Princess Thief: Stealing Your Heart (6 page)

“That’s
fine, miss.”  Señor Tous wheeled over a small cart with several tiaras arranged
on it.  Señor Rohner picked up the first one.  “This piece is based on the
bridal tiara that Napoleon gave to Empress Josephine of France.”

“It’s
lovely,” Juliette said.

“You’ll
notice the tiara contains dozens of pearls and three cameos.  Allow me.”  Señor
Rohner set the tiara on Juliette’s head.  She turned and looked at herself in
the mirror.

“No,
no, Lorenzo.  We want a tiara, not a crown,” Guillermo snapped.

Juliette
caught Guillermo
’s
eye in the mirror and gave a brief frown.  Much to her irritation, he didn’t
react at all.

“Very
good, sir.”  Señor Rohner gently lifted the tiara from Juliette’s head and set
it back on the cart.

“This
next piece has a platinum design that unfurls in the ‘extending clouds’ style. 
It was crafted from platinum and encrusted it with diamonds.  You’ll notice
the  large crescent and star pattern at its center.”

“It’s
very lovely,” Juliette said.  Señor Rohner placed the tiara on her head.

Juliette
gazed at herself in the mirror, moving her head ever so slightly to the right
and left, making the platinum and diamonds sparkle.

“Too
old fashioned,” Guillermo criticized.  “Let’s try another one.”

“Very
good, sir.”  Juliette bowed her head slightly so that Señor Rohner could remove
the tiara, then shot a look at Guillermo.  He chuckled at her.

Se
ñor Rohner
stooped down and retrieved a third tiara from the bottom shelf.  “This might be
more to your highness’ tastes.”  He showed the tiara to Juliette.  “This is a
beautiful but rather unconventional piece.  It includes over two dozen flower
buds made with hundreds of small diamond brilliants and polished moonstones. 
Notice how the buds are set into a lattice of leaves and branches?  These are
hand-engraved 18 carat white gold.”

“It’s
stunning,” Juliette gushed.  “It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before.” 
Juliette turned the tiara over in her hands.  The design reminded her of the
type of wreath that would be placed on the head of an Ancient Greek goddess.

“May
I?” Señor Rohner inquired.

“Please,”
Juliette handed the tiara back to Señor Rohner, then leaned forward so that the
jeweler could place it on her head.  She turned to face the mirror.

“That’s
it,” Guillermo interjected.  “That’s the one.”

Juliette
’s smile
widened.  Even she had to agree: yes, this one was perfect.

She
stood in the royal drawing room, gazing at her reflection in the full length
mirror, wearing a tiara and an emerald green ball gown, and looking every bit
like a royal princess.

“Excuse
me, miss?  Your breakfast is ready.”

Juliette
opened her sleepy eyes and grunted, struggling to make sense of the images before
her: dark stained wooden door, Persian rug, pink pillowcase.  With a jolt, she
suddenly remembered:

I
’m at the
castle!

Emilia,
the maid, was standing at the door carrying a silver tray with a covered dish,
a glass of orange juice, and a single red rose in a miniature crystal vase. 
“The chef
prepared French toast this morning, miss.  I hope that’s all right?”

“Oh,
yes.”  Juliette sat up in bed.  “Yes, that’s fine.  Would you put it on the
vanity for me, please?”

“Very
well, miss.  I was asked to remind you that your first appointment is at
eight.”  Emilia set down the tray and opened the curtains.

Juliette
squinted against the bright sunlight flooding into the room. 
“What time is it
now?”

“Nearly
7 AM,” Emilia responded.  “Do you need help changing?”

“No,
I’m fine.  Oh!  I almost forgot.  Have my clothes arrived yet?”  After the
tiara fitting yesterday afternoon, a parade of tailors and seamstresses were
ushered into the drawing room one after another.  She was inspected, measured,
photographed, and evaluated — then shown a dizzying array of patterns, fabrics,
colors, and shoe styles.  Making so many choices was exhausting.

“I’m
afraid not, miss.  With any luck, your new wardrobe should begin arriving
today.  I took the liberty of washing your work clothes.  Shall I bring those
up?”

“Work
clothes?” Juliette asked, then, “Oh!  I completely forgot.”  Emilia must be
talking about the outfit that Juliette wore when she was setting up the flowers
for the royal ball.  “Yes, that will be fine.  Tell me, did you find my purse
and cell phone?”

“Oh,
dear.  You don’t have them?”

Juliette
smiled. 
“It’s
all right.  I think I know where they are.”

That
damned prince has them hidden somewhere, no doubt!

“Very
good, miss.  If you need anything else, simply ring the bell.”

“The
bell?”

Emilia
indicated a 2 inch strip of red fabric with a gold tassel at the end that hung
from the ceiling next to the door. 

