Fatal Fairies (Renaissance Faire Mystery Book 8) (12 page)

I knew it well—I’d cleaned it often when I’d worked here.

King Harold was seated in his favorite chair that had large, carved wood arms. He was a little round, but he was every inch a king. Queen Olivia, despite her enormous appetite for men, maintained her slender figure. Her crown was the same size as the king’s. She wouldn’t have it any other way.

Livy and Harry, as they were known in the Village, had been the two top sales people for Adventure Land in their day. They’d been offered this sweet lifestyle for their years of service and lived up to their titles whenever possible.

“Your Majesties.” Chase bowed and addressed them.

“Sir Knight.” King Harold inclined his head, almost losing his crown. “Welcome.”

“Chase!” Queen Olivia giggled almost as much as my fairy godmother. “We are so pleased to see you. We certainly hope your squire is well.”

“She is indeed well, Your Majesty,” Chase said. “May I introduce Lady Jessie Morton?”

“Oh!” She seemed surprised. “We did not know your squire was a lady.”

“Welcome, Lady Jessie.” The king laughed. “I daresay the men on the field had no problem discerning which gender you are.”

I curtsied. I’m very good at the curtsy, having had years to perfect it.

“Thank you for your kind wishes, Queen Olivia—King Harold. How is Princess Pea?”

The king and queen exchanged puzzled glances.

“Is there a princess in this castle with that name?” King Harold asked.

I realized that Harry and Livy hadn’t had a baby yet in this Village. I should have kept my mouth shut or at least not opened it so wide.

“We do not recall any princess by that name.” Queen Olivia glared at me as though she’d realized the mistake I’d made.

“Forgive Lady Jessie,” Chase said. “She suffers from trauma to the head due to her accident this afternoon.”

“Of course.” King Harry was quick to understand. “But let us speak about these coming duels, Sir Knight. It isn’t that we don’t approve a few duels. They are, after all, good for business. The visitors love them. But they must be properly advertised, which is why they must be brought to us for approval.”

“We hear that one of the duels is over your lady love, Chase.” Queen Olivia fluttered her lashes at him. “Perhaps that is the best reason to duel. It is certainly the one most likely to be understood by the crowd. Did someone say something against Princess Isabelle’s honor? You aren’t a man to challenge another lightly.”

“It was not over love, Your Majesty,” Chase said. “The Bailiff laid hands on my squire, Lady Jessie. He was overly familiar with her, and I took umbrage at that since she is my servant.”

Again, the king and queen exchanged what those of us in the Village called their ‘speaking’ looks.

“I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, my boy,” King Harry said. “But isn’t Isabelle a bit put out by your duel over the lovely Lady Jessie?”

“We have not spoken of it, sire,” Chase replied. “Princess Isabelle and I are experiencing… other difficulties.”

The queen frowned. “And we were so anticipating a royal wedding soon. There’s nothing like a big wedding to bring in the crowds.”

“By your leave, Majesties,” Chase added. “There has never been talk of marriage between myself and Princess Isabelle.”

Both the royal personages looked disappointed but carried on with their decision-making process.

“And your other duel,” King Harry said. “This is a challenge from Sir Reginald, is that correct?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. He felt that I had dishonored him by leaving the joust before it was finished. I only did so because my squire was injured.”

“It seems to me that Lady Jessie might not be your best choice for a squire,” Livy drawled.

“Perhaps not, Your Majesty,” Chase acknowledged. “But she is my squire and attending to her needs was in no way dishonorable.”

Both the king and queen agreed with that.

“We have made a decision,” King Harold said. “The duel between you and Sir Reginald shall not commence. Our visitors wouldn’t understand honor on the field, I fear.”

“But a matter of the heart is quite another thing,” the queen said.

“Not a matter of the heart,” Chase corrected.

“Yes, yes, I know. But what do you think the crowd will see with the beautiful Lady Jessie standing at your side as you defend her from the bullying Bailiff? I see wonderful internet headlines.”

“We need at least a week to get word out to all the news sources and properly advertise the event.” The king gestured, and his steward, a dwarf named Marcus Fleck, came forward. “Take care of this, Fleck.”

He nodded, and Chase and I were dismissed from the king and queen’s chamber.

