Dennis Wheatley - Duke de Richleau 07 (67 page)

For twenty minutes longer
they continued to talk of soldiering, then at midnight they crept downstairs
again and S
á
rolta
re-introduced the Duke into Ilona’s room. But as the pretty Hungarian was about
to leave them, Ilona said:

“Sárolta, please call
Adam and come in with him. I want to talk to you both about Armand getting back
to England.”

When they were all
settled, she went on with a sad smile: “Armand tells me that you two have
conspired with Dr. Bruckner to carry me off to Hohenembs to-morrow. I simply
hate the idea now, but Armand has forced me to agree; so to-night is the last
chance we shall have to help him plan how to get away. Have either of you any ideas
how he could evade that horrid Major Ronge’s police?”

“I’m afraid I haven’t at
the moment,” Adam replied. “You see, his position is a most extraordinary one.
They can’t charge him with any criminal act, but they can arrest him at any
time as an enemy alien; so he’s a sort of ticket-of-leave man. By rights he
should be in an internment camp now, but he has been let out owing to your
Highness’ influence, and on certain conditions. They are that he should serve
with your regiment. That puts him in an even more extraordinary position, as it
is an unheard-of thing for a known enemy to be allowed to fulfil the functions
of an officer in our army. However, Ronge appears to think that he can do
little harm there; but, at the same time, has made it plain that if the Duke
attempts to leave Vienna he will pounce on him at once.”

“And we can be certain
that he will have me watched,” added De Richleau. “So I fear I shall stand
little chance of getting away until I can procure some really good disguise.”

“It won’t be easy to do
that if you are being shadowed,” put in S
á
rolta.

“No.” Adam agreed. “And
Ronge warned us that he meant to put his railway police on the job. They are
pretty good at spotting people who are made up to look like someone else; and I
greatly doubt if you would get as far as the frontier.”

Sárolta suddenly clapped
her hands. “I have it! Why shouldn’t he travel with us to Hohenembs to-morrow
as one of Her Highness’ suite? We could dress him up as a woman. A nurse’s
uniform would serve the purpose splendidly, and I could easily get one. Once we
get him to Hohenembs he could slip across the border into Switzerland.”

“Oh darling, bless you!
What a marvellous idea!” exclaimed Ilona.

But De Richleau shook his
head. “I’m afraid that is quite out of the question. Apart from the risk of my
disguise being penetrated on the journey, too many people would have to be in
the secret. One of the servants or real nurses would be certain to talk
afterwards; then the fat would be in the fire with a vengeance. Not only would
there be ugly rumours about Ilona having aided an enemy spy to escape, but all
Vienna would then believe that I must have been her lover. Nothing would induce
me to risk that.”

For half an hour they
talked fruitlessly round the subject, then Adam said, “I wonder what line Ronge
will take when the regiment leaves for the front?”

De Richleau shrugged. “As
far as one can guess he won’t take any action as long as I remain in some
employment at the depot.”

“I was wondering if you
would care to leave with the regiment.”

“What! For the Russian
front?”

“Yes. Once you were
within riding distance of the enemy you could say you were going out on a
reconnaissance, and get yourself captured. Of course, it would mean your going
the long way home, but since you are a relative of the Grand Duke Nicholas I’ve
no doubt the Russians would give you every help to get down to Constantinople,
or to a Norwegian port, as quickly as possible.”

The Duke had as yet had
no time to think out a plan for himself. Given a well thought out disguise and
a fair start, he was far more confident than were his friends of his ability to
slip past Major Ronge’s police; but the disguise and the start remained major
problems, and he felt that, all things considered, Count Adam’s suggestion entailed
less risk. So he said:

“That’s an excellent
idea. The only snag I see to it is that, while Ronge appears willing to let an
enemy alien kick his heels on a barrack square in Vienna, he may not be at all
prepared to allow one to go to the front as a serving officer.”

Adam shrugged his broad
shoulders. “Vienna is the headquarters of three Armies and the greatest
military dispersal point in the Empire. Scores of formations are leaving every
week, and it is most unlikely that Ronge makes a daily check up on all military
movements. I think the odds are all against his learning that Her Imperial
Highness’ Hussars have left for the front until several days after their
departure.”

“He will if he has me
watched,” disagreed the Duke.

“Yes. I suppose you are
right there. But it’s unlikely he will suspect that you intend to go with them;
and his police won’t be watching the military trains for you. As he thinks you
want to get to England I doubt if it will even enter his head that you might go
by way of Russia. When he learns you have disappeared he will imagine that you
have made a bolt for the Swiss or Italian frontier, and concentrate his efforts
on trying to head you off in that direction.”

After some further
discussion they all agreed that Count Adam’s plan offered the best chance of
the Duke getting out of the country; so it was decided to adopt it. Ilona then
asked her lover:

“Are you very tired?”

He smiled. “I am not too
tired to sit up with you, as I should like to do. If I may, I will sit here all
night while you sleep.”

“I hoped you would say
that,” she smiled back; “but I don’t intend to sleep. Every moment of the time
will be too precious. Sárolta darling, will you be an angel and doze on the
settee in the boudoir, in case nurse or the old Aulendorf come to take a peep
at me? If one of them do, you can say that I was restless and you have been
reading to me; but that I’ve just dropped off and they’re not to open my door,
as it might wake me again.”

“Of course I will.” S
á
rolta
kissed her fingers to her beautiful mistress, then she took her fiancé’s arm. “Come
along, Adam. You’ve made me quite proud of you to-night. I know Ilona Theresa’s
Hussars are celebrated for their gallantry, but I never thought any of them
kept such a good brain as yours under his busby.”

“That’s nothing to what I
will teach you in a fortnight’s time,” grinned Adam.

