Page 6 of Third Crime’s A Charm (Princes Take New York #3)
Three
T he following morning, Matteo sat obediently in the passenger seat of Truman’s Bentley but neither said a word during the two-hour drive to Southampton.
Thankfully, Truman wasn’t the type to make idle chit chat and Matteo had a lot to think through.
He was too stubborn to accept that he was in over his head and Matteo had to know more about who had the star and if there was a way to outsmart Truman.
Sisi had great significance to Matteo’s family and his existence, but he simply wanted to return the star to the people of Austria.
As an Austrian, Matteo was proud of his country’s romantic history—minus the Nazis—and its fairytale scenery.
And while he might not respect or admire the people who built Austria’s famous castles, he appreciated the magical architecture and his people’s love for their history.
An outcast in the Austrian court, Sisi had taken refuge in Hungary and developed an affectionate bond with its people.
Like Sisi, Matteo and his brothers shared a complicated relationship with Austria and its monarchy.
The von Hessens had fled Austria in the lead-up to WWII, settling in London and Manhattan.
After the wars, the Foundation of the House of Hessen was created to reestablish the ceremonial aspects of the Margraviate and manage its holdings.
While the country had done away with its monarchy before the wars, the House of Hessen consisted of several estates with property all over Austria and Germany, and sprinkled across Europe and the United Kingdom.
Matteo and his brothers had been raised modestly in the Austrian countryside and with his mother’s family in Umbria, Italy.
His parents' marriage had been a true love match but had made them outcasts. Matteo’s mother was a commoner and Italian and his father had chosen her over his duty to the family and the Foundation.
The title had gone to his cousin but Matteo’s father and mother didn’t want their children raised as royals or under the thumb of the Foundation.
All of Matteo’s childhood memories were happy and filled with love and warmth.
But tragedy struck when he was six and his parents were killed.
They were in Italy for a small family wedding and the boys had stayed in Austria so they wouldn’t miss school.
The family home in Umbria had been struck by lightning during a storm and Matteo’s mother and father had been lost in the fire.
Despite their devastation, Leo and Theo did all they could to keep Matteo’s and Elio’s lives as stable and happy as possible.
Leo had just started university so they all moved to a cramped apartment in London.
His brother already had two other flatmates so the four of them had squeezed into Leo’s room.
For Matteo, it had been a comfort to always have his brothers close by but their situation changed dramatically when Maximilian von Hessen guilted his aging father and the Foundation into action.
The von Hessen brothers were immediately provided with generous allowances and Max insisted that Leo and his brothers received whatever properties their father would have inherited when the previous Margrave passed away.
Their fortunes had reversed practically overnight and the von Hessen brothers were thriving in London when their lives took another dramatic turn.
Maximilian announced that he was getting a divorce and abdicating his title, naming Leopold von Hessen as his successor.
To the media and the public, it seemed like a fairy tale.
In reality, Max and Leo had spent months secretly plotting together.
Max wanted the next margrave to have more autonomy in his personal affairs and had promised a slow transition so Leo could finish school and fulfill his military obligations.
It wasn’t an easy sell for Leo or his brothers.
They loved Max and his daughters but loathed the rest of the von Hessens and the Foundation for obvious reasons.
In the end, Leo accepted and the brothers all made a pact that they would make the best of it but always look out for each other first. Mostly out of spite because the old Margrave and the Foundation never wanted Leo or his brothers anywhere near the title.
They were supposed to suffer as paupers but Leo, a rabid environmentalist, rewilded most of the Margraviate’s lands and ensured that they were protected for decades.
Leo had also protected his brothers and provided them with generous allowances and educations.
His work and duties as margrave meant that Leo was often busy and away from home but Theo had stepped up and acted as their other parent.
Both of his brothers had a lot on their plates so Matteo was only a smartass at home.
He never wanted to let them down or for them to worry so he was good in school and behaved in public.
Some children became bullies or rebelled for attention.
Not Matteo. As a beautiful child and an even more beautiful adult, Matteo had all the attention he could ever want.
