The Judas kiss

Klingen Rock

When I try to remember the events of that night even now they remain jumbled in my mind, but from the first it seemed to me that some hideous pattern was repeating itself in my life.

I think I awoke with a feeling of dread. Something strange was going on. I was aware of it as I came out of what was like a nightmare. Voices, running footsteps ... strange unfamiliar sounds ... and yet that horrible realization that I had heard it all before. And there it was ... unmistakable ... the acrid smell of burning, the smoke-laden atmosphere.

I was out of my bed in an instant and rushing into the corridor.

Then I knew.

The schloss was on fire.

I was stunned. Freya ... dead! And in this most horrible manner. The fire had started in her room and there had been no hope of rescuing her, even though the conflagration had been checked.

That night seemed endless. Even after the town's fire brigade had departed and we were huddled together in the hall talking in spasmodic whispers, it seemed to go on and on.

What had happened? No one was quite sure, except that the fire had started in the young Countess's room and she must have been overcome by the smoke almost immediately. There had been repeated attempts to save her, but it was too late; no-one had been able to penetrate that blazing room.

I sat shivering with the rest, waiting for the morning, thinking only of my bright pupil whom I had grown to love.

With the coming of the dawn it was realized that three or four rooms—including that one in which Freya slept—had been gutted, but because of the strong stone structure the rest of the building was undamaged and only lightly scarred round the scene of the fire.

Fraulein Kratz was beside me in the hall. She kept murmuring: "Who would have believed this... . She was so young... ."

I couldn't bear to talk of her. I should never forget her ... never forgive myself for having deceived her. Dear, innocent Freya who had never harmed anyone ... to die like that!

I was desperately unhappy and at the back of my mind was the thought of how strange it was that something similar should have happened in my life before. I was taken vividly back to that occasion when there had been a fire at Greystone Manor and to the accusations which had been thrown at me.

I was shivering because there seemed to be some evil portent here.

I lived through the next day in a nightmarish daze. There was much coming and going at the schloss, and people talked together in whispers. I shut myself away. I could not accept the fact that Freya was dead. I had not realized until this moment how deeply I had cared for her.

In the evening of that day Tatiana came to me. She opened the door of my bedroom and walked in unannounced. She looked haggard as I was sure I did. For a moment she did not speak, but just stood looking at me.

Then she said: "So ... this is your work."

I stared at her questioningly.

"I know everything," she said. "You were too complacent. You thought you were so clever. I knew you were masquerading as someone else. I know you are Philippa Ewell, sister of Francine Ewell, Baron Rudolph's mistress. I suspected you almost as soon as I saw you. I had seen you before. You broke into the Grange, remember?"

"I came to look round. I did not break in."

"This is no time to consider the niceties of words. You are an adventuress. Like your sister. I have seen your papers."

"So it was you ..."

"I owed it to the Countess to find out what sort of woman you are." Her voice faltered. "That dear innocent child ... now ... murdered."

"Murdered!" I cried.

"Do give me credit for some intelligence, Fraulein Ewell. I know who you are. I know a great deal about you. I know you tried the same trick on your own grandfather. We have friends in all parts of the world watching our interests. Your sister had attempted to make a place for herself here, so we were watchful of her connections. You thought the trick worked with your grandfather so you tried it again here."

"I don't-"

"You are going to say you don't understand. But you do understand—perfectly. That poor old man died, didn't he? So why not the young girl? They were both in your way. You have the strongest possible motive now ... as you had then. But it is not easy to get away with murder the second time ... even for one as clever as you think you are."

"You are talking nonsense ... wild nonsense."

"I do not think so, and nor will others. It fits perfectly. You are looking for position and wealth as your sister did. She ended up dead in a hunting lodge. Where do you think you will end up, Fraulein Ewell?"

"I have no intention of being spoken to in this manner," I said. "I am not employed by you. My services, alas, are no longer required. I shall immediately resign from the household."

"Murderesses must pay the penalty," she replied.

"What is your accusation?"

"That you deliberately murdered Countess Freya in a manner which you had tried out before and which worked successfully then in the case of your grandfather. You are not going to deny that that gentleman died in a burning room?"

"I am not denying it, but it has nothing to do with this."

