Chiara Diallo pushed a small serving cart into the room, placed her feet perfectly together, and pressed the door closed. The rolling cart held a teapot and two delicate cups. “I thought you might like some tea. It’s herbal. No caffeine, because it is late.”
Dree dropped her phone face-down on the nightstand and grinned her brightest I’m-not-crying smile. “I appreciate that.”
Chiara precisely tipped the teapot and poured dark pink liquid into the two cups. “Sugar? Lemon?”
Even Dree’s dolls hadn’t played at this fancy of a tea party. “One lump, please?”
Chiara added the sugar and handed the cup to Dree. After they had both sipped, Chiara sat on the small sofa and asked, “Are you quite all right?”
“I’m fine,fine,”Dree said, waving off her concern. “I’m just homesick.”
Chiara studied the cup she cradled in her hands. “There were social media posts concerning Prince Maxence?”
Dree snapped her eyes shut. “I’m being stupid. Don’t coddle me.”
“It is not ‘stupid’ to have feelings for one of the royals here. Many girls get caught up in the pageantry. Too many of us readCinderellawhen we were little.”
Sadness leaked through Chiara’s epic discretion.
Dree asked her, “You, too?”
Chiara sipped her tea and positioned the cup on the small coffee table between them with the handle pointing precisely to the side. “Prince Pierre was a magnetic man. I worked closely with him for several years.”
Dree caught her breath. “Oh, I’m so sorry.”
Chiara’s shoulder rose in an instant of asymmetry that resembled a shrug. “It’s not uncommon to find an office romance has happened, but the broken hearts are always below stairs.”
Dree had watched enough PBS to get that reference, but barely. “Chiara, I’m sorry for your loss.”
Her shoulder rolled again. “His memory is a blessing.”
“Are you all right?”
She nodded. “The other staff were sympathetic.”
“Yeah, the secretaries always know everything.”
Chiara nodded quietly. “The housekeeping staff changes their sheets, and they are not fooled by a condom hidden under a tissue.”
Dree fell back on the couch, her hands over her eyes. “Oh, my God.Everybodyknows.”
Chiara’s voice rose in distress. “I did not mean to alarm you. I am only stating that it’s no use trying to hide such things, and we are here for you. We are cohesive, below stairs.”
Dree grabbed her phone off the nightstand. “I started following Marie-Therese’s Insta after I met her the other day.”
Chiara nodded, seeming to follow along but not particularly approve.
“I grew up in America on a sheep farm. I’ve never seen clothes and jewels like that. I just wanted to follow her and see what their life is like.”
Chiara’s chin dipped. “And tonight, you saw too much.”
Dree held out her phone, where Maxence was kissing the cheek of a beautiful blond woman. “I have no illusions. He’s a rich guy, and rich guys get hit on. I’m not a rich girl, so I can’t expect him to care about what I think.”
Chiara regarded the photo dispassionately. “He is only greeting her, but that is Princess Kira of Prussia. Her family has more noble genetics than money. She used to come to Monaco to visit Marie-Therese and lie around the pool all day in a bikini, and then she turned up wherever Pierre was entertaining that night.”
“So,wait.This woman used to date Max’solder brother?”
Chiara tilted her head, studying the blonde on Dree’s phone. “Not dating so much as stalking.”
