Every woman in the room was surprised. They started murmuring about the fiasco.
"Who could dare to steal from the palace?" Audrey said in a hushed tone.
Marie shrugged. "Only a fool!" she remarked. "Stealing from the palace means that they have stolen the king's treasure and that is something very serious. No one has ever lived to see the day after stealing from the king."
"That's right, Marie," Hazel added. "I know of people who the king has hanged for lesser crimes. But this is a huge crime. I hope they catch the thief and hang him or her in the market square and leave the body hanging there for two days so that everyone sees it and never thinks of stealing from the palace."
