But there was no way of concealing that he had returned to Vienna that night. If he killed one or both of them, it would undoubtedly be assumed that he had found them in bed together and allowed his rage to get the better of him. He would have to be well away from Vienna before dawn; by midday he would be a hunted man and, if caught, pay for their deaths with his own life.
Roger's next thought was to set out at once and snatch Georgina from the Castle now destined to be her grave. His tiredness had fallen from him. In three days of hard riding, he could reach Langenstein. But what then? He well remembered Big Karl, the steward who was also chief of the small bodyguard that feudal privilege allowed the Baron to maintain—the twenty or more servants, grooms and gamekeepers who had been sent in pursuit of young Charles. Von Haugwitz had left orders that Georgina was to be prevented from leaving the Schloss. They would never allow Roger to take her away, and there were far too many of them for him to attempt to do so by force.
But wait! The plotters intended to lure him there, so that they could stage the 'fatal accident' that would account for Georgina and himself at the same time. That would give him the chance to use his wits and, only in the last event, his sword. Georgina would be safe until they had him there with her. He must wait for the invitation, accept it; then, when inside the Schloss, plan with her some way in which they could escape together.
He had forgotten to collect his nightshirt from the closet, so slipped naked into bed, and blew out the candles. Fatigue again engulfed him. In spite of the new peril of which he had just learned he would soon have to face, he fell asleep almost instantly.
Next morning he slept late, but was downstairs before Lisala. When she appeared, he expressed mild surprise at seeing her, then spoke to her more pleasantly than he had for some months past. She reciprocated, asking where he had been. He told her of his journey to Paris, and that, arriving back late the previous night, he had not wished to get the servants out of bed so had got into his room by the window.
After a while, she remarked casually, 'An old friend of ours is now in Vienna, Ulrich von Haugwitz. I met him in the Kertnerstrasse yesterday and invited him to dine with me here this evening.'
Roger raised a laugh. 'Dine and sleep, you mean, eh? But I have given up worrying about how you amuse yourself, provided you keep your amours from the servants.'
Smiling back at him, she said, 'I am glad you are become more reasonable. And you know that you can count on my discretion. I had intended to have him take his leave at a fairly early hour;' then, after the servants had gone to bed, for him to return and I'd let him in. But with you and I both in so small a house as this, an awkward situation might arise, so tonight I fear the poor man must put up with a disappointment.'
When von Haugwitz arrived that evening, he looked shightly embarrassed on seeing Roger; but quickly expressed his pleasure at finding him there. To Roger's enquiry about Georgina the Baron replied that she was in excellent health, and that he had left her at Langenstein only because the vintage had just started. It was essential that one of them should supervise it, and he had had to come to Vienna on a matter of urgent business.
Half-way through the meal, Roger deliberately played into the hands of the plotters by remarking, 'I have most pleasant memories of our stay at Langenstein, and hope that one day you will invite us to repeat it.'
Von Haugwitz smiled. 'My dear fellow, at any time you can get leave you would be most welcome; and a visit from you, would, I know, delight Georgina.'
'It so happens that, having just completed a very tiring mission for the Emperor, I am on leave at the moment,' Roger hazarded. 'But the business for which you are here no doubt requires your continued presence in Vienna; so we must postpone this pleasure.'
'On the contrary,' the Baron declared. 'My business here is completed. I leave for home tomorrow. Why should you and Lisala not accompany me?'
Roger looked across at Lisala. She readily smiled her acquiescence, so the matter was settled.
Early next morning Roger went into the dry, where he called at an apothecary's and bought a bottle containing a powerful concoction with a base of opium. It was guaranteed either to put anyone into a deep sleep or reduce to semi-consciousness soldiers when they were being operated upon for serious wounds. He had no definite plan for using the mixture, but felt that it would prove a valuable asset should circumstances arise in which drugging a person or animal could ensure his giving no trouble.
By mid-morning the party was on its way, Lisala in the coach that Roger had hired for her when she had first arrived in Vienna, and the two men riding on either side of it On the evening of the 20th they reached Schloss Langenstein. Georgina, overjoyed at this unexpected visit by Roger, did not seek to disguise how delighted she was; and, hiding her intense dislike of Lisala, she welcomed her warmly.
Tired after their journey, they went early to bed, after an enjoyable supper. Roger felt certain that, as soon as all was quiet, Georgina would come to him; and a little before eleven o'clock, she slipped into his room.
Their first fond embraces over, he told her of the abominable plot that was afoot to kill them both. After a moment she said:
' Tis truly horrifying that Ulrich should contemplate so evil a deed. But I am not altogether surprised now that he has fallen under the influence of Lisala. He is desperate short of money, owing to the brutal taxes the French have imposed on his estates in Prussia. They are eating into his fortune to such an extent that, unless the war ends soon, he will be reduced to living on a shoe-string.'
'You mean unless it ends by the defeat of Napoleon and a general pacification, which would relieve Prussia of her burden. That is possible. It needs only one major victory by Austria to bring Prussia in. And, with the war in Spain also going against him, the Emperor would be finished. But until there is peace with England, Ulrich stands no chance of laying his hands on your money, whether you are alive or dead.'
'True. He must know, too, that when peace does come, I shall at once return home and proceed to divorce him; so Lisala was right when she pointed out that his only chance of securing my fortune is to kill me, and so become the legal owner of it, while France and England are still at war.'
'That is the nub of it,' Roger agreed. 'And he must do it soon. Otherwise, should Austria renew the war and bring about Napoleon's fall, Ulrich would find that he has left it too late. As for myself, Lisala is eager to be rid of me, and she told Ulrich that it was I who got young Charles away from him. That was so severe a blow that he would derive great pleasure from pushing me over the battlements.'
Georgina sighed, 'Oh, my dear love. What are we to do?'
'For us to attempt to leave openly is out of the question; and it is quite possible that Ulrich posts guards at night to prevent any attempt by you to slip away. Our best card is that they have no suspicion that we are aware of their intentions. The odds are that tomorrow we shall be invited to go up to the top of the tower to enjoy the view again. In no circumstances will we do so; but you can leave that to me. I shall propose that on Monday we all drive in to Frankfurt, on the plea that I have never seen that city, and would like to do so. That will be a lie. Actually I was there in '95, in the time of the Directory, to borrow from the House of Rothschild, on behalf of the British Government, a huge sum with which to bribe the Republican General Pichegru to refrain from overwhelming the much smaller Austrian army.* But that is beside the point.'
* The Dark Secret of Josephine.