Page 91 of The Last Kingdom

Together, they were a problem.

Time to deal with Malone.

* * *

COTTON SETTLED IN THE CHAIR AND LISTENED AS DIANNE MCCARTERtold him what she knew.

“Ludwig III was, in many ways, a sadder individual than his dead cousin Ludwig II. He ruled but five years, from 1913 to 1918. When the First World War started in 1914, Ludwig proclaimed Bavaria’s solidarity with Germany. He was committed to a German victory. As the war progressed he showed more and more loyalty to Germany, which Bavarians began to resent. Finally, the German Revolution emerged near the end of the war. The kaiser was overthrown and proportional representation was implemented everywhere. Ludwig III was forced out. On November 12, 1918, he reluctantly signed the Anif Declaration and abandoned his kingdom.”

He recalled what Koger had told him. “But it wasn’t an abdication. He just released the military and ministers from their oaths and walked away.”

“Precisely. Which makes him especially sympathetic. And, like Ludwig II in 1886, he had no choice. But, unlike his cousin, Ludwig III was in full possession of his faculties and did not die a day after losing his throne.”

Good points.

“Ludwig III died three years later. Thankfully for him, he married well. His wife was wealthy. They owned estates in Bavaria, Moravia, and Hungary. They had thirteen children, one of whom is the grandfather of the current duke, Albert. From 1919 to 1921 Ludwig III worked every day to regain his kingdom, but it was not to be. My father told me that, at some point, Ludwig III became aware of his cousin’s efforts, decades earlier, to secure another kingdom. A last kingdom. How did he learn this? My father never said. But it was Ludwig III who hid away the body of Ludwig II.”

“And left a mystery game on how to find it?”

The older woman nodded. “Exactly.”

He was puzzled. “Why do that?”

“Ludwig III felt a great connection to Ludwig II. It is easy to see why. They both suffered the ultimate failure of being deposed. The former chose the wrong side in a world war. The latter lost a grip on reality. From what my father told me, Ludwig III wanted to make sure that the memory of the family never waned, especially the memory of Ludwig II. He also wanted a way for his family to perhaps one day reclaim what was rightfully theirs. He’d watched as the world erupted around him in the madness of total war. It makes sense he would think ahead, to posterity.”

“Where does the Guglmänner fit in?” he asked.

“I truly do not know. But my father was a member.”

He told her, “They know a great deal about this mystery game.”

She considered the information for a moment, her pale blue eyes staring off into the room over half-moon spectacles perched on the tip of her nose. “Probably from my father. He was not good at keeping secrets.”

“That’s not a good trait for a lawyer.”

She chuckled. “Quite right. But who knows? It may not have been him. That is the problem with this whole endeavor. Only bits and pieces of the puzzle have survived, scattered across multiple places and varied sources. No one has the entire picture. It was a secret kept close, perhaps too close, and it has not been passed down without parts of it, perhaps, being lost.”

“We discovered a book.”

And he told her about the copy ofTannhäuser and the Minnesingers’ Contest at Wartburgfound in the desk at Herrenchiemsee, something Prince Stefan had definitely known about.

“You see,” she said, “there is another piece I was unaware of, but the Wittelsbachs apparently knew. I have to say, Ludwig III made a bit of a mess of things.”

“Maybe we clean up that mess.”

“That seems your task. Am I right?”

He nodded.

“All right, now that you have found me and uttered the correct words, and we have spoken and you seem sincere, I have something to give you.” She pointed to an envelope lying on the table. “That is for you. My father prepared it a long time ago. I had my assistant bring it over after you appeared at the office. It has rested inside a locked safe for a long time.”

“You don’t know what it says?”

“Of course not. Unlike my father, I am good at keeping secrets. My task was only to pass it on to the person who uttered the right words.”

Chapter 50

STEFAN ENTERED THE BUILDING THAT HOUSED THE CONSULATEgeneral of China. It was located on Romanstrasse, just outside the gates of the Nymphenburg Palace. It represented one of the 104 foreign governments that maintained a diplomatic presence in Munich, which showed the city’s importance. He liked that Bavaria hosted such a variety of international connections and he planned to do nothing but expand on those once he was king, elevating that presence into full-fledged foreign embassies.