When Raine had taken a shower, he found Seton hanging about in the kitchen, looking displeased. "Anything wrong?"

"What did you tell Anna to say to me? She won't tell me."

"I told her to say to you that there was a hair in her eye and to ask you if you could take a look."

Seton pondered that. "Why can't she tell me that? Why can't she tell me anything?"

Raine knew, or suspected. "Why don't you go and shower?" A few minutes after Seton had gone up, Gris and Hegge returned. They related what had happened and Raine naturally told them what had happened in their absence.

"Anna's sister? And Nathalie?" Hegge whistled. "I'd have loved to see that. Tell me, how did Anna take it?"

"Oooo…she didn't take it well. Her sister had to take her upstairs to give her a lecture on proper behaviour, but she didn't speak a word until we took her outside to play football and even afterwards Seton was complaining that she wouldn't tell him anything." He related the football incident and they snickered. "He will become seriously fed up with her if she keeps refusing to tell him anything."

"Help is called for," Hegge declared. "Thomases unite! We bought a baby shirt because Gris forgot to remove from it the shopping trolley and if they still have not made any progress tomorrow, I'm going to give it to Anna and say it's for young Thomas Seton, in return for naming her first son after us."

They laughed again as they tried to imagine what Anna's reaction would be.

Seton came downstairs before Anna did. "Bad news," Gris informed him. "There are some foreign agents running around. We spotted them at the supermarket. Do you remember Dan and Frank? Well, it was them."

"What are they doing here? That's just what we need: a third party who doesn't know anything. A completely unpredictable factor. They might screw up any plan we make."

Anna appeared several minutes later in her bathrobe and interrupted their discussion. "That pile of dirty clothes that somebody dumped in front of the bathroom door is now in the washing machine. I apologise if that wasn't the intention."

"Only if you turned the machine on," Seton answered. "Otherwise it doesn't achieve anything."

The others held their breath. Seton was getting really touchy. They wondered if they should interfere yet, but Anna looked as if her shower had given her fresh energy and spirit.

In the shower, Anna had come to the conclusion that she had been behaving very childishly and she was determined not to be rattled so quickly anymore. Also, she had come to fear that Seton would lose his patience with her if she persisted in her silence. It was not that she deliberately wanted to keep things from him -- in fact, she was willing to share all her personal beliefs on anything as long as it would not have anything remotely to do with himself or her position -- but in her mind those two things seemed to be closely connected and yet mutually exclusive. Somewhere between the shampoo and the conditioner Anna knew what she would choose, given a choice. Preserving the status quo was of course the safest option, but it would not make her happy. He had said she should do what she wanted to do. In other words, what would make her happy.

Despite the implied doubt about her ability to operate her own washing machine, Anna did not appear to take it as an insult of her intelligence, but passed it back to him. It was strange, saying the first thing that entered her mind, as if somebody else took over temporarily. She was not really used to it yet. "Were you afraid to come in, or what? The door was open. Or don't you know how to operate the washing machine? You should have asked me. I was in the shower," Anna said sweetly. She enjoyed their reactions, ranging from shock to snickering. "I wouldn't have laughed at you. Well…" she said when they still did not reply. "Does anyone have anymore dirty laundry? Small things? Because the machine is not full yet. But don't be alarmed -- I programmed it so that you only have to press the button and it will start."

She was brushing her hair in the bathroom when first Gris and Hegge shoved something in the machine. Hegge snickered. "He's still gasping for breath!"

"Who is?" Anna asked.

"Not me!" said Raine, also bringing his laundry. "You're being hard on him today, aren't you?"

"Do you mean he really doesn't know how to programme a washing machine?" she asked curiously.

"I thinking he found it rather shocking that you said you would have come out of the shower to help him."

"That's odd," Anna stopped brushing and waved her hairbrush around with a giggle. It would be practically the same as sitting on a chair while he was taking his bath. Why should that be normal and not this?

"What?" Raine and Hegge asked in unison.

"Never mind me. I'm odd. And I think I opened a can of worms. I've never been drunk, but I must sound like it."

"Okay then," said Hegge doubtfully. "I'm glad to see you're alive. I'll go and fix dinner."

The others disappeared with him and Anna turned on the radio. She turned it down when Seton entered and sat down on the chair. He knew from their shopping excursion that she wore aerobics tops, because they had bought some, so he was not surprised to see her wearing one under her bathrobe. Apparently she had only just pulled on her trousers and she had been in the middle of getting dressed when he had come, but nevertheless Anna in red trousers, a light-blue aerobic top, with a pastel yellow bathrobe hanging open was an interesting, if colourful, sight. "You look very interesting. Aren't you being a bit exhibitionistic?" he asked.

"How had you imagined that I changed clothes? Without showing any bare skin? It's only a stomach and I'm not going to cover it up, even if you insist. You find it interesting. You just said so. Besides, you were with me when I bought this top and I find myself seized by a new openness." Anna leaned against the washbasin and looked at him. "I will answer any questions you might have very honestly, but I'll tell you something first that might help you." She clutched the belt of her bathrobe and spun the ends around nervously. "May I call you John or should we all stick to last names in this house?"

Seton looked amused but curious. "You may call me John and you may also call the other three Thomas if that doesn't confuse you."