Juliette
scoffed,
“You’re
kidding.  That thing works?”

Emilia
giggled. 
“Yes,
miss.  We are somewhat old fashioned here.”

“Come
to think of it, I don’t think I’ve heard a pager or a cell phone ring the
entire time I’ve been here.”

“Oh,
we have those, miss.”  Emilia rummaged in one of her front pockets and produced
a thoroughly modern handheld two-way radio.  “But they’re only used in
emergencies.”

The
ways of Palais d
’Or…

“Thank
you, Emilia.  You were a big help.”

“You’re
welcome, miss.”  The maid checked her watch.  “It is now 7:08.  Please don’t
forget your first appointment.”

“I
took the liberty of inserting myself into your schedule,” Armand explained at 8
AM.  “I hope you don’t mind, miss?”

Juliette
was wearing the simple powder blue sun dress and white tennis shoes she had
worn to prepare the ballroom two days ago.

“I
don’t mind.  Where’s the prince?  I need to speak with him about my cell
phone.”

“The
prince is busy with a dignitary from Portugal.  His highness has been extremely
busy since he arrived from Africa.  However, he should have some time for you
today.”

“Glad
he can fit me into his schedule,” Juliette groused.

Armand
led Juliette downstairs. 
“A royal wedding usually takes months to plan.  We
have 10 days to prepare for yours so the palace is in… well, I hate to use the
word ‘chaos’ but there you have it.  I would love to give you a proper tour but
I simply don’t have the time.  So I will do what I can in the 30 minutes that
we do have.”

Armand
paused in the foyer. 
“First,
the basics: the downstairs is for the public, the upstairs is private.  You may
have noticed the difference in decor between the two floors?”

“I
have, actually,” Juliette nodded.

“You’ll
notice that the downstairs has a modern, business feel to it: the floors are
either tile, wood, or low pile carpet; the walls are painted white, the light
fixtures are minimalistic.  You’ll find the offices, kitchen, library, weight
room, and other rooms for entertaining the public such as the ballroom and the
dining hall.  Many of the rooms on this floor do have a regal quality to them
as you’ve seen — the drawing room for instance or the Solicitor General’s office. 
But, overall, this floor is for working and entertaining.

“The
upstairs is a throwback to the 19th century.  Plush, ornate carpeting, muted
lighting, red and gold wallpaper-”

“A
cord to summon the servants,” Juliette interjected.

“That
is called a ‘bell pull,’ miss.  The routing of those cords is actually quite
sophisticated.  I could go on for hours about how many times the system has
been modernized over the years.  In any event, it is very rare that an outsider
is permitted upstairs, even foreign dignitaries.  We guard the area jealously. 
It is our escape from the pressures of the day.”

Armand
led Juliette around the downstairs, pointing out various rooms, explaining
their function.  As they found their way to the east wing, Juliette glanced nonchalantly
towards the gem room; a royal guardsman was standing at the entrance —
something she had definitely
not
seen in the days leading up to her
burglary attempt.  Outwardly, she made sure to give no reaction but inwardly,
she freaked.

A
guard?!  Prince Guillermo, you sneaky bastard!

As
Armand and Juliette completed the circle of the first floor and reached the
foyer once again, Armand looked at his watch. 
“Oh, would you look at that?  I’m
afraid our 30 minutes are up, miss.  It went by so fast.”

“No
problem, Armand.  I actually enjoyed it.”

“As
did I, miss.  I do apologize but I have a meeting to attend.  I believe your
next meeting is in Conference Room B.  Do you think you can find it on your
own?”

“I
think so.  Thank you, Armand.”

“My
pleasure, miss.”  Armand rushed away towards the west wing.

Juliette
frowned.

The
wedding was in 10 days; that meant she had 9 days to get into the gem room and
grab the necklace.  She had not planned for a guard on the door.  She might
have to wait for a few days; the chaos was sure to get more intense as the
wedding approached and she could use that chaos as a distraction.

Or,
I could always manufacture some chaos of my own
…

Juliette
smiled a secret smile.

The
remainder of her morning was taken up by classes in diction, etiquette, and
Latin.  At noon, Emilia brought her a simple lunch; then at 12:30, she was back
in class —  this time, the history of the monarchy and the castle, dating all
the way back to the 13th century.

Finally,
it was 3PM.  Time for dance rehearsal.

As
she entered the ballroom, she paused at the doorway and stretched.  The hall
had been returned to its normal, everyday state.  The flowers that she and her
3 teenage helpers had arranged for the royal ball were nowhere to be seen.  On
the stage, the musicians had been replaced by 2 large stereo speakers.  A
simple stereo system had been set up on a folding table.

