Murderous Matrimony(46)

Night settled in early. Chase and I showered and put on our dress Renaissance clothes. Chase was handsome in midnight blue velvet. I wore a paler blue silk gown with a sapphire studded girdle about my hips. They were fake sapphires, but they looked pretty.

There wasn’t much I could do with my hair. I added a short veil that was attached to a pretty blue comb. I put on a little light lipstick, and that was it. I probably should have worn my sandals, but I opted for my boots instead. No one could see them under my gown anyway. I didn’t want to ruin my good sandals in the rain since I’d planned to wear them for the wedding.

“You look beautiful,” Chase said when I was ready. “You should’ve been a princess instead of just a Bailiff’s lady.”

“Not unless you were the prince.” I kissed him. “I’d rather be a madman’s lady, if you were the madman.”

He smiled a little sadly. “My mother was making the point today that I’m a madman.”

That evil woman! “She probably wishes she could live here all the time too.”

“Yeah. I’m sure that’s it.” He laughed and picked me up, spinning me around in the confined space of the apartment. “I love you. I hope I tell you that often enough.”

“You must,” I replied with a smile. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

“I guess we should get going. I’ve arranged transportation, my lady.” He swept me a gallant bow. “The carriage waits.”

I looked out of the foggy window. One of the Cinderella carriages was indeed waiting. My old friend, D’Amos Torres, was driving.

“I suppose that means we should go.” I sighed. “No matter how much I’d rather stay here and eat a frozen burrito.”

Chase offered me his arm, and we went down the stairs together.

D’Amos jumped down from the driver’s seat, and took off his feathered hat before opening the carriage door for us. “Good evening, Sir Bailiff. You are looking lovely as always, Lady Jessie.”

I dropped the Renaissance act long enough to hug my friend. D’Amos had once worked at the Columbia Zoo, which is where we’d met. He loved animals. Now he took care of all the animals in the Village.

“I can’t believe you didn’t send a minion or a lackey to pick us up,” I told him with a smile. “This is not a fit night for man or beast. Yet here you are.”

“I chose not to send minion, lackey, squire, or varlet because the night is bad. I told Chase I would take care of this for him. You know I’m not one to back out of a promise.”

“I’m glad to see you anyway. There’s something I should tell you about the problems you’ve been having with the animals.”

He nodded at Chase. “If you’re talking about Wanda’s ghost, Chase already filled me in. My grandmother was a great believer in spooks and such. I’ve heard those stories all my life. I never gave them much thought, until yesterday when I found a goat riding on one of the elephants. Now I’m looking for ghost repellant.”

“If you find any, please let me know.” I glanced around us at the dark night. “She likes to shower with me. I could use all the help I could get.”

D’Amos laughed. “I’m looking into some herbs my grandmother said would work for our problem. I’ll let you know.”

We finally got into the carriage, and he drove us sedately toward the castle.

“It’s still impressive, even after all these years,” I told Chase as I looked out the window at the lighted structure above the lake.

“I know what you mean. I can’t imagine wanting to live anywhere else. I heard today that Mike Manchester at Sir Latte’s is retiring next month. That surprised me. He’s not that old.”

“What’s he going to do?”

“He inherited a schooner, and he plans to sail around the world.”

“A worthy endeavor.” I thought about Lady Marion. “Have you heard anything about Robin and Marion breaking up?”

“No. Why? Is she leaving the Village too?”

“I don’t know.” I explained about her new career.

“You know that kind of stuff goes on all the time, right?” Chase took my hand and kissed it. “People come and go here. They fall in and out of love, like they do everywhere.”

“You know Wanda told me she purposely had women try to lure you from me while I was in Columbia.”

“Really? I guess I didn’t notice.”

“Liar.” I kissed him.

“Never, my lady.”

We reached the castle. D’Amos opened the carriage door and bowed as we got out.