The Robber Princess

Chapter 26. Queen Queen

Chapter 26

Brickelstein had found it odd that his lovely wife had barely slept, given how exhausting the day—indeed, the whole month—had been for both of them. He himself had slept hard until her stirring woke him up. After that he could do little more than to doze as lightly as she did. However, he was not about to move to the suite's separate bedroom and to his immense satisfaction, neither did she.

The morning after their wedding night, Mr. and Mrs. Brickelstein de Rochevaux set out from Perth in Regina's plane for the two-day trip home. Due to the time difference it was too early in the morning in Rochevaux to call Dutillieux before leaving, but Regina was able to reach him at his office once they arrived at their hotel in Karachi. Brickelstein left her alone so she could handle her official business undistracted.

"Well, the Privy Council knows now that I'm not missing," Regina told Brickelstein afterward. "The coronation is set for Thursday night."

"In two days?"

Regina nodded. "There's more, and you'll find it quite incroyable. Dutillieux won the war and yesterday our countries signed a peace treaty! All charges have been dropped, Angelica is back in Rochevaux, and even the Marcelistas are being released."

Brickelstein thought of Marcelo Mastrandrea languishing half-beaten in the Argentinian prison hospital and hoped he would recover. Although he could not say the same for everyone in Marcelo's organization, Marcelo himself had done nothing to justify his physical abuse. He had stolen things, nothing more, and from people whose livelihoods would not suffer from the losses. He himself had not injured or killed anyone or even threatened to do so. The ex-Marcelista Filiberto Nardini, on the other hand, was another matter. Brickelstein hoped he would rot in prison for a long time. And, he thought to himself, it would give him great pleasure one day personally to beat the stuffing out of Mischa the Moryak for attempting to have his best friend tortured and maimed. Brickelstein quickly banished the unprofessional thought.

"There's more," said Regina. "Queen Gertrude has given up her claim on the Eidelstein necklace. It's mine now."

Brickelstein was stunned. Dutillieux must have had her completely over a barrel for her to agree to this. Regina pulled the necklace out from under her clothes. Illuminated by the several lamps in the sitting room of their hotel suite, the necklace sparkled as if Regina had been wearing a kaleidoscope.

"Heinrich??"

Brickelstein heard his name and realized he had been staring at the necklace. He was unsure how he felt about this. All the painstaking research, exhausting travel, keeping track of the case's many tentacles, the close calls and disappointments, not to mention Folkering's concussion and his own altitude sickness and nearly broken ankle—had it all really been for nothing?

Brickelstein looked into his new bride's adoring eyes and decided that the ordeal had not been for nothing. Although the Order of Merit was out of reach at this point, he had gained something far more precious to him—the love of the finest woman he had ever known. It was time to tender his resignation from his post as Grand Marshal, he thought to himself. He had every confidence that Folkering could discharge the functions of the office with distinction and he decided to recommend his promotion to the Queen—no, he reminded himself, to their queen.

Brickelstein thought back to that fateful day in his office when he first had concluded that Regina was the thief of the Eidelstein necklace. Staring at his commissioning certificate for hours that night had reminded him so painfully that his only real option had been to do his duty. Brickelstein realized that he had one last duty to perform—if only so that he, unlike his bride, could sleep at night.