"John, promise me you won't interrupt."

"I promise."

"When I was taking a shower, I discovered that I had fallen in love with you. Now I can't imagine why you would fall in love with me, because I hate myself," Anna continued in the same breath, "so it's alright if you don't. I mean, I won't get upset. I'd understand. I just thought you should know, because it might explain why I couldn't say certain things, like when Raine told me to say darling to you so you would leave your goal. I know it's stupid and my sister said it was only gratitude, because it can't happen after two days and I was sensible for a short while after that, but not for long. I'm sorry."

Nathalie had thought it most probable that the three men would have left the country on the same day, if they had left the country at all. She had talked to her connection at the airport, and explained the situation without revealing too much. "All I need to know is whether any of these three men left the country. I don't necessarily have to know where they went," she said, so as not to ask too much in one go. "All I need to know is that they were alive on that day."

"What for?"

"It's in connection with the Queen's abduction."

"Are these men terrorists?"

"No, they were her bodyguards and her chauffeur."

"I thought they had died."

"Well, maybe not. Do you see what a different light this would throw on the whole case?"

"I see, but their obituaries were in the newspaper." Her friend had a whole pile of newspapers there and he searched until he had found it. "Here, take a look."

Nathalie studied the obituaries. There was one for the three of them, saying that they had given their lives for Queen and country, but interestingly enough not one of the names corresponded to what Anna had written down on the scrap of paper. Considering the extra information Anna had given about their hometown and ages, she could not but trust that Anna had been correct and not this obituary. Someone had been faking it. "The names are not the same."

"Are you sure you've got the right names?"

"Yes." Unless Anna was particularly fuzzy-minded. "Can we search for all six in case my source was not correct?"

"Sure. It will take longer. Have you got a while?"

Nathalie had got a while and her patience was rewarded, for after three hours of checking passenger lists, she found the three. Anna had been right. The names she had received from Anna matched and she had been surprisingly accurate in guessing their ages. In one case she had been correct and in the other two cases she had only been a year off. Nathalie admired her for that ability. She was very bad at it herself. She had had to ask Celeste about Anna's age, because she had guessed her to be at least ten years younger this morning.

This information proved that Pierre had been speaking the truth. The next thing she could do was check out who had placed the obituary.

Nathalie searched the desk of the woman in charge of birth, death and marriage announcements. It was nine o'clock and the woman only worked until eight-thirty, because family announcements could be phoned through until eight. Most people had gone home and the only ones remaining were those on night duty. Nobody would disturb her. Fortunately, the obituary had been placed in the newspaper she worked for, otherwise it might have been more difficult.

She rifled through the stacks of paper on the desk and concentrated on the pile dated December 23, which meant these were the rough copies and faxes of the ads that had appeared in today's paper. Somewhere in the middle she found the ad, a neatly typewritten sheet with the exact text of the obituary. Nathalie could not conclude anything from the sheet. It was an apparently normal blank sheet without an imprinted heading. It looked as if someone had brought it, rather than phoned it. It must have been paid for in cash and it had cost them 81.29, probably, because that was pencilled onto the sheet. Cash payment was standard for personally delivered announcements. There would be no use in trying to find out whom it was billed to and anyway, she did not have the password to this computer.

On the desk there was an envelope on which the woman had calculated a few things. Nathalie's eye fell on the number 81.29, which was the result of a multiplication jotted down in the top left-hand corner. Would that mean it had been the first thing she had written on it after it had come in? Maybe she had even used the envelope the sheet had been brought in. It would fit in, folded the way it was, but that was a standard size. She turned the envelope around. Department of Communications, Ministry of Home Affairs was printed in small letters on the envelope, followed by a P.O. box number.

If this was the envelope that went with the ad, and she had a sneaking suspicion that it was, then she was really onto something. It would mean the authorities were involved in a big way. If only she could call Pierre and tell him what she had found, instead of having to wait for him to call her.

She had not been seated at her desk for very long when two police officers appeared. "Miss Russier?" they asked, even though she had undoubtedly been pointed out to them.

"Yes?"

"Would you please accompany us to the station to answer a few questions with regard to your article in today's newspaper?"

Nathalie did not see any point in refusing. She would only look suspicious if she did. Besides, she was not afraid, knowing what they wanted her for. They would want to know how she had found the car. If Pierre phoned her right now, he would have a very bad timing.

But Seton was at that moment too busy gaping at Anna in bewilderment to give any thoughts to calling Nathalie. It was not even certain that he was aware of the existence of women other than Anna.

He could not believe that she had said what she had said and his amazement had grown with every word, but her words had been more than welcome. He had had what he had thought were idle fantasies, but he had never seriously considered that Anna would fall in love with him and he wondered how the process could have escaped his notice so entirely, when he would be the first to admit that not much about Anna had escaped his notice. There had not been any clues in her behaviour, or had there? She would only show other people a tiny fraction of what went on in her head. Perhaps even the tiniest smile had been meaningful. Anna would sooner suppress the feeling than admit it, so this must be quite something. He knew it must have been difficult for her to tell him and he admired her courage.

She looked terrified that he would turn her down, although she was obviously starting from the assumption that he would. Of course he would not. It was incredible that she did not know how he felt. How could she not have noticed anything? It had been so obvious to the others. But then Anna was so unsure of her own qualities that she even hated herself. Seton did not understand why.

