Queen Varaga's death at Chimneys

Queen Varaga’s death at Chimneys ends her long concealment under the identity of Mademoiselle Brun and exposes the woman behind Prince Michael’s murder. Found searching the library for the diamond, she is caught in a struggle with Boris; a pistol discharges, and she dies. The immediate resolution of the confrontation opens onto a broader account of a revolution, a false death, and an imposture that had helped keep her identity hidden.

Discovery in the Library

A dark figure is in the library, pulling books from a bookcase and replacing them, so intent on the search that the people watching from outside go unnoticed. When someone rushes into the room, the torch falls and goes out. The struggle that follows ends with a pistol shot. After Lord Caterham switches on the lights, the group sees Boris and a small figure on the floor: Mademoiselle Brun, with the pistol still in her hand.

Boris explains that she had killed his master and had then tried to shoot him. He says he meant to take the pistol from her, but it went off during the struggle. His account presents her death as the accidental result of their confrontation, not as a planned execution. His invocation of St Michael also makes the killing, in his understanding, an act of justice for his dead master.

Anthony’s Suspicion and the Imposture

After the confrontation, Anthony Cade explains how his suspicions developed. The light in Mademoiselle Brun’s room on the night of the murder had first made him question her. He then made inquiries in Brittany and accepted that she was who she claimed to be, because the Comtesse de Breteuil had employed a governess by that name and spoke well of her. He had not considered that the real Mademoiselle Brun might have been kidnapped on her way to the new post and replaced by an impostor.

Anthony’s doubts shifted to Mr Fish before returning to Mademoiselle Brun. The turning point came after Mr Fish followed him to Dover and the two men explained themselves to each other: Anthony learned that Mr Fish was a Pinkerton’s man pursuing King Victor. He also reconsidered what Virginia Revel had actually recognized. She had identified Mademoiselle Brun’s face as familiar only after Anthony mentioned her connection to the Comtesse de Breteuil; her response did not establish that she recognized the woman as the real governess. Anthony concludes that the impostor’s face mattered because Virginia was the only member of the house party who had been to Herzoslovakia and might identify her.

From the Revolution to Prince Michael’s Murder

Anthony’s reconstruction places the imposture in the aftermath of the Herzoslovakian revolution. The body identified as Queen Varaga’s had been recovered after the revolution, but it was mutilated and unrecognizable. Anthony believes that Varaga used that uncertainty to escape, went to America, and spent years in hiding, afraid of the Comrades of the Red Hand, who had promoted the revolution and were hostile to her.

According to Anthony, Varaga later joined forces with King Victor after his release, and the two planned to recover the diamond. She was searching for it on the night she encountered Prince Michael unexpectedly. Royal guests would not ordinarily meet a governess, Anthony notes, and she could avoid contact on occasion by withdrawing with a migraine, as she had done on the day the Baron visited. But when she came face to face with Michael, he recognized her; fearing exposure and disgrace, she shot him.

Anthony further identifies Varaga as the person who put the revolver in Herman Isaacstein’s suitcase to confuse the murder investigation and who returned the letters. These acts made the false identity more than a personal disguise: it became part of a chain of concealment around Michael’s murder and the attempt to misdirect those investigating it.

Recognition and Concealment

Superintendent Battle later asks Anthony whether the dead woman was the late Queen Varaga, and Anthony confirms it. He hopes the death will be hushed up, describing it as a family secret. Battle answers that George Lomax will ensure the news does not circulate, though many people will know. The distinction between knowledge and publicity echoes the deception at the heart of the case: Varaga’s identity is finally established among those present, while the account of her death is expected to remain contained.

The scene resolves the mystery through recognition rather than a formal public disclosure. Mademoiselle Brun, previously treated as a member of the household, is revealed as the surviving queen who had escaped the revolution’s apparent death and concealed herself in a borrowed identity. Her death closes that disguise, while the decision to suppress the revelation leaves the political past only partly exposed.