riding costume that lacked only the jacket. She wore a white lace shirt and waistcoat of black leather, tight black breeches and high black boots. She was pulling on her gloves as she came in. Her ash-blonde hair was pulled back, and she had removed all of her makeup.

“Where is Albert Lauengram?” she asked Bersonin, crisply.

“Just one moment, Countess,” said Bersonin, somewhat patronizingly. “First, there are a few questions which-”

“I shall ask the questions, Karl, and you shall provide the answers. Now, where is Lauengram?”

“I think you presume a bit too much, Madame,” Bersonin said, in a tone of rebuke. Hentzau watched this interplay with a faint smile upon his face. “I take no orders from you.”

“And I will take no insolence from you, Karl. Now, I shall ask you only one more time. Where is Lauengram?”

Bersonin glanced at Hentzau and smirked. “I follow Michael Elphberg,” he said, “not his concubine.”

Her eyes seemed to flare. “Really? In that case, you are no more use to me than Michael is. Your sword, Rupert.”

With an arch look at Bersonin, Hentzau drew his sabre and casually tossed it to her. She caught it easily by the hilt.

“Never say I didn’t warn you,” Hentzau said.

“You must be joking,” said Bersonin.

“Draw your sword, Karl,” Falcon said.

“Against a woman? I’ll not. This is ridiculous.”

“Fine, then.” Before Bersonin could react, her sabre swished through the air between them, opening up his cheek from the left ear to the jaw.

Bersonin cried out, staggering several steps back, his hands going to his face. They came away bloody. He stared at her with livid fury. Wiping his bloody hands upon his breeches, he drew his sabre. “Have it your way, then. Michael or no Michael, you’ll die for that.”

Hentzau swung a chair around, sitting in it backward with his arms crossed upon its back, watching as Bersonin sprang at her. She parried his thrust effortlessly, disengaged with astonishing speed, beat his blade out of the way and opened up his other cheek.

With a howl of fury, Bersonin attacked, fully intending to cut her to shreds. Instead, to his amazement, he found himself at once on the defensive. The clang of steel on steel filled the hall as she drove him back, refusing to give quarter. He backed up against a table, faked a thrust and rolled backward across it, putting it between them so that his longer reach would give him an advantage. Falcon vaulted the table, coming down lightly on the other side. Bersonin lunged at her while she was in mid-air, but even before she landed, she parried his thrust, turned his blade, and went on the attack.

Lauengram chose that moment to walk in. He had been eating in the kitchen and pressing his suit against one of Michael’s pretty young serving girls. Having heard the sounds of fencing, he had come to see what was transpiring. At the sight of Bersonin dueling the countess, he froze, mouth agape. “What in God’s name…?”

“Here,” Hentzau said, reaching back and pulling out another chair. “Sit down and watch this, Albert. It should prove interesting.”

Eyes wide, Lauengram ignored the chair and simply stood there, mesmerized by the spectacle. Bersonin, an accomplished swordsman, was dueling with a woman and he seemed sorely beset.

Bersonin himself was in a panic. He could do absolutely nothing with her. Her blade was everywhere, slashing his shoulder, pricking his upper arm, deflecting each of his thrusts and lunges. She had cut him half a dozen times and he had yet to score a touch. He realized with a sudden horror that she was actually toying with him, that he, who had killed more than a dozen men in duels, was no match for her. He recoiled from that lightning blade, from those lambent, ferocious eyes that fixed him with a devilish fury, turning and running from her. He ran about ten steps, turned quickly to face her once again and threw down his sword.

“Enough! I yield! I wish no more of this!”

“Well, I do,” said Falcon. She swiftly changed her grip upon the sabre and threw it, like a javelin. It pierced Bersonin’s chest, the tip of the edged blade ripping through flesh and sinew to protrude from his back. Bersonin glanced down at it with a look of utter disbelief. Slowly, his hands came up to grasp the blade, as if to reassure him of its reality; then he toppled forward and collapsed upon the floor.

“Dear God in heaven!” Lauengram whispered, awestruck.

Hentzau stood and clapped his hands. “Bravo! Bravo! An inspired exhibition! You have been holding back on me, Sophia! Never did you fence so well in practice!”

She turned to face them both. “Does anyone else wish to question my authority?” she said.

Lauengram slowly shook his head from side to side, unable to tear his eyes away from her. He had never in his life seen a woman fight like that. He, himself, had been no match for Bersonin and she had disposed of him as casually and with as little apparent effort as a fencing master in a match with a new pupil.

