The Ludwig Conspiracy(86)

Steven shook his head with resignation. He briefly wondered whether to tell Sara about his odd encounter outside the castle and then decided not to. Very likely he really was suffering from paranoia. “Nothing that struck me as significant at first sight,” he said, “but the story is getting more and more tragic.”

For Sara and Uncle Lu, he briefly summed up Marot’s arrival at Herrenchiemsee, his encounter with the king in the castle, and the spectacular events the next morning.

“Bound to turn out that way,” interjected Uncle Lu, who was walking just ahead of Steven and Sara. “Ludwig falls in love with the handsome Theodor, so he’s jealous of Maria. When it came to that sort of thing, the king could be a tricky bastard. According to several sources, he also had an affair with Hornig, his equerry. When the faithful Richard Hornig finally got married, Ludwig threw him straight out.”

“But what I can’t make out is why that man Strelitz was on the island,” Sara said as they walked along the empty first-floor corridors. Their footsteps echoed on the worn, smoothly polished flagstones. “All he was really supposed to do was reassure Lutz and the other ministers that Bismarck was on their side. So what was he doing at Herrenchiemsee? Getting his revenge on Marot? Sounds to me like kind of a flimsy motive.”

“We can forget about Strelitz for now,” Steven replied. “What we need is the second keyword.”

“You’re right.” Albert Zöller stopped in front of a huge entrance portal at the end of the corridor and took out the key ring. He searched for the biggest key with his greasy fingers and inserted it in the lock. Squealing, the heavy double doors swung open.

“Then we’ll see what our friend Theodor made of it at the time,” Uncle Lu said. “Let’s hope love didn’t paralyze his brain.”





Two hours later, they stood in the king’s magnificent council chamber on the second floor, their heads together over a worn old map spread out on a table covered by a blue velvet cloth.

Night had fallen outside. The few lights left on after the castle closed bathed the gilded stucco hall in a fairy-tale light. When Steven looked out of the windows, which were the height of a man, and stared into the darkness, he thought he saw something intermittently flickering outside. He assumed it was distant lightning portending a coming storm. But it could equally well be the reflection of their own flashlights in the countless windowpanes and mirrors of the castle.

Or someone else’s flashlight, Steven thought. This castle is massive.

“Let’s see,” Uncle Lu said, tapping the ground plans of some of the rooms shown on the map. “We’ve been in the Great Hall of Mirrors, the Hall of Peace, the Hall of War . . .”

“Don’t forget that bedroom with the blue globe and the four-poster bed in it,” the bookseller said wearily. “As well as the writing room and the Blue Salon.”

“We’ve been in every damn room on the first floor,” Sara groused. “Even the ones that were never completed. My feet hurt with all this walking, and still we’ve found nothing. Niente. Nada.”

“There must be something we’ve overlooked,” Steven said. “I’m sure the keyword is here. It’s obvious that all the rooms in the castle revolve around Louis the Fourteenth. That’s clear from the diary, and there was the word KING as a clue. So we must . . .”

Suddenly he gave a start.

“What is it?” Sara asked. “Did you think of something?”

Steven shook his head. “I heard a sound, footsteps somewhere. Could someone have followed us?”

“Only the night watchman,” Zöller calmly replied. “And Franz is a good friend of mine. He knows we’re looking around here, but we ought not to put too much of a strain on his patience. So you’d better go on, Herr Lukas.”

With some hesitation, Steven nodded. He was still thinking of the two men he had seen on the castle forecourt. Had they really been only ordinary tourists, or were they, too, in the castle now? Were they the Cowled Men whom Sara thought she had seen? Exhausted, Steven rubbed his temples and tried to concentrate on the puzzle. Very likely Uncle Lu was right, and by now he was simply too jumpy for such adventures.

“Marot mentions all the pictures, statues, and busts of the Sun King,” he went on. “The entire castle is a tribute to Louis the Fourteenth, furnishings included. The code word must have something to do with him.”

“But you’ve already tried all the words we thought of on your laptop,” Zöller said. “King Ludwig, Sun . . .”

“Versailles?” Sara suggested. “It may be too long, but let me try it.”