That Would Be a Fairy Tale - By Amanda Grange Page 0,57

him in conversation. She will then claim she is overheated.’

She turned to Sophie.

‘It will be better if you let him suggest a walk,’ she continued, ‘but if not, you are to gaze longingly out of the window and remark on the pleasures of moonlit strolls, until he offers to take you outside. Once the two of you are alone you must pretend to swoon. Now this is the difficult part, and will require practice. As you swoon, your tiara must fall from your head.’

Sophie looked surprised, but then said thoughtfully, ‘It shouldn’t be too difficult. Not if I practice first. And I suppose if it won’t come off, I can always raise my hand to my overheated brow and knock it off - discreetly, of course.’

Cicely nodded. ‘Once you come out of your swoon,’ she continued, ‘you are to ask him to escort you to a nearby bench. When he deposits you there, you are to ask him to fetch your mother. Thus the scene will be set for the theft.’

‘Ah. I am beginning to see,’ said Mrs Lessing. ‘By presenting him with a valuable tiara lying on the ground you present him with an irresistible temptation ‘

‘And the perfect excuse if he is caught,’ said Sophie triumphantly. ‘If he is discovered with the tiara in his possession, he will not need to plant it on anyone else, he will only need to claim that he was retrieving it for me, as it fell from my head when I swooned.’

‘Exactly,’ said Cicely. ‘And he can do so safe in the knowledge that you will agree with him.’

‘Once he has retrieved it, however, we think he will take it to a fence here in Marienbad, a man who buys jewels with no questions asked,’ said Alex, entering the conversation. ‘I have made some enquiries and discovered that Goss has done business with this man before, and so I have hired a couple of private detectives to follow him once he has taken the tiara. When he tries to sell it, we will catch him red-handed.’

‘And the names of everyone who has ever been framed by him will be completely cleared,’ said Cicely.

‘An excellent plan,’ declared Mrs Lessing roundly. ‘And so you want me to arrange a dinner party at the villa?’

‘Not at the villa,’ said Cicely. ‘We would like you to hold it at the Kurhaus instead.’

‘It is a popular venue for dinners, certainly, but why?’

‘Because your villa is outside town. If Goss steals the tiara there, then he might wait until the following day to dispose of the tiara, or even take it elsewhere to sell, making it far more difficult for us to catch him in the act of selling it. Whereas if he steals it outside the Kurhaus, he will be so close to the fence’s apartment that he will think he can have the whole transaction - the theft and the sale - over with in a matter of fifteen minutes. It will surely prove an irresistible temptation to him, and make it easier for us to catch him.’

‘Let us hope so. Now, to details,’ said Mrs Lessing practically. ‘When is this dinner party to take place?’

‘A week on Friday.’

‘A week on Friday?’ asked Mrs Lessing, horrified. ‘Cicely, it’s impossible. I can’t arrange a dinner party at such short notice.’

‘I realize it’s difficult,’ said Cicely, ‘but you know all the local dignitaries here, aunt, and I am sure you can manage to arrange things. And as for the invitations, well, the Season in Marienbad is so short that no one can give much warning of their festivities, so people are used to attending events at short notice.’

‘I will be providing the tiara,’ said Alex. ‘I will bring it to the villa tomorrow, if I may.’

‘You will be welcome at any time,’ said Mrs Lessing graciously.

‘And when does the Mr Goss arrive?’ asked Sophie.

‘On Monday,’ said Cicely. ‘Which means we have a few days to perfect our plan, and after that Al - Mr Evington and I must not be seen. Mr Evington will remain in Karlsbad, and I will remain at the villa. We don’t want Goss to see us and scent a trap.’

‘Very well.’

Mrs Lessing finished her coffee and stood up. Alex rose politely, and the two young ladies rose as well.

‘We will expect you at the villa tomorrow, Mr Evington. I hope you will come to lunch. It will give us a chance to finalise the details of our plan.’ By now, Mrs Lessing was