“That is a grand piece of history, I must say. She was given it as a present from her father Louis XVI on her fifteenth birthday, and it was the only treasure she was allowed to keep when she was forced into prison at the Reign of Terror. Some say she smuggled it in. Before she died in Slovenia in 1851, she announced that the diamond should never be parted from Versailles and donated it back to the palace for us to keep safe and for France, her homeland, to enjoy.”

Okay. And I didn’t think I could feel any worse than I already do. “I’m surprised it was rented out to be worn, considering how valuable it was.”

“Yes . . . that is odd. We usually display it, but I’ve never seen anyone wear it.”

Until me. So this great piece of French history ends with the silly American. What a great story. So . . . fantastic.

Gritting her teeth, she decided to get it over with: “I seem to have misplaced it. I was hoping . . . did no one turn it in here?”

The woman’s eyes widened, and she let out a little gasp, “Misplaced? You mean, you lost it?”

Diana cringed as she nodded. Misplaced sounded a lot nicer, but tomato, tomahto. “Can you check to see if someone might have turned it in?”

The clerk stammered for a moment before saying, “Oui . . . Could you please wait right here?”

The young woman scurried to an older woman in the corner, and then the whispering started. Diana felt like she was in high school, being gossiped about by the cool kids as they both whispered and stared, whispered and stared. Then the older woman gasped and shook her head. Finally, the younger woman scurried off, and the older woman, with a mane of shiny silver hair to match her thick jewelry, appraised Diana, her face still a mask of utter shock and dismay. “My colleague just told me that you lost the Madame Royale?”

Diana sighed, “Well . . . yes. I simply can’t find it anywhere. It must’ve fallen from my neck during the night. I’m assuming that it wasn’t turned in by anyone?”

“No. Unfortunately not,” the woman said, shaking her head ruefully. “We do have security, but, oh. It’s a bit lax tonight. This is terrible. It’s a priceless treasure. Worth millions. How could you possibly lose it? Weren’t you taking care?”

The woman wasn’t exactly doing a good job of making Diana feel better about this. In fact, the way she kept looking at her, eyes narrowed in something like disgust, Diana couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being regarded as a criminal.

“I was taking care. And I never left the palace. So if I’d planned to steal it, it would still be on me. You can search. I don’t have it. So it’s probably still he—”

“No. That’s not necessary.” The woman glanced at Diana’s purse, and Diana got the distinct impression that she was disappointed in her. Wary. “But I will have to summon security to look into this. They will probably want to search you, extensively.”