"Allow me to contradict you. It has everything to do with this. Your grandfather displeased you. He was going to turn you out ... so that was the end of him, and I believe you came very nicely out of the matter."

"This is monstrous. My money did not come from my grandfather but from my grandmother. I had nothing to do with his death."

"I have my friends there. I know exactly what happened. He threatened to turn you out and that very night he died—mysteriously. Oh, I know nothing was proved against you, but suspicion was strong, wasn't it? He was in a burning room which did not burn quite long enough to destroy the evidence. You were not going to make that mistake twice. You made sure that the evidence in the case of our poor Countess was completely destroyed."

"You are talking wild nonsense. I loved the Countess. She and I were the best of friends."

"Do you think I don't know how much you wanted to get rid of her? You are an ambitious woman, Fraulein. You thought if she were not there—if Baron Sigmund were free from his contract with her—you would reign as Grand Duchess of Bruxenstein."

I stared at her aghast and she laughed bitterly.

"I know of those meetings," she went on. "I know of that tender little romance... ."

I was afraid now. I could see it all fitting neatly together. I was reminded of the horror of those weeks at Greystone Manor when I had been under suspicion. I looked into Tatiana's malicious face and I felt the net closing round me.

It was true that if Freya were no more, I had a chance of marrying Conrad. But how monstrous that Tatiana could make such a suggestion! And yet when I looked at the evidence against me, I saw that I was in acute peril.

Conrad would believe in me, I was sure. I must see him. He would surely come now that this terrible thing had happened to Freya.

I could not think clearly. I could only try to fight off this terrible numbness, this sense of impending doom which had possessed me.

"You have been clever up to a point," Tatiana was saying. "But not clever enough. You were too trusting in some quarters. You came here because your sister came. You thought you would follow in her footsteps but more successfully. You were going to try to prove that she was actually married to Baron Rudolph. I suppose you thought that would give you some standing."

"She was married to Rudolph," I said.

She snapped her fingers at me. "You fool!" she cried. "Who do you think wanted Rudolph out of the way if it was not Sigmund and his friends? Sigmund has been too clever for you. He has told me of your cloying sentiment. I know of your affair with him, of course. He found it so amusing and he had to know exactly what you were doing. 'So easy,' he said, 'to lead the Fraulein to great expectations and to discover what she was doing at the same time. She is shrewd enough ... but she has her weaknesses and I found them.'"

"I don't believe you."

"No. That was your weakness. Too gullible. But we are not here to talk about your amorous adventure with Sigmund. That is of no importance to him or to this case. You thought he would marry you when Freya was disposed of. Unfortunately for you, Sigmund was not what you thought —and in any case we knew too much about you. You cannot play the same trick twice."

"This is a nightmare... ."

"Think what it must have been like for poor Countess Freya."

I covered my face with my hands. The loss of my dear little friend ... the knowledge that I was discovered to be Francine's sister ... the hints about Conrad which I did not believe ... the terrible danger in which I stood—it was all becoming unbearable.

"You are under arrest," said Tatiana. "Accused of the murder of Countess Freya."

"I want to see—"

"Yes?" she mocked. "Whom do you want to see? Baron Sigmund is not here. Nor would he wish to see you if he were. Is there anyone else you would like to see—if you were permitted to do so?"

I thought of Hans, but I did not want to implicate him. The Graf was his employer. I thought of Daisy. But she was too close to Hans. Who else was there?

She was smiling at me contemptuously. "Do not search your mind," she said. "Save yourself the trouble, for it would not be permitted. Put a few things together. I am removing you from here for your own safety. When it is generally known that the Countess Freya has been murdered and by whom and for what reason, the people will not leave you to the justice of the land. They will take the law into their own hands. It could be that Kollenitz will demand that you be delivered to them. I would not be in your shoes then, Fraulein Ewell."

I cried out, "I am innocent of what you accuse me, I loved her, I tell you. I would not have harmed her for anything on earth."

"Get a few things together. My parents agree that we should get you away to a place of safety until you stand trial. Hurry. There is little time."

She went to the door and turned to look back at me maliciously.

"Be ready in ten minutes," she said.

The door shut and I sank back into a chair. This was indeed a nightmare. I must be dreaming. Not only was Freya dead, but I was accused of her murder.