He also developed a reputation he didn’t deserve for being conceited and shallow.
Everyone assumed that Matteo must be obsessed with his looks and being wealthy.
Instead of denying the allegations and defying them, Matteo leaned into his pretty boy reputation and put it to good use.
His life of crime began when he was eight over a sore cheek.
“Look at this face! And these dimples!”
That was all the warning Matteo had before his cheek was pinched after Mass.
The older woman had been wearing gloves so it hadn’t hurt as much but Matteo would never forget the fog of Chanel No.
5 or how tired he was of being pinched and prodded.
She had opened her handbag to give him a sweet, then left it open as she bragged about her schnauzers to another older woman.
Matteo deftly plucked out the pinchy woman’s pocketbook and tucked it into his coat before offering them an adorable bow and leaving.
He tossed the pocketbook in the river and cracked his first honest smile in weeks as he handed all the cash to a young woman at the train station. She had two toddlers, one in a stroller and one on her hip. Her frazzled loneliness had reminded Matteo of his older brothers.
“I think you dropped this, miss,” he had said, but she had frowned and shook her head.
“No, I didn’t have no—” she started and her eyes widened at the thick stack of cash he had pressed into her hand. “That isn’t mine!”
“Yes, it is. It was in your bag and I saw it fall out.” Matteo nodded at the tattered diaper bag. “You should keep it zipped, ma’am.”
She clutched the money against her chest, looking around the platform in confusion. “Are you an angel?” she whispered and Matteo laughed.
“No, ma’am! I better go or my brother will kill me!”
He ran up the stairs and caught up with Theo on the pavement, smiling and floating all the way back to their new place in Belgravia.
After that, Matteo was hooked on the dual rush he got from stealing.
The act and getting away with it were heady but so was taking something one person took for granted and putting it to good use.
All Matteo had to do was behave and be clever.
He wasn’t behaving when he arrived at Truman’s townhouse and the verdict was out as to how clever Matteo had been.
Knowing his brothers, Matteo suspected they’d forgive him for stealing—possibly applaud him—but be deeply disappointed in him for pretending to fall in love with a shady attorney.
They would even forgive him for the shady attorney part but a splashy public affair as a cover for a heist would be a hard pill for his older brothers to swallow.
Elio would probably approve and offer to help.
All of this weighed on Matteo’s mind and conscience during the drive to Truman’s beach house in Southampton.
It was too late to avoid the gossip and Matteo couldn’t pass up a chance to rescue Sisi’s star.
As to how the star would be returned to Austria was still a question but Matteo didn’t particularly care as long as it went to the Sisi Museum in the Hofburg Palace.
The sense of accomplishment was all Matteo needed, the reward money would be donated as quickly as possible.
His first glimpses of the beach and the ocean revived Matteo’s spirits.
The water was still too chilly but he was looking forward to long walks and plenty of fresh air.
Matteo loved cities and after a year in Manhattan, it had become a second home, but he was due for a break.
He’d gotten restless after Leo married Jonathon and settled down at Schonbühel.
Setting up camp in Manhattan with Theo was like living in a candy store.
They had free use of Muriel’s apartment in the Olympia, one of the most famous addresses in the city.
The iconic building was occupied by a co-op approved selection of wealthy and famous New Yorkers.
Being a prince and closely connected to Muriel Hormsby granted Matteo instant access to the highest circles of New York society and he was in demand.
Then, Theo found love in a bowling alley in Oslo, New York and Matteo had too much freedom and time on his hands.
Everyone wanted a look at him and just about everyone wanted to sleep with him.
He was up to his neck in invitations and had made “good” use of them.
Matteo had been careful to avoid mixing business with pleasure until he met Truman.
Now, Matteo was assessing the consequences as Truman parked his Bentley in front of a large, renovated carriage house.
The property was surrounded by mature trees and a perennial garden that was already green and blooming with early spring blossoms.
“Lovely,” Matteo declared when Truman turned off the engine and offered him a pained smile.