Once Upon A Tiara. Carrie Alexander

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СКАЧАТЬ a face. “It shows?”

      “Sometimes that’s a good thing.” Jana turned her face away. “You should probably ask Mrs. Grundy for the entire story. I’m sure she knows it.”

      “But what if she won’t tell me!” The car had stopped at a traffic light in downtown Blue Cloud. “When can I see you again, Jana? I know. I’ll come to the carnival.”

      “We’re camping outside of town,” Jana said. “You’re welcome anytime.” She hesitated. “At least by me.” Before Lili could respond, Jana whispered, “Thank you,” opened the door and slid out, as elusive as water trickling from a palm. Lili threw herself across the seat to catch the door, hoping for a last word, but the mysterious Gypsy was gone, moving swiftly away from the car, lost among the pedestrians.

      After a long moment of inner struggle, Lili resisted the urge to follow. She pulled the door shut, resting her head against it. Oh, to succumb to the temptation of escaping her schedule, if only for one night!

      The intercom telephone trilled. Lili bolted upright and picked it up.

      “Princess?” said Rodger Wilhelm. “Are you still back there?”

      “Yes, certainly, of course I am.” Where else? On cue, the limo accelerated through the intersection. Lili looked behind them with a sigh, searching for Jana Vargas, who didn’t know how lucky she was. Although Lili’s day had been full of misadventure, nothing had changed. Not really. She was still looking at life from behind a pane of glass.

      AT TEN, Amelia Grundy appeared in Lili’s room at the hotel. She was in curlers and a white terry-cloth robe that belted tightly around her waist, making her middle section look like a marshmallow in a rubber band. A film of chunky oatmeal gook covered her face; she was quite proud of her English Rose complexion and maintained it rigorously.

      Lili pulled the bed covers up to her chin. “I certainly hope you haven’t come to tuck me in.”

      “Tch, tch, Princess. You’re too old for that.”

      “One would think so,” Lili said darkly.

      Mrs. Grundy’s brows arched, opening cracks in the stiffening oatmeal mask. “One should know so.”

      Lili made a face. Amelia had a point, but…why shouldn’t she be allowed some fun before she settled into a lifetime of royal duty? Her father was such a traditionalist, he probably wouldn’t be happy until he’d married her off to a scion of one of the stuffy old Grunberg families who could trace their ancestors back to the Great Flood.

      “I might be willing to listen to a bedtime story,” Lili said with a light laugh, looking hopefully at her former nanny. She’d asked Amelia about what she knew of the Vargas diamond and how it could possibly be connected to Jana’s Romany clan. Amelia had scoffed, claiming the name must be a coincidence. The diamond’s provenance had always been a mystery, she’d insisted, dismissing the subject. Lili knew she wasn’t getting the entire story. For some reason, Amelia wouldn’t reveal the truth—a rare occurence.

      “No stories for you, child,” Amelia said, smoothly avoiding the subject again. “You’ve had a long day, Lili. Rather more adventurous than intended.”

      “I shouldn’t be blamed for that. The bee sting was an accident, and the pickpocketing was entirely beyond my control.” She wasn’t going to explain the bit with the trash can unless Amelia forced the issue.

      “You did very well, all things considered.”

      Lili blinked. Maybe for once her former nanny didn’t know. “I did? You really think so?” Her will to please had always been at odds with her will to par-taaay, as the Americans said.

      “Your father was reasonably satisfied.” Amelia sat on the bed and patted the lump that was Lili’s knee.

      She hunched her shoulders, keeping a tight hold on the covers. “I don’t see why we have to report in to him twice a day and every night. He’s so old-fashioned about everything else, why did he have to get a cell phone? I swear it was only to keep track of me and my sisters!”

      “Likely so.” Amelia’s bristly head inclined, her irises an intense blue in contrast with the oatmeal mask. “Indulge him, Lili. He’s concerned only with your well being.”

      Lili wasn’t having it. “That excuse might have worked for the first years after mother’s death, when we were still children. But no longer.”

      “Isn’t that why you’re here, Princess? Your father has put his trust in you to represent the family. It was a big step for him, letting his baby bird fly the nest.” Amelia gave her another pat. “Don’t betray his trust in you, my dear.”

      “Never.” Was enjoying herself a betrayal?

      “That depends,” said Amelia, rising. She straightened her robe and repositioned a bobby pin, stabbing it into her scalp without a flinch. “Mr. Tremayne seemed harmless enough, but you shouldn’t have flirted so. The poor fellow was too flustered to concentrate on his job.”

      Lili batted her lashes, smiling at the memory of the baffled but intrigued look she’d brought to Simon’s funny, crooked face.

      “Although I’d rather you’d stayed with Mr. Tremayne than with that rather tall young chap from the receiving line. I didn’t like the looks of him, not a whit.”

      Lili’s mouth turned down. Amelia had made that clear when Trey Stone had phoned an hour ago. Without a word, her stern expression had discouraged Lili from agreeing to a date—even though she couldn’t have overheard the suggestive banter he’d been whispering in Lili’s ear. “Trey Stone? What was wrong with him?” Was she being warned off by her nanny’s sixth sense?

      Mrs. Grundy paused at the connecting doors of their hotel suite. “He reminds me of your old boyfriend, Lars. Too smooth by half.” She shook her head. A flake of oatmeal fell off her chin onto her lapel. “I am so very pleased you’ve outgrown that type of fellow.”

      Lili swallowed. I have?

      Darn that Grundy! The woman was a wet blanket. No wonder her father had insisted she accompany Lili to America.

      Amelia went on. “Your head may be in the clouds, but your heart’s in the right place, Princess. Listen to it and you’ll do your father proud.”

      Lili avoided the woman’s sharp eyes as they said good-night. As soon as the door closed, she let her shoulders sag. The bedclothes dropped to her waist. She looked down at her casual knit top and the jeans she’d tucked into her luggage after Amelia had finished packing the fussy matching outfits that gave Lili nightmares of wardrobes to come.

      Here she was, twenty-two and still sneaking out past bedtime for a forbidden assignation. But what choice did she have?

      Lili crawled out of bed. Annie and Natalia weren’t so beholden to pleasing their elders—they’d go their own way, despite what Papa and Amelia had to say about it. And look at Jana Vargas—not even the chief of police intimidated her.

      Lili put on a pair of sneakers, grabbed a jacket and applied one of her Biore facial strips to the door mechanism so it wouldn’t lock behind her. Mrs. Grundy had taken charge of their keys, not even allowing Lili that much control over what was, after all, her own life.

      “Time СКАЧАТЬ