Within half an hour I was riding out of the town with a company of guards. People stood about in little groups near the schloss, talking in whispers. There was a hushed atmosphere in the streets. I could smell the smoke in the air. I looked back at the schloss. The scarred wall stood out strongly in the sunlight.

We left the town behind us and came to the forest. We passed near the Marmorsaal and went on. We crossed the river and started to climb. It was about mid-morning when we came to the Klingen Rock. I remembered it from one of my rides with Freya, when she had told me the story of the Rock and the small schloss which stood near the mountain-top.

Prisoners had been kept here in the old days, and when they were condemned to death they were often given the choice of throwing themselves down from the Rock into the gorge below instead of facing execution.

I think I must have been in a state of shock because I could not quite grasp what was happening to me. Yesterday I had been free to ride through the forest, to go to my lover... . Now here I was, a prisoner—falsely accused of murdering one I had loved.

I had lost my dear Freya—a tragedy in any circumstances, but in this way ... I could not grasp the magnitude of what had happened. The loss of a dear one, the terrible suspicion that had come to me and my vulnerability to face the dangers which surrounded me.

We were climbing a rough road cut into the mountainside and at length came to a gate, which was opened by a rough-looking man who regarded me steadily from under shaggy brows.

"This the prisoner then," he said. And then to me: "Get down then. We've not got all night."

I dismounted and he took my horse from me, examining it, I noticed, with a keen eye. A woman appeared.

"Here she is, Marta," he said.

The woman took my arm roughly and peered into my face. I was dismayed by her hard, even cruel expression.

"Zigeuner!" she called, and a cowed-looking boy in ragged garments came running out.

"Take her up," said the woman. "Show her where she's lodged."

I followed the boy into the stone-floored hall and he pointed to a spiral staircase at one end of it. The stone steps were steep and the banister was a rough rope.

"This way," he said.

"Thank you," I answered and he looked surprised.

We went up for a long way, round and round until we reached the top of a tower. He threw open the door and I saw a small room which contained a pallet bed, a jug and basin on a rickety table, and a stool.

He looked at me helplessly.

"Is this ... all I have?" I asked.

He nodded. He had taken the key out of the door on the inside. "I've got to lock you in," he said with a wan smile. "Sorry."

"It's not your fault. Do you work here?"

He nodded again.

"What's your name?"

"They call me Zig because I'm from the gypsies. I was lost and came here. It was more than a year ago. I've been here ever since."

"It's not very pleasant, is it?"

"There's something to eat."

"Will they keep me here?" I asked.

"They'll try to persuade you."

"To what?"

He nodded towards the window. "Mustn't stay," he said. "They'll dock me supper." He went out, shutting the door, and I heard him turn the heavy key in the lock.

What had he meant when he had said they would try to persuade me? I went to the window and looked out. I could see the overhanging Rock and the drop down to the gorge.

I sat down on the bed. I was still too shocked and bewildered to think clearly. This was becoming more and more like a fantastic nightmare. I was accused and condemned without a chance to speak for myself. I felt lost—and a desperate loneliness.

Then from somewhere at the back of my mind came the thought: "Conrad will come for me. He will discover what has happened and come to save me."

The boy brought up some stew for me. I could not eat it. He looked at me pityingly as I shook my head and turned away from it.

"Better eat," he said.

"I don't want it," I said. "Do you have many people here like me?"

He shook his head.

"What have you done, Fraulein?" he asked.

"I have done nothing to warrant this treatment."

He looked at me closely and whispered: "Did you offend in high places, Fraulein? That's what they come here for."

He left the plate with me and the sight of the congealing fat on the top of the broth sickened me. I turned away and looked out of the window. Mountains ... pines everywhere ... the great craggy Rock and below—far below—the ravine.

This is madness, I thought. This is a bad dream. It was the sort of thing that happened when one strayed from the conventional path. Was that why people laid down rigid rules for society? Who would have believed that I, Philippa Ewell, rather quiet, not particularly attractive, could become the mistress of a person of great importance in a faraway country, and then be accused of murder and brought to this mountain castle to await trial ... execution for murder.

What had happened at Greystone Manor when I had been suspected of causing the death of my grandfather was not to be compared with this.

