“I see...” She tried to discern why he seemed so concerned. “This seems like something to celebrate though. Prince Farcus is alive. He is coming home.”
Albert leaned toward her with a furrowed brow. “Do you fully understand what this means, Queen Adelaide?”
“Yes. It means Prince Farcus, as second-born son to my grandfather, King Maximillian IV, is the legal heir to the throne. Ahead of me.”
“That’s right.” He exhaled, clearly relieved.
“Do you think he will make a good king?” she asked.
Albert’s brow creased slightly. “I hope so.”
Now she felt a wave of concern, both for her father’s sake aswell as Montovia’s. “What if he turns out to be a bad king?” she whispered.
Albert rubbed his chin with a thoughtful expression. “There is always that possibility ... with any ruler. It’s why we have Parliament and prime ministers.” His phone was chiming again and while he checked it, she considered the situation. At the moment, she was queen. But what did that really mean? Even if Farcus proved a terrible ruler, it was still out of her hands. There would be nothing she could do to prevent anything. Like her father told her,God’s plan in God’s time.She’d have to wait to see how God’s plan would turn out.
The remainder of Queen Adelaide’s Advent season social obligations were canceled. For which she was grateful! The excuse given was that the queen needed time to prepare for Christmas, which was now just five days away. The real reason was that Prince Farcus, sneaked into the palace under cover, would now be in meetings with the prime ministers and Adelaide. All agreed this had to be handled extremely carefully.
Adelaide wanted to spend as much time as possible with her uncle in hopes of getting better acquainted. Oh, she knew that whichever way this went was out of her hands, but in respect for her father, she wanted to do her best to make a good connection with his brother.
It wasn’t until Prince Farcus’s second day in the palace, after a day of food and rest and making himself at home in the royal quarters, that he was ready to meet the reigning queen. Thanks to Albert, Farcus had been brought up to speed on the strange happenings since his abduction two months before.
“I am very pleased to meet you,QueenAdelaide.” His eyes twinkled as he tipped his head toward her, clasping her hand in his. “I did not know I had a niece. Und such a lovely one too.”
“Thank you. I’m so relieved that you made it safely home.”
“Are you?” His brow creased as if he doubted this.
She took a seat by the fireplace in the royal family living room. “Of course I am relieved.” She smiled at him. “You are my uncle. My father’s brother. I am very pleased to have you safely home.”
“You have been queen for ... not even two weeks?” He sat across from her with a puzzled expression. “Und you arepleasedto see me?”
“It was never my intention to be queen. I came here to meet my father and, well, I’m sure you’ve heard the whole tale by now.”
He slowly shook his head as if he, too, was still processing it. “What a tale it is.”
“You must have quite a story to tell yourself. I’ve heard some of it already.” She studied him. In many ways he seemed a younger version of King Max. Tall, thin, straight nose, high hairline, dark brown hair. But his eyes, instead of green, were golden.
“Ja. I gave up hope.”
“How sad.” She wanted more details. “So, I heard that Johanna’s friend Steffen took you captive. Is that right?”
“Ja. I was surprised to see Steffen at Vienna train station. I thought happy coincidence. Steffen bought me eines beer.” He held up one finger. “Und that is all I remember. I woke in damp, dark wine cellar. In my own family villa! But I did not know that.”
“Were you frightened?”
“At first, I expected to be killed. When that did not happen, I had time to think. I knew Steffen and Johanna were involved. I thought that must be motive. To keep me from informing my brother of their illicit plans.”
“Perhaps that was part of it.” Adelaide considered the possibility. “Although I’m sure it had more to do with Georg inheriting the throne. Johanna wanted to help rule.”
“Ja. But you came and spoiled that plan.” He smiled. “That was gut.”
For a long moment the room was silent except for the crackling of the fire. Adelaide still had questions for her uncle, but she wasn’t sure how to continue.
“Were you treated badly when you were locked up?” she finally asked.
“The food was furchtbar—awful! Often they forgot to feed me at all.” He winked. “At least I had wine.”
“That was convenient. Still, it must’ve been horrible.”