Despite his shock, her words made enough sense to him to make him smile. He did not know if he had been as happy as this any time since some of his birthdays when he was a child and he had received something he had really wanted.

Anna looked less anxious when she saw the idea was not entirely disgusting to him, but she needed more, verbal reassurance.

Seton racked his brains for anything faintly original and yet reassuring that would express his feelings perfectly, but everything seemed either inadequate or to turn him into a blabbering happy idiot. "I think you've just cured my heart condition," he said, wondering why this would affect his voice.

Anna looked as if she dared not believe what she thought it meant. "What do you mean?" she asked uncertainly.

When dealing with an uncertain woman, it was best to be plain and unequivocal, he concluded. "I love you." She had to understand that. "Very much," he added in case she would still have doubts. It surprised him a little to find that what he said was true. He knew it had been true, but he had not know how true it was.

Anna's face relaxed into a smile of relief. "Was it such a heart condition?" she asked timidly. "That never occurred to me. I had no idea you…liked me."

"I never liked you," Seton said before he could help it and then quickly corrected himself before she would get the wrong idea. "Maybe only for a brief moment when I first saw you, but it quickly progressed to…more." He hoped she would keep smiling like that.

Anna still had difficulties believing that somebody loved her and that it happened to be the same person she loved, was completely amazing. "You're very sweet to change your words like that. I find it very hard to believe that somebody would love me," she apologised modestly.

"It's impossible not to love you."

"Yes, you too," Anna blushed. Surely every woman must love him, that was why she had been so afraid that he liked Marie-Celeste or Nathalie better than her. They must have liked him as well, but not as much as she did. They would perhaps not appreciate how he thought or they would perhaps not think he was perfectly gorgeous and gorgeously perfect, the way he got up from that chair. "Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die," she giggled nervously. She would think of the consequences of her confession later. Now she had to enjoy the moment and the tiny wrinkles that appeared near his eyes when he smiled at what she said, she thought as his hands slowly slid around her waist.

Whoa, where are they taking me? Nathalie asked herself as she was being led past numerous offices, far past the areas where the public was normally questioned. The policeman paused in front of a door and knocked. The Commissioner? They're certainly taking it high up and putting all their bigwigs on the case.

The Commissioner dismissed the policeman shook her hand. "I'm glad you came, Miss Russier."

"I didn't know I had a choice." She was surprised that she would be questioned by him alone. This was no ordinary interview.

"You always have a choice."

"Between coming along willingly and getting arrested?" she asked sharply.

He ignored her question. "There are some things I must ask you about. We'll start with the first thing. Who told you about the incident on the A4?"

"I can't tell you that."

"Why not?"

"Some of my sources tell me things because they know they can remain anonymous. I can't betray their confidence. I'm sure the police works like that at times."

"How did you know where to find the car? Did that information come from the same source?"

"I don't know. Does it seem likely?" Nathalie shrugged.

"Your source may be of help in solving this case. He seems to know quite a lot. Were you by any chance contacted by the kidnappers to write on their behalf?" the Commissioner asked. He leant across his heavy wooden desk and stared at her intently.

"I'm not aware of having written anything on anyone's behalf, except perhaps on behalf of the Queen."

"And now I ask you, Miss Russier, if you think there is a difference between what I asked and what you answered?" he asked shrewdly.

Nathalie froze imperceptibly. He would not ask her that if he did not think that the Queen had the same interests as the kidnappers. But how did he find out? And what am I going to say? Pierre, call me! NOW!

"Dinner," somebody shouted up from below.

"Already?" Anna said in a startled tone. They had only got partly through what they both had been feeling during certain instances of their acquaintance and they did not have enough of the subject yet. In fact, it would not at all have been unlikely that they would have begun to repeat themselves, if they had been granted an unlimited amount of time.

"Let's get you completely dressed before we go down," Seton suggested. They were still in the bathroom.

Anna wondered what they would think. "Will you tell them?" she asked anxiously. It was a rather unnerving thought having to announce that something had happened and then having them all look at her. "About...?" She looked through a pile of sweaters.

"I don't think it will be necessary," he replied, studying the contents of her closet and thinking she must have a lot of clothes if she kept some at every house she owned. "They're quite perceptive."

Anna dropped her sweater in shock. "Can't anything be concealed from them?"

"Anna, are you ashamed of me?" he asked in amusement.

She smiled. "No."

"But you don't want to be rushed by them?"

Anna pulled the sweater over her head and she waited to give an answer. "No," she said gratefully.

"Hellooooo?" it sounded again from downstairs. "What are you doing?"

They quickly hurried downstairs and since Anna only felt happy and did not look it because she was concerned that they would see it, Seton was sure the others did not notice, and since they had already chosen their seats so that the last two could only sit next to each other, there were no opportunities to send revealing glances across the table.

Once Raine had his plate filled, he brought up their visitors. "When are you going to call the ladies to see what they found out, Seton?"

"Oh, them," said Seton as if he had forgotten they existed. "Yeah..." he said vaguely. "Do you think they'll have done anything by now? They were here this morning." Thinking about it, Nathalie would have started to work on the case right away. It would not be strange if she had already got some results. "Yes, I should call them."

