That Would Be a Fairy Tale - By Amanda Grange Page 0,66

would take the tiara and head for his fence, where the two private detectives would apprehend him in the act of trying to sell it.

Cicely went over to the window and looked out at the night. To her relief it was fine and clear. Rain would have spoilt their plan completely - Sophie could hardly have suggested a walk if it had been pouring down! But fortune had favoured them, and soon she would be on her way.

Cicely tried to read, but she could not keep her attention on the novel, no matter how entertaining, because she was engaged in a far more entertaining enterprise of her own.

At last it was time to go. Slipping into one of her aunt’s coats she lowered her veil then left the villa, setting out on foot for the Kurhaus.

Half an hour later, she was safely ensconced in the doorway, waiting for Sophie to appear.

The time passed slowly. She was cramped in the confines of the doorway but dare not leave it in case Sophie and Mr Goss, coming out of the Kurhaus, should see her. She stamped her feet and blew into her hands to ward off the cold.

Five minutes passed, then ten, and Cicely began to grow anxious. Sophie should have made an appearance by now. Try as she might, Cicely could not prevent herself from imagining the various things that could have gone wrong. The Honourable Martin Goss might have failed to appear at the dinner party; he might have been impervious to Sophie’s charms; or he might have seen a piece of jewellery that was more to his thief’s liking and decided to ignore the tiara.

The latter was a problem Cicely had always known they would face. Her aunt’s guests were wealthy people, and the ladies would inevitably be wearing their jewels. If Goss saw something he felt would make a better target for his light fingers -

But wait. What was that? The sound of a woman’s voice? It was Sophie’s laughter, borne to her on the wind.

Hastily she pressed herself back into the doorway. By angling herself in exactly the right position she was able to see what was happening without being seen.

Yes. Sophie had managed to get Martin Goss to escort her outside. The two of them were approaching the place where Sophie had arranged to swoon. Sophie was looking beautiful in an off-the-shoulder evening gown. It was no surprise that Mr Goss, resplendent in evening dress, should have been delighted with the idea of escorting her outside, even had she not been wearing a magnificent tiara.

But the tiara was there, glinting in the moon-and-starlight. Cicely held her breath. They reached the spot where Sophie intended to swoon - and now Sophie was swooning, and the tiara, just as they had practised it, was slipping from her head. Their plan was working.

Even so, Cicely was anxious as Mr Goss helped Sophie to the bench, where she gracefully sank down in an attitude of complete helplessness. He evidently said a few words to her - he is promising to fetch her mother, thought Cicely with satisfaction - and then Sophie fell back again in a most convincing fashion, whilst Goss left her side.

Cicely watched him head back towards the Kurhaus. She was on tenterhooks, wondering whether he would take the tiara. She hardly dare look as she saw him approach it. He stopped, looked back to make sure that Sophie was indeed unconscious - or at least appeared to be so - then, with a furtive look round, he bent and picked up the tiara, which he slipped into his pocket.

Cicely let out her breath. So far so good.

She continued to watch as he hurried on, past the Kurhaus and up the street that led to his contact. She felt a surge of jubilation rising inside of her. They had done it!

A minute later she sobered. There were still a number of things that could go wrong. Martin Goss might have a different contact in Marienbad, one they knew nothing about. Or he might decide to go to Karlsbad, or another of the neighbouring towns, to get rid of the tiara.

Sophie, still in character, was draped beautifully across the bench in case Goss should return. Cicely could not help admiring her style. Lillie Langtry, who had been the darling of Edward VII before she had become a notable actress, could not have done it better!

Even so, the next fifteen minutes were tense. Cicely longed to leave the doorway and