“Sir Reginald isn’t going to like that,” I said.

“Neither is Isabelle,” he replied.

The rain continued drumming on the roof of the castle. From the windows, I could see the drenched and empty Village far below. I wanted to ask Chase if he’d eat dinner with me. But though I’d been bold in the bathroom, the words wouldn’t come. I figured he’d probably take the time to make up with Isabelle.

He walked me back to his room, and we stood outside the door for a few minutes, not saying anything.

“I hope you have somewhere to spend the night,” I finally said. “If not, I’m sure you can find some room here. It’s a big suite. I could sleep on the sofa.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll find a spot in the castle.” He smiled. “Just get some rest. Tomorrow we find the killer.”

I hoped he was right. I was way past ready to go home.

“All right. Well, thanks again for your help. And your room. I’ll see you later.”

“Okay.”

I opened the door to go inside, my heart feeling like lead in my chest.

“Jessie?” He paused.

“Yes?”

“How about dinner tonight?” He glanced at his watch, the one he wasn’t allowed to wear when the Village was open. “In about two hours?”

“That would be great. Thanks.”

“See you later.”

I closed the door behind me after he’d walked away. Starshine was already bouncing on the big bed. I kicked off my shoes and joined her.

“Dinner with Chase!” she yelled. “That’s a great start. Wasn’t it at a dinner here at the castle when you knew you loved him?”

“Yes. I was working in the kitchen and dropped one of the big trays that are used to serve food at the King’s Feast. Chase stopped to help me clean it up. I knew then that I wanted him to be more than just a friend. He said later that he knew too. Too bad this is only Wednesday. Maybe we could recreate that moment at the King’s Feast on Sunday.”

“What a wonderful idea!”

“No.” I changed my mind. “Bad idea. This has to be over before then. I don’t want to live this way until Sunday.”

She sighed and stopped bouncing. “All right. We’ll see what we can do.”

I stopped bouncing, too, and got off the bed.

“You look very nice in that gown. It is a perfect color for you,” she observed. “But what about your hair? Maybe you should do something different with it, something exciting.”

We went into the bathroom and looked in the big mirror. Starshine stood on the pink marble counter and peered at my reflection.

“What about blond hair?”

My short brown hair was suddenly luxurious blond tresses.

“I look like Rapunzel. I don’t have the coloring to be blond.

“All right. What about black as the raven’s wing?”

The long blond hair was suddenly black and shiny.

“Too much like Isabelle,” I complained. “I think Chase likes my hair the way it is.”

“But anything can be improved on, my dear.”

My hair went back to being short and brown, but now there was a lovely crown of violets on it.

“I like that. Thanks.”

“What else could we alter that would appeal to your young knight?”

I suddenly felt much heavier and looked down to see that I had become very well endowed—almost to the point of being Dolly Parton.

“I don’t think so. How do women even walk with those things?”

She laughed at me. “Men adore them.”

“Not Chase.” I considered how he’d reacted when I’d worn a corset once before. “Okay. He’s not immune. But I’m not going to dinner with him tonight wearing these. What would he think when I didn’t have them this afternoon?”

“It’s my experience that most men don’t think when they see those.” She giggled. “But it is your choice.”

“Then no thanks. I think he likes the way I look right now. He was getting an eyeful when I got out of the tub.”

“That’s true.”

The extra-large accessories were gone. I smoothed my dress down, glad they weren’t really mine.

“I guess you’ll do just as you are.” She smiled and flitted around me. “You look lovely. I hope you touch his heart.”

“Then all we have to do is find out who killed Apple Blossom.” I sighed and sat on the sofa in the sitting room. “Do you have any tricks up your sleeve for that?”

“I wish I did, but the killer is unclear to me. Poor Apple Blossom. She was such a dear. I can’t imagine who might want to hurt her.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll figure it out.”

I stayed in the sitting room and watched a terrible movie on TV. I thought nervously of what I could say or do to make him fall for me. I was glad that I didn’t have to put so much thought and effort into wooing Chase in the first place, or we might never have been together.

It was finally time for dinner. A knock on the door heralded a kitchen wench who led me to a covered terrace that overlooked the Village. Chase was there in his best blue velvet doublet that was embroidered with silver. He took my hand and seated me at the small table sheltered from the rain yet still outside in the warm summer evening.

