Murderous Matrimony(42)

Manny saw me listening, and made a quick march over to where I was. “Is this the way the director of the museum dresses? I think not. No wonder you’re hiding over here in the corner. What are you doing?”

“I’m looking for a killer so you don’t have to go to jail.”

“You don’t have to worry. With my father, the king behind me, there is no problem.”

“Does he know you’re in the Village now?”

“Yes, unfortunately. There will no doubt be hell to pay.” He grinned. “I love that expression, don’t you?”

I laughed. “Have you seen him yet?”

He lifted his chin. “No. But it is only a matter of time.”

“No matter what, whether your father is a king or not, we still need to find out who killed Dave.”

“I don’t understand why.”

“Because it’s important. We can’t go around letting people kill other people here. That would be worse than getting a reputation as a haunted Renaissance Faire.”

He assimilated the explanation. “I understand. What can I do to help?”

“I’m not sure right now. Just keep the museum running, and I’ll let you know.”

Chase came in the door and looked around until he saw me. He inclined his head to a few ladies as he passed, headed in my direction.

“I’ve been looking for you. Brother Carl said he saw you enter Sherwood Forest. What was that about?”

I started to explain, but it seemed we were short on time.

“Tell me as we go. We have to go see the twins. I know you don’t want to, but it’s necessary. We want the rings to be right.”

I left Manny in charge again, and walked back out with him.

We couldn’t use ponchos, or real rain gear, in the Village. Plastic and rubber didn’t exist in our time period. It meant getting wet in the cold rain with little chance of drying off during the day. Not a pleasant feeling.

There were pretty cloth parasols. They were better than nothing. I always kept one handy. Chase never used one, of course. It didn’t go well with that tough guy image.

“I talked to King Harold,” Chase told me as we went down the steps to the cobblestones. “My parents and Morgan are going to stay at the castle until the wedding.”

“At the castle?” I’d been hoping they were going to stay at a hotel. “Until the wedding?” Almost two weeks?

“Yes. And the king and queen have invited all of us to a special dinner held in our honor.”

“When?” I felt like I was asking about a disaster.

“Tonight. Think you can make it?”

“Of course.” I smiled at him. “I can’t wait.”

The twins were waiting at Our Lady’s Gemstones. I felt not only churlish, but surly as well. Rene and Renee were trying so hard to be accommodating. They had us sit in beautiful black brocade chairs and brought out tiny glasses of wine with cheese and sweet almond cookies. They presented the rings in grand fashion on blood-red satin pillows.

The cynical part of me believed this was due to the huge amount of money Chase had spent with them for my engagement ring and our wedding bands. But I had never heard anything bad about the twins. It was only my personal dislike of them that kept me from enjoying their company.

I reached for the ring on the pillow. Rene lightly slapped my hand. “No one but the jeweler who made the ring should slip it on your finger before your wedding day, Lady Jessie.”

“It’s terribly bad luck,” Renee confirmed. She put the broad, white gold band on Chase’s finger. “How does that feel, Sir Bailiff?”

Chase flexed his fingers, and gazed at the handsome piece. “It feels fine. Thank you.”

Rene slid the wedding band on my finger. His icy hands made me shiver. “There now. How is that, Lady Jessie?”

“Fine. It’s wonderful.” I tried to work up some enthusiasm.

The ring was beautiful. The band was set with tiny diamonds that were in the shape of the constellation Gemini. One of the first things Chase and I had done together was visiting Galileo in the Village. He’d shown us the constellation that was prominent on that day. Our rings reflected that memory.

“There’s something written inside.” I took the ring off and started to look at the inscription.

“I wish you’d wait,” Chase said. “I’ll wait to look at your inscription too. Okay?”

My inscription? Was I supposed to have something inscribed on the ring?

With less than two weeks to go until the wedding, my heart was filled with terror. I didn’t know what to say inside Chase’s ring. Was there even enough time to do that?

“A wise choice.” Rene gave me a knowing look. “This way you two can share your messages together for the first time as man and wife.”