When they had left the
room, De Richleau pulled his chair nearer to Ilona’s bed and took her hand.
Both of them were now resigned to their parting and they did not refer to it
again. Instead, while the night hours slipped by, they talked quietly of many
things. Of the ball at Dorchester House, that now seemed a lifetime away; of
their Channel crossing in the storm; of his playing guide to her at Ischl; of
Königstein and their meetings in Vienna. Those lovely memories at least could
not be taken from them.

At length grey streaks of
daylight began to appear down the edges of the heavy curtains. Soon afterwards
there came a knock at the door, and S
á
rolta
looked in.

“I’m sorry,” she said, “but
Adam has just come downstairs. It is nearly six o’clock, and he wanted me to
warn you that the servants will soon be coming along to clean the rooms and
passages.”

De Richleau stood up. “Then
I must be off. It would be disastrous if one of them saw me leaving the
Archduchess’ suite at this hour.”

Sárolta re-closed the
door. The lovers embraced. Ilona had already promised to do her utmost to get
well quickly. De Richleau had sworn that immediately hostilities ceased he
would come back to her. Both of them had vowed to keep one another in their
hearts until that happy day. There was no more to be said. She was brave now
and did not seek to detain him. With her chin up, dry-eyed and smiling, she
sent him from her; hiding her grief until she could give way to it in Sárolta’s
arms after he had left her suite with Adam Grünne.

The wrench of this final
parting had shaken De Richleau badly, and when they got upstairs he was very
glad to accept some coffee laced with cognac that the Count had ready for him.
While he drank it his host outlined plans for the immediate future.

“I should think,” he
said, “that you must need some sleep pretty badly; and there’s no reason why
you shouldn’t put in five hours or so here. In any case it would be ill-advised
for you to leave the palace until the usual morning callers start popping in
and out, and when you do leave it would attract less attention if you were in
uniform. I take it yours will be in your trunks, and they’ve been sent to the
barracks; so I propose to go round there presently and dig it out for you. You’ll
want it this morning, anyhow, as I am taking you to lunch in the mess.”

De Richleau was still
thinking of Ilona, so had been listening with only half an ear; but he got the
gist of it, and nodded. “That’s very good of you. I’ll sleep till you return,
then. You’ll have no difficulty in finding my uniform: it’s all in a separate
tin case.”

Ten minutes later he was
tucked up in bed, and with emotional exhaustion added to physical tiredness
soon fell asleep. At half past eleven Adam had some difficulty in rousing him,
but after a bath and a shave he felt fully refreshed; and, an hour later, spick
and span in their sky-blue musical-comedy uniforms, they set off in a taxi for
the cavalry barracks.

The commanding officer of
Ilona’s regiment, Colonel Prince Thurn und Taxis, was already known to the
Duke, as were several of the others; and with the charming courtesy typical of
their class they all expressed their pleasure that, although he held only an
honorary commission, he should have decided to serve with them. A subaltern was
told off to show him his quarters; a big bed-sitting-room with dated but solid
furniture, in which all his trunks had been stacked. A soldier-servant was
produced for him, and then they went in to lunch.

Nearly all the officers
present were now wearing their field-service uniforms. De Richleau noted that
they were olive-grey and felt that he ought to get one as soon as possible; so
he asked the Prince for leave to spend the afternoon ordering service
equipment.

“My dear fellow,” replied
the Prince, “please consider yourself free to come and go just as you wish. I
am told that you held the rank of Lieutenant-General in the Turkish Army, so we
shall look to you for counsel rather than routine duties. If you care to give
us a few addresses on your experience in the Balkan wars, I am sure they would
be most valuable. I’d be glad, too, if you would ride out with the troops in
the morning and give me your candid opinion of them. But, otherwise, I shall
regard you as a member of my headquarters staff with no particular
responsibilities for the time being.”

In consequence, the Duke
paid another visit to the regimental tailors with Adam Grünne. Once again they
promised special efforts to provide him with a service uniform by Saturday
morning, so that he could wear it for the ride-past of the 5th Cavalry Division
that afternoon. Then he reluctantly said good-bye to Adam, and proceeded on a
shopping expedition to procure all the things he had recommended to his friend
the night before as important items in the baggage of an old campaigner.

During Thursday and
Friday he was as happy as he could be, considering that he had no hope of
seeing Ilona again for a long time to come. It was now nearly seven weeks since
he had received his wounds, so he was fully recovered from them. His talks on
modern war were received as shockingly revolutionary, but with awe and
diffident respect. He liked the gay, optimistic young gallants who were his
companions, and his born love of soldiering made him enjoy being once again
with troops. For him it was a real pleasure to sit a good horse each morning
while watching their well-timed evolutions in the Prater, and afterwards to use
his quick eye in the stables, making a useful comment here and there.

On Saturday the morning
was devoted to a final polish of already gleaming bits, buckles, buttons, arms
and saddlery. Then, in the afternoon, Ilona Theresa’s Hussars rode out to meet
the rest of the 5th Cavalry Division in the open spaces of the park. As the
division was composed largely of Household Troops it had been purposely held
back and was the last to leave for the front. So officers and men were doubly
eager to show their fitness for service, and the ride past presented a fine spectacle
of good training in perfect parade ground manœvre.

All the regiments passed
the saluting base twice: first in column at the walk; then in line of squadrons
at the charge, with drawn swords or lances levelled. General Conrad von
Hötzendorf was taking the parade and, as De Richleau rode by on the right of,
and half a horses length behind, Prince Thurn und Taxis, out of the corner of
his eye he saw the wizened-faced little General, unmoving and unwinking,
scrutinizing the cavalcade with an eagle’s eye for possible faults.