“Hello?”
Juliette called, her voice echoing around the room.  “I’m here for my dance
lesson?”

A
tall, thin man in sweat pants and a black sleeveless t-shirt emerged from
offstage, then smiled with delight when he saw her. 
“Ah!  You must
be Juliette!”  The man jumped off the stage and clasped her hand.  “I am
Alejandro Echeverría.  I will be your dance instructor.”

“Pleased
to meet you.”

“Now,
all we need is the other half of your duo…” he trailed off, looking over her
shoulder.

“Don’t
tell me-” Juliette said.

“Señor
Echeverría!  It’s nice to see you again.”

That
voice.

She
turned to see Guillermo smiling at them.

“Prince
Guillermo!  It has been too long.”  Guillermo and Echeverría shook hands.  “Too
long, indeed.”

“I
see you’ve met my fiancée,” Guillermo continued.

“Yes,
we’ve only just introduced ourselves.”

“Very
good.  Well, Señor Echeverría, what do you have planned for us today?”

“Well,
first, I thought I would just go over the ground rules.”  Echeverría pulled a
pair of reading glasses from his pocket and flipped open the small yellow
notebook he was carrying.  “Now, tradition dictates that the royal couple —
that is, you two — will need to participate in at least 4 dances at your
wedding reception.  One of those dances — the first dance of the night, in fact
— you will dance solo, just the pair of you.

“Under
normal circumstances, we would have months to work out the choreography.  But,
in your case, since we only have 10 days until the wedding including today, I’m
going to cheat a bit.  I’m going to play a series of pieces and ask you to
dance to them, then see which four are the most natural for you.  We’ll make
those four your dances.  From there, we can pull out one piece and work on that
as your solo.  Does that sound acceptable?”

Both
Juliette and Guillermo agreed.

“Good.” 
Echeverría hopped back up onto the stage.  “So — no instruction today; I just
want to have a look at you.  Relax.  Have fun.  Pretend I’m not even here.  Let
me see what I’ve got to work with.”  He picked up a CD and inserted it into the
stereo system.  A waltz began to play from the speakers.

“May
I have this dance?” Guillermo bowed.

Juliette
nodded. 
“Of
course.”

Guillermo
placed his right hand on the small of her back and grasped her right hand in
his left.  He began to move gracefully to the beat of the music, leading her
effortlessly along the dance floor.  When she stood this close, she could smell
his scent, an intoxicating blend of his sweat and cologne.  He
was
handsome, there was no doubt about it.

Careful,
girl!

He
led her confidently through the entire waltz and into the next piece — a bright
Mozart symphony in quarter time.  As they moved further away from the stage out
into the middle of the room, Juliette spoke first.

“You
seem to be enjoying yourself.”

“Why
wouldn’t I be?  I’m dancing with a beautiful woman.”  Guillermo beamed with
satisfaction.

“Hmmmm,”
Juliette smirked.

“You
know, if you could stop glaring at me for 15 seconds that would be wonderful.”

“We’ll
see about that.  Where’s my cell phone?”

“It’s
safe,” he grinned.

“If
I find out that you’ve tampered with it, the deal is off,” she snapped.

“Don’t
worry, it’s fine,” he assured her.  “I’ll have one of the maids bring it to you
this evening, all right?”

“That
would be most welcome,
your highness
,
” she replied sarcastically.

“Now,
now.  I told you when we were dancing last time.  Call me Guillermo.”

She
felt her cheeks blush. 
“Fine,
Guillermo.”

They
finished the rest of the dances in silence.  Juliette again marveled at what a
skilled dancer he was, sliding gracefully between pieces in completely
different styles and tempos.  His confidence was intoxicating and Juliette had
to keep reminding herself not to get swept away. 

After
45 minutes, Echeverr
ía
applauded with childish glee, then leapt off the stage and ran to Juliette
excitedly.  “That was wonderful!  You two look lovely together.  Oh, my dear
Juliette, you are a natural.  A godsend!  There wasn’t a single bad dance.  You
must have had lessons.  Please tell me that you’ve had lessons!”

“Well,
yes, actually; quite a few years-”

“I
knew it!  Your steps are so elegant and fluid.  Oh, well, enough of that.  Let
me see,” he inspected his notepad.  “Based on what I’ve seen, the Strauss waltz
will be your solo dance, followed by the 2 Mozart pieces, and the Beethoven. 
As much as I’d like to make the Beethoven your primary dance, we simply don’t
have the time to do it properly.”  He flipped the page.

“Now,
Prince Guillermo, during the waltz, at the start of the second stanza, I’d like
you to-” he stopped short, interrupted by a buzzing noise.  He reached in his
pocket and produced a vibrating cell phone.  “Oh, shoot.”