Naughty In Nice (A Royal Spyness Mystery)

the excitement. And most people I find frightfully boring. Except you—you are a delightful breath of fresh air. But now eat up. We cannot waste good caviar.”
    This banquet should have been the ultimate treat for me, but I found that the events of the day had left me so shocked that I could hardly swallow. The rock melon filled with port slipped down easily enough and the effects of the port, mingled with the champagne, gradually started to unwind my tension. I knew I should put Sir Toby from my thoughts. I hardly knew the man and I certainly had no cause to like him. Still, it’s always a shock when any human being’s life is taken from him.
    After we had eaten the lobster and duck, each of them exquisite beyond belief, and a sorbet had been brought to clear the palate, I excused myself and went to the ladies’ room. As I entered, the first person I saw, powdering her nose, was Belinda. Her eyes lit up when she saw me.
    “Darling, fancy bumping into you here of all places. I didn’t see you. Are you with your mama?”
    “No, I’m up in a little turret room with Jean-Paul.”
    “Jean-Paul?” Her eyes widened. “You mean the Marquis de Ronchard?”
    “The very same. I can hardly believe it, but he seems interested in me. I hope you’re not too cross with me. I did nothing to encourage him.”
    “Of course you didn’t, you sweet thing.” Belinda touched my cheek. “That’s why he finds you so delicious. A completely unspoiled, unscheming female. What a change. No wonder he is captivated.”
    “I know you wanted him for yourself.”
    “I have to confess that was the idea, but as it happens I have moved on to pastures new, thanks to you.”
    “To me?”
    “Yes. Remember the young man who went to buy you a drink last night and returned only to find you had been whisked away by your marquis?”
    “I do. His name was Neville.”
    “That’s the one. Well, I was left to cheer him up after he’d been so cruelly abandoned by you, and we hit it off rather well. To the extent that I’ve been invited to stay at his aunt’s villa. His aunt is Lady Marchington and it just happens that she used to hunt with my papa, so I’m considered suitable and all that.”
    “I gather Neville isn’t particularly well off, from what I heard at Victoria Station.”
    “Not at the moment, darling, but he will inherit a title one day, and a very nice estate. Not that I plan to be around that long, but Lady Marchington’s villa is certainly a step up from the little pension near the railway station where I was staying. And Neville actually shows promise as a lover—for an Englishman, that is. So all in all, I’m satisfied for the moment.”
    “I’m glad,” I said. “I was trying to persuade Mummy to have you to stay with us, but it seems that she has to keep a bedroom free in case one of her pals decides to come and stay.”
    “So all’s well that ends well,” Belinda said. “I just hope you know what you’re doing with your marquis. He has quite a reputation, you know.”
    “So I’ve heard. But he is rather gorgeous, isn’t he? And I’m rather enjoying being wined and dined. It’s a new experience for me.”
    “Poor Darcy,” Belinda said. “Dropped like a hot potato.”
    “Poor Darcy has someone else,” I said.
    “No, surely not.”
    “I’ve seen them together,” I said bleakly. “They have a child.”
    “Good heavens. Well, that is a bit of a shock, isn’t it? I really thought that you and he . . .”
    “So did I,” I said, and I blinked back tears. “I’d better go back or Jean-Paul will wonder where I am.”
    We hugged, and as I crossed the restaurant to return to Jean-Paul, the first thing I noticed was several men standing around our table. To my horror I recognized one of them as Inspector Lafite.
    “Ah, there she is now,” one of the men said.
    “Inspector.” I eyed him coldly. “What are you doing here?”
    “I have come for you, Lady Georgiana,” he said.
    “If you wish to ask me more questions, you can see that this is not a good time or place. I have nothing more to tell you, either about the missing necklace or about the death of Sir Toby.”
    “I do not wish to ask you questions at this moment,” he said. “We will do that at the police station.”
    “The police station? I’m not going to any police station at this time of night.”
    He took a menacing step toward me. “I insist that you accompany me, mademoiselle. I am arresting you for the murder of Sir