“Of course. If you’ll excuse me.”
“Your Royal Highness, I wanted to apologize for not locking the Queen’s Library door last night. I remembered in the middle of the night and came down straightaway.” Cranston smiled. “She’s locked and secure now.”
“Yes, no worry.” Gus braced for more. Like how Cranston looked for theTitusbut it was not in its corner. “Anything else?”
“No, sir. Should there be?”
“No. All good here. Thank you, Cranston.”
He took the stairs two at a time. They must repair that chair. He found Daffy in the gallery hoisting a monstrous gown over a mannequin. “Careful of the sleeves, Lucy.”
He hid behind a wide column until they’d completed their task. “Daffy, may I have a word?”
If looks could kill…
“Lucy, will you excuse me?”
The woman inspected Gus, then Daffy. “I’ll go for the gold thread.” She curtsied to Gus then backed down the wide, carpeted gallery.
“Can we talk in your suite?” he said.
She started for the Princess Charlotte without a word. Gus tried to fashion his opening statement, but the dull throb over his eye troubled his concentration.
“About last night,” he said the moment the door closed. “I am so sorry.”
“You broke theKing Titus.” Her voice rose and fell with his heartbeat. “TheKing Titus. Gus, I don’t…” She paced, hands flexing in and out of a fist. “One of the world’s oldest artifacts. Not just Lauchtenland’s but the world’s.” She swung her arm toward the dressing room where they’d carried the broken pieces, wrapped them in a pink blanket, and hid them in the corner. “Disaster.”
“Yes, we have a problem but—”
“We?”
“Okay, I have a problem. Me.”
“No, no, you’re right. We. It’ll be my job not yours. Ha. You don’t even have a job. Youarethe job. I want it on record I told you to get out of the chair.”
“Fine. Though I don’t remember much of anything but a cracking sound. Daffy, is there any chance the chair was one of the remakes?”
“Not a snowball’s. The realKing Titusis very distinct. The fabric, the wood, the markings. The wood is from the forest lost in the mid-eighteenth century when the hamlet cut down every tree during the brutal winter. The fabric color is unique. The scuffs on the legs, the smoothness of the arms are all very distinct and very documented. Besides, Cranston personally carried it down to the library. He knows it’s the original.”
“I saw him this morning. He apologized for not locking the doors. Said he came down in the middle of the night to do so.”
Daffy gasped and dropped to the arm of a chair. “Did he see it was missing? Please, tell me he didn’t.”
“No, no, I don’t think so. If he did, he said nothing.”
“I’m going to pass out.” She bent forward, panting.
“Shush, lass, it’s all right. We’ll figure this out.” Gus patted her back, angling to see her face. A red hue crept across her cheeks and around her eyes. He had a feeling this “blush” wasn’t about him. Not in the sweet, she-had-a-crush way.
“I have an idea.” She sat up, eyes glistening. “Is turning back time one of your princely powers?”
“I’m serious and you’re joking.”
“It’s the only way to keep fromfreakingout!” She shook out her hands and sort of hyperventilated. “This will be my position. My reputation. I’ll be lucky to get a post recycling rubbish.”
“Stop. You won’t lose your job. We can work this out.” The plural pronoun here comforted him. He’d take the heat if it came to it, but he liked teaming with a friend.
“Gus, we broke a thousand-year-old chair the queen has kept in storage for twenty-five years except for two world tours in ’98 and ’08. There isnoair in this room.” Daffy stumbled to the window, drew up the sash and pressed her face against the cold screen.
