Having managed to get rid of Baudoin, it occurred to me that I had the perfect opportunity to take advantage of Hentzau's afternoon off of his work to do my own. He did not seem loath to permit it either; it took no effort whatever to convince Theo von Hentzau that we ought to rent bicycles and enjoy the pleasant weather cycling the paths by river.

Less than an hour later, we found ourselves in a spot that was simultaneously quiet enough to speak privately but visible enough to cause no scandal,  sitting on the river bank, the bicycles laid on the grass behind us. That is to say, I sat, my arms around my skirt-covered knees. Theo lay back in the grass, hands behind his head, and chatted with me quite familiarly, seeming entirely at ease in my presence.

"So you see," he said smiling, "Had I the money, that country house - and the race horses - would have been mine. But alas, my brother refused to support me in a purchase he said was 'frivolous'. I must have been a very troublesome child for my parents to decide I would not control my own accounts until I turned thirty."

"I am sure that there will still be nice houses available when you're thirty, Mr. von Hentzau," I laughed. It felt odd to be sitting here, pretending to care about Theo and his opinions. Or, frankly, not pretending -  I had found that I was starting to get caught up in the small dramas of his life. His stories were amusing, at any rate, and his relationship with his mysterious older brother was fascinating.

"Hmph. That won't be for five long years. I shall certainly be called back to Ruritania long before then - perhaps quite soon."

I looked down at him anxiously. It would be terrible to lose such a useful source of information - not to mention tickets to the operetta. "Back to Ruritania? Soon?"

He rolled onto his side, supporting himself on his elbow. He leaned his cheek on his hand, his eyes sparkling with delight. "Miss Auber! Am I to take it that the idea of my leaving distresses you?"

I shrugged. "Well, I do like the ice cream and the tickets to the operetta."

"I believe that you do," he said, with a grin. "Do not worry. I have no intention of leaving too quickly. In fact, I believe that they shall have to order me home, if they wish me to go. Besides, I am already promised to attend my cousin's wedding in a fortnight. Vicky would personally see to it that I experienced an excruciatingly slow and painful demise, if I missed her nuptials. I do intend to stay on afterwards, however."

"Well, that's reassuring," I smiled at him, and tried to turn the conversation slowly in the direction of Ruritanian politics. "Especially since I know you like it here better than you did Strelsau."

"Oh, certainly. The company here," he pointed out, "is excellent."

I rolled my eyes.

He laughed again. "You really should allow me to compliment you, Miss Auber. It gives me pleasure and does you no harm."

"I am not so sure about that! Just the same, I was hoping to hear more about Strelsau."

"Strelsau? A dull place," He joked. "The houses are boring. The streets are boring. The palace is especially boring."

"How can a palace be boring? I'm sure that there are always interesting things going on there."

"If you're a diplomat, perhaps - "

"Which you are!" I interrupted. I believe he had forgotten about his cover story altogether.

"Er- yes. Of course." Theo sounded flustered. "But I am a very junior diplomat, and not allowed to witness the most important meetings."

"Have you ever met King Rudolf? Or the Archduke?"

Theo's grin returned. "As a matter of fact, I am acquainted with both. Would you like me to tell you about them?"

I think my mouth might have fallen open in excited surprise. Managing to close it, I nodded, finding it hard to believe my luck.

Theo leaned back to lay down on the grass again, as if about to launch into a long and complicated story. "The king," he said, "is generous, somewhat silly, and well-loved by the people. The Archduke, though he has a pretty wife and darling child, is the stingiest man I have ever met."

I laughed. "I expected no different! What else?"

"King Rudolf is very kind to his nephews, including the Archduke. The Archduke is fond of the King, but as the Archduke has a contrary sort of personality, I do believe he thinks he can do the job better!"

"What, really?" I asked. "Though as he's the heir, I suppose he will get his chance, in time."

"Well, perhaps," Theo said with a frown. "But perhaps not."

"What do you mean?" I tilted my head to one side, even though I knew very well what the answer would be.

"Well," Theo looked defensive again, "It is still possible that the King and Queen might have a child."

