I kept waiting for Lachan to burst out laughing, or for someone to let them in on the secret. But no one did and I wasn’t going to. After all, it was rather fun and they had been rather annoying. I left them preparing for their quest and set off with Siegfried. The walk across the estate to the foot of Bein Breoil took some time, owing to the amount of equipment Siegfried was carrying and the fact that his new climbing boots pinched his toes.

As we walked I looked back at the road snaking over the pass and tried to imagine where one could roll a boulder down onto a car with any degree of success. It seemed impossible. Close to the estate, which was where they said they had been struck, the area beside the road was tree lined and reasonably flat. Surely any boulder would hit a tree first. Up at the top, where the pass narrowed, there would have been greater chance of success, but that wasn’t apparently where the prince’s car was struck. Interesting.

At last we reached the base of the crag. I had to admit that from down here it did look rather formidable, rising some two hundred feet of sheer granite.

“Right. Off we go then,” I said. “Do you want me to lead first or will you?”

“Ladies first,” Siegfried said. He was already sweating from carrying all that equipment.

I began to climb the rock face, my fingers and toes remembering the old tried-and-true route. When you knew where the handholds were, it wasn’t too alarming. When I reached a suitable point for Siegfried to pass me, I drove in a piton and signaled for him to come up. He did, passing me with much heavy breathing and sweat on his brow. In this fashion we made it almost to the top and I showed him how to skirt around the overhang. At last we hauled ourselves up to the top of the crag and rested, sitting on a large boulder while we admired the view. A fresh wind blew in our faces and the loch below reflected the mountains. I breathed deeply, savoring everything about the scene, except for the person sitting beside me.

“So we achieved it with no problem, you see.” Siegfried was looking very pleased with himself. I could see this story would be embellished and retold among the courts of Europe.

“Well done, Your Highness,” I said.

“Please, call me Siegfried,” he said, “and I shall call you Georgiana when we are alone.”

I hoped that wouldn’t be too often.

“You know, Georgiana,” he said, “I have been thinking. It would not be such a bad idea if we were to get married.”

I’m glad I had a firm seat on that boulder or I might have plunged to my death.