“I like you too, Georg. But I’m afraid your mother does not like me.”
His shoulders sank. “Ja, that is true.”
“Why does she hate me so much?” Adelaide asked innocently. “I have done nothing to her.”
“Ha! Nothing, you say?” He leaned toward her, pointing to her diamond necklace. “That is not nothing, mein lieber.”
She didn’t like him using her father’s term of endearment but continued to smile just the same. “But don’t you think a princess should wear fine jewelry?”
“Ja, I do. If you were my princess, I would give you bigger, better jewels.”
“I believe you would.” She tilted her head to one side, playing the coquette. “But tell me something, Georg, and please be honest with me. Do you really, truly want to be king?”
His brow furrowed as he pressed his lips into a tight line, as if thinking hard. And then he smiled again. “If you were queen, Adelaide, I would want to be king.”
“But your mother wants to be queen, Georg. She would never let me be your queen.” She tapped him on his chest. “You would have to be king without me. But you would have your mother acting as your queen.”
He puffed out his chest. “I wouldn’t let her be queen.”
“She might not wear the crown, but she would be ruling. And what about our uncle? Prince Farcus may be coming back.” She studied him closely, but his expression looked sincerely surprised.
“Coming back here? To Montovia?”
“Yes. That’s what I heard.”
“My mother said Farcus was gone for good.”
“How would she know that?”
He shrugged. “She just knows. That’s all. Now, Adelaide, please say you’ll be my queen.”
“I can’t be your queen. Your mother won’t allow it. You know that, Georg. Even though you’re a grown man, she rules over you. She tells you what to do.”
“No.” He frowned deeply, then downed the remainder of his drink. “If I am king, my mother cannot tell me what to do.”
“Oh, but she will.” Adelaide was sincere with him now. “You know she wants to rule Montovia through you. You would be king in name only. Just a figurehead. Your mother would rule the principality. You must know that by now.”
He grabbed one of her hands. “That is why I need you, Adelaide. If you were queen, my mother could not rule.”
She slowly nodded. “That is true, but that’s not what your mother wants.” She spotted Anton returning with their drinks. “Would you ever be able to stand up against your mother, Georg?”
He just stared at her, but the answer was written in his eyes.
“Here’s your drink.” Anton handed her something pink with a cherry in it.
She took a cautious sniff. “Thank you.”
“How are you, Georg?” Anton asked with genuine interest.
“Mad as Krampus.” He glared at Anton.
Anton leaned back a bit. “At me?”
“No. Just mad is all. I need another drink.” Georg turned back to Adelaide. “I meant what I said.”
She just nodded. “I know you did. Take care now, Georg.”
As the prince stomped off, Anton asked what he had been talking about.
“Oh, just that he wants to make me his queen.” She sipped her overly sweet soda. “But I learned something else. I don’t think he knows anything about his mother’s involvement in whatever is going on with Prince Farcus. I’m pretty good at reading people, and Georg is in the dark. Well, except for knowing his mother wants to control him as queen. I think he gets that.”
“Poor Georg.” Anton shook his head.
“Poor Montovia if he ever gets to be king.”
The band started to play a slower number, and Anton asked her to dance. “That way we can keep an eye on the crowd,” he said.
“Yes, of course.” As she danced with him, Adelaide temporarily forgot about their surveillance assignment. She lost herself in Anton’s arms and wished this moment could last forever.
But the song ended and after a brief pause, the drummer began to pound furiously on his instrument to get everyone’s attention. Suddenly the lights dimmed, and a spotlight shone brightly onto a hairy beast with horns, hooves, and creepy fangs. This evil-looking Krampus dramatically entered the ballroom to the beat of the drum, letting out a bloodcurdling shriek as he prowled among the guests. Adelaide cringed and moved closer to Anton.
But others cheered as the Krampus pretended to terrorize. Growling and stalking, the monster worked the crowd, pointing out the “bad children,” which amused many. He paused near Adelaide and Anton as the houselights went off. Aside from a few flickering candles on the sidelines, the ballroom was eerily black. Adelaide felt the growling Krampus drawing closer—and then she was snatched from Anton’s grasp and dragged away screaming while everyone else just laughed.
CHAPTER
Fourteen
The hem of Adelaide’s dress got torn in the scuffle that followed her bizarre abduction, but other than being shaken, she was okay. The man dressed as Krampus claimed it was all just a joke, but Anton and the two plainclothes officers who’d tackled him out in the main hall were not amused. And as Adelaide listened to the chief grill her abductor, she, too, began to see the seriousness of what she’d assumed was a random albeit startling incident.
Huddled with them in a small office off the main hall, the Krampus, a.k.a. Hugo Scholer, had removed his headpiece to expose messy blond hair and a flushed youthful face. Pressure from the chief soon convinced Hugo to admit he’d been paid to snatch the “pretty American frau in the red dress.” But Hugo still claimed it was only for laughs.
When the police chief asked if he realized he’d just abducted King Max’s daughter, the Princess Adelaide, Hugo’s blue eyes grew wide with fear. “Nein, nein.” He held up his hands, now freed from the hairy gloves and sharp claws, and eagerly surrendered the name of the man who’d hired him for this “little joke.”
The police chief then demanded to know where Hugo had been instructed to take the princess, and he sheepishly confessed he was to take her “downstairs to the ground floor to where friends would transport her to the dungeon to lock her up. But only as a joke, of course.”
The chief exchanged glances with his team, instructing two of them to hurry down there and discreetly take Hugo’s cohorts into custody. Next, he told his lieutenant to transport Hugo over to the station for a full statement and booking. Although Adelaide felt a little sorry for the young man, who now looked close to tears, she hoped it would be a good life lesson. After all, she might’ve had a weak heart and expired down in the dark, dreary dungeon.
When they were gone, the chief turned to Adelaide. “I cannot let you return to the party.”
She shrugged. “Fine by me, but why?”
“Too dangerous. But another reason—those involved in the scheme must not know it failed. Not yet.”
Adelaide was pretty sure she understood. “That way you can keep watching them.”
“Exactly.” He turned to Anton. “Take Adelaide back to the farmhouse. Keep her there until I advise you otherwise. Und you must not be observed leaving the palace.” He pointed to a box filled with random items. “Left from our costumes. You can disguise yourselves.”