“Well, you lose details with each century, don’t you? But I remember when—” She stopped, a winsome smile on her lips. “Listen to me go on. Why don’t you open the box?”
Daffy reached for the tied ribbon, one eye on Adelaide. “Have we met?”
“I don’t believe so.”
“Have you ever been to Perrigwynn Palace?”
“Not recently, no.”
“How did you know my name? Did Prince Gus come by here? Mentioned me? Or Ernst?”
“I’ve not seen the prince. Nor have I had the pleasure of meeting Ernst.”
“Please open the box so we can go.” Lucy leaned near to whisper. “She gives me the willies.”
Daffy ignored her. “Then why does it feel as if we’ve met.”
“Perhaps you know me through Princess Corina.”
“Yes, yes, of course.” Daffy swerved to Lucy with her arms wide.See. “When I first joined the trust as Mum’s administrator, before grad school, Princess Corina loaned the Trust a Pissarro painting from her collection for the History of Art Tour. We got to talking and she told me about this wild,angelicwoman who helped her become a princess.”
“You can’t be serious.” Lucy oozed pure skepticism. “This is that woman? She’s having you on, Daffy. Corina became a princess because she’s rich, beautiful, and married a prince.”
But Adelaide did look a bit angelic. “Are you Princess Corina’s Adelaide? You fit her description perfectly.”
“I might be. Now open the box.” Adelaide cupped her hand beside her mouth. “This gown was sewn by a local tailor, a nice man, Taffron Björk.”
Lucy’s laugh bounced around the small shop as she turned a full circle. “Okay, joke’s over. You’ve read up on the Trust. Seen something on social media. Where are the hidden cameras?”
“There are no cameras.”
“Adelaide—if that is your real name—Björk has been dead for seventy something years,” Lucy said.
“Did I say otherwise? Taffron was commissioned to sew this gown for the princess before he died. And now Emmanuel has asked me to give it to you—”
“Emmanuel? The carpenter?” Daffy paused as she lifted the box lid trying to connect the crazy dots of this encounter. “Why would he want you to give me a dress?”
“If you want to know, you must ask him. Now, come on, open, please. I’m so excited.”
Lucy leaned forward as Daffy looked inside to find a blue chiffon-and-organza gown with a fitted bodice, V-cut in the front and back, and a shimmer like the night stars.
The exact same gown in the picture Leslie Ann sent. The exact same gown Daffy had tried on in the queen’s dressing room when she was ten years old.
Chapter Twenty
Gus
Daffy was a million miles away. Sitting across from him by theBelly of the Beast’s grand fireplace, she was here only in body, not spirit.
She answered his questions with a single word or a shrug as she hovered over her plate of ribs and parsley potatoes.
“What’s going on?” he said.
She raised her gaze from her plate of food. “What do you mean?”
“You’re quiet.”
“Oh, sorry.” She forced a smile. “Long day.”
