Perilous Pranks (Renaissance Faire Mystery) (7 page)

“I don’t think he
wants
to see you,” I told her.

“I don’t care.” She began following Diego. “I know you can see me,” she yelled at him. “I can see you too. Let’s have drinks.”

I was starting to get a headache. Being followed by the ghost of a woman you couldn’t stand when she was alive could do that to you. I saw Chase quelling some kind of disturbance at the Fractured Fairy Tales tent and went to see what was happening.

It seemed that Cinderella was having an issue with Prince Charming regarding their latest breakup. The evil stepfather (this kind of thing is what makes the fairy tales fractured) was egging them on, even offering his short sword to Cinderella.

Chase grabbed the short sword and put it into his belt. The crowd of visitors cheered and shouted
Huzzah!
as the tableau ended. The stage emptied with Cinderella and Prince Charming still bickering.

“There you are.” Chase saw me and put his arm around me. “What happened with Madame Lucinda?”

I shrugged. “She told me I have to help Wanda find out who killed her and then she might go away.”

“Not what I was hoping for, but I guess you’ve been trying to figure that out, right?”

“Yes. I don’t think I’m any closer to knowing who killed Wanda.” I told him about Marcus and Shakespeare. “I gave Detective Almond Marcus’s name. He still thinks I did it.”

“He’ll figure it out. Have you been over to Stylish Frocks yet? Portia was looking for you. Beth needs you to come over for a fitting.”

“I don’t think I can do that with Wanda hanging around. She kind of puts a crimp in my life, like she always did.”

He hugged me. “Is she here now?”

“No. She wandered off following Diego because he could see her.”

“Interesting. I wonder why some people can see her and others can’t.”

“I don’t know. Sir Marcus couldn’t see her. I wish
I
couldn’t see her.”

“Well maybe now would be a good time to head down to Stylish Frocks,” he suggested. “I’m headed that way myself. There’s trouble at the Frog Catapult.”

I shuddered, having worked at the Frog Catapult one year. It was an awful job. Throwing slimy rubber frogs should be banned.

“Maybe I’ll do that. I’m my way to talk to Ginny Stewart about her and Wanda sharing the same knight.”

“You know you should leave this to Detective Almond and me. I’ll talk to Ginny. You shouldn’t be involved.”

“That’s fine, except I’m the one with the evil blue ghost following me around. I need to figure this out.”

We stopped walking, and Chase studied my face. “This will all be over soon. Don’t forget that whoever killed Wanda might be willing to kill you too. Let me talk to Ginny. Don’t go into that blindly. Okay?”

“Okay.” I hugged him. “You talk to Ginny and let me know what she says. I’ll go let them stick pins in me again. I’ll be glad when the wedding is over.”

“Me too. I love you. Be careful until we catch the killer.”

We split up in front of Sherwood Forest. I went to Stylish Frocks, and Chase headed toward the Frog Catapult.

Portia was leaning her head on her hand in the costume rental window, as usual. She was Beth Daniels’s assistant and she hated her job. Beth was the head costume designer and seamstress for the Village.

There was a long line of visