enough to partake of the American variety.”
“I’m sorry. You’re mistaken.”
“I can promise you a good time. No strings attached.”
Lili wormed her bottom toward the passenger door. “No, thanks.”
“Aw, c’mon.” Trey reached for her. “Don’t be a prude. I know what goes on among you jet-setters. Topless beaches, drunken orgies, wife-swapping. You like to party, don’t you, baby princess?”
She slapped his hand away. He reached again, cajoling her with smarmy compliments. “C’mon, Princess. My lovely Lili-Pond.” He gripped her waist; she twisted away. “Give me that sweet smile.” His fingers plucked at the buttons of her blouse. “Show me your pretty little—”
Lili brought her leg up and jabbed him in the kneecap with the heel of one sneaker. Too bad. She usually hit her targets, but the man’s oversized stilts had gotten in the way.
Trey clutched at his knee. “Ahhh!”
She grabbed the bucket-size soft drink from its holder and upended it over his head. Orange soda and a shovelful of ice chips cascaded over his head and shoulders.
Trey shook himself like a dog, spraying the front seat with sticky soda. Lili jumped out of the car.
He clambered after her, swearing so ripely that more spittle flew. There’s a lesson for you, Lili told herself. Never trust a man with excess saliva.
The curses trailed off to whimpers. “Damn, that was vicious. You didn’t have to kick so hard. I have a trick knee. And look at my hair. My suit! It’s soaked.”
“Count yourself lucky. I was aiming higher.” She strode toward the road, breathing hard. For all her idiocy, she was high on triumph. She might have gotten into a predicament, but she’d also gotten herself out of it. And all on her own!
Trey got back in the car and started the engine. He backed up toward the road. Lili picked up her pace, trotting along the edge of the pavement. Good thing she’d worn sneakers.
“Don’t run away, Lili,” Trey called from the car. “I’ll give you a ride back to town.”
“No, thanks!”
“It’s all right. I’ll be on my best behavior.”
“No!”
“You’re going the wrong way.”
Lili stopped. Oh. She’d been too steamed to notice.
“C’mon, Princess,” Trey coaxed. She had to give him a sliver of credit. He hadn’t abandoned her. She couldn’t even blame him for getting overly amorous; she had flirted. “I promise not to touch you,” he added.
She was tempted to accept the ride, but decided to hold her ground. Once a fool, and all that. “I’d rather not. There’s a farmhouse nearby. I remember passing it. I’ll go there and call for a cab.” Fiddlesticks. If she hadn’t been forced to sneak out, she could have borrowed Mrs. Grundy’s handy cell phone. That was what came of relying on others to handle the necessary details.
Trey said, grudgingly, “I have a phone. I can call for you.”
“I’d rather not be in your debt,” she persisted, although she was beginning to realize that she wasn’t entirely out of her predicament. The owner of the farmhouse might not be thrilled to be awakened by a stranger knocking at the door at midnight, even if the stranger was a princess. And the road was extremely dark and deserted. Whether that was good or bad, she wasn’t sure.
“Suit yourself.” Trey gunned the engine, then peered over his shoulder one more time. His white teeth flashed. “I suppose those VIP passes are out of the question?”
She almost laughed. Kissing Trey was worse than kissing a slimy toad—at least the toad didn’t kiss back. But there was something roguishly charming about the guy, for all his crudeness. Maybe…
She wondered if it was possible to accept his cell phone but not his overtures. Trey said, “Well? I’m getting cold,” then shrugged and peeled out with a squeal of the tires, tossing Lili a devil-may-care wave.
“Um, Trey?” she said.
It was a minute before the sound of the convertible died in the distance. Lili gathered her courage. This wasn’t a problem. No, it actually was, but she could handle it. They must have taxicabs in Blue Cloud, so she had every hope of getting back to the hotel with no one the wiser…except herself.
She’d walked several paces before certain unusual sounds penetrated her consciousness. She stopped, flummoxed. Music—very faint, but carried on the night breezes. In the opposite direction from the farmhouse. Maybe there was another house just down the road, its inhabitants obviously still awake.
Hmm. Lili turned back, her interest piqued. Was that a violin? Accompanied by a guitar? Not a recording. She drew closer to the source, driven to hurry. There were voices, and laughter. It was beginning to sound like a free-form party; exactly the kind of excitement and adventure that she’d wished for.
She smelled wood smoke. Saw the flicker of a bonfire. Tents in a field. Dancers. A Gypsy encampment…Jana’s people! Of course. Not unlike the bands of Romany who occasionally traveled through Grunberg and neighboring countries. She hadn’t realized until Jana Vargas’s appearance at the reception that there were Romany clans roaming America also.
Lili’s blood stirred. An evening in a Gypsy camp! What a treat to stumble upon. Jana had seemed sincere about welcoming Lili, even if there was some question about the Vargas diamond lurking between their families.
“AMELIA GRUNDY, HERE.”
“Whazzat?”
“Grundy. I’m with the princess.”
“Er…right. Lili.”
“Her Serene Highness, Princess Liliane of Grunberg.”
“That’s what I said.” Simon scrubbed a hand through his matted hair. He’d fallen asleep with an open book resting on his chest. Bad form for a swinging single bachelor. “Who’s this, again?” he said into the telephone, heaving up to switch on the bedside lamp. He righted his twisted glasses. “Grundy, you say?”
Why would the British nanny be calling him?
“The princess is missing.”
“Missing?” he echoed, suddenly feeling more alert.
“Since ten o’clock. It’s now half past twelve.”
“But you said you’re with her.”
“Not literally, Mr. Tremayne. She’s vanished.”
“For two and a half hours. That hardly constitutes an emergency, does it? The princess struck me as a lively sort of girl. She’s probably out having a good time.”
“Exactly.”
“Ah.”
“She
