Page 46 of Royally Romanov
Finley could have kissed her on the spot. “Exactly. At the very least, we have a duty to look into the photo’s provenance. The fact of the matter is that Maxim Laurent somehow had a photograph of Anastasia in his possession.”
She tried not to let her thoughts snag on the specifics ofsomehow. Maxim could have gotten the photo anywhere. He could have stolen it or even purchased it on the black market. Romanov antiquities had been floating around for decades.
An Imperial Fabergé egg had been discovered in a pile of scrap metal less than a year ago. Hardly any of the known Imperial eggs contained their treasures, just like the ruby necklace and the tiny bejeweled crown that were missing from the Rosebud egg.
These objects hadn’t simply vanished. They were out there. Somewhere.
Common sense told her that Madame Dubois was right. Maxim had somehow come across the photo and was now using it to re-create a past. A past that he claimed to no longer remember.
But her common sense had been in short supply of late.
“Finley, forget this nonsense. The Louvre can have nothing to do with this man, and neither can you.” Madame Dubois pointed at the picture in front of Finley. “If you value your position here, you will return that photograph to Monsieur Laurent at once. Is that understood?”
Finley’s gaze dropped to the ghostly image of Anastasia. Could she really be Maxim’s grandmother? Upon closer inspection, the girl in the picture had the same eyes as her father, the same as Maxim. Finley hadn’t noticed the similarity before because she’d been preoccupied with the ruby pendant around Anastasia’s neck.
She wished Maxim still had the necklace. It might be easier to convince people to take him seriously if he did. Even if he only had the ruby teardrop charm itself...
A shiver went up Finley’s spine as she remembered what Maxim had said earlier when she’d been in such a hurry to leave his apartment.
Are you sure you don’t want to stay for a moment and take a look at my grandmother’s things? There’s not much. No more photographs. Just an old charm bracelet...
Surely the pendant and the charm bracelet had nothing to do with each other. She was grasping at straws. And why? Was she really so desperate to believe Maxim was telling the truth? It would destroy her.
Madame Dubois cleared her throat. Loudly. “Finley, I asked you a question. You are to return the photograph to Monsieur Laurent and cease contact with him. Is that understood?Entendu?”
Finley nodded and tucked the photo back into its envelope. “Understood.”
But maybe she should take a look at the charm bracelet, just to convince herself once and for all that Maxim Laurent wasn’t who he said he was. She could forget she’d ever set eyes on him and get her life back on its proper track, both professionally and romantically. She’d look at it, see it was nothing more than an old, meaningless bracelet, and go back to her quiet, orderly life.
What could be the harm in that?