“Not I!” he said.

“And I am yours unswervingly!” cried Hentzau, flashing a handsome grin. “By God, Sophia, what a pair we two shall make! You were wasted on that fool, Michael. Together, we shall-”

“Be quiet, Rupert,” she said. “Have someone clean up that mess. We are leaving tonight for Zenda Castle. I want the two of you to take Michael in the coach and depart at once. Inform the other three that I shall be taking charge. Should they have any reservations, you can inform them also of what happened to Bersonin. Tell them as well that their pay is to be doubled henceforth.”

“Is there to be a change of plan then?” Lauengram said, hesitantly.

“I will give you my instructions when I meet you there,” said Falcon. “Go now.”

She turned and walked calmly up the staircase toward her bedroom on the upper floor.

“I must be dreaming,” Lauengram said. “That is no woman. It is Satan with breasts.”

“Ah, but what breasts!” said Hentzau.

“What do we do now?” said Lauengram.

“Do? Why, we do what Satan tells us,” Hentzau said, grinning. “Didn’t you hear? Our pay is being doubled. Go on with you. Get Michael and drive His Would-Be Majesty to Zenda. I’ll join you later.”

“She said for both of us to go,” said Lauengram.

Hentzau winked at him. “I have some unfinished business to attend to.”

He went over to Bersonin’s corpse and retrieved his sabre, examining it to see that it was not damaged.

“I believe that if she were really Satan, you would still not be deterred,” said Lauengram. “I shall have to have a long talk with the others. We did not bargain for this.”

“Do what you will,” said Hentzau. “As for me, I go my own way.”

“You always have. But you may have gone out of your depth this time,” Lauengram told him. “A woman like that is no fit mate for any man.”

“Yes, well, I am not just any man,” said Hentzau. He tossed off a casual salute to Lauengram and followed Falcon up the stairs.

He had one very immediate purpose in mind, but his thoughts were racing. Suddenly, everything had changed. The balance of power had shifted and new opportunities were beginning to present themselves. He had to consider them all quite carefully. He took the stairs two at a time, then moved briskly down the hall towards Sophia’s rooms. He paused outside and tried the door. It was unlocked. He smiled to himself and pushed it open.

She was not there. He called her name several times, but there was no answer. He frowned as he walked through the suite, determining that it was in fact empty. Where the devil had the woman gone? Systematically, he searched every room on the floor. There was no sign of her. Outside, he heard the coach driving away and he went to a window in time to see it turn into the street with Albert driving. Had she gone in the coach? But no, she had ordered both of them to go and she would have wanted to know why he was absent. She had to be still in the house somewhere. He searched every room in the mansion, ignoring the frightened servants until it finally occurred to him to question them, but no one had seen her. It was as if she had simply disappeared.

Hentzau sat down and ordered one of the servants to bring him some wine. He smoked a cigarette. Clearly, there had to be a way out of the house he did not know about. But what was the woman up to? The thing to do now was to consider all the aspects of the situation and find the one that would most benefit Rupert Hentzau. He would have to alter his own plans for tonight now.

On the other hand, he thought, perhaps not. One had to explore all options.

It was late and the streets were mostly empty as the royal coach drove from the palace.

“It was very kind of you to see me home,” said Flavia. “It was not necessary, you know.”

“A fine suitor I would be,” said Finn, “if I simply had the coach deliver you to your door as if you were a package.”

Flavia suppressed a smile. “It would not have been the first time,” she said.

“I’ve treated you dreadfully, haven’t I?” said Finn. “I don’t know what could have been wrong with me. From now on, I shall make it up to you, I promise.”

She looked at him and smiled. Finn felt wretched. The worst part of it all was that he really liked her. He had never been very good at concealing such things and she obviously was responding, which had been the whole idea. However, now he was beginning to have regrets, for her sake.

“Poor Michael,” he said to change the subject. “He did not even stay for dessert.”

Flavia shook her head. “You pushed him too far, Rudolf. There was murder in his eyes when he looked at you tonight.”

“Is that what it was? And I believed it to be indigestion!”

“You may joke,” she said, “but where before he may have envied you, you have now given him more than enough reason to truly despise you. You made him out to be a fool in front of everyone. I beg you to be wary of him, Rudolf. I fear that he may stop at nothing.”

“You worry too much,” Finn said. “It is merely the rivalry of brothers and nothing more.”

“Surely you do not believe that.”

“Well, perhaps not,” said Finn, “but he brought it on himself. He should not have had the woman bait me in that manner. Especially in your presence.”