I had strayed from the narrow conventional path. I might have married Cousin Arthur and then I could never have been in the position in which I now found myself. But I should never have known the ecstasy I had experienced with Conrad. I had chosen to live dangerously and now the moment had come to pay for it. Once again I thought of that old Spanish proverb: "Take what you want," said God. "Take it... and pay for it."

Both Francine and I had taken. Francine had paid with her life. Was I to do the same?

The day wore on. Darkness came. The boy arrived with a candle in an iron stick. When it was lighted it threw eerie shadows round the room, which looked more and more like a cell. He threw a blanket on the bed. "It gets cold at night," he said. "We're right up in the mountains and the thick stone walls keep out the warmth of the sun in the daytime. Don't say I gave you that. Say it was here, if they ask."

"Zig," I said, "tell me who is here?"

"The old 'uns," he said. "And the Big 'Un and 'er and me."

"The old ones are the man and woman I saw."

"They're the keepers of the Klingen Schloss. Then there's the Big 'Un, he's a giant and he'll be there if he's wanted. Not for you, I reckon—you're just a woman—and then there's 'er and she's his wife."

"So there are four of them."

"And me—Zig. I do the work and get my food for it."

"And who has been there before?"

"Some others."

"What happened to them?"

His eyes strayed to the window.

"Do you mean they were thrown from the Rock?"

"It's what they're brought here for."

"Is that what they intend to do with me?"

"Wouldn't have brought you here, else."

"Who is they? Whom do you work for? Whom do they work for?"

"People in high places."

"I see. It's a sort of politics."

"They bring them here so they can have the choice. Taking the leap or facing what they have to face. It's when they like to keep it secret and they don't want there to be a big trial and all that. It's when they want to keep things dark."

"What chance have I of getting away?"

He shook his head. "There's the Big 'Un. If you tried, he'd throw you over right away ... and nobody would hear of you no more."

"Zig, I am innocent of what they accuse me."

"That don't make no difference sometimes," he said gloomily, picking up the plate of uneaten food and going out. I heard him lock the door behind him.

That night in the Klingen Schloss seemed an eternity. Lying on the hard pallet, I tried to bring some order into the thoughts that chased each other round in my mind.

Was it possible to get away from here? What I wanted most was to explain to Conrad. Would he believe me guilty? That was something I could not bear. It seemed the worst aspect of the whole terrible business. He knew how very much I wanted to marry him and that I could not happily accept the situation he was offering me and that dear innocent Freya stood in the way.

Could he really believe that I would kill her?

I could imagine how lucidly Tatiana would put her case to him. It fitted neatly enough. "She did it before," I could hear her telling him. "She murdered her own grandfather. She got away with that and she thought she would get away with this. Thank God I discovered her foul treachery.

I sent her to Klingen. I thought it would save so much trouble if she took the leap. And she did, of course, when she realized there was no other way out.

But I would not take the leap. I would find some means of escape. I should be thinking of that now. No matter how impossible it seemed, there must be a way. I must get back to Conrad.

But what if ... ? No, I must fight off these doubts. They were more than I could endure. But they would persist. There had been rumours concerning him and Tatiana. What if they were true? Tatiana said he had amused himself at my expense. I remembered how lighthearted he had been, how he had tried to persuade me to go to the Marmorsaal. How much did I know Conrad? I knew that he was shaped like the gods and heroes of his northern land; I knew that the looks of an ancient hero were combined with the suave and charming manners of a modern prince. He was the sort of man who would be any woman's ideal lover. Was he too attractive? Was he such a delightful lover because he was such a practised one?

I was wasting time with these suppositions. I should be thinking of a plan of escape. If I could get away from here, take the horse that had brought me, ride away ... Where to? To Daisy. Ask her to hide me? To Gisela? To Katia? I dared not involve any of them. I was in the hands of my enemies and held on the serious charge of murder.

And the evidence against me could be made to appear irrefutable. I had been in the schloss when the fire started; I had been conducting a love affair with Freya's affianced husband, and it was feasible to think that but for her I might marry him and in time become the Grand Duchess. What a maze of intrigue I was caught up in, and I could not find my way out of it. I had even come out here with a false name. I should be labelled intrigante and judged guilty.

Oh Freya, dear sweet child, how could anyone think that I could harm you! And Conrad ... where are you? He would surely have heard what had happened by now. He would be the first to hear of Freya's death. He would come... . He would surely come.

