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Back The Shoe Queen Save as PDF
Chapters (67)
  1. Cover
  2. “And may I say, those shoes are adorable.”
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright
  5. Dedication
  6. ( I )
  7. ( one )
  8. ( two )
  9. ( three )
  10. ( four )
  11. ( five )
  12. ( six )
  13. ( seven )
  14. ( eight )
  15. ( nine )
  16. ( ten )
  17. ( II )
  18. ( eleven )
  19. ( twelve )
  20. ( thirteen )
  21. ( fourteen )
  22. ( fifteen )
  23. ( III )
  24. ( sixteen )
  25. ( seventeen )
  26. ( eighteen )
  27. ( nineteen )
  28. ( IV )
  29. ( twenty )
  30. ( twenty-one )
  31. ( twenty-two )
  32. ( twenty-three )
  33. ( twenty-four )
  34. ( V )
  35. ( twenty-five )
  36. ( twenty-six )
  37. ( twenty-seven )
  38. ( twenty-eight )
  39. ( twenty-nine )
  40. VI
  41. ( thirty )
  42. ( thirty-one )
  43. ( thirty-two )
  44. ( thirty-three )
  45. ( thirty-four )
  46. ( VII )
  47. ( thirty-five )
  48. ( thirty-six )
  49. ( thirty-seven )
  50. ( thirty-eight )
  51. ( thirty-nine )
  52. ( forty )
  53. ( forty-one )
  54. ( forty-two )
  55. ( VIII )
  56. ( forty-three )
  57. ( forty-four )
  58. ( forty-five )
  59. ( forty-six )
  60. ( forty-seven )
  61. ( forty-eight )
  62. ( forty-nine )
  63. ( fifty )
  64. ( fifty-one )
  65. Acknowledgments
  66. Acknowledgments
  67. Questions for Discussion

“I’m not feeling well,” she announced. “I shall have to go home. You don’t mind if I take the car, do you, darling?”

“Oh, come now, honey.” The smile vanished from Robert’s face. “We were only having a little joke.”

“I couldn’t care less about that.” Genevieve got to her feet. “I have a migraine coming on. You’re all floating about in a sea of colored dots.”

“I’ll come with you,” Robert began.

“Don’t worry, I shall be quite all right. You stay here and look after our guests. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to get home before the headache starts. It’s been…a delightful evening.”

The Bentley crossed to the Right Bank by the Pont de la Concorde, weaving its way through the Place of that same name, and then along the Rue de Rivoli and up the Rue de Castiglione to Place Vendôme. The column looked dark and sinister tonight. One might not be surprised to find a coven of witches dancing about before it, brandishing daggers and sheeps’ heads.

Genevieve’s head was whirring with crazy jealousy, but she did her best to breathe deeply and stay calm.

“I just need to go and speak to someone,” she said, as they swung round onto the Rue de la Paix. “I’ll only be a few minutes.”

“Where would you like me to stop, madame?” asked Pierre.

“Anywhere along here.” She leaned forward and peered out the window. “No! Wait.” She dug her nails into the soft leather of the seat in front of her. “Drive on.”

“But Madame—”

“I said drive on!”

There it was, just as she’d dreaded. It was parked out on the Rue de la Paix, near the opening to the passageway that led to Zachari’s shop.

A long black car. The chauffeur napping in the driver’s seat, his cap pulled down over his eyes.

A Lea-Francis, with silver figurine.

( twenty-eight )

LULU WAS DRESSED ALL in white lace tonight, with a veil. The dress must have started out as a bridal gown, but the skirt had been altered and cut short, way above the knee. The rowdy audience was in love with her, and she was in love with them too. As Genevieve arrived, Lulu was starting on a new song-and-dance number, for which she was joined by a lithe girl dressed in a black cat suit—perhaps a dancer from the Ballets Russes or Suedos. She danced up very close behind Lulu, echoing her every movement in a perfectly timed and executed routine. When Lulu high-kicked, the girl in black high-kicked too, just inches behind her. When Lulu bent like a reed, so did the ballet dancer.