27

Villa von Düchtel

1906

“He’s breathing,” I said, crouching next to Kaspar’s inert body at the bottom of the stairs.

“This will keep him off his feet for longer than his skiing mishap,” Colin said. Kaspar’s knee was bent at a terrible angle. “I’ll call the doctor in Füssen and ask him what we should do to treat it, as he won’t be able to reach us in this storm. Then we can move Allerspach upstairs.”

Evidently, no one else in the house was aware of what had happened. I could hear a murmur of voices coming from the direction of the breakfast room, but no one came to us. When Colin returned, he brought a footman with him and together they carried Kaspar to his room. I went back, scrutinized every inch of the staircase, and then hovered in the corridor while they got him situated in bed. He was still unconscious.

“Good morning, Lady Emily,” Felix said, emerging from his room. “Are you looking for Kaspar? I think he already went down to breakfast.” He noticed that the door was open, peeked inside, and gasped. “What happened?”

“He fell,” Colin said.

“How?” Felix asked.

“He tripped on the stairs,” I said, holding up a long piece of thin wire. “I found it near the top of the flight, tacked to the wall on one side and, presumably, tied around a baluster on the other.”

Colin took it from me. “Tied tightly enough to cause him to lose his balance, but not so tightly that it stayed in place for someone else to do the same.”

“Will he be all right?” Felix asked.

“There don’t appear to be any broken bones,” Colin said. “I’ve spoken to a doctor who gave me instructions on how to immobilize the leg. His head injury is of more concern.”

“I’ll say. Look here, I’ve had enough of all this.” The veins on his neck were bulging. “Sigrid’s dead and now we know for certain that was a mistake and whoever’s behind it won’t stop until Kaspar’s gone, too. Someone here is responsible. I’d hoped that wasn’t the case, but no one from the outside can reach the house right now, not in this weather. So who is trying to kill my closest friend? I want answers, and I want them now.”

“We’d all like answers,” I said.

Kaspar stirred and moaned.

“Can you hear me?” Colin asked, standing over him.

“Of course I can bloody well hear you. You’re shouting in my face.”

“I don’t think we’ll need to worry about his head,” I said. “Kaspar, do you remember what happened?”

“I was heading down to breakfast and … now I’m here. How that came to pass, I haven’t the slightest idea.” He grimaced. “My knee.”

“I’ll immobilize it for you,” Colin said.

“Unnecessary,” Kaspar said. “It’s not that bad. I’ve had worse.”

“If you saw the position it was in after you fell, you might feel otherwise,” I said.

“I fell?”

“Down the stairs,” I said and held up the wire. “Thanks to this.”

“I wish he’d killed me yesterday instead of Sigrid. It’s just my luck to be stalked by an incompetent murderer.”

“An incompetent murderer who’s a guest of your mother-in-law,” Felix said.

“Felix, why don’t you stay here with your friend now that he’s awake. Colin and I will speak to the others.”

“I’d like to immobilize the knee first,” Colin said.

“And I’d like you to keep your bloody hands off me.”

“Don’t bother arguing.” Colin’s tone brooked no nonsense. “It needs to be taken care of or the injury won’t heal properly.” Kaspar accepted his inevitable defeat, but wasn’t happy about it. He gritted his teeth and glared at my husband.

Once Colin had secured Kaspar’s knee, we went to each bedroom along the corridor. Most were empty, but Max answered his door immediately. His hair was damp and his clothing freshly pressed.

“I’m just heading down to breakfast,” he said. “Is something the matter?”

“Have you left your room yet today?” Colin asked.

“No, why?”

We told him what had happened. His surprise gave every sign of being sincere.

“I’ll get straight downstairs. The baroness will be beside herself.” Then he gave a wry smile. “Not, mind you, because she’ll be full of sympathy for Kaspar, but because her house has been the scene of more violence.”

Birgit was the only other person still upstairs. It took her ages to open her door.

“I’m in no state for visitors.” She looked exhausted. Her hair resembled a nest made by a deranged bird and she had a filmy dressing gown half wrapped around her.

“Did you just wake up?” I asked.

“Only because you started banging on the door.”

“Perhaps you’d like to sit down,” Colin said.

“Why would I want to do that?”

“Have you heard anything out of the ordinary overnight or this morning?” I asked.

“I’ve been asleep, so no.” She tapped her foot, impatient.

“Kaspar fell down the stairs and is injured,” I said. “It wasn’t an accident.”

Her eyes widened. “I didn’t hear a thing.” There was genuine panic in her voice. “Is he all right? He’s not—” She stopped and gulped.

