Parisian Affair (40 page)

'What time?' he asked.

'Oh, say about eleven. How's that?'

'Fine,' Kadar said. 'I'll be there.'

'See you in the morning,' Ram said. He pushed
the END button on his cell phone. Then from a drawer in the desk at
which he sat, he took a single piece of very heavy ecru vellum
writing paper and an envelope. He had one bit of business to take
care of before he called Josette Clement.

Picking up his gold Jules Levant fountain
pen, a gift for special customers, he began writing.
This will
do it
, he thought with satisfaction.
Kill two birds with one
stone
.

Cameron flipped through the drawings slowly,
examining each one, his eyes bright with intensity. Jason anxiously
sat next to him on the couch, only glancing at them when Cameron
remarked on something in particular, but kept his eyes averted for
the most part.

He had been greeted as a returning hero when
he got back from Brooklyn with the drawings and the precious stones
he'd taken, though Cameron's face had fallen when he realized that
Jason had not helped himself more generously to Allegra's store.
Cameron, however, had recovered quickly and reiterated his praise
of Jason's accomplishments. Then he'd drawn him into the bedroom,
where he had slowly taken off Jason's clothes, removing them almost
as if they were engaged in a sacred ritual, before he slipped out
of his own.

'Look at this,' Cameron said
enthusiastically, pointing to a drawing of a cockerel. 'Why didn't
I think of that? It's so simple but so brilliant. Everybody has
done them, but not like this. Of course, to mass-produce it, we'll
have to change the specs. All the precious stones become fakes or
semiprecious. The eighteen-carat gold has to go. Ten carats at
best. More likely, gold tone.'

Jason looked down at the drawing and could
remember the first time he'd seen it. He and Allegra had been
working alone in the atelier, and when she'd finished it, she'd
asked him what he thought. 'I love it,' he'd said. 'It's so ...
you. Lighthearted and fun, but elegant.' Allegra had been thrilled
with his response and had kissed his cheek.

'What's with you?' Cameron asked. 'You're so
quiet.'

Jason shrugged. 'Nothing,' he said, looking
at his lover. 'I'm fine.'

'I don't think so,' Cameron said. 'I think
you're having second thoughts. Are you feeling guilty?'

Jason shrugged again. 'No, not really,' he
lied.

'Well, don't,' Cameron said, pointing a
finger at him. 'It's not permitted.' He laughed, and Jason
attempted a smile. 'What you did is admirable,' Cameron went on.
'She's been ripping you off for years, paying you peanuts for all
your hard work, and this is the least you deserve.'

He paused, seeing how Jason was reacting.
'Besides, she probably won't even recognize her own work once it's
mass-produced.' He laughed again, but stopped when he saw that
Jason was not really amused.

Sliding an arm around his shoulders, Cameron
pulled him toward him. 'Listen to me,' he said. 'You're with me
now, you hear? We're a team. We'll set the world on fire together.
Just the two of us.' He kissed his forehead.

Jason felt himself falling under his lover's
spell again, as surely as if Cameron had given him some kind of
magic potion that made him irresistible. 'Do you really mean
that?'

'You have to ask?' Cameron said. He shook
him. 'Don't be insulting. This is me you're talking to.' He pointed
a finger at his own chest. 'And I don't lie. I don't cheat. Not on
my man.' He smiled. 'And that's you.' He pointed his finger at
Jason, then kissed him again.

'Now, what do you say we go out tonight?' he
said. 'I want to show you off. Show everybody what I've got. What
we've got together.'

Despite the guilt eating away at him over
betraying Allegra, a new sense of pride surged through Jason. 'Go
where?'

'Out to dinner,' Cameron said, 'then out to a
couple of bars, maybe a couple of clubs.'

The thought of being seen out as a couple
would have thrilled Jason under different circumstances. He'd
envied other couples for so long. Now he would be seen out with a
star hunk. Handsome, built, and brilliantly intelligent. And he
knew everybody who was anybody. But Jason didn't know if it was
possible for him to enjoy being out with Cameron now.

'I... I think I'd like that,' he finally said
hesitantly, compounding his guilt by lying.

'You've got it,' Cameron said, ruffling his
hair. 'It'll be like shouting it from the rooftops.' He leaned over
and kissed Jason again.