“I do not think that I have ever met a woman quite so brazen in my life,” said Flavia. “I had heard about the countess. One cannot avoid such gossip; but seeing her tonight, I believe it all. That woman would be capable of anything.”

“Undoubtedly,” said Finn, thinking that it was the understatement of the year, if not the century.

“She is very beautiful, though, is she not?” said Flavia, not looking at him.

“I suppose,” said Finn, “if one cares for the type.”

“Do men…” she hesitated. “Do men find such women to be desirable?”

“I am sure that many do.”

“Do you?”

“That is an impertinent question.”

“Forgive me. I did not mean to be-”

“Oh, for goodness sake, I was only joking,” Finn said.

“Oh. I see.”

“In answer to your question, I will be frank. In a word, yes.”

“You are forthright, at least.”

“I had not finished. It is one thing to respond to a woman physically, and don’t blush. Remember that you asked.”

“I did, indeed.”

“And it is quite another thing to look beyond the senses and consider a woman-or a man, for that matter-for what goes on inside the head. In some cases, as was the case with me for far too long, I fear, nothing goes on at all. In others, what goes on within is a far cry from what appears without. In Countess Sophia’s case, I have the strong impression that what goes on within is very like snakes writhing.”

Flavia shuddered. “Lord, Rudolf, what a thought! I had not suspected that your imagination was so lurid.”

“Drink can do that to a man,” said Finn, wryly.

“And how do you perceive what goes on inside my own head?” she said, with a slight smile.

“To answer that would be impertinent of me,” said Finn.

“How diplomatically you avoid the question,” she said, chuckling.

“Diplomacy, in many situations, is merely a tool to prevent one’s looking foolish,” Finn said.

“How statesmanlike you are becoming!”

“It comes of spending hours on end with Sapt,” Finn said. “Once I began to actually listen to him, I discovered him to be the very font of wisdom.”

“I simply cannot stop marveling at the change in you,” she said. “You are like a different man.” She pursed her lips and cocked her head to one side, saying in a joking manner, “I am beginning to suspect that you are not Rudolf at all, but some imposter who is his double. Tell me the truth, what have you done with the real king?”

“The truth? He’s being kept in the dungeons of Zenda Castle. It’s all a plot of Michael’s.”

The coach came to a halt before her house.

“That was a poor jest,” she said. “The way Michael looked at you tonight, I can almost believe that he would be capable of such a thing. Remember, Rudolf, that you have no heir as yet. If anything should happen to you, the throne would surely go to Michael.”

“Are you so frightened for me?” Finn said.

The sincerity in her face stabbed him to the heart. “You have changed so, Rudolf, almost overnight, it is as if… as if you really were another man. I feel as if we have met for the first time. You spoke of what appears without and what goes on within. Without, you are the same Rudolf I have always known and yet, within, I seem to sense a stranger, one who has shown me but little of himself, yet who compels me in a manner that I find both frightening and delightful. I feel as though I am only now starting to know you. I care about what happens to you, not only as my king, but as a man. Forgive me, but I did not think that such a thing would ever come to pass. I beg you to be watchful. Michael and those ruffians he has retained fill me with foreboding. Guard yourself well.”

She leaned forward quickly, kissed him on the lips, and then hurried from the coach. Finn stared after her for a long time before he directed the coachman to drive back to the palace.

Sapt and von Tarlenheim were waiting for him. Both men had dressed in dark-hued clothing, the better to provide concealment in the night. Von Tarlenheim tried once more, unsuccessfully, to dissuade him from keeping the mysterious appointment, then resigned himself to the inevitable. Finn quickly changed into clothing similar to theirs and they left by the secret passageway. Sapt pressed a revolver into Finn’s hand.

“Do not hesitate to use this if you find you must,” said Sapt. “Remember, if we lose you, then we lose everything.”

Finn took the revolver with a smile. “Thank you for your concern,” he said, laconically.

“Don’t be a fool,” said Sapt. “You know damn well what I mean. Our first concern is for the throne, as it must be, but I would not wish to lose a friend, as well.”

They rode on horseback to Michael’s house, reining in a short distance away from the wall that circled the estate.

“This is as far as you two go with me,” said Finn. “If all goes well, I shall return shortly and we will ride to Zenda.”

“And if not?” said von Tarlenheim, nervously.

“I promise to be careful. But just in case, you have your watch?”

“Right here.”

“If I do not return in half an hour, then you can assume the worst,” said Finn. “It will then be up to you to free the king.”

