Read Princess Thief: Stealing Your Heart for Free Online

glared at each other in silence for several tense seconds until Juliette
touched her uncle ’s
arm.  His mood immediately softened.
    Not
here, not now.
    Fran çois, suddenly
burst out laughing, much to the surprise of the prince.  “You have thought this
out well, I see.  But tell me, out of all of the women available to your highness,
why choose my little Juliette?”
    “That
is a little more complex,” the prince explained.  “The women of the court have
certain… expectations.  It would be almost inconceivable that I could find an
aristocratic woman who would agree to my plan of giving up the throne in a year
— or to stay married for just one year.  And even if I were to find such a
woman and marry her, at the end of the year, the pressure from her family would
be immense.  She might simply be unable to keep her word at that point.  In addition,
once the year is over, I plan to resume my humanitarian effort in North
Africa.  I will be there for quite some time, perhaps for many years.  If I had
a wife, we would be separated for that entire time.  Any true marriage would be
destined to be an unhappy one.”
    Fran çois nodded for
a moment, then said, “I commend you, sir.  Your logic is sound.  If my little
Juliette has agreed, I have no objections.”
    “Good!”
the prince said, relieved.  “You understand that this must be kept in the
strictest confidence.  No one outside of this room may ever know.”
    Fran çois extended
his hand.  “I will not reveal the details of your plan.  On that, you have my
word.”
    Fran çois and
Guillermo shook hands.  “Excellent.  Well, we will have to continue getting
acquainted at another time — an emergency came up this morning at one of the
royal charities.  Armand, will you show Monsieur Thierry out?”
    “Right
this way, sir,” Armand motioned towards the door.
    Back
at the car, Juliette gave Fran çois a quick hug, then said, “Don’t worry, uncle. 
I’ll be fine.”
    Fran çois, aware that
many sets of eyes were upon him, smiled and said, “Of course my dear.  I must
be off.  The circus awaits!”
     
    Two
miles outside of Palais d ’Or,
François checked his rear view mirror one more time.  Certain that he was not
being followed, he pulled to the side of the road, reached into his left
pocket, and read Juliette’s note.
    3:30
PM @ The Stables
    Fran çois pondered
for a moment, then put his car in gear and headed towards town.
     
    Twenty
minutes later, Fran çois
pulled to a stop behind a service tent at the rear of the circus.  Inside, two
men were waiting for him: Philippe, the young stagehand, and Gaston, one of the
animal wranglers.  The tent had the unique scent of gun oil; Philippe was
cleaning and reassembling a pistol.
    “Well?”
Gaston asked.
    “There’s
no doubt about it.  She was caught,” François grimaced.
    “Shit!”
Gaston exclaimed.
    Fran çois continued,
“She’s unharmed, but they’ve come up with some half-baked scheme to hold her
hostage in the castle for a year.”
    “What? 
Can they do that?”
    Fran çois waved his
hand.  “It’s far too complicated to explain.  She did manage to pass me a
note.  We need to meet her at the royal stables by 3:30.”
    Fran çois exhaled
deeply, running his hand through his salty brown hair.  “All right, here’s what
we’ll do.  Gaston, get down to the farm in Pasto Verde and buy a truckload of
hay.  Tell Jacquot you need to borrow his truck and that he’ll have it back by
sundown.  Give him a deposit if you have to — free tickets, whatever it takes. 
We need a truck with the name of a farm painted on the side.  Philippe,
scrounge up 3 pairs of overalls for you, me, and Gaston — and something for
Juliette to cover herself with.”
    Philippe
locked the firing mechanism of the pistol into place with a metallic click,
then asked “What’s
the plan?”
    “We
pose as delivery workers, drive to the royal stables, and get Juliette out