“No! That was merely an excuse so that I could tell you what has been planned,” Anastasia cried. “The French mean to kidnap you when you take the Comtesse downstairs. They will take you through the door in the Palace wall to where a carriage is waiting to carry you across the border.”
She saw by the King’s expression that he did not believe her.
“Everything is planned,” she went on hurriedly. “As soon as you have been abducted, a revolution will break out in the City, and because you have no alternative you will have to ask the French to help you to restore order.”
“Who told you all this nonsense?” the King asked sharply.
“It is the truth,” Anastasia insisted. “I swear to you it is the truth!”
“Do you really believe I would invite the French to march into Sergei?” the King asked.
“On