“He’ll make a full recovery,” Colin said. “He’s twisted his knee, but will be fine. Think again about last night and this morning. Did you hear anything?”

Her manner changed. Suddenly, she was serious, measured, helpful, even. “Let me think. I was up rather late last night, talking to Frau du Lac. It was at least three o’clock in the morning before I returned to my room.” She paused, as if expecting us to inquire as to what they’d discussed. When we didn’t, she continued. “I fell asleep almost at once when I got into bed, which was very soon after I got back. I was too tired even to wash my face. After that, I wasn’t aware of anything until I heard you knocking on the door.”

“I see,” Colin said. “Would you please dress quickly and come downstairs?”

“Of course,” she said. “I’ll be there shortly.”

We found Cécile, Ursula, and Liesel seated at the breakfast table, Max standing nearby, anxiety writ on his face.

“I didn’t tell them anything,” he said when he saw us. “I thought it would be better coming from you.”

Colin explained what had happened and asked them each where they had been that morning.

“I came straight here from your room, Kallista,” Cécile said. “Ursula and Liesel were already here.”

“I had a bit of a lie-in,” Liesel said. “It must have been approximately eight thirty when I woke up. I bathed and dressed and came downstairs.”

“I met her halfway down the stairs,” Ursula said.

“Did any of you hear anything?” I asked. They all replied in the negative.

“The walls in the house are solid concrete,” Ursula said. “If he’d shouted as he fell, we might have heard something, but otherwise…”

“Given this latest incident we must assume the murderer is still bent on finishing his task,” Colin said. “I don’t want Allerspach left alone.”

“I don’t see how that will help,” Birgit said, appearing in the doorway. “We don’t know who’s trying to kill him. If we take turns keeping watch over him, at some point he’ll be alone with the murderer.”

“I don’t intend for everyone to keep watch. I shall stay with him,” Colin said. “If, that is, you’re all satisfied that I’m not the killer?”

“For all we know, you might be, Herr Hargreaves,” Birgit said. “I’ve heard stories about your work for the Crown. Perhaps you were sent here to assassinate him in order to stop some political intrigue.”

“Is Allerspach involved in politics?” Colin asked, a look of disbelief on his face.

“It seems unlikely in the extreme,” Birgit said. “He’s never shown any interest in it to me, but then I surely don’t know him as well as the baroness does.” Her tone was more than a little snarky. She turned to Ursula. “Have you any thoughts on the matter?”

“I can’t imagine a less diplomatic individual,” Ursula said. “Whether that makes him more or less likely to be in politics, I don’t know.”

“If I were an assassin, I wouldn’t have toyed with him for days before missing my shot,” Colin said. I could see his patience was wearing thin. Then, he caught himself. “Forgive me, Baroness, I ought not make light of the situation.”

“My dear man, I never entertained the idea you were doing any such thing,” Ursula said. “Let’s take it as read that you didn’t kill my daughter. Kaspar shall be safer with you than anyone else.”

There was a commotion outside the door.

“Don’t talk about me when I’m not there!” It was Kaspar, hobbling along, one arm around Felix’s shoulder. “This is unconscionable.”

“We were only saying that you need to be protected, Herr Allerspach.” Birgit was being suddenly formal with her lover. “As such, Herr Hargreaves has offered to keep by your side day and night.”

“Utterly unnecessary,” Kaspar said, plopping onto a chair. “I’ve not yet breakfasted and am famished. There’s no need for further discussion. A little knee injury ought not cause this much concern.”

“It’s not the injury but rather the fact that someone is trying to kill you,” I said.

“I wish he’d get on with it. At the present, I don’t feel I’ve much to live for.”

The dynamic in the room shifted. Ursula was strangely subdued. Birgit, who I’d expected would consider this a perfect time to faint, took a seat and clasped her hands in front of her on the table. Felix said nothing.

“Herr Allerspach, there is always something to live for,” Liesel said. “One must never give up hope. You’ve suffered a terrible loss, and that’s something from which it is difficult to recover. Time is a remarkable thing, however. It renders us capable of recovering from almost anything.”

Kaspar’s eyes flashed and then he closed them. Finally, he spoke. “I am doing my best to appreciate that you are trying to be helpful, Fräulein Fronberg, but it’s not what I need right now.”

“What do you need?” Max asked.

“Breakfast first, and then to find out which of you reprobates killed my wife.”

Birgit made a strange sound, as if choking back a sob.

“I do not think, monsieur, that you ought to condemn us all as reprobates,” Cécile said, arching her eyebrows. “Surely the moniker belongs only to the murderer.”

“Frankly, I don’t care,” Kaspar said. “Now, will someone please fill me a plate? I can’t do it myself with this wretched knee.”