“Come what may,” said Sapt, “we make our move tonight. Good fortune to you.”

Finn dismounted and crossed the street, heading for the entrance that the letter specified. He felt very much alone. Taking a chance, he tried raising Lucas and Andre on his comset. From where he was, the safehouse was within range, but there was no response. He nodded to himself. All right, then, they were proceeding on their own, as he had thought they would. The Timekeepers had to be their first concern. He did not like not being able to contact them, but it was just as well. His had now become the secondary role in the mission. Theirs was far more difficult. They would be at Zenda Castle, trying to find a way to get inside. Perhaps they were making their move at this very moment. If he was lucky, they might complete their part of the mission by the time that he arrived with von Tarlenheim and Sapt. Then they could provide him with a backup if the need arose. If not… he decided not to think about if not.

It was dark and quiet in the garden, the only sounds coming from the crickets in the flower beds. Keeping to the side of the wall, he avoided the pathway, circling round to where he could see the little summerhouse. Sapt had briefed him on the layout. If Michael wanted to trap him here, he could not have picked a better spot. On the other hand, though he was sure it was a trap, it might not be Michael who had set it. On the chance that it was Falcon, he had to walk into it. He had seen her twice now and been helpless to act both times. The third time, he swore, would be the last.

He sank down to his knees, then sprawled flat on the ground, lying on his belly. It was thoughtful of Sapt to have provided him with a revolver, but he preferred the silence of the laser. He held it in his hand, ready to fire. Slowly, he crawled forward across the open space that separated the garden wall from the gazebo, approaching the small structure from the side, where its latticed wall would at least impede the visibility of anyone who might be inside. Assuming, of course, that anyone was in there waiting for him. If not, then he would not go in. Either way, the gazebo would be an easy target, especially to someone equipped with a night scope.

As he crawled forward, coming closer, he saw the glow of a cigarette inside the summerhouse. He frowned. Surely they would not be that sloppy, unless it was meant for him to see, to decoy him into a false sense of security. He was tempted to take a shot, but that would pinpoint his location to anyone who might be watching. He crept closer. He was beginning to sweat. A match flared briefly and he saw that it was Hentzau, leaning casually against the arched entrance of the summerhouse and smoking. He was close enough now that if he whispered, Hentzau would hear him. He spoke his name, once, softly.

Hentzau started slightly, peering out into the darkness. “Hello? Is that you, play-actor? Show yourself.”

“And be shot for my trouble?” Finn said, moving immediately as he spoke.

Hentzau chuckled. “You’re safe enough, Your Majesty,” he said, sarcastically. “I merely wish to speak with you. There is no one else about. They have all departed for the castle. Save for the servants in the house, you and I are quite alone.”

Finn hesitated.

“Look, I assume that you have not come unarmed,” said Hentzau. “You could shoot me easily. Come, man, where are you?”

Finn bit his lower lip. What the hell, he thought, if you’re going to step into a trap, step into it. He stood, tensely, prepared to leap at once to either side.

“Ah, there you are,” said Hentzau. “Not very kingly, creeping about like that.”

“Was it you who sent the letter?” Finn said, putting the laser away and holding the revolver Sapt had given him so that Hentzau could see it. He looked at it without concern.

“You would not shoot me,” he said. He spread his arms out away from his sides. “You see, I am unarmed. Not even a sword. I left it in the house. Surely, an English gentleman would not slay an unarmed man?”

“Don’t bet on it,” said Finn. “I find the temptation very difficult to resist.”

“Do you? Well then, if you can manage to resist it for the next few moments, I have a proposition I would make to you. The duke offers you a million crowns and safe conduct across the frontier. What do you say to that?”

“That isn’t even a temptation,” Finn said.

“You refuse?”

“Of course.”

Hentzau grinned. “I told Michael that you would. I said that you would never trust him. Cigarette?”

“No, thank you.”

“As you will. Only trying to be friendly.”

“No need to try.”

“Has His Majesty done me the honor to fasten a particular quarrel on me?” said Hentzau, mockingly.

“You hardly seem worth the bother,” Finn said. “How is the king?”

“Alive,” said Hentzau. “For the time being, at least. Look here, I’ve made you a proposal from the duke, now hear one from me. Attack the castle boldly. Let Sapt and von Tarlenheim lead. Arrange the time with me.”

“I have such confidence in you,” Finn said, wryly.

