Queen of Hearts (Royal Spyness Mysteries) (10 page)

“But the number of passengers adds up—unless?” He paused. “We didn’t count on a stowaway when we did our cabin check. I suppose stowing away wouldn’t be impossible on a ship of this size.” He was staring out past me, trying to assess the situation, or visualize the princess’s suite.

“Couldn’t you check up on the princess after she leaves the ship? Follow her? Make sure she’s genuine?”

“I could. I believe she said she’s going to stay with the Astors. They’d certainly know if she was a fake.” He stared out to sea. “So did you spread the word about your valuable jewels?”

“Yes, I did. And I stayed in my cabin most of the afternoon but no visits from the burglar. So I thought I should make the bait more tempting. I borrowed something flashy from my mother. It looks quite real, doesn’t it?” I held up my arm, then I said, “It’s gone.”

There was no longer a sparkling bracelet on my wrist.

“When did you see it last?” Darcy asked.

“Before I started dancing with Algie. But he was flinging me around a lot. It’s possible it just got knocked off from my wrist and is lying somewhere on the floor.”

“Possible,” Darcy said. “Do you remember anyone dancing too close to you? Bumping into you?”

“Actually I was bumping into other people,” I said. “Algie’s idea of the jive was quite dangerous.”

“We’d better go back and look,” Darcy said. “I don’t really want to show my face in there, but would you go in again and look for the bracelet? Let people know it’s missing. Seem upset. Watch reactions.”

“I suppose so,” I said. “Why does something always seem to come in the way when we’re together? Are we destined to have no more than two minutes alone and in peace?”

Darcy stroked back a curl that had fallen across my face then ran a finger down my nose, resting it on my lips. “We just have to be patient for now. I’m trying my hardest to make some money—to make up for everything my father lost. One day I’d like to buy back our family home. And the racing stables. Big dream, I know. But I can’t marry you and set you up in a horrid little flat.”

“Darcy, I don’t need much.”

“You are the daughter of a duke, granddaughter of a princess. I’m going to provide for you properly or not at all.” He gave me a quick kiss on the forehead. “Now go in there and see what you can do.”

I held his arm. “When will I see you again?”

“I really don’t know. I don’t think I can show my face at disembarkation, just in case . . .”

“Will you stay in New York? We’re going to be there for a few days.”

He sighed. “I can’t tell you, Georgie. I have no idea where I’ll be going after this, or whether I’ll be summoned straight back to England. I’ll have to wait for instructions. You won’t be long in America, will you?”

“Who knows? If Mummy gets a taste of Hollywood stardom our trip may drag on.”

“So you’ll be going to Hollywood with Stella and Goldman?” He started to say something, hesitated, then said, “Look, I don’t want you to do anything in any way dangerous, but you could keep an eye on Stella Brightwell for me, couldn’t you? Nothing silly like searching her room or anything, but seeing if there are any more burglaries . . .”

“Seeing if she wears the princess’s ruby?” I asked, grinning.

He shook his head again. “No, forget it. It’s all too ridiculous. It has to be someone else. Let’s just hope we find something when the passengers leave the ship. The New York police will be coming on board and they’ll have the authority for a thorough search of anyone we might suspect. Not that it will be pleasant. In fact I suspect there will be an awful fuss.” He grinned then touched my arm lightly. “You should go or the ball will be over.”

Inside the ballroom the band now broke into a quickstep. I gazed up at Darcy, memorizing every feature, the way his eyes crinkled at the side when he smiled, the way a lock of dark curl always flopped forward across his forehead, the little cleft in the middle of his chin.

“I’ll see you soon,” he said. “I promise. I do love you, Georgie. You know that.”

I nodded, feeling tears welling up. “I love you too.”

He drew me to him, kissed me hard on the lips, then let me go. Reluctantly I went back into the ballroom. I went over to where I had been sitting beside Mummy and Stella. “I’m afraid I’ve lost your bracelet,” I said. “I had it on when I was dancing with Algie. Now it’s not there.”

“Don’t worry, darling. As I said, it’s only a copy. And the clasp was always a bit loose.” She sighed. “I think I’m going to bed. I thought there might be a man or two worth dancing with, but Stella is hogging Juan and frankly there is nobody else. And I do wish people wouldn’t keep staring. Really it is so tiring being a celebrity. You’ll notice Mrs. Simpson never bothers to show up at these things.”

She got up, picked up her white fur wrap and flung it carelessly over her shoulder. “Coming?” she asked.

