I went up to my room and opened the brown paper wrapping and out tumbled the queen’s necklace. There was a note with it. I didn’t want you to incur any blame for this, it said. And, yes, it is the real thing. It was signed with a line of kisses, and underneath, in smaller script: And in case you’re wondering—the brandy decanter. I was holding it all the time.
I stood looking down at the note and smiled in spite of myself. There was no mention of the sticky stuff on the sole of my shoe, I noted. Had Jean-Paul left that part to Jeanine? Or was it possible that I had only imagined the sticky sole and the fall had been simply a result of my usual clumsiness? I supposed I’d never know now.
I delivered the necklace to the queen the next afternoon, along with the snuffbox. She looked awfully pleased. “I never thought I’d see these again. How strange some people are, to get pleasure from things not rightfully theirs.”
“Especially when both men already owned so many beautiful things, ma’am,” I replied. “Their houses were full of paintings and antiques.”
“I gather you put yourself in considerable danger to recover these for me,” she said. “It was wrong of me to have asked you. One should never put things before people.”
She looked at me appraisingly. “You are a splendid girl, Georgiana,” she said. “A credit to the family. What do you plan to do now? It isn’t good for a girl like you to be idle. I wish we could find you a suitable husband.”
“I’m sure I’ll find one soon enough, ma’am,” I said hastily. “And in the meantime I’m open to suggestions to keep me busy.”
I didn’t add that Darcy was due back in town by the end of the week.
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Historical Note
It is always exciting to discover where research might lead. Of course, most of my characters are fictitious, but I enjoy bringing real people and events into my stories. So I tried to find out who might have been on the Riviera with Georgie. It turned out that Coco Chanel was there, in a nearby villa given to her by her lover, the Duke of Westminster. Then I discovered that she had held a fashion show, combining the masculine and the feminine—tweed jackets borrowed from the Duke, coupled with fabulous lace and jewels.
And then I hit pay dirt: The jewels had been graciously lent by Queen Mary, who was related to Coco’s business partner, Vera Bate Lombardi. The queen’s jewels, Coco Chanel and a few wicked men around . . . how could I go wrong?
Berkley Prime Crime titles by Rhys Bowen
Royal Spyness Mysteries
HER ROYAL SPYNESS
A ROYAL PAIN
ROYAL FLUSH
NAUGHTY IN NICE
Constable Evans Mysteries
EVANS ABOVE
EVAN HELP US
EVANLY CHOIRS
EVAN AND ELLE
EVAN CAN WAIT
EVANS TO BETSY
EVAN ONLY KNOWS
EVAN’S GATE
EVAN BLESSED