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 rul
es.” 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, Echeverría 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.”
“Is there a problem?” Guillermo wondered.
“I apologize, sir, but I did promise to get the music selections to the concertmaster by 4 PM. Would you mind if we cut this short today?”
“Not at all. Please, do what you have to do.”
“Very good, sir. I look forward to next time. Your highness,” Echeverría bowed. “Miss,” another bow.
He left Juliette and Guillermo alone in the room. They looked at each other awkwardly for a moment, then began slowly walking towards the door.
“How are your studies going?” Guillermo asked.
“Fine. A little overwhelming.”
“I’ll bet. We’ve got 10 days to pour 10 years worth of material into you.”
They took a few steps in silence, then Juliette prompted, “You seem busy.”
Guillermo ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “You have no idea. It’s been a parade of dignitaries and aristocrats, one after the other. On the surface, they want to pay their respects but in reality, they want to take my temperature.”
“Your temperature?”
“To see what my intentions are. To see if I’m going to cause them any trouble. I’ve assured them that my focus is on my practice in North Africa and that I have no interest in making any sweeping reforms to San Morrando. It’s all very tiring. I leapt at the chance to rehearse for the wedding just to get away from it for an hour.”
“Look at you, talking like you’re a real person with a heart and all,” Juliette grinned. “Luckily, I know the truth.”
He chuckled, then smiled warmly at her. “Yes, luckily.” He paused. “You know, I-”
“Sir!” Armand interrupted, dashing into the ballroom holding a tablet PC in his hand. “Sir, there is something you need to see. Ah, Miss Juliette, you’re here as well. Good. This concerns you, too.” Armand set the tablet down on the stage and flipped the screen around so that everyone could see.
The website banner read, “Channel 6 News.” Armand tapped the embedded video and it began to play.
“Breaking news,” the female anchor began. The headline next to the anchor’s head said, “The Next Princess?”
“Channel 6 has exclusive new details on who Prince Guillermo’s new bride might be. We go live to Eulalia Prieto in Morrando la Vella. Eulalia?”
Juliette pointed at the screen and exclaimed, “That’s my flower shop!”
“Thank you, Reina. I’m standing in front of the Jardin de Verdure flower shop in Morrando la Vella owned by the rumored bride-to-be, one Juliette Thierry.” The video then cut away to a prepared piece. “Juliette Thierry is-”
“Oh my God. That’s the picture I had taken for the merchant’s association,” she paused as the announcer droned on. “I hate that picture.”
“- and her bio on the Morrando la Vella Small Business Association website states that she graduated from Université Paul-Valery in Montpellier, France. She’s 25 and, as you can see from her photo, very pretty.”
The video abruptly cut back to the live feed. “Now, the flower shop, which is normally open on Tuesdays, is closed today lending credence to the rumor that Miss Thierry has already moved into the Palais d’Or.”
“Eulalia,” the anchor asked as the video went to a split screen between the studio and the on-the-street reporter, “do we have any information on how they met?”
“Not yet. However, my sources tell me that the prince and Miss Thierry shared an intimate dance at Sunday night’s royal ball.”
“Thanks, Eulalia. Great report.”
The video ended.
Guillermo exploded, “Unbelievable, Armand! We couldn’t even keep it a secret for 48 hours. Who leaked it?”
Armand looked pained. “It could have been anyone, sir.”
“She hasn’t even completed her first day of lessons,” Guillermo lamented.
“I know, sir. And I do apologize.”
Guillermo faced Juliette. “I am truly sorry, Juliette. I had hoped to give you at least a week to get used to all of this. Please accept my apology.” The sincerity in his voice gave her pause.
“I-” Juliette couldn’t find the right words to respond, so she
just nodded.
Armand asked, “How would you like to proceed, sir?”
“We have no choice. We’ll have to move up the announcement. What does the schedule look like?”
Armand picked up the tablet, tapped the screen twice, and showed it to Guillermo. “As you can see, there are no options for tomorrow, but on Monday you have the charity picnic for the children’s hospital.”
Guillermo grimaced. “Isn’t there anything else?”
“I’m afraid not, sir.”
“That will have to do, then. All right, that will be our coming out party. We’ll have our first photo op there.”
Guillermo and Armand began walking briskly out of the ballroom together. “We have to get on top of this. If the media runs out of control, who knows what they’ll uncover. Tell the press secretary I must meet with him this evening. And get the Parliament press secretary — what’s his name?”
“Señor Azarola, sir.”
“Yes, Azarola. Get him on the phone. We want him in the loop as well. Tell him to expect a call tonight.”
The two men turned the corner, leaving Juliette alone.
This is getting out of hand. I have got to get to that necklace!
Later that night, around 11 PM, Juliette slipped out of her bedroom into the hallway and crept downstairs. As she turned the corner to the east wing, her heart sank: there was a royal guardsman stationed just outside of the gem room. He nodded to her and smiled as she walked past.
She paused, gave a shy smile, and asked, “Excuse me, but where is the library again?”
The guardsman pointed down the hall. “Third door on your left, miss.”
She followed his instructions into the library.
Damn! Someone is still standing guard. But wait — what if…?
She grabbed a book of poetry off the shelf and headed back.
As she approached the guardsman again, she flirted, “It must be tough standing here all night.”
He smiled. “Oh, no, miss. I’m used to it.”
“You don’t get bored being here all night by yourself?”
Princess Thief: Stealing Your Heart Page 5