"Would the Archduke be terribly angry if he were displaced in the succession?"

Theo laughed, "Oh, no doubt. As I said, he is most contrary. Did you know that he thinks the Royal Ruritanian Balloon Corps should be outfitted with gattling guns? Gattling guns! In observation balloons! Where could the gun roll when it recoiled, in a balloon, hmm? Aside from the possible implication under the laws of war . . . all our armed airships are in the Flying Corps, I assure you!"

"Is the subject of armed balloons the only matter on which the Archuduke disagrees with the King?"

"Heavens, no! He also disagrees about the size of my allowance."

I blinked in surprise - again the conversation was becoming more candid and useful than I had expected. "You get an allowance from the Kingdom of Ruritania?"

"From my inheritance." He corrected. "My parents left me enough to keep me comfortable without having to draw further from the national coffers. As I said, if I could but access it now . . . but all I get right now is an allowance. An allowance that is administered by parliament. The Archduke thinks I am given too much."

"Ah" I said. I reflected once again that these Ruritanians were surprisingly public about accommodating their bastards. "But why would he care? It is not the country's money, and besides, you said before you will get the whole amount in five years, when you turn thirty."

"Well, to be clear, the provisions of my father's will are that I get the whole amount when I turn thirty, or when I marry," he smiled at me, "whichever might come first."

I could feel my cheeks turning just a little pink. "Hah, well, have you any nuptial prospects on the horizon?"

"I may," he raised an eyebrow and grinned at me.

"You are flirting with me, Mr. von Hentzau!"

"Am I to understand that you only just noticed?"

Feeling pawkish, and more than a little pleased by my progress, I decided to take advantage of his good mood. I decided to ask Theo a question to which I already suspected he would not wish to give the answer - one which touched upon his identity an illegitimate member of the Ruritanian royal family.

"Incidentally, what was that all about? Back at the school?" I asked. "When Father Barnard asked to speak with you privately.

"Nothing," Theo lied.

"Nothing?" I asked.

"Fine." He took a deep breath, then looked determinedly up at the sky and not at me. His cheeks were red, but whether from the sun or from the discomfort of answering the question, I could not say.  "Father Barnard wanted to know – he asked me point-blank if Baudoin was -"

My stomach lurched. Throughout my half-effective attempts to listen, I had been certain they were discussing Theo's falsehood about his name. I couldn't think of any way that Baudoin could possibly have anything to do with that. "What? What did he ask?"

Theo's blush deepened. "Nothing you will want to hear."

"Try me," I responded.

"Fine. He -he wanted to know if Baudoin was my brother's child."

"If what?"

"It isn't so very ridiculous," Theo said anxiously. "Ruprecht – Ruprecht has dark hair, like your brother, and he would have been 19 or so when Baudoin was born. And - " he broke off for just an instant, "And, my family has a certain reputation. My father was – was not a faithful husband."

This was not where I had imagined the conversation was going. "Oh," I said.

Two things occurred to me almost simultaneously. First, I realised that the beloved older brother with whom Theo was close was named Ruprecht, just like the Archduke. That confirmed, of course, that the older brother he had referenced at lunch was not the king, but it was confusing. It seemed like the entire Ruritanian royal family only used three or four names. Lord knew there were a lot of Rudolfs – the ruling king and kings for three generations before him, for instance; even the Archduke's young son had Rudolf as a first name.

The second thing that occurred to me was that Theo's admission of his father's marital faithlessness served as further evidence that he was who my Boss and I believed him to be, and not some ordinary minor functionary in the embassy.

Theo was still talking, his voice very firm. "Of course, you know my brother would never do such a thing. He is very fond of his wife, and besides, very chivalrous. He is a gentleman."

I nodded sympathetically, agreeing. Theo thought his brother could do no wrong; there was no point in trying to argue otherwise. I didn't know his brother, after all, and Theo himself had been a perfect preux chevalier. I would be at home in bed before I realised that, despite his admissions, he had managed to turn the conversation very neatly away from his name and identity.