“Actually I think I’ll stay a little longer. I might want to dance again.”

“After that outing with the clod-footed oaf I should have thought you’d had enough dancing for a while.”

I smiled. “You never know.”

Off she went. Stella and Juan came back to join me. “Your mama has gone to bed?” Stella asked.

I nodded. “Nobody worth dancing with. But I have to look for my bracelet. It was rather valuable and now I’ve lost it. It must have come off my wrist while I was dancing.”

“We’ll help you look, honey,” she said. “Won’t we, Juan?”

I watched her as she went around the room. She really appeared to be searching diligently. Would she have had a chance to remove my bracelet when we were sitting together, or as I got up to dance with Algie? It seemed too stupid to consider. I spotted Algie sitting alone with a glass of something green in front of him. I went over to him.

“You didn’t happen to see my bracelet, did you? It must have fallen off when we were dancing.”

“Golly, no,” he said. “That’s a rum do, isn’t it? Was that the valuable bracelet you were talking about? Must have fallen off when we were spinning around. Do you want me to help you look?”

So now he joined Stella. Soon the word got out and half the crowd was searching, but the bracelet didn’t turn up. In the end I went to bed. As I opened my cabin door the first thing I heard was a fierce snort of some wild animal. I turned on the light to find Queenie, lying on my bed, mouth open and snoring. And the second thing I saw was my bracelet, lying on my bedside table.

Now I was really perplexed. Was it possible I had forgotten to put it on after all? No. I remembered showing it to people, mentioning how it had come from the queen and was a priceless piece. So how had it got here?

“Queenie?” I asked. I had to repeat her name, louder and louder, until she gave a final quick snort and opened her eyes. “Oh, wotcher, miss. Had a nice dance then?”

“Queenie, did anyone come into the cabin while I was out?”

“I don’t think so. I must have nodded off when it got late. But no one knocked on the door.”

It was a perplexing puzzle. Queenie helped me undress then went back to her own quarters. I half hoped that Darcy would come to visit me again, but he didn’t.

M
ONDAY
, J
ULY
16, 1934

New York ahead. I must say I’m excited to see America for the first time!

Our last morning on board dawned with no new reports of burglaries and we had to busy ourselves with packing my belongings, ready to go ashore. I realized then that there was no way that everyone could be searched properly. A jewel could be stuffed into the toe of a shoe, wrapped among stockings, handkerchiefs or even cut into the pages of a book. A clever thief would have no problem getting the jewel past the police.

Outside my window I saw people assembling on deck. I went to look and there in the distance was the New York skyline. I left Queenie to finish the packing and went out to join the others at the railing.

“There she is,” I heard someone say. And there ahead of us, against a sky still streaked with dawn light, was the Statue of Liberty. What an inspiring sight with her lamp glowing. I could understand why immigrants had watched her and wept. Beyond were the skyscrapers of the New York skyline. I had no idea that buildings could be so tall. We sailed closer and closer until we docked right under the shadow of those buildings. As I looked down at the dock I saw that it was swarming with policemen. Golly, I thought. Did they always search this thoroughly after a robbery? Or was it possible there was something to my suggestion that someone had done away with the real Princess Promila? Had the splash I had heard, the hair I had seen floating out, really been a person after all? A person who had been murdered first and thus not tried to struggle when she hit the water? And a person with brown skin would not have been easily identifiable as such among black waves. I felt sick just thinking about it.

Gangways were laid down, and all those blue uniforms came aboard. We were instructed to proceed to the first class lounge where there was a lot of complaining about being kept waiting and officious customs officials wanting to poke their noses into baggage. When our turn came, Mummy and I were given the most perfunctory of checks before we were allowed ashore. I kept expecting to be taken aside for questioning but nobody said anything or stopped me as I left the
Berengaria
. I wondered if I should say something about my suspicions and maybe have them give the princess an extra grilling, but I realized that was up to the captain and Darcy. They must know what they were doing.

I looked back at the ship, hoping for a final glimpse of Darcy but he was nowhere to be seen, probably at a good vantage point, watching the passengers disembark. I wished I knew what his plans were now. It would have been reassuring to know he’d also be in New York. I wondered if there were things he hadn’t told me about this assignment. I never knew with him.