I could not forget Tatiana's words. Could it possibly be that she was the one he wanted? Had he really found the episode with me "amusing?"

Another thought struck me. He knew why I had come, that I was determined to prove Francine's marriage and that there was a child. If there was he would no longer be heir to the kingdom. He had said that was what he had wanted. But could it be true?

So the thoughts went round and round in my head during that long and terrifying night and with the streak of dawn in the sky I was at the window looking at the Klingen Rock.

It was afternoon of the second day. The minutes seemed like hours. I was faint with lack of food, I suppose, for I had not eaten since the night of the fire. I was so exhausted that I even dozed for a moment.

No one came to me but the boy Zig. His presence did offer some small comfort because he was clearly sorry for me. He said the descent was swift and you'd be dead before you reached the jagged rocks at the foot of the ravine.

I went back over the past. I could smell the sea and the beautiful flowers on the island. I could clearly remember just how the bougainvillea grew about the studio. I could see Francine assuring the customers of my father's genius, and my mother's bedside when we had all known such sorrow. I could hear my father's voice: "It's Pippa's song. 'God's in his Heaven, all's right with the world.'"

So I brooded—waiting, living, it seemed, in a world of unreality, longing for that time to pass and yet fearing that the end of my life was very close.

Zig came in with another plate of stew and I turned from it shuddering. "Ought to keep your strength up," he said.

I believed that when he was outside the door he ate it himself. Poor Zig, I suspected they gave him very little to eat.

Who were these people? Servants of the Graf. Did he always send his enemies to them for disposal?

It was so quiet in the mountains that one heard sounds from a long way off. That was why I was aware of the approach of riders before I saw them.

I was at the window. They were coming to the schloss. It was a party of six. Conrad, I thought. But no! He was not among them. I could not have failed to recognize him. He would have stood out wherever he was. Now they were close I could see that it was Tatiana who rode at their head, and her companions looked like schloss guards.

I knew then that my doom had come upon me, for I was certain that Tatiana was determined to destroy me. She had judged me guilty and was going to make me pay the price.

I watched their approach. Their horses were taken and they entered the schloss. I waited tense, knowing that before long Tatiana would come to me.

I was right. I heard the key turn in the lock and she was standing before me.

"I hope you found your quarters comfortable," she said with a twist of her lips.

"You don't need an answer to that surely," I replied.

I felt reckless. I was going to die, but I would try to do it bravely.

"We have pieced the evidence together," she said, "and have found you guilty."

"How could you, without me there to defend myself?"

"There was no need for you to be there. The facts are evident. You had been meeting the Baron at the inn. He confirms this. You had made it clear that you hoped to marry him and that this would have been possible but for his contract with Freya. There could not be a stronger motive. And you tried it before with your grandfather. People are in your way and you eliminate them. Death is the penalty for murder."

"Everyone should have a fair trial. That is the law."

"Whose law? The law of your country perhaps. You are not there now. When you live in a country you obey that country's laws. You have been judged guilty and the sentence is death. Now, because of the people concerned this is an unusual case and it would be dangerous for you to return to be tried. It would create a situation of great uneasiness, possible war between Freya's country and mine. Freya was important and Kollenitz will want revenge for her death. They will want her murderess to be delivered to them. So I am offering you the choice."

"You are offering me the Klingen Rock," I said.

She nodded. "It will save a great deal of trouble ... perhaps war. You will throw yourself down and we will send your remains to Kollenitz. They will be satisfied to know that their Countess's murderess is dead. Justice will be seen to have been carried out. We shall leave in ten minutes for the Rock and you will do what has to be done."

"I shall not do it," I said.

She smiled. "You will be persuaded to change your mind."

"I know what is meant by that. Is it on your orders?"

"Mine and others."

"And who are the others?"

"The Grand Duke, the Baron Sigmund, my parents. We are all agreed that it is the best way and the most humane for you—though murderesses do not deserve to be let off so lightly perhaps."

"I don't believe this. I believe it is your judgment and yours alone." She raised her eyebrows questioningly and I went on, "Because you want me out of the way as you wanted Freya."

"I should prepare yourself. It will not be long now."

Then she had gone.