"Where will you call from?" Gris asked. "It's freezing cold outside."

"I'll call from here," Seton decided. It was not very tempting to freeze to death in a phone booth, unless he could take Anna to keep him warm, but then he realised that it was no longer necessary to brave the cold just to be able to hug Anna. He could do that right here now and he smiled, until he realised something else. He had to get his priorities straight. One did not phone from a phone booth to hug a woman. One phoned from a phone booth so the call could not be traced. "Or maybe not," he frowned.

"You could phone from the car," Anna suggested. "It's not as cold."

"I don't know if it's wise to let Seton go out in a car," Raine frowned. "Remember last time. And you certainly shouldn't take Anna."

"No, I agree," said Hegge.

"I'll go with you to drive you to a phone," Raine offered.

"You might give the PM another call too," Anna said shyly. "I don't want to tell you what you should do, but..."

"Yes, boss," Seton answered. "I'll call him, but there's one thing you must do. Keep your phone on stand-by when we leave, just in case I need to ask you something." He looked at his little list of phone numbers. "Yes, I have your number here. No, wait. I'll take yours and you take mine, in case the PM decides to take the initiative to call us. He'd call you on your phone."

Anna took his phone and put it away carefully.

"So," said Raine when they drove away from the house. "You and Anna came to an understanding, or what?"

"Yes."

Raine chuckled at Seton's smug tone. "I knew the food was not the reason for that blissful smile she was looking at her plate with. You looked mighty pleased with your dinner too and it was nothing to get excited about."

After a while, Raine parked the car and they sought out a public phone. Seton dialed Nathalie's number first.

"Miss Russier?" the Commissioner pressed when Nathalie said nothing. "Do you not think that writing on the Queen's behalf comes down to writing on behalf of the kidnappers?"

"I'm not sure I understand what you're getting at," said Nathalie to win time. She did not know what to reply.

"I mean that their interests do not differ much from each other."

"I still don't understand you." Perhaps he would start explaining himself and thus give her a chance to switch to another subject.

"Come off it. I've read your article. I've studied the evidence. The only thing I don't know is why their interests coincide and that is something that you might be able to help me with."

"What evidence was that?"

"Would you not agree that it was remarkable that she was allowed to travel by car with just one kidnapper? And that she was the one who withdrew money from her bank account, either unaccompanied or not closely attended to? Add that they obviously contacted you to write a critical article about the case. I can only conclude that she is staying away voluntarily and I have called off the search. I think it would be a waste of time and effort, don't you agree? However, I'd agree with your critical attitude towards the authorities' reticence. The police are not being told everything either. We did not get access to the tapes the kidnappers sent, for instance, nor were we allowed to search the scene of the crime and to question the neighbourhood. I'm only confiding in you because I believe you can help me and because perhaps you are in contact with the Queen. Why is she on the run? Should we focus our attention on another group of criminals?"

"I don't know how much I can tell," said Nathalie. But then she thought about it. Anna would not be helped by too much secrecy. Perhaps it was better to ask some questions in return first. "How do you know she withdrew money?"

"We know that from her bank and, as you know, cash points have video security. It was merely a matter of studying those tapes. As a matter of fact, I can show you the tape that set me thinking."

"What do you stand to gain by telling me all this?"

"Like I said, I believe you know how to contact the Queen or someone who is with her."

Nathalie's phone rang when they were in the television room. She answered it in a corner of the room. "Oh, I'm so glad you called. I'm being grilled by the police commissioner about my article. He knows she's not been properly kidnapped if you know what I mean and he thinks I know what's going on. He was showing me the video of you and her getting money and another video of her getting money alone. What am I supposed to say to him?"

"Can he be trusted?" Seton asked.

Yes, I think so. He sounds as if you could win him over to your side.

"Can I talk to him?"

Hello?

"Hello. I understand you wish to know more of the situation concerning the Queen?"

Absolutely. The evidence doesn't suggest a kidnapping and I'm also very suspicious of the fact that the police are not allowed to investigate the tapes the kidnappers made. Are you involved?

"Yes and no." Any ally was welcome, especially one with powers of investigation.

Raine was holding Anna's phone and he answered it when it rang, hoping that it was not the PM. It was Anna herself.

I need to say something to John. It's important.

Raine tapped Seton on the shoulder. "Anna. Says it's important."

"Hang on a minute, please," Seton told the Commissioner. "I'm getting another call." He received the cell phone from Raine. "Yes, Anna?"

I forgot to tell you what I concluded about the motive.

It sounded important. "What did you conclude? No, don't tell me. I'm going to pick you up," he thought quickly. It was impossible to handle two important phone calls at once and perhaps it was best to talk to both of them in person. "Tell the others we're going to meet somebody." He took up the other phone again. "There I am again. Would you object to meeting me in person?"

No. When?

Seton considered the possibilities. "Are there still roadblocks?"

"Great. Take Nathalie to that resting-place on the A2 just past the St. Annaburg exit. That will be an appropriate spot. But I warn you: just you and Nathalie or there will be no meeting. Be there in half an hour from now." That would give themselves time to be there in advance and take precautions. He rang off.

