Murder Most Royal

‘Are you sure you’re up to this, Mummy?’

‘Of course,’ she told him, stoically.

She had wondered if the baron would come at all, and for much of the party there was no sign of him. Lee had always been the more social of the two, and it was possible he had decided to stay at home with his beloved sheep. And then she spotted him at the far side of the saloon, heading towards her, accompanied by his two children, who were in their forties, and a man about his son’s age whom she didn’t know.

Rozie had told the Queen about Hugh’s frailness on the phone before Christmas.

Even so, his appearance was quite shocking. He looked hollowed out by grief. His son Valentine towered over him, of similar build and looks, with the prominent St Cyr nose and piercing blue eyes, but still fit in middle age. He was nervously twisting the bloodstone signet ring on his little finger. Valentine saw the Queen looking and clasped his hands behind his back.

Something about her over-bright eyes suggested the pain behind her smooth civility.

It was Flora who had the vim, the Queen sensed, just like her mother. She looked like her mother, too, beetle-browed, with rosy cheeks and a ready smile, her unruly brown hair flecked with grey. The Queen assured her she was very well, thank you, which was a lie, but the only possible reply in the circumstances. Philip grunted about feeling like death, which was more honest, but unhelpful.

‘May I present Roland Peng,’ Valentine said.

At which the attractive, beautifully attired man beside him bowed neatly and murmured, ‘Your Majesty.

’ He seemed polite and un-starstruck, which made him promising company.

‘Roland’s staying with us for the weekend,’ Flora explained.

‘My business partner,’ Valentine clarified.

‘Another horticulturalist,’ Flora added, smiling. ‘Like Mummy.’

The Queen turned to the man in question. ‘Oh, really? And what exactly is it that you do?’

‘I grow plants without soil or daylight,’ Mr Peng said with a smile and a raised eyebrow, as if anticipating surprise.

‘At least, I invest in businesses that do.’

‘Ah! Hydroponics!’ The voice was Charles’s, and the Queen glanced round to see him stepping in to join them. ‘How fascinating. Where are you doing it? I gather they can grow salad in the desert. Are you having much success?’

‘As a matter of fact, we are,’ Peng said, his smile broadening at a fellow plant-lover. ‘We have sites in Nevada and California. So far it’s going very well.