Auberta rarely had anything good to say about her daughter, Karsten’s mother, who had married a Frenchman against Auberta’s wishes. But she never tired of talking about her beloved grandson. She rather obviously hoped Frederick, still without an heir, would consider naming Karsten as his successor.
“What brings you, Christoph?” Queen Nikola finally asked a bit nervously. Christoph knew she was always on edge about the rebels so he assured her, “There’s no cause for alarm. I merely need to consult His Highness about a private matter that will not wait until morning.”
Frederick didn’t keep him waiting any longer. He excused himself and took Christoph deeper into the royal suite to his own private office, where they could be assured of privacy. Nearing his fiftieth year, the king was still robust and in good health. Blond and blue-eyed, the same as his first queen had been—one would think the plotters would have found an imposter who at least bore the monarchs’ coloring for some semblance of resembling them. The other imposters did. Of course, half of Lubinia did as well.
As soon as the door closed behind them, Christoph got right to the point. “Another imposter has arrived, Highness. Do you wish to see her?”
Frederick didn’t even hesitate in replying, “What for? To marvel at their audacity? I trust you to deal with this matter. Find out who put her up to it, then send her on her way.”
“She mentioned you might use her to avert a war. This implies she’s from the Bruslan camp, sent to encourage you to make a fatal mistake. But that would suggest they have more clever advisers now.”
“Possibly, but keep in mind, Christoph, that huge family is the devil’s very own to deal with. There are so damn many of them, some of whom are distant blood relations of mine. Many of them are good and decent people, even friends like Auberta is. But I concede some of the young bucks believe the Bruslans should still hold the throne. They resent that Ernest’s direct male descendant Karsten wasn’t chosen to succeed him.”
“Karsten was just a child at the time of his grandfather’s death,” Christoph said. “The people didn’t rise up against King Ernest just to put another Bruslan in his place.”
“But enough time has passed since that civil war for the younger generation of Bruslans to forget that. No doubt some of them are funding the rebels. Keep an eye on Karsten in particular. I know Auberta thinks the world of him, but he’s a clever fellow and I fear he’s duped his grandmother with his sudden shouldering of responsibility.”
Christoph nodded. “That would be quite a change in him, when his only interests since he reached manhood have been women and drink.”
“Exactly. And actually, she did mention he plans to attend the first races tomorrow. That would be a good opportunity for you to ascertain if he’s really making a change for the better—or not. But I also want you to continue to monitor the activities of some of the other noble families, the Naumanns, the Weinsteins, even the Braunes—yes, I know they are your neighbors, but don’t let that influence your judgment.”
“Of course not, Highness. They lost more than most with the change in regime.”
Frederick nodded. “As for this imposter, I suppose she could be a complete innocent they’ve managed to dupe with tales of heroically saving lives.”
“I am keeping that possibility in mind, but there are other unusual circumstances. She entered the palace armed, hoping to gain an immediate audience with you because of her particular story.”
“Yet another female assassin?”
Christoph was aware that one of the king’s foreign mistresses that he’d kept prior to his remarriage had tried to slit his throat. While it wasn’t dismissed that it could have been part of a plot, most believed it to have been simple jealous rage.
Christoph shook his head. “I highly doubt she’s capable of murder. She’s too young and rather naive. And it wasn’t just one weapon but many that she had hidden on her. That’s too overdone, so more likely they were just props to support her claim that someone here wants her dead and they were to protect her.”
“Be absolutely sure, Christoph. I don’t like imprisoning women, much less executing them. Perhaps you can use this to frighten the truth out of her.”
“Certainly, Highness, but there is still more. She’s English and was secreted into the country in disguise.”
“She admitted that?”
“No, but I am aware of it, since I ran across her last week when I was chasing down the rumor of a rebel camp. Two men, two boys, and a fine coach. Unfortunately, it was snowing so hard I wouldn’t recognize any of them if I saw them again.”
“Yet you now think she was one of those boys? Why?”
“She described the incident to me and has accused one of my men of stealing her jewelry that day. I’ve already confronted the man. He denies it, but he’s new. I don’t trust him yet. So I am also sending men to search his family’s farm. It is too late for them to leave tonight, so it may be several days before they return.”
“Thorough as usual,” Frederick commended. “You hope to catch her in the lie?”
“That, yes, but she also described an infant’s bracelet that was among her jewelry that was to prove her story.”
Frederick was given pause. “There was one bracelet I had crafted for her the day she was born, but there were others. So many trinkets she was presented with in the days following her birth, and so many went missing after Avelina died and the care of my daughter was shifted from the queen’s rooms to a new nursery wing. I don’t know if the bracelet I gave her was one of the ones that were lost. But it disturbs me that my enemy could know about it and use it against me, when only my most trusted advisers were aware of it. I want answers, Christoph. Use whatever means necessary to get at the truth without actually hurting this young woman—fear, even seduction if you have to. Find out who put her up to this, and we may finally have the name of my enemy.”
“Certainly, Highness.”
Christoph had had the same thought. His predecessor had dealt with the first three imposters. Mere children they’d been. One had been brought in by a swindler from a German principality. They’d been thrown out of Lubinia and told never to return on penalty of death. Another had been brought in by a money-hungry Lubinian. His tale had fallen apart as well, and he’d been imprisoned and the little girl sent to a convent school. The third pair had been the most convincing, but when the questioning had gotten tough, they had escaped, so the king’s guards had never found out who’d been behind that attempt, though Bruslans had been suspected.
Christoph had dealt with the fourth one two years ago. It had been almost comical. She claimed to be sixteen, the age the princess would have been, though she looked more like twenty. He’d no sooner begun his questions than she’d broken into tears. Considering her fearfully distraught, he left her alone, giving her the opportunity to depart with her foolish claim, though he stationed men to discreetly follow her. She took the bait immediately.
Her connection was traced to one of the nursemaids who hadn’t gotten the job of tending to the princess all those years ago. Despite her advanced age, she had claimed to still be nursing her own child, yet a few questions had revealed that child was long dead—and possibly what had addled her mind. After the royal theft had been made known, she had been heard to gloat that she could have protected the princess from being stolen, and that only she could have raised her properly. She set out to prove it by stealing a girl child from town and raising her to think she was royalty.