"We're going to meet somebody? Who?" Raine asked.

"The Commissioner. Apparently he's spotted the inconsistencies in the case. He might be useful."

"And what did Anna want?"

"She said she reached some conclusion about the motive. I don't really know what she meant, but she'd never call if it wasn't important."

"Or just to hear your voice."

"No, she wouldn't. Oh! Do you think I was too rude to her? I didn't even listen to her."

Anna put away the phone with a puzzled expression. "He says he's going to pick me up, but he didn't say what for."

"Us too?" Hegge asked.

"I don't know," Anna said forlornly. "We're going to meet somebody. I don't want to meet anybody I don't know. I want to stay here and I wanted to help him by telling what I had concluded today, but he didn't want to listen and then he hung up."

"Maybe he was calling when you called him," Hegge suggested.

"Oh, do you think so?" Anna brightened. "I thought he had enough of me already. You could be right -- I got Raine first when I called."

"It sounds as if he wants you to tell it to that person he was calling."

"Well, I still don't want to talk to anybody else," she said stubbornly. Seton's phone rang, and thinking that it was him to say that she did not have to tell a stranger, she answered it, forgetting that she should not say her name. "Anna. Oops, I mean: yes?"

Anna? An older woman's voice asked. I'm sorry I don't know you, but may I speak to John? I'm his mother. She sounded a little annoyed, probably at not having been able to get through in the past few days.

"Argh!" Anna whispered, holding out the phone. "It's his mother! I don't want to talk to his mother. What do I say?"

"Tell him he's not here at the moment," said Gris.

Anna took the phone into the hall and sat down on the stairs. "H-H-He's not here at the moment."

Where is he then? I've been trying to reach him for the past few days.

"H-H-He's out."

I'd like to know if he's coming home for Christmas.

"Oh, shoot. Christmas." She was sure he had forgotten all about Christmas.

Could it escape anyone's notice that it's Christmas Eve?

It had escaped Anna's notice. She had lost track of which day it was too. "Yes. Umm...I'm sorry about that. I shall tell him you called."

Don't you know if he has plans to come over?

"I'm sorry. I don't know. I shall tell him to go, though."

That would be very nice of you. Well, good night.

"Good night." Anna pressed the button to turn off the phone and sat recovering from the fact that she had spoken to his mother. She did not know how much his mother knew about his job and therefore she had not known how much she could say. And would he go? His mother obviously appreciated his presence -- she was not certain that the same could be said for her own mother. She had a stronger bond with her grandmother.

Anna sat for a while reflecting on the situation and the phone call. Somehow it had never occurred to her that he would have a mother. Perhaps he had father as well and brothers or sisters, and what would they think of her? Would they tell him he was crazy? Would she ever get to meet them? Was this a lasting attachment? Would it not end when everything went back to normal? It might, but if she decided that it would end, then it would certainly happen, whereas now there was a small chance that it would survive. But of course queens could not mess about. She would have to be very certain of him, even if she should decide to abdicate. Princesses were not allowed to mess about much either, unless they particularly liked to have the gutter press on their tails wherever they went, and any romantic involvement that did not end in marriage would be called messing about and many people disapproved of such scandalous behaviour.

Anna was still worrying about this when Seton and Raine returned. From her vantagepoint on the stairs she could see them very well. They did not bother to take off their coats and marched straight into the living room. "Get ready. We're meeting the Commissioner in twenty minutes." She had a clear view of Seton as he returned and looked up at her. I'm not messing about. That would be…oh…not so genuine as this. She laughed when he repeatedly glanced at the living room to see if the others were not coming yet and then quickly blew her a kiss just before they appeared.

"Are we all going in one car?" Hegge asked incredulously.

"It will fit," Seton replied and he was right. Raine drove and Seton sat beside him, while the other three sat in the back, listening to the explanation of what had happened and the instructions for what was yet to happen.

The parking lot off the A2 was rather large and without giving Nathalie further directions she would not be able to find them, which was just the way Seton liked it, for the Commissioner might have sent officers ahead to arrest them. One never knew. It was late, but there were always people on the road and this was a popular stopping place. Seton decided on the fast food restaurant. There were so many customers coming and going there that personnel would not remember them. Also, there were no waiters, which meant they could sit in peace in a secluded corner without being bothered.

Gris and Hegge were sent down ahead, to check out the place and to make the group's arrival less conspicuous. They had parked a short distance away so nobody would notice that only two occupants of the car had left it. After a few minutes, Seton turned back to Anna. "Come. Our turn now." They got out of the car too.

Anna was not at all comfortable about the whole situation. The danger of being ambushed was big. She was afraid that somewhere from the dark spaces between the cars, people would jump on them. Nothing happened, however, and he led the way into the restaurant. A quick look around revealed that there were not many people there. Gris and Hegge were waiting for their order. Either they had taken a detour or service here was really slow, Anna thought. She listened absentmindedly as they agreed that they would sit next to the plaything because it was nice and quiet there, not knowing this was meant for Seton. She blew her nose when the boy behind the counter asked Seton for their order, thinking that it was quite clever of her. The boy would not get a good look at her now.