I stood at the window. Death, I thought. The quick plunge and then ... darkness. And Conrad? If I could see him once ... if I could only hear him say that he had truly loved me ... that he had no part in this ...

But I should never see him again. I should never really know.

They were at the door. It was the Big One this time. There was a woman with him. They had pale shut-in faces displaying no emotion; just cold, aloof as though death was commonplace in their lives. Perhaps it was. I wondered how many they had thrown from the Klingen Rock.

I put on my cloak and the man went first down the stairs; I followed and the woman came after. In the hall the company was assembled. This was my funeral. How many people are present at their own funerals? And all those who were present were my enemies ... except the boy Zig who stood there with his mouth slightly open and real compassion in his eyes.

Out into the cool mountain air. It was breathtaking after the confinement of my prison. I noticed the little white edelweiss and the sheen on the tiny rivulets that fell down the mountainside. There was an intensity about everything, a clarity. Did I see it more clearly because I was about to leave it?

Tatiana's eyes were glittering. She hated me. She was longing for the moment when I should go over the edge of the Rock ... down to oblivion ... out of her life forever.

We rode for a short way, then we left the horses and took the walk to the top of the ridge. The grass grew sparsely up here and our footsteps crunched on the brown earth.

Then, suddenly silhouetted against the sky, right at the top of the ridge at that spot where I should have to stand to take my leap, stood a figure. It did not move. It remained stationary, facing us as we came along.

I thought, I am having hallucinations. Is this what happens when one approaches death? Then I heard the cry break from me: "Freya!"

The figure did not move. It just stood there. It was unreal. It had grown out of my fevered imagination. Freya was dead. I was imagining I saw her there.

I turned to Tatiana. She was staring ahead, her face white, her body shivering with fear.

Then suddenly the apparition, if apparition it was, started to move towards us.

Tatiana started to cry out: "No ... no ... You're dead."

Then she started to run and I saw her struggling in the arms of the Big One.

Freya was saying: "Anne ... Anne ... She was going to have you thrown over. Anne, what's the matter? Do you think I'm a ghost?"

Then she put her arms round me and held me to her. Shuddering sobs were shaking my body. I felt unable to speak, unable to control my feelings, unable to think of anything but that she was here ... in some form ... and that she had saved my life.

"Now, Anne," she said, "calm yourself. I'm not a ghost. I was only playing at being one. If you'll stop shaking I'll tell you what all this means."

She gave a shout and several horsemen came out from behind a ridge of boulders where they had remained hidden, and among them was Gunther.

He said to the Big One: "Take my sister back to the schloss. We will follow."

"She looks terrible," said Freya. "Who wouldn't? I knew that was what Tatiana would do. Have Anne thrown over the Rock. But let's get her back now."

She would tell me nothing until we had returned to the schloss. Then she took me into the small room which led from the hall and made me sit in one of the chairs while she took a stool and sat at my feet. We were alone as she had insisted we should be.

"I didn't want anyone else here just at first," she said. "I wanted to tell you ... all by ourselves. Gunther will come in when I call him."

"Oh Freya," I cried. "I can't think of anything but that you are here ... alive ... when we thought—"

"Now, you mustn't get too emotional. Where is my nice calm English governess? Nobody was going to make me marry someone I didn't want to."

"You mean Sigmund?"

"I didn't want Sigmund any more than he wanted me. Why should we be forced into marriage? It's ridiculous. I refused to accept it. So did Gunther. You see, Gunther and I decided that we were going to get married. They would never have allowed it, so the only way to do it was to marry and then say, 'It's done!' Nobody could stop it then, precontract or not. We're married and have consummated the marriage, so there. Who knows? I might already be enceinte. I should think it very likely. So how could I marry someone else?"

"Oh Freya ... Freya ... you go too fast."

"Well, we decided to run away. I am sure Providence was on our side that night. What I did was make up a roll of clothes and put them in the bed before I left. I arranged the bedclothes so that it looked as though the Countess Freya was sleeping there. That was just in case anyone looked in and raised the alarm before we had a chance to get far enough away. Tatiana planned to come in, hit me unconscious, and then start the fire. I knew it as soon as I came back and heard what had happened, because she came in before I had gone. I was sitting in my window with my dressing gown over my outdoor clothes, waiting for the moment to slip out, when my door opened stealthily. I kept behind the curtains so I was able to hide to a certain extent and I saw her creep to my bedside. She was holding a fire-iron in her hand.

