“What did you lose? Many things were stolen, they say . . .”

“Oh. Nothing valuable. Just a wrap.” Okay, this time it was a lie. “Nothing a jewel thief would want.”

“It was a shock, the Madame Royale disappearing like that,” the man mused as he drove into traffic. “I saw it on display the last time I was there. You know, they auctioned off all of Marie Antoinette’s jewels a few years back to private collectors. But that one, the palace kept. It was one of the nicest pieces, in my opinion. A symbol of France. I’d hate it to be gone.”

Diana gritted her teeth. The last thing she wanted to do was be responsible for the destruction of a symbol of France. She might as well have sprayed graffiti all over the Eiffel Tower. “Hmm.”

“So how long have you been in town, Madame?” the man said as she pulled out her itinerary.

“A few days.”

He pointed over at the Louvre, unmistakable with its IM Pei pyramid sculpture out front. “Been to the museum yet?”

She looked over at it, a little wistfully. “No.”

“What have you seen?”

Ordinarily, Diana would’ve been all for a little small talk. But right now, all she wanted to do was think about how she’d question the concierge. Likely, he’d be suspicious of her return, so she planned on using the whole “missing wrap” ruse on him. Somehow, she hoped he’d be able to give her a little insight into the other people who’d lost things. She wasn’t quite sure how do go about that, though.

Not to mention that she hadn’t seen much at all. Even at Versailles, she’d been too excited by all the fanfare and costumes and craziness that she hadn’t really taken the time to enjoy any of the artwork or architecture.

Maybe she could do that now. That is, if they’d even let her in.

“Not very much,” she admitted, burying her nose in the book. Luckily, the driver got the hint and let her be.

If she finished up here at Versailles by three, she decided she could maybe have the shuttle drop her off at the Louvre. They closed at five. Then, at least, she could say she’d done something on her itinerary.

The shuttle pulled through the honor gate that was outside the palace. As it did, she noticed the last remaining vestiges of the celebrations. Some workers in white coats were walking the gardens, picking up trash, and the disassembled tents and buffet tables were laid out on the lawn, waiting to be hauled away by the large delivery trucks parked along the curb. As the shuttle inched along the drive to the palace, avoiding the traffic, she leaned over and asked him, “Do you happen to know where the concierge office is?”

He shrugged. “I will drop you at the very front. There should be someone there who can give you directions.”

“Thank you. Would you mind waiting? I shouldn’t be very long.”