“As I said before, you look amazing in that dress.”

“As do you, Sir Knight, in blue velvet.”

“I hope you like my choices for dinner.”

“I’m sure I will.” Absolute truth since I would’ve enjoyed wood shavings if I was eating with him.

A young harpist played quietly in the corner as Chase dismissed the kitchen wench and served the meal himself. The sun was setting behind the rain clouds that still lingered off the coast, creating a hazy pink glow in the sky. It was a perfect romantic evening. And it made me wonder why he’d gone through so much trouble to impress me. 

Was he already on my wavelength? My heart beat double time.

My conversation had to be subtle and seductive. Maybe I’d get a chance to casually touch his hand. But neither one of those options were meant to be.

The door to the terrace burst open. The harpist screamed. A man in red and black armor stood in the doorway with his sword at the ready—the mystery knight—and maybe Apple Blossom’s killer.

“Chase Manhattan.” A thick, dark voice threatened. “Prepare to meet your doom.”

Chapter Thirteen

Chase jumped to his feet as the red knight pushed over the table that held our dinner.

I was a little slower getting out of the way and ended up with wine on my beautiful dress. If Chase didn’t smack him, I was going to.

The intruder put his arm around my waist and brought me up against his armor.

“What? No. This isn’t happening,” I told him. “Get out of here. Leave us alone.”

He pushed back his helm—it was Canyon. “Jessie? Don’t you recognize me? I’ve come to fight for you, my lady. I’m not letting this two-bit knight take you away. You’re mine.”

I heard giggling. My fairy godmother thought this was somehow funny. I didn’t think it was funny at all. Of all the things I wanted, Canyon deciding to battle Chase for me wasn’t it.

“Let me go.” I pushed away from him, noticing as I did that there were scratches and dents in his armor. I’d never seen Canyon wear armor, at least not that I could remember.
But this is a different place.
Anything is possible.

I thought about Apple Blossom. Canyon was a tall, strong man too. He could have been the one who killed her.

“Come on, Chase.” Canyon goaded him. “Let’s do this so I can take my lady back to the Dungeon.”

“Sorry,” Chase said. “But I don’t think any woman would be impressed that you live in the Dungeon.”

He was wrong about that, but I didn’t say so. How could he know? He wasn’t the Bailiff.

“This area isn’t big enough for us to fight.” Canyon continued on his course to self-destruction. “I’m afraid I might kick your scrawny butt right off the terrace.”

That was it for Chase. He smiled and gestured toward the open hall behind them. “I’m right behind you.”

By this time what few members of the castle staff that hadn’t heard the ruckus on the terrace had been alerted by the young harpist who’d run out. They were gathered in the big hall that separated the royal chambers from those that were inhabited by visitors. Isabelle was there in a very sheer pink gown. Gus Fletcher was there too. He’d be on Chase’s side.

“Here now!” Sir Reginald demanded to know what was going on. “What are you two knaves fighting about?”

“I want my lady back,” Canyon bellowed, waving his broad sword around. “I challenge Chase Manhattan to a duel right here, right now.”

“You’ve got it.” Chase took his sword out of the scabbard at his waist. “Have at it, Bailiff.”

“Chase!” Isabelle tried to get his attention. “You aren’t really fighting for Jessie, are you?”

“Stay out of the way,” he barked at her, caught up in the moment.

She walked off in a huff but not too far. No doubt she wanted to watch what was going to happen too.

“We do not fight in the castle, young men,” Sir Reginald said. “Make an appointment with the king and queen if you want to duel.”

But Olivia and Harold were in the crowded hall too.

“That’s quite all right, Sir Reginald,” Harry said. “Only reruns on TV tonight. The queen and I were bored. Have at it!”

Sir Reginald was almost beyond words. “Your Majesty? You would condone dueling in the castle hall as if it were some low tavern?”

“Quiet, Reginald,” Livy said. “Let the two men work this out. I love a duel of passions.”

The crowd backed further away from Chase and Canyon, but everyone stayed to watch. Sir Reginald stayed too, but with a sour expression on his sallow face.