But with the lieutenant’s words ringing in her head, she realized she couldn’t even do that.

Sighing, she passed through the tent. The woman who’d helped her get ready, Colette, was gone now. The tent was almost empty with a small group of ladies sitting in folding chairs among the racks of gowns, sharing a bottle of champagne. One of them, the young willowy blonde with the stick-straight hair, stood up, “Hello, may I help you?”

She nodded, “I’m done.” She started pawing at her dress out of frustration. “I’d like to get this thing off.”

“Oh, but, mademoiselle, surely you are not done enjoying the party just yet? It goes all night! Don’t you want to—”

“I am done. Please, show me where I can get changed.”

The woman’s accommodating smile fell from her lips. “I see. Right this way.” As she led her down the aisle of empty dressing rooms, she said, “I am sorry if you did not have a good time.”

Diana suddenly felt tears at the corners of her eyes. When had she ever cried in public before? She certainly wasn’t going to do it now. She blinked them back, handed the woman the key to the locker with her belongings, and said, “I had a fine time. I’m just tired.”

She stepped into the dressing room and slipped out of the dress, trying not to think of how excited, how happy she’d been when she’d put on the dress, not three hours earlier. She’d had a feeling that anything could happen, that her night was full of possibilities.

Well, anything had happened. And those possibilities had been bad ones.

When she pulled on her pants and her sweater, she looked at the beautiful dress, puddled in the corner. Just a short time ago, a dashing Frenchman had recognized her, asked to dance. And she’d waltzed across the ballroom gazing deep into his eyes, thinking, Maybe. Maybe tonight is the night when everything I dreamt of comes true.

At that moment, a sob did force its way out of her throat, but she swallowed it down and patted her chest, pretending it was a hiccup. Then, inexplicably, she started to laugh.

Well, you sure made this night unforgettable. You are never, ever going to forget this day, that’s for sure.

She pulled away the curtain and found the woman waiting for her with her folio. Diana reached into the purse and laid out the earrings and the fan she’d used along with the corset and gown and shoes. The woman went over it carefully. “I do hope you’ll come again next year,” the woman murmured as she scanned the receipt and marked checks next to each item.

Probably not, she thought to herself, holding her breath as waited for the obvious question.

Finally, the woman looked up, “It says here you had a necklace. The Madame Royale diamond. Beautiful diamond, that, worn by the lovely Marie-Thérèse Charlotte of France, Marie Antoinette’s eldest child.”

It was? The concierge had said something about that, but only now, did the full weight of it hit her. The necklace wasn’t just valuable—it was priceless. Now, Diana felt even more terrible. “Yes, well—”