On the dock we were swept into the hustle and bustle and soon were riding in a taxicab to the Plaza Hotel, where Stella and Cy and Juan would also be staying. Queenie, Mummy’s maid, Claudette, and the luggage followed in a second cab. The drive was quite alarming along those narrow streets between towering buildings. I had never imagined that buildings could be so tall. It was hot and sultry and unsavory smells wafted in through the taxicab windows. Every street corner seemed to have shabby-looking men standing on it. We were aware that there was a great depression in London, but here it felt much worse. Then we moved to a cleaner, smarter part of the city, pulled up in front of the Plaza Hotel and suddenly it was as if a fairy had waved a magic wand and transported us to another world.

“Ah yes,” Mummy said as doormen rushed to open our taxicab doors and help us out. “This is more like it. For one awful moment I thought we’d have to skip New York and head straight for the train station. But I think this will do nicely for a few days.”

Our rooms were lovely, overlooking Central Park and the whole hotel felt fresh and clean as if it had been repainted just for us. What’s more, it was cool—which was welcome after the oppressing heat of the city. That evening Cy hired a horse-drawn cab and we went for a drive in Central Park where the breeze off the lake made it bearable to be outside. I found that I couldn’t help thinking about all those poor people lining up for bread or sitting out on their steps with looks of hopelessness on their faces. I had grown up shut away from the real world. Now I was becoming all too aware of what life was like for so many people. If ever I had money and a position, I’d try to do something about it, I decided.

We dined with Mr. Goldman, Stella and Juan, who were taking an aeroplane to Los Angeles in the morning. This gave me one last chance to help Darcy and play my part as a detective. I brought the missing jewels casually into the conversation with what I hoped was girlish enthusiasm.

“I wonder if those jewels will ever be found, don’t you?” I said. “In a way it was rather exciting to know there was a jewel thief on the ship.”

“Not if you were the one who had the jewels stolen,” Mummy said. “Then it would have been decidedly tiresome.”

“Oh God, yes. Dealing with insurance companies is a nightmare,” Stella added. “But what about that bracelet you lost last night. Was that stolen, do you think? Did you report it?”

I gave a little laugh. “Oh no. It was silly of me. I just mislaid it and found it again later in my cabin.”

I watched her face and didn’t detect even a flicker of wariness. Of course someone who could cross a ledge to reach a window would have nerves of steel, wouldn’t they? But as I looked at that flawless face with her long dark hair spilling over her shoulders I found the whole notion absurd. Surely she couldn’t be our gentleman burglar in spite of the coincidences? As a film star and Cy Goldman’s mistress, what could she possibly need with other women’s jewels?

“Well, I think I’ll make it an early night, if we’re to catch a plane in the morning,” Stella said as we finished our coffee. “We’ll see you in Hollywood then, Claire, darling.” She gave my mother a kiss a few inches from her cheek. “You should consider flying, like us. I don’t know why you’re taking the train. So tedious and dusty and full of horrid little people.”

“Not for me, thank you,” Mummy said. “Far too many crashes on planes, even if the train does take longer.” She stood up and looked around the room with satisfaction as Cy blew us both a kiss and followed Stella from the room. “Well, this is nice, isn’t it? A few days to shop and play by ourselves.”

On the way out of the dining room we bumped into Sir Digby and Lady Porter.

“We meet again, Miss Daniels,” Sir Digby said. “How very pleasant.”

“What a surprise to find you staying here, Sir Digby,” Mummy replied, her voice displaying no enthusiasm.

“We decided to see New York for a few days before we go up to Boston,” Lady Porter said, “and we were told this is the place to stay. Horribly expensive though. And I don’t think we’ll be staying long. I haven’t liked what I’ve seen so far. So dirty and noisy, isn’t it?”

“Lady Porter is a country girl at heart,” Sir Digby said. “She doesn’t like big cities, although we’ve heard that Boston is supposed to be relatively civilized.”

“Are those Hollywood people also staying here?” Lady Porter asked.

“They are taking an aeroplane flight in the morning,” I said.

“Heavens. How adventurous.” Lady Porter snorted. “Dangerous things, aeroplanes. But what about Princess Promila? I understood she was supposed to be staying here. I expect she likes to eat in her room. Not terribly sociable, was she?”

So Princess Promila was also here? I waited until Mummy was busy with her various face creams and went down to the front desk.

“Princess Promila?” The clerk looked through his register. “She did have a reservation but she canceled it at the last minute.”

Of course that made me wonder whether they had discovered that the princess on board was really an impostor and had been apprehended on leaving the ship. It was so frustrating not to know. And now Stella Brightwell would be out of my reach. I was just dwelling on that very thought when the elevator opened and Stella herself came out. She glanced around quickly then crossed the foyer.

