The Tiffany Girls

Contents Cover Title Page Dedication Contents Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Epilogue Author’s Note Acknowledgments About the Author Praise for The Tiffany Girls Copyright About the Publisher v 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 i ii iv Guide Cover Contents Dedication To all the little-known Tiffany girls who helped break the glass ceiling for those to come Chapter 1 July 1899 Montmartre Paris Emilie Pascal wipes her hands on the cleanest cloth she can find and carefully places the sheet of stationery on the desktop. It is her last one. She had managed to secrete two sheets from the d’Evereux writing desk this past fall when her father was finishing the chevalier’s portrait. She’d already had to use one. This one will be for her. She aligns the sheet just so, pulls the inkwell closer. Takes a breath and slowly touches her cheek. The bruise will be gone before she arrives in New York with her letter. But she must hurry. She must also be very precise, something that she has learned over the years. One mistake could cost her everything. Emilie pictures the letter she will write in her head, like a scene on a canvas before she begins to paint. A florid, but masculine script. Just enough explanation, not too much praise. She touches the pen’s tip to the page. My Dear Mr. Tiffany . . . The pounding on the door comes just as she is about to sign her near perfect forgery. She lifts the pen instinctually from the paper and, Dieu merci, it does not blotch the paper. Carefully now . . . Mes sincères salutations, Le Chevalier d’Evereux The door begins to shake under the increasing pounding. She has no blotter. Emilie blows on the signature, then folds the paper. She will not seal it with a wafer. Too much or too little is the one slip that will always give you away. She stands and hurries to her bed and the black portfolio that awaits its last work of art. Now the shouting begins. “Dominique Andre Pascal! Open the door in the name of the Sûreté de Paris!” Emilie slips the letter into the portfolio. The door will give soon. They won’t find him here. He is gone. She doesn’t know where, but good riddance. She throws a cloak over her shoulders and grabs her portfolio from the bed. One quick look about to make certain she has left nothing, and she races to the window. She has planned for this moment. It seems her whole life she has planned for this moment. The window is open, and she slides her most precious possession onto the little balcony. Hoists her skirts, dark in color but light in weight, for her escape. One leg over the sill, then the other. She pulls the window closed just as the door gives. She scoops up the black case, throws it onto the next balcony, and throws herself after it. Jean and Marie are waiting to help her inside. They have heard the gendarmes in the hallway. Without a word, Marie helps Emilie into her cloak; they lead her over to the ladder to the roof, and she climbs up, gripping the handle of her portfolio