Pascale Auber & the Ruritanian Riddle

XXII Delmonte's - 4

Dantès made his way between the tables, heading for the back of the restaurant; Theo von Hentzau followed him, and I followed Hentzau, silent except for the rustling of my skirt. The two men headed outdoors, into the building's empty courtyard, behind the restaurant. The sun was low in the sky, but not so low that it was growing dark; I would be invisible standing a few steps within the open doorway, so long as Dantès and Hentzau stayed out in the sun.

Dantès leaned against the far wall, arms crossed. "What is the meaning of this, Theo?"

Hentzau, his back to me, shrugged. "She fell into my flivver this afternoon. I invited her to dinner."

Dantès' expression was one of disbelief, "The one doesn't lead to the other," he said. "What exactly is going on between you and that young woman?"

I could see Theo raise a hand and run it through his carefully-pomaded hair, dislodging a few red curls. After a moment, he spoke. "Nothing is going on. I simply feel responsible for her, having saved her life. Unfortunately, in doing so I lost track of Simpelstur."

Dantès straightened, his dark eyebrows knitting together. "Simpelstur? You know where he is?"

"Calm down! I know where he was, which is not the same as knowing where he is."

"I want to reiterate again that I and my people have nothing to do with that murderous fool."

It was now Hentzau's turn to cross his arms. "Does this mean you are on my side, for once?"

"In this matter, yes," Dantès replied. "Our interests coincide. Besides, I have always been your friend, Theo."

Hentzau snorted. "You would see my family hanging from lampposts."

"That is not true! You just need to drop your aristocratic biases, and you would see -"

"If we are friends, let us not argue," Hentzau said.

Dantès made an irritated face, but then, to my surprise, smiled. "Very well. Nonetheless, your intentions towards Comrade Auber?"

"I think her quite charming. Thus far, I enjoy her company. That does not mean I trust her. Her -" he paused a moment, then continued, "the timing of her accident was remarkably convenient."

"Hence your hiding under an assumed name even though you are the spitting image of King Rudolf? She isn't stupid, you know. Anyone with eyes can see you are an Elphberg. Besides, I have known her for several months now. She is above suspicion."

I felt a warm glow in the pit of my stomach; against all odds, Dantès trusted me; I was not so terrible at my job after all. Unfortunately, the warm glow was quickly succeeded by an unaccustomed nausea, a sort of cold dread. As I may have mentioned, I do not dislike Dantès; his trust in me was obviously misplaced.

"I hope you are right about that," Hentzau said, "I feel responsible for her, having rescued her. Her expressions of gratitude were terribly endearing."

"Oh, no. No, no, no," Dantès protested, rolling his eyes.  "You can't possibly intend to pursue her romantically?"

Theo shrugged.

"You have to tell her who you are, you fool! You're just asking for the woman to find out in some unexpected way, and end up catastrophically angry with you. Besides, she is a socialist and therefore deserves to know that she's involved with our aristocratic oppressors."

"I don't mean your friend any harm." Hentzau interrupted.  He looked Dantès in the eyes. "Unless, of course, she turns out to be dangerous to me. Something you would do well to keep in mind, Gabe."

And with that, he turned and strode towards the doorway where I was hiding.