"I was sitting in the dark because I didn't want to attract attention ... sitting in the window waiting for Gunther to give the call from below that the coast was clear. I called out, 'What do you want, Tatiana?' She was terribly startled. She said she thought she had heard me call out. I told her I had not and asked what she had in her hand. She said, 'Oh, I just didn't wait to put it down. I was dealing with the fire in my room when I thought I heard you call.' Of course it was all very odd, but I had other things on my mind and I forgot about it. Soon Gunther and I were on our way. We went to the priest and got married, and being married is rather wonderful, Anne dear, when you are married to the Right One."

"Oh Freya ... dearest Freya ..."

"No tears. I'm here. You're safe. This ridiculous case against you is over. You can't accuse someone of murder when there was no murder, can you? But Tatiana tried to kill me and would have done so if I hadn't run away that night to get married. You see how favoured I am. I am so happy, Anne. Gunther is the most wonderful husband—far, far better than Sigmund would ever have been. Who wants to be the old Grand Duchess? I'd rather be Gunther's wife ... and think of the dear little babies well have, looking just like him ... and some like me perhaps ... for I am not bad-looking, am I? Gunther thinks I'm beautiful."

"Oh Freya, stop," I cried. "Talk seriously. Did Sigmund come?"

"They were trying to reach him to tell him what had happened. Of course, when I appeared with Gunther everything was thrown into confusion. They had all decided that you were the murderess and I learned that you had been taken away for your safety. You can imagine the consternation when I arrived. You can't have a murder without a victim. The Graf and Grafin were horrified. You know why, don't you? They thought if I were out of the way Tatiana would get Sigmund. Then I appear. There has been no murder ... and someone has been hustled away for her own safety. My dear Anne, who wouldn't harm a hair of my head, and only chastises me by making me learn those horrible old English words. Why the English couldn't have made German their language, I could never understand. It's so much easier, so much more reasonable."

"Freya, Freya, please ..."

"I know. I run on. It's because I'm happy. I've got Gunther and that's wonderful. And I saved you. Oh, Anne, I was terrified. I thought I would be too late. I knew she was the one. I understood why. You see, I had caught her before I went off. I knew she had come back. She had hit that bundle of clothes in the darkness... . She wouldn't bring a light, would she. And when she thought I was unconscious she set fire to the bed. Then she blamed you for it. I heard you'd gone to Klingen and I knew then what she was going to do. So I pretended to be a ghost. She's very superstitious and I knew that would frighten her out of her wits. Well, it would, wouldn't it, to see the ghost of someone you thought you'd murdered? I did rather well, I think. And now she's confessed her guilt—or she will—and you and I will be together... ."

I could not speak. I was so overcome with emotion.

We had been in the schloss less than an hour when Conrad arrived. He came galloping in at the greatest speed and when I was swept up in his arms I thought I should die of happiness. The transition from utter despair to the heights of bliss was too sudden. And when he held me at arm's length and looked at me as though he must take in every detail of my face to make sure I was really there, I wondered how I could ever have doubted him.

Freya regarded us with satisfaction.

"All is well," she said. "What a wonderful ending! Now I know what they mean when they said 'and they all lived happily ever after.' And to think that it is all due to my cleverness. Though I do admit Gunther had a hand in it. Gunther!" she called.

And there were the four of us, smiling, clinging together.

It was a wonderful reunion. I knew there would be difficulties ahead—and none knew that more than Conrad— but for the moment we gave ourselves up to the complete joy of being together, to a happiness which was the greater because of the fearful ordeal through which we had passed. Conrad told me he had been terrified when he arrived at the Grand Schloss and heard that Freya was dead and I was accused of her murder and had been taken to Klingen.

He then learned that Freya had married Gunther. He had raced to the Rock, and until he had actually seen me, he had been in terror that he might arrive too late.

And he would have done, but for Freya.

"Oh Freya," he cried, "how can I ever be grateful enough!"

Freya beamed on us, looking like the beneficent goddess she had so delighted in imagining herself to be.

"I don't know why I should be so good to you when you preferred someone else," she said severely.

"As for me," he retorted, "you jilted me. You just ran off and left me."