I only hesitated for a second, then followed her. She was walking fast and with purpose. The streets were still full of people on this warm evening and I tried to keep her in sight without giving away my presence. She crossed a major boulevard and then turned north, along the side of the park. This was very different from the New York I had seen earlier today. We passed grand mansions with long sleek automobiles waiting at the curb. The sounds of jazz music and laughter floated from an open window. Stella kept walking fast and then turned in to a side street.

My heart was racing with excitement. She had claimed she was going to bed early and here she was, slipping out without Cy. I realized I might be on the verge of solving a crime. If only I knew where Darcy was. This street was a quiet backwater, lined with trees planted at intervals along the curb, and Stella’s high heels echoed from the tall buildings. I tried to move quietly, dodging from tree to tree so that she didn’t know I was following her. Then I became aware of something. Light footsteps behind me that paused when I paused. Someone was following me.

I glanced back but saw nobody. And yet I had been in danger often enough in my life to sense a prickle on the back of my neck now. Had Stella worried that I was poking my nose into her business and was I being lured right now into a dark and deserted corner? Was it her accomplice who was following me? I hesitated, trying to decide if I should give up and go back to the safety of the Plaza when Stella turned a corner yet again and came to a halt outside a grand-looking apartment building. She glanced around and I leaped back behind a tree just in time. I watched her studying the row of names in the box beside the front door, then she stood looking up at the windows, frowning.

Was this another place she planned to rob? Was she casing the joint, as they would say? Then a doorman appeared. She exchanged a few words with him, nodded, then turned away, walking back quickly in my direction. I flattened myself against the tree trunk as she hurried past me. As soon as she had passed I went to follow, then let out a little shriek of fear as a dark shape stepped out from a stairwell, blocking my path.

“And just what do you think you are doing, wandering around New York alone at night?” said a very familiar voice with a slight Irish tinge to it.

Darcy’s eyes were shining in the light of the streetlamp.

“Are you going to make a habit of scaring me out of my wits?” I demanded. “I thought someone was following me.”

“I was supposed to be following Stella,” he said. “You got in the way. And terrible shadowing, by the way.”

“Thanks a lot,” I said. “I thought I was rather good.”

“If that was a real criminal type you were trying to follow, you’d be lying dead by now.”

He was smiling down at me.

“Well, I sensed that you were following me. So the same goes for you. I was rather worried that it might be Stella’s accomplice, luring me to a dark street because I’d chatted about the jewel thief.”

“Why would you do that?”

“I wanted to see if I got a reaction from her.”

“One day you’ll push your luck too far, my lady. I asked you to keep an eye on her, that’s all.”

“I was. I was following her. And now we have to find out what she wanted with that building and why she didn’t go in. Do you think she had some kind of assignation there or was trying to drop off the jewels?”

Darcy shook his head. “I’m afraid it’s simpler than that. She was keeping an eye on Mr. Goldman.”

“He’s in this building? Why?”

“Because his wife lives here. I think Stella wanted to make sure he was only visiting his wife when he sneaked out, and not another woman.”

“Oh, no. How funny.”

Darcy put an arm around my shoulder. “Come on. I’ll walk you back to your hotel.”

“This is a nice surprise,” I said as we walked with his arm around me. “I was wondering when I’d see you again.”

“I expect I’ll keep turning up like a bad penny,” he said.

“So the jewels were not found on anyone leaving the ship?” I asked. “Do you still suspect Stella?”

“They weren’t found. And yes, Stella is still a suspect. That’s why I’ve been observing her.”

“What about Princess Promila? She was supposed to stay at the Plaza and then canceled at the last minute. Isn’t that fishy?”

“I understand that she has gone to Newport, Rhode Island, to stay with the Astors,” Darcy said. “That should be easy enough to verify.”

“So you think she is the real thing?”

“Yes, I do.”

We crossed Fifth Avenue.

“It’s a lovely night,” Darcy said. He took my hand and led me into the park. We passed other couples, sitting on benches, or walking arm in arm. When we came to a deserted bench we sat. Darcy took me into his arms and kissed me. The kisses were long and delicious and left me breathless. After a while I sat with my head against his shoulder. I wished the moment could go on forever. Then I remembered that I had crept out without telling my mother where I was going. She’d probably be worried.

“I really should go back,” I said. “I left without telling Mummy.”