Jason returned the kiss because he felt it
was obligatory, but without enthusiasm.

'Hmmm,' Cameron murmured, drawing him closer
and running his hand down Jason's torso to his thighs. 'We've got
plenty of time, hours even, before we have to get ready. Let's make
the best of it.'

The car they leased was a tiny dark blue
Renault. Allegra had the map the rental office had provided spread
out on her knees, while Todd was tucked in behind the steering
wheel, his long legs surprisingly accommodated by the car. Their
route looked simple enough. From the Porte d'ltalie, they took the
A6 to the N7, which would take them to Fontainebleau, about an
hour's drive from Paris, they were told.

'All you know is that her place is somewhere
near Fontainebleau,' Todd said as they whizzed down the highway
through the Ile-de-France.

Allegra nodded. 'I saw it in a magazine once,
and it was mentioned in the auction catalogue,' she said.

'From the looks of the map, that covers a
huge territory. I don't know if we have any kind of chance of
actually finding it,' Todd said skeptically.

'We'll find it,' Allegra responded with
confidence. She glanced at him and smiled. 'I bet all we have to do
is have a glass of wine in Fontainebleau or one of the nearby towns
and ask around.'

'It may take quite a few glasses of wine,
huh?' Todd joked.

'And lunch and stopping for gas and who knows
what else?'

'The lunch part sounds good to me,' he said.
'My stomach's already growling.'

'Mine, too,' Allegra confessed. After getting
up late, they'd had a quick breakfast of buttered croissants and
coffee, so they could get on their way.

When they arrived in Fontainebleau, they
discovered that restaurants and cafes abounded, lining the main
street and the side lanes.

'What if we park and look around,' Allegra
said.

'Fine with me,' Todd replied. Since it wasn't
the tourist season, the streets were practically empty and parking
was easy. They got out of the car and strolled down the rue de
France hand in hand, stopping to look at menus posted in windows
and on chalkboards out of doors. Finally, they decided on
Croquembouche, a moderately priced and attractive restaurant.

'There are quite a few people,' Allegra said,
'and lots of waiters and waitresses.'

'Which means we'll have a lot of people to
ask?' Todd said.

'Exactly,' she replied.

Their waitress, a hip-looking young woman
with wildly dyed hair, took their wine orders, and before she left
them to look over the menu, Allegra stopped her. 'I saw that
Princess Karima has a place near here,' she said.

The young lady looked at her with lifted
brows that were plucked into narrow lines. 'Yes?'

'I thought you might know where,' Allegra
tried.

'
Non
,' she replied, shaking her head
slowly. 'This Princess Karima, she is famous?'

'
Oui
,' Allegra said. 'Very rich and
famous.'

The waitress shook her head again, a grave
expression on her face. Then suddenly her eyes lit up. 'Ah,' she
said, 'Guy will know. He knows everything. Especially if it's
anything to do with rich people or famous people. I will send him
to you.'

Before she returned with their wine, one of
the waiters sidled up to their table. He was about eighteen,
Allegra thought, with hair that was gelled up into little
blond-tipped spikes. 'Fleur says you want to know about Princess
Karima,' he said in heavily accented English.

'Yes,' Allegra said. 'I heard that she has a
house near here.'

'Yes,' he said. 'She has even been here to
eat. She is so beautiful,' he went on, 'but you can tell she has
had the cosmetic surgery.'

'So she must live close by?'

'It's not far,' he said. 'An old mill
converted into a house. It's magnificent. In the forest with lots
of gardens.'

'Do you know how to get there?' Todd
asked.

'Of course,' he said, sounding offended. 'You
have to go to Melun, then from there toward Meaux.' He looked at
them and sighed. 'But you are American. You don't know the area. I
will draw a map and bring it to you.'

'That would be wonderful,' Allegra said.

'I'll be back soon. We're busy, so I have to
go.' He hurried off.

'He's starstruck,' Todd said.

'And we're in luck,' Allegra replied.

They were nearly finished eating before the
waiter returned. 'Here,' he said, handing Allegra a slip of paper.
'This is it.' He pointed down to a star he'd drawn on a penciled
map. 'You can't miss it.'

'Thank you so much,' Allegra said.

Todd had already taken a ten-euro note out of
his pocket and discretely palmed it into the young man's hand.