"Nothing to what you did to me. Falling in love with my English governess. Never mind. I'll forgive you because I happen to like her quite a lot myself. And now I shall have to call her Philippa, which is very strange. I don't know how I shall manage that."

Dear Freya! She could not look beyond the moment, and as it was a very happy moment, perhaps she was wise not to.

Later Conrad said to me: "We must imitate Freya. We'll get a priest to marry us."

"You are still the Grand Duke's heir," I reminded him.

"I am no longer affianced to Freya. There will have to be dispensations and so on, but she has broken that contract irrevocably. I shall now marry to please myself."

"It may be the people will not like it."

"They must accept it or banish me."

"You are risking a great deal."

"I risk unhappiness for the rest of my life if I don't seize my opportunities.".

We rode to the Marmorsaal with Freya and Gunther and there we found a priest who married us.

"The deed is done," said Conrad with a laugh. "There can be no turning back now."

"I hope you will never regret it."

Gunther and Freya rode back to the town with us, and we were able to slip quietly into the Grand Schloss. There I was presented to the Grand Duke and Conrad told him that we were married. Freya and Gunther were present and the four of us stood before the old man.

He gave us his blessing although it was clear that he found the situation very disquieting. It was a most unorthodox way in which to behave.

He said with a smile, as he looked at Conrad with real affection: "I can see I shall have to live a little longer until they've all grown accustomed to the idea."

He looked at me gravely: "I know," he said, "that you have been wrongfully accused and I know there has been a long-standing friendship between you and the Baron. You have come into a way of life which will have many difficulties. I hope your affection for your husband will carry you through them."

I kissed his hand and thanked him. I thought he was gracious and charming.

Later I talked with Conrad.

He said that his uncle understood the situation because he had explained it to him. Tatiana's ambition had been to be Grand Duchess in due course, and she had sought to achieve this ambition through marriage. Two people stood in her way: Freya and myself. So therefore she planned to be rid of us both at the same time. What had happened in England had been known to her family because they had been at the centre of that faction which had wanted to get rid of Rudolph and set up Sigmund in his place.

"There are always such intrigues going on in these small states and principalities," said Conrad. "I have always thought it would be a good thing if we could be joined as one great country—a great empire. We should be more prosperous, a world power. As it is we fight among ourselves. There are secret societies and continual intrigues. No one can accuse a single person of Rudolph's murder. It would doubtless have been carried out by a hired assassin."

"Perhaps Katia's brother."

"Very likely. He was close by and it would have been reasonable to choose him. But who can say? And in any case he could not be accused of murder for he would be acting on instructions as a soldier does. Your sister died solely because she happened to be there. There was no intrigue against her ... unless there was a child of course whom she might bring forward. That's how it would have happened. It could happen to us, you know. Pippa, have you thought of the sort of life you are marrying into? You live dangerously here. It is a long way from your English village where the main cause for concern is the death-watch beetle in the church roof and who will be elected to the parish council."

"I know exactly what I am doing," I said, "and so did Francine. I wouldn't change it. It is what I want."

He said: "There is another thing. The people may not like our marriage. Kollenitz can't object because it was Freya who broke the contract. But the people here ..."

"They would have preferred you to marry Tatiana."

"Not now, because Tatiana will not come out of her convent, I imagine. She will be nursed back to health there, for they will say that she needs it. And very likely she will take the veil. It is what happens in such cases. She was always unbalanced. Now I believe her reason has deserted her. It may come back ... and then she will not wish for any other but the convent life. And for us ... we have to wait, Pippa. We shall have another marriage ceremony ... one with celebrations in the streets. I'm sorry, but you did marry me, remember. You have to face them. I think they'll like you ... in time. How can they help it? They might even think it is romantic ... charming. They are like that, you know. Freya has been forgiven. There were flowers and cheers for her when she rode through the streets. They have always liked Freya."

"I can well understand that," I said. "Freya is charming and young and fresh and natural."

"They like Gunther too. The fact is they like romance, and the story of her running away with the one she loved has caught their imagination ... as our story must do."

"Conrad," I said earnestly, "you don't wish that you could give it up, do you? It means a great deal to you ... this country... ."

I saw the dreamy, far-away look in his eyes.

He had been brought up here. He belonged here. I had to learn to accept that.