She followed Seton to a table just beyond Gris and Hegge, who were partially shielding them from view. Only Hegge could see the counter and he made a little sign with his hand when Raine had arrived, but Anna did not notice. She did not know their secret hand signs. Seton fished out the phone and called Nathalie, instructing her on where to find him.

Anna was terribly nervous. What if the police came in with Nathalie and arrested him? Or shot him? Her hand holding the coffee cup shook violently and she put the coffee down. She pushed her chair back and wriggled herself sideways between Seton and the table. "I'm nervous." At least now they could not get at him without getting at her first and she doubted if many would try. She wondered what he thought of the move, but he seemed not to mind.

Seton merely wondered what had got into her to act so boldly in a public place -- he could already see Hegge's eyes grow the size of saucers -- but he guessed she was afraid.

Go into the restaurant, get some coffee and then find us in the corner behind the plaything. They had come in and Nathalie looked around after they had got their coffee cups. It was open twenty-four hours a day and there were always people eating or drinking something here. Not all tables were occupied at this hour, though, and it was not difficult to spot the man who had been at the house with Pierre. She did not see Pierre himself, but the man signalled with his eyes that she should move on towards the corner and Pierre was indeed there. She nearly stopped in her tracks when she saw him. He was sitting with his back to the window and two men at another table were partly hiding him from view. What was more surprising, however, was that Anna was sitting in his lap with her arms wrapped around him and her head on his shoulder. Nathalie saw that her eyes were watchful and that she was watching their approach warily, while Pierre merely drank more of his coffee with his right hand, before beckoning them to sit down at his table. His left hand was keeping Anna in place. The Commissioner -- if he recognised Anna at all like this -- must find her very strange.

Pierre could not get up to greet them, but he shook their hands, without introducing himself. Anna gave Nathalie a small smile of recognition and resumed glancing in the direction they had come from. Her eyes flickered back and forth alertly as if she expected an invasion to take place any second.

"Thank you for coming," Seton began.

"I thought we could have an interesting talk and that is why I consented. It seems that we all know little bits and pieces and perhaps if we put them together, we'll see more of the whole," said the Commissioner.

"I hope you did not have the unhealthy idea in mind to arrest me."

The Commissioner shook his head. "I don't have any concrete evidence for a kidnapping. Why should I arrest you?" Besides, by the looks of it, Her Majesty, if that's her, wouldn't like that at all. He studied the girl's if you want to touch him, you're going to have to touch me first expression, wondering if she were indeed the Queen. There was nothing very regal about her and she looked like an ordinary young woman. He was not aware that the Queen had a boyfriend, even though such an event would have been discussed in the media at length, and he wondered who this young man was. Someone she had been able to conceal, perhaps, although over the phone he had sounded as if he was involved professionally rather than romantically.

Anna slowly slid back into her own chair upon hearing those words. It did not appear as if the man had come with malicious intent. She tried her coffee and it was still drinkable. Perhaps it would wake her up. She could feel her cheeks start to glow from fatigue already, since she was usually in bed by this time.

"I'll start at the beginning," Seton stoically continued while Anna regained her own seat. "I work for -- perhaps I should say I'm supposed to work for a man named Thalen. Do you know him?"

The Commissioner was surprised to hear it. "I know him. I've been in contact with him several times about the case," he said, glancing at Anna. He was still not quite sure whether she was the Queen or merely an excellent look-alike, and he wondered why she had been sitting in the young man's lap if he was indeed only professionally involved. It was remarkable, though, that she had slid off as soon as he had assured them that he was not going to arrest him. He studied the little identification card that Seton handed him. It was genuine. He had seen them before on rare occasions.

"Who is Thalen?" Nathalie asked. She studied the card too and saw his name was not Pierre at all. She also wondered if they were a couple. What would Marie-Celeste say about that?

"Something secret," said Seton. "He or somebody else devised a scheme to test the Queen's safety. It involved a mock kidnapping. My unit was told to abduct her, take her to house and wait until another unit would come to take her back. We were also told that she knew it was an exercise. We did what we were told and as we were waiting for the other unit, we received different orders. We were to stay in place, so I went down to her to apologise for the delay -- because I assumed she was expecting to be taken back home any minute -- and it turned out that she didn't know anything about the whole plan. So I was puzzled." When Anna did not say anything, he continued. "And so was she. She had been watching television and she had seen that she had been kidnapped, so we had a bit of a misunderstanding about that at first. Our story was convincing, except that we couldn't account for the death of the bodyguards."

Anna saw that the Commissioner gave her an odd look as if he only now realised who she was. She drank more of her coffee and began to play with Seton's empty cup.

"I can," Nathalie said. "The bodyguards weren't killed. Somebody gave them a ticket to a holiday island. I checked passenger lists at the airport. And their fake obituaries in the newspaper came from the Ministry of Home Affairs." Despite her silence, she saw that Anna was listening intently.

"From who exactly?" Seton asked.

"I have no idea. It might have been someone who merely used the Ministry's envelope."

"I'm glad that's one charge they can't lay at our door. Can they accuse us of kidnapping? When we left the house we wanted to prevent that from happening and that's why I didn't want to take Anna, but she wanted to come herself because she didn't know what to do -- I think." He looked at her doubtfully. "Sorry, I forgot why we took you."

Anna shrugged.

"Then I decided we might as well take advantage of her and I got her to get us some money."