'Thank you, monsieur,' he said, and he
hurried off again.

They finished eating and paid the tab,
anxious to get on their way. In less than half an hour they'd
reached Melun and turned onto the N36, headed northeast toward
Meaux.

'I hope she'll let us in,' Todd said.

'She'll let us in,' Allegra said. 'Once she
finds out who I am.'

Princess Karima's cell phone rang, and she
picked it up. 'Hello?'

Marcus noted the quick change in her
demeanor, from smiles and laughter and a languid pose on the
silk-velvet-upholstered chaise to the wrinkled forehead of a frown
and stiffness as she suddenly sat up. Rapidly slipping her feet
into the tapestry mules on the floor at the side of the chaise, she
got up and, ignoring Marcus, swept out of the conservatory, the
caftan she wore fluttering behind her. In her wake, Marcus detected
the scent of the Golconda perfume she perpetually wore.

The mysterious telephone calls didn't seem to
stop, and if there was one thing Marcus hated, it was a mystery. He
rose to his feet and approached the French doors that led out to
the garden. He thought he might have a walk about the elegant
parterres, but even as he put his hand on the door handle, Princess
Karima glided back into the conservatory.

'So sorry, darling,' she said, all breathless
cheer. 'I had to take a call from one of my dreary accountants. You
know how they are.'

'I do indeed,' he said, turning to her. 'Dull
and unimaginative. Always want to spoil the party.'

Karima laughed. 'Exactly.'

From behind them, they heard Mimi's heavy
tread. 'Madame?' she said.

'Yes, Mimi,' Karima asked. 'What is it?'

'There is a call from the gate,' she said in
a grumpy voice, as if the call had disturbed her. 'A woman wants to
see you.'

Karima looked at her in surprise. 'What?
Here? Who is it?'

'She says her name is Allegra Sheridan,' Mimi
replied.

'I know no such person,' Karima said huffily.
'Send her away.'

'She said she bought your emerald ring at
Dufour,' Mimi replied, 'and that she needs to speak to you about
it.'

'What?' Princess Karima and Marcus exclaimed
in unison. They exchanged glances. 'What on earth is she doing
here?' Karima wondered aloud.

Marcus shrugged. 'Who knows? Maybe she simply
wants to meet you and is using the ring as an excuse.'

Princess Karima lit a cigarette and paced the
limestone floor thoughtfully before turning back to Mimi. 'Tell her
I can see her briefly.'

'She has her fiancé with her,' Mimi said.

'Wouldn't she just?' Karima replied. 'Show
them both in.'

Mimi turned and left, and Karima looked at
Marcus with a puzzled expression. 'How on earth do you think this
American woman found me?'

'I've no idea,' Marcus responded, 'but it's
certainly no secret that you have a place here. I warned you about
allowing magazines to publish pictures.'

'But who would ever expect something like
this? The audacity to simply arrive on my doorstep.'

'She's American,' Marcus said. 'You know how
they are. So aggressive. So uncivilized.'

'That's one of the things I like about them,
actually,' Princess Karima replied. 'They're not weighed down with
all that European snobbery and obsession with ancient bloodlines.
Some of them have been very nice to me over the years.'

'You're right, of course,' Marcus said. 'I
was speaking in a general sense. I can think of several delightful
Americans we know. Very rich ones, naturally.'

Karima laughed. 'Well, in any case, I'm glad
you're here with me to face this . . . this creature who got the
ring.'

Mimi shuffled back into the conservatory with
Allegra and Todd following behind her. 'Mademoiselle Sheridan,'
Mimi said, 'and Monsieur Hall.'

Princess Karima and Marcus looked them up and
down, and Allegra felt as if she'd been appraised by a couple of
shrewd horse buyers, examining her for potential track or breeding
abilities.

'I apologize for being so rude,' Allegra
said, 'barging in like this, but I was dying to meet you and your
number wasn't listed.' She had decided to play the starstruck fan,
one of the devotees of Princess Karima's beauty, wealth, and style.
She put out a hand to shake. 'I'm Allegra Sheridan, a jewelry
designer from New York City, and this is my fiancé, Todd Hall.'

Princess Karima offered her hand and let
Allegra hold it for a moment, then repeated the gesture with
Todd.