The way she said danger made the hairs on my arms stick up on end.
Rudolf wasn’t hearing it. “No matter what happens, I will never regret this.” In the background, I heard Rudolf pull Manon into a kiss. The kiss lasted for a few awkward minutes before Rudolf mentioned moving on to more private quarters. Thankfully, Manon agreed.
I gave them a while before I stood up and even longer before I left. The last thing Manon needed was to know I knew she was having a secret affair with Rudolf. I had always assumed that Manon was there under orders from my uncle, forced to be my friend. Manon was there for Rudolf, and after all my uncle had put me through that summer, I liked that Manon was actively defying him. Plus, Manon and Rudolf were pretty together. They looked like they should be a couple.
She’d be devastated—no, terrified—if she knew I knew. Although she shouldn’t. I had more loyalty to both Rudolf and Manon than my uncle. I’d keep their secrets. But the way Manon said danger, she meant real, honest danger, like my uncle might try to hurt them, like sending the Libratiers to break Rudolf’s kneecap or worse.
Chapter 16
Duchess Claudette Rebecca Overton Merric, Duchess of Georgia, Duchess of Alabama, Lady of Oklahoma.
“Well, how do you know this is not the necklace?” Manon held a nearly exact match to my grandmother’s ring. She added, “No one would be the wiser.”
I shrugged my shoulders. “It’s not a match.”
Three hundred necklaces adorned the small drawing-room table. All of them striking, all of them lavish, and all of them wrong.
“How can you tell? They look exactly alike. You would look lovely in any of these.”
I hadn’t explained the exact reason why I wanted the necklace to anyone, and if Manon thought I was merely seeking a pretty necklace, I wasn’t about to tell her otherwise.
“I realize. They’re all gorgeous. It’s just… I don’t feel like the one I’m looking for is here.”
Manon held up an enormous emerald necklace. “But you don’t know,” she said. “Besides, this one is perfect; it brings out the gray of your eyes, and it goes so well with the violet of your gown. Money is no object. If you kept all the necklaces, your uncle would not mind.”
It had been three days since the library incident, and in those three days Manon and I had looked at close to a thousand necklaces and all were a bit off.
“It’s not that. I have a gut feeling that the necklace isn’t here.” Manon raised her eyebrows, and I continued. “I know it’s stupid. It’s kind of like a bride trying on a wedding gown or something. Like, when it’s right, I’ll know.”
“They are all beautiful.” Manon yawned. “Pardon me. I did not sleep well last night.”
I looked away quickly before we locked eyes. No need to worry her about my knowledge of her relationship with Rudolf.
On the other hand, it was easy to forgive Manon. She was kind of my only friend. Besides, I was hoping that perhaps she’d tell me what had happened between her and Claudette, but so far she hadn’t volunteered, and I hadn’t asked.
“We can be done tonight,” I told her.
Manon picked up another necklace and held it up. “Non, I am here for you. We can do this all night.”
“No, we can’t. Enzo will kill us if we’re too much longer. He’s been talking about dinner all day. There’s always tomorrow,” I said, and Manon gave an involuntary shudder. “Come on, it’s not that bad.”
“I do not mind. I felt… no, it’s nothing.”
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Oui, because Enzo would have told me if...” Her voice trailed off, and she shuddered once more.
“Told you what? Manon?” When she didn’t answer, I put my hand on her arm. “Are you all right?”
Manon shook her head and placed her hand on mine. “Pardon. I am feeling… no, Enzo would have told me, warned me.”
“Warned you what?” This was getting very frustrating.
Manon straightened her dress and patted her hair. “Nothing. I believe I am hungry. Let’s eat.”
Arm in arm, we headed towards the small dining room, but Doc stopped us. “Tonight, Enzo has summoned us to the great hall.”
If I hadn’t been holding Manon’s arm, she might’ve fallen to the floor. Her face went pale. “The great hall?” Her voice was barely above a whisper. “Doctor Tivoli, who is coming to dinner tonight?”
“Unfortunately, I don’t have the foggiest.” He leaned over closer to her and added, “It’s not Bollard, that much I know.”
This relieved Manon, and some pink returned to her cheeks. “Thank you, Doctor.”
When we arrived, Enzo was the only person in the great hall. We took our seats and the staff served us immediately. By the time we reached dessert, a four-tier cake, uninterrupted, Manon’s lovely shoulder’s relaxed.
“Enzo, please tell us, why are we meeting in the great hall?” She asked before eating a sliver of chocolate cake.
“Big news needs a big room,” Enzo said, his voice echoing. Feigning disinterest, he nonchalantly cut into his slice of cake, but he couldn’t contain himself and the information bubbled out. “I can’t wait. I have the greatest news. After years of impasse, your presence has ended the standoff between the two most powerful countries in the world.”
Doc’s eyes widened. “You can’t possibly mean—Enzo!”
Enzo nodded, his face full of pride. “You have no idea. At first, he was reluctant, but when I told him he would meet with Helena Merric’s granddaughter, the King of France couldn’t get here fast enough.”
My heart skipped a beat. “Wait, King of France… you don’t mean...?”
“Lothaire Deluce, the one and only.” Enzo rolled his hand in the air and bowed from his seat.
“We had been getting the runaround. France hasn’t taken a call from one of the American royals in years, and they wouldn’t even give King Lothaire the message. I persisted. Still nothing. I told everyone I talked to about you, and