"I saw the tape," the Commissioner interjected. "You were standing near her and it took ages."

"Yes, that's because I wanted the maximum amount and she had no idea how much that was."

The Commissioner nodded thoughtfully. That explanation fit with the images as he remembered them.

"We went to a safe house where we spent one night and we also made a video there in reaction to the first one," Seton said. "That first video was a fake and it came much too quickly -- after only a few hours. I wonder that nobody noticed that."

"By the way, how many people are there in your unit?" the Commissioner asked.

"Four. After making the tape, we left for our current residence, because it would be fairly easy to trace where we had bought the camera. But we could not phone from there, so we had to drive a while and we nearly got caught on the A4 after we had been calling the PM and withdrawn more money. I called Nathalie after that and told her where she could find the car."

"I knew it. She could not have come upon it by chance. Why did you call the PM?" the Commissioner asked.

"We thought he had to be involved. We had told him to resign and we wanted to know if he was going to do it."

"Why would he be involved? What could his motives be?"

Seton looked at Anna. "I didn't really have the opportunity or time to think about that, but I believe one of us has."

"Oh." Anna almost disappeared under the table in alarm. Seton's coffee cup was shred to pieces and she now started on her own. She knew he was not going to let her get away with silence and she should have told him in advance what she had been thinking, so that he could tell them now, but she had not wanted to distract him. "It didn't really take much time. It was a flash, really," she apologised and spoke slowly as she searched for the right words. "What if he…meant to strengthen his position by having me kidnapped and getting me back? As long as everyone was doing what he said there was no risk to him. It could not go wrong."

The Commissioner, who had had to strain his ears to be able to hear what she was saying, looked thoughtful.

Anna was not sure that she was being clear enough. She took a pen from her pocket and started drawing a tree diagram on a paper napkin. "He could be doing it like this, see?"

"Yes," said Seton.

"No," said the others.

He took her pen and wrote PM at the top of the tree.

"What has that got to do with his motive?" Nathalie asked.

"Nothing," said Anna. "But this is how he is controlling it. I think."

"And you're thinking correctly. This branch would not know what that branch was doing," Seton pointed out. "It would be difficult for them to piece it all together."

"How did you manage?" the Commissioner asked.

"Well, they were in contact with this," Anna drew a large oval underneath the diagram. "That's me, but I can't draw people. I think our Prime Minister forgot that the object could think and talk. And through this they learnt bits of the other branches, such as about the brunch." She was relieved that at least Seton understood her and that he did not say it was bad, and she gained a little more confidence.

"And why would he do this?"

"I haven't really been following politics," Anna confessed. "But wasn't his position weak? What do you think would happen if he received all the credit for putting an end to the kidnapping successfully? Wouldn't that make him more popular? I'm not sick enough to really understand it."

"That's very plausible, Your Majesty," said the Commissioner. "Very clever of you."

Anna did not think she had come to some especially clever conclusion. She had merely stated the obvious and if it had occurred to her, then it certainly must have occurred to Seton. "Oh, but he is the genius," she said modestly. "He said he didn't have time to think of it, but I know he probably influenced me in some way or another."

Seton rolled his eyes and continued. "It might be difficult to get him to resign and yet something must be done soon -- before those foreigners start to interfere. There is at least one foreign service at work at the moment. Who knows what they might do. They might even come after me."

Anna frowned. She did not want that to happen. "Can't I tell their president to bugger off, so to say? Not that he would listen to a woman from a tiny country, but…"

"Have you got his number too?"

"Yes, at my office, I suppose."

"At your office? Oh well…Is there anybody whose number you don't have?" He was interested to know what she did at her office all day and how often she would be calling the president, but now was not the time to ask.

"Yes, yours," she said calmly.

"Of the rich and famous, I meant," he said patiently. "Things I am not and probably never want to be. And you do have mine. Friend Hegge found it necessary to enter it into your organiser."

Anna looked at Hegge, but he had to pretend that he did not belong to their group. She had not looked in her organiser for some time and she had to restrain herself from looking into it now. That would be absolutely ridiculous, for all she would see was a number, of someone who did not want to be rich or famous. What am I to do with all my money then? she worried.

"Ladies, could you leave us alone for five minutes?" Seton requested.

"Why?" Nathalie asked. She had been listening with interest and could not think why he wanted them to leave.

"Because I want to talk about something you don't want to hear."

He had never sent Anna away, but she knew he had discussed things with the others when she was not there. She believed that he would truly discuss something she did not want to hear and hoped it was not herself. Or if it was herself, that it would be positive. She looked at Nathalie, who shrugged and rose, and started to follow her, but she turned back to whisper something to him. "Is this a safe move?"

"Don't worry," Seton signalled. One of the other men would take care that nothing happened and it was not as if she had to cross the whole restaurant to get there. It was only a few steps away. "She was worried that it might be dangerous," he clarified when the two women had gone in the direction of the toilets, inconspicuously followed by Gris. "Women are always so squeamish and that is why I wanted a word in private. Would you condone drastic measures to get the Prime Minister to resign? Or even to get rid of him if he keeps refusing to resign?"

"Are you prepared to take such measures?" the Commissioner asked carefully. Something about Seton had been nagging at him from the start and by now he was fairly certain that he had seen his face and heard his name before, but he could not think where.

