he was thinking about Schloss Hohenschwanstein, the castle Ludwig stayed at when Neuschwanstein was being built, since there was a large lake adjacent to the property, but that seemed to disappoint him even more.’
‘Yes, I remember.’
‘Then Jon asked me to translate the names of both castles into English. His ears seemed to perk up when I mentioned high swan stone and new swan stone as if that information was somehow important.’
‘Yes, my dear, I remember that, too.’
‘Then, I said—’
Ulster interrupted her. ‘Actually, my dear, I was wondering if Jonathon asked you any questions that I wasn’t privy to. Those are the ones that would be most helpful to our cause.’
Heidi stared at him, intrigued. Even though she didn’t know him very well, she knew Ulster was overly polite - one of the most well-mannered men she had ever met. Yet he had just cut her off in mid-sentence, right after she had mentioned the translation of the two names. In poker, whenever an opponent bet too quickly it usually meant he was hiding something. Suddenly, she wondered if Ulster’s interruption was his way of changing the topic, in the same way locking himself in the bathroom had been his way to avoid tough questions about his trip to Schachen.
‘Let me think,’ she said, hoping to buy some time.
‘Think away, my dear. I’m not going anywhere.’
She leaned back on the couch and rubbed her eyes, trying to make sense of what she knew. High swan stone and new swan stone were simple translations. Anyone with a basic grasp of the German language could have done that for them, so it had to be something more than that. Okay, what led them to ask about the translations? The lake. They wanted to know about a lake that Ludwig might have visited on Mount Schachen. She told them there wasn’t a lake around here, but there was a lake that Ludwig had visited on many occasions by the other castles.
Crap! She suddenly realized they weren’t the ones who had brought up the castles; she had brought up the castles. Maybe she was wrong about their interest in the translation of the castle’s name. Maybe she had misread their questions and Ulster’s interruption, and turned them into an elaborate wild-goose chase, one that would end with a vast treasure. Of course, that would be appropriate considering the subject matter. After all, Ludwig had a history of taking boring tasks and turning them into whimsical adventures. Perhaps she was doing the same thing here.
Heidi opened her eyes and focused. Payne seemed interested in the word swan. She was well aware one of Ludwig’s many nicknames was the Swan King, but could there be another connection she was looking for?
If so, what did it have to do with a treasure?
A popular legend involved a series of mysterious letters - known as the black swan letters - Ludwig had sent to aristocrats throughout Europe. With his royal coffers nearly dry, Ludwig reportedly asked for their support in order to finish a secret project he had been working on. Since his reputation was better in foreign countries than in Bavaria, it was assumed that many noblemen answered his call, and riches came flooding in. Heidi had no way of knowing if the rumours were true, but if they were, there was a chance the money Ludwig had collected was still hidden somewhere since he was murdered before he could spend it.
Could that be what they were looking for?
The infamous black swan treasure?
It would explain many of their questions and why Ulster had interrupted her right after she had mentioned the word swan. He was trying to shift her focus away from a key word.
Heidi smiled to herself. Obviously none of this would hold up in a court of law, but in a game of poker, she had more than enough to work with. All she had to do was bluff a little more and see how her opponent reacted. So far, Ulster had shown an inability to lie, which was admirable in a friend but a serious problem in a game like this.
She glanced at him. ‘Now that I think about it, Jon did ask me something else. He wanted to know if I was familiar with the black swan.’
Ulster tensed up. ‘And what did you say?’
‘I told him I was quite familiar with the topic. I know all about the midnight letters, the mysterious project and his massive treasure.’
Ulster turned bright red. ‘Treasure?’
Heidi stared at him. She