“Tut, I’m talking business now. Sapt and von Tarlenheim will fall. Michael shall fall, as well. You can leave that to me. The king will take a short swim to the bottom of the moat and two men will be left-I, Rupert Hentzau, and you, the King of Ruritania. Think it over, play-actor. You could extend your tour indefinitely. Wouldn’t that be a hand to play? A throne and a pretty princess for yourself and for me, say, some small compensation out of His Majesty’s gratitude? This house, for example, and the chateau would do quite nicely.”

“I admire your loyalty to Michael,” Finn said.

“Loyalty is an admirable attribute,” said Hentzau. “In a hound. So long as my own interest can be served, what care I which side I throw in with? Consider the opportunity, Rassendyll. When will you ever get another such as this?”

“Where does the countess stand in all of this?” said Finn.

“Ah, you have deduced, of course, that she is with us,” Hentzau said. “A most fascinating woman, Countess Sophia is. The stories I could tell you…”

“Tell me a few,” said Finn.

“Really? Does that mean you are considering my offer?” “Let us say that I have not dismissed it out of hand,” said Finn, convinced now that Hentzau was acting on his own. He was clearly an opportunist, seeking to advance himself.

“Where does she fit in if I accept your offer?”

“Yes, well, she doesn’t, I’m afraid,” said Hentzau. “More is the pity. In a way, it would be a tragic waste, and yet, I am not so great a fool to think that I could manage her. There’s a woman that no man could manage. She sits securely in the saddle, that one. Poor Michael was unwise enough to strike her for something that she said to him tonight and, hard to believe though it may be, she beat him bloody.”

Finn raised his eyebrows. “I believe it.”

“Do you really? Bersonin didn’t, poor chap. She killed him earlier this evening. Now she means to take charge of the whole affair and I believe she will, too. She’s a bit too unpredictable for my taste. She’s all woman, but she speaks and fights like a man. No, the moat would be the best thing for her, I’m afraid. And we shall see to it that the others fall, as well. A clean slate, just you and I to divvy up the booty. What do you think?”

“I think that if you play your cards right, you could go very far,” said Finn. “This house and the chateau, you say? Is that all you would want?”

Hentzau smiled. “And the means to support same, say, a dukedom? For services rendered, don’t you know?”

“How would we explain the death of Michael? What reason would we give for attacking Zenda Castle? It seems to me that there are some flaws in your plan which you have not considered,” Finn said.

“In any great venture, there’s bound to be a certain element of risk,” said Hentzau. “We can concoct some sort of story. With all the principals disposed of, who will gainsay us?”

“I must admit that you intrigue me,” Finn said. “How many in the castle?”

“As of tonight, there will be Michael, though he’s feeling somewhat out of sorts I would imagine, Sophia, Lauengram, Krafstein, De Gautet, Detchard, and myself. I leave to join them presently. The chateau is staffed with servants, but they do not know what Michael is about and cannot be counted on to fight, in any case.”

“I do not care for the odds,” said Finn.

“The odds do not worry me,” said Hentzau. “They will not expect anything from me and in that lies my advantage.”

“Just the same,” said Finn, “I would prefer to take greater care of myself in this. Circumstances could arise in which your own best interests would become realigned with Michael’s, suddenly.”

“You would have to take that chance,” said Hentzau. “I will not insult you by asking you to trust me, but consider where my greatest benefit would lie.”

“Nevertheless, I would like it better if I could be there to encourage you,” said Finn. “Suppose that you could arrange to get me inside the castle. Then, at a given signal, I could have Sapt and von Tarlenheim start the attack. We could arrange to have the drawbridge lowered at the precise instant. Then, in all the confusion, you and I could strike and they would be beset upon both sides.”

Hentzau threw back his head and laughed. “By God, I like the way you think! We are cut from the same cloth, you and I. We understand each other.”

“And neither of us is a very trusting sort,” said Finn, smiling at him.

“I can see that,” Hentzau said. “You have not put down your pistol the whole time. Still, we can share a common ground. I stand to gain a great deal by throwing in with you and you will surely reap much more reward than whatever they have promised you for taking Rudolf’s place. You will have to trust me to get you into Zenda Castle without turning you over to the others and I, in turn, will have to trust to your good faith to keep our bargain once you are king in earnest. I think that once I have helped you gain entry to the castle, mine will be the greater risk. Still, I will chance it. With a kingdom to gain, I do not think that you would begrudge me my small fee.”

Finn put down his pistol. “I have decided to accept your offer.”

Hentzau held out his hand. “Somehow, I thought you might. I suggest that we act soon.”

“Tonight.”

“Tonight?”

“Why not?”

“Why not, indeed? What will you tell Sapt and von Tarlenheim?”