"If her life or the life of any member of my group is in danger, I would."

"I could never officially approve of such a thing, as you'd understand. Is there no other way out?" He did not mention what his unofficial viewpoint would be.

"I hope there will be."

"But you will take action if necessary?"

"If I can't avoid it, I will," Seton said with determination.

"Do you think the Queen will approve of it?"

"I don't know. That's why I didn't want her to hear it."

"Hmm," said the Commissioner. "My wife always gets pretty upset when I keep her in the dark." The slight emphasis on the first word slipped out unconsciously, but he did not correct himself, even though he had wanted to emphasise wife.

"She is not my wife."

"I don't know if women have to wear a wedding ring to lay claims to your body and mind, but a man had better be careful," the Commissioner advised. "And pity the man when they find out he's been keeping something from them. Believe me son, I've been there." He wondered how he had come to give this young man marital advice, when he was not even certain that it was needed.

Considering that the man was far into his fifties, Seton did not doubt that he was speaking from experience. He wondered what Anna would say if he kept this from her. Would he indeed have to fear her reaction?

"Have you got a wife?" the Commissioner asked, as if he did not already suspect the answer.

Seton shook his head.

"A girlfriend?" The older man inquired. He knew he was straying from their serious topic, but he was immensely curious. His conversational partner took a long time to answer. Difficult question, apparently. He doesn't seem too sure of it.

Seton frowned. "Umm…"

The Commissioner had to keep himself from saying something reassuring. He did not know if he himself would own up to having an affair with the Queen, of all people -- she had been written off in the press as definite spinster material -- and it was very understandable that Seton should have difficulties with it. "Ahh well, in case you should get a girlfriend: the same thing applies. Shall I get us all some more coffee?"

He was still amazed when he walked to the counter. Strange things happened in stressful situations. Who would be so foolish as to seduce a queen? Although he acknowledged that she was certainly pretty, if seemingly very shy. He could not see her making the first move, even though his daughters would probably not understand it if she had not. His daughters…there was some connection to Seton there, he felt it, but the exact thing evaded him.

Hegge had leant forwards across the table and was whispering to Seton. "Who's that blonde dish?" he asked. "Is that Nathalie?"

"I know we're in a restaurant, but is it necessary to refer to her as a dish?" Seton whispered back, slightly annoyed that his thoughts were interrupted. He had sent Anna away, but now he wanted her to return, which of course was very silly of him.

"Well, that blonde girl then."

"Yes, that is Nathalie."

"Do you reckon she will be as chummy with me as Anna is with you after three days?" Hegge asked hopefully.

"I don't know. Ask her."

Anna followed Nathalie to the toilets. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Gris casually following them and she felt a little more reassured. Nothing would happen to her. Thankfully there was no queue. She would have felt awkward waiting in line.

If she had hoped that she could avoid Nathalie, she was wrong. Nathalie had been quicker than she was and she was already waiting, watching closely as Anna studied the contrast between her red cheeks and her pale and tired face in the mirror. She wished she could go to bed, definitely not being an evening person. It was always like this -- people kept silent out of awe and she kept silent out of shyness or fatigue and they all ended up feeling awkward for no reason. Maybe she should say something to Nathalie, but she did not know what. Everybody always expected her to say something magnificent, but that was completely out of the question. It was hard enough during the day, but words came even less easily to her at this hour.

Nathalie wondered if Anna was going to say anything and guessed that she was not. She did not seem the talkative type, but she looked a lot less contrary than that morning and Nathalie was a curious person who did not rest until she had got what she wanted. "Why did he ask us to leave them alone?" She saw that Anna looked more startled than upset at being spoken to, but she also looked grateful.

"I don't know." Anna wondered why she was so good at putting an end to conversations. Could she not say something Nathalie could react to? That would be much easier to keep some kind of conversation going. "They probably want to talk about cars or football."

"Their five minutes are up," Nathalie decided. "Let's go back. Are you hungry?"

"No. We dined late."

"I haven't eaten at all yet. I'm going to get something. Can I get you anything?"

"Fast food?" Anna wrinkled her nose in disgust. "I wouldn't even eat that if I were hungry. I don't want to become fat."

"You're not in any immediate danger," Nathalie eyed Anna critically. "Did you lose a lot of weight in the past few days or do you just look thinner in real life?"

Anna tried to look at herself in the mirror. "I think it's the trousers, because I don't think I lost any weight. I probably gained it, because I haven't been doing anything. I usually run and swim and play tennis and things like that each day."

"All three of them?" Nathalie asked incredulously. "Now I know why the Government Information Service always maintains that Her Majesty cannot possibly take on more engagements."

Anna's eyes sparkled. "That's right. I can do…oh…a few hours of official things a day, but of course no heavy meals just before my tennis appointments, nor right after a swimming session. I did that once and it was no success. They kept putting tiny portions on my plate and I was thinking I could eat ten times that amount."

Nathalie snorted. "You sound very dedicated. And you're not hungry now?"

"No."

"I think I'll get a…salad."

"I have some baby biscuits in my coat, if you want," Anna offered. "They save my life after I haven't eaten anything of the caviar and other disgusting looking things."

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