Once Upon A Tiara. Carrie Alexander

Russell?”

      “Him.” Jana’s brows drew together. “He’s going to hunt me down first thing, you know. Our little escape means nothing.”

      “I know.” Lili shrugged. “It won’t matter in the end, since you’re innocent.” She didn’t know why, but she believed Jana was honest. Mutual circumstances had created an immediate sisterhood between them. “At least you’re free for now.” She opened the limo’s small built-in refrigerated compartment. “Aha. Champagne?”

      Jana sat silently while Lili poured them each a glass. Lili checked the windows—there wasn’t much time to spare before their arrival at the hotel—then clinked flutes. “To us, for putting one over on the men, however briefly. I love a good caper.”

      Jana sipped, continuing to watch Lili warily. Finally she blurted, “Why did you do this? Why did you help me?”

      “I don’t know. Sympathy, I suppose.”

      “But I could be guilty as sin. I might even steal your jewelry, right here, right now.”

      “Phooey.” Lili couldn’t pretend to be a perfect judge of character; after all, she’d nearly let Lars Krunkel sweep her off her feet when she was eighteen, and he’d turned out to be the biggest two-timer in Spitzenstein. She’d always been susceptible to a handsome face and a smooth line. “You’re innocent. Mrs. Grundy wouldn’t have let me get in the limo with you otherwise.”

      One side of Jana’s mouth quirked into a reluctant smile. “How would Mrs. Grundy know?”

      “That’s what my sisters and I often wonder! But she does. She always knows.” Lili shrugged. “It’s the strangest thing. There’s something almost…magical about her. Like a fairy godmother.” Lili laughed a little to show how silly that was. Even though it wasn’t, really.

      Strangely, Jana seemed accepting of the absurdity. She nodded at the privacy panel. “If that’s the case, then she knows I’m back here right now. She might be arranging for the police chief to meet us at your hotel.”

      “Don’t worry.” Lili pressed the switch that opened her side window. “Mrs. Grundy wouldn’t do that to either of us.”

      Jana didn’t look convinced, but she let it go. “You haven’t answered my question.”

      Lili emptied her champagne out the window. She took Jana’s flute and did the same. “Swill,” she said, raising the window.

      “Sympathy isn’t reason enough.”

      “Perhaps it was…freedom.” Lili lifted the empty glasses as if she meant to toss them out the window, but then returned them to their fitted niche instead. She gave a soft sigh. “You see? I’m too well trained. I have my moments, but in the end I’m always dutiful to my position. That’s why I envy your lack of responsibility. Your total freedom.”

      “Oh, please.” Jana folded her arms, looking cynical, except for the sympathetic rapport that Lili had already discerned beneath the brunette’s brittle shell. Lili was certain that if they could forget their “stations” and apparent clashing family histories, they would be great friends.

      “I know. Poor me, subjected to first-class luxury and limos on demand, albeit ones stocked with domestic swill.” She shrugged, aware that the car were slowing and turning as they made their way through the downtown area. The hotel was moments away—the mayor had proudly pointed it out earlier. “But it’s true, Jana. What I wouldn’t give to be you for the night, a Gypsy, free to go where I want, when I want. To dance, to sing, to travel…”

      “To spend the night in Chief Russell’s jail cell.”

      “But you’re innocent!”

      “That means very little when you’re a Roma. Our reputation precedes us.”

      Impulsively, Lili reached out and squeezed Jana’s hands. “What can I do?”

      “Nothing. I will handle Chief Russell.”

      Lili grinned. The police chief was one handsome hunk of man. “I’m sure.” She checked their progress. No time left, and she had so much to ask! “Can you tell me what you know about the Vargas diamond? I’m sensing there’s more to the story of the bridal tiara than I’ve been told.”

      “My family’s side of it isn’t fit for the official version.” Jana regarded Lili steadily. “You’ve been protected….”

      Lili made 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