“I’ll think of something,” Finn said. “I could say that there has been dissension in the ranks, that you and Michael have clashed over Sophia and in revenge, and also for a fee, you have agreed to turn on him.”

“It’s near enough to the truth,” said Hentzau. “I like that. They will believe it. You have a devious turn of mind, my friend. It should stand you in good stead as king.”

“Let’s not waste anymore time, then,” Finn said. “How will you get me inside the castle?”

“Let me think a moment. Ah, I have it! Listen carefully, here is what you must do…”

Sapt crouched behind the urn, his revolver ready, cocked and positioned between the two tiny firing stakes that he had earlier improvised. Whoever Rassendyll was meeting, he was taking a long time in there. He wished that he could hear what was being said. Just as he was starting to think that he could not bear it one moment longer, he saw a dark shape exit the summerhouse, heading towards the garden wall. It had to be Rassendyll. He prepared to fire. Half expecting a shot to ring out and shatter the stillness of the night, he heard instead a jaunty whistling coming towards him and moments later, Rupert Hentzau came striding past him, up the stairs and into the house.

He had almost put a bullet into him and now that the opportunity was past, he cursed himself for wasting it. He wanted nothing quite so much as to kill the cocky young blackguard, but an assassin’s shot was not his way. Hentzau had given him no reason to shoot. That, in itself, puzzled Sapt. He was convinced there would be treachery. What had they discussed? What rapprochement could the two men possibly achieve?

The moment Hentzau went inside, Sapt hurried after Rassendyll, taking care not to close the distance between them for fear that Rassendyll would think that he was being pursued and fire at him. Rassendyll had already rejoined von Tarlenheim by the time Sapt came out of the garden and ran across the street.

“Sapt, damn you!” Finn said, furiously. “You were supposed to remain behind!”

“Forgive me for disobeying your orders, Sire,” Sapt said. “It seems to me that sometimes you believe you really are the king. I was concerned for your safety, but apparently my worries were ill-founded. Did you have a pleasant chat with young Hentzau?”

“Hentzau!” said Fritz.

“You didn’t kill him, did you?” Finn said.

“No, though I regret it. I could not bring myself to shoot from ambush like a common highwayman. Curse me, though, I should have done it!”

“It’s well that you did not,” said Finn. “You would have killed our best chance to save the king. Hentzau has changed sides, agreeing to betray Michael for a price.”

“Surely you do not trust him?” said Fritz.

“No, but I think I can trust his greed and his ambition,” Finn said and he quickly recounted the details of the meeting. Sapt swore savagely when he had heard the story.

“The man is thoroughly corrupt!” he said. “I would not have thought that even he could sink so low!”

“And he believes you will betray us?” said Fritz.

“Of course,” said Finn. “I’ve met his sort before. His ethics are defined by expediency. It’s simple enough, if a little dangerous, to deal with such a man, once you understand his motives. The fact that I did not react with outraged shock at his suggestion predisposed him to believe that I would give it serious consideration. After that, it was a fait accompli. Were he in my place, he would leap at such an opportunity. He believes that I am doing this because the two of you have promised me a reward.”

“So he judges you by his own standards,” Sapt said, nodding. “How fitting that it shall be his downfall. Well, we have no time to lose. I will assemble my men at once and tell them that we strike tonight to free the prisoner of Zenda.”

“I’ll ride to the castle directly from here,” said Finn.

“I’ll go with you,” said von Tarlenheim. “Two will be safer on the road than one.”

“All right, then,” Finn said. “Make speed, Sapt. It all depends on you now.”

“Your part is no less significant,” said Sapt. “Remember, above all else, the king must be protected.”

“If any harm comes to Rudolf,” Finn said, “it will be over my dead body.”

Sapt held out his hand. “You are the most gallant gentleman I’ve ever known, Rassendyll. God go with you.”

He mounted his horse and galloped off at top speed through the streets.

“Heaven help us,” said von Tarlenheim. “It all rests with a mercenary, an imposter, a group of aging soldiers, and a young nobleman who’s quaking in his boots. Shamed as I am to admit it, I’m afraid.”

“There’s no shame in that,” said Finn.”You’re not afraid, though, are you?”

“Me? Fritz, my boy, I’m scared spitless. More than you will ever know.”

“Have… have you any loved ones?” Fritz said.

“No,” said Finn. “No one who would miss me very much.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” said Fritz.

Finn clapped him on the shoulder. “Come on, let’s ride.” They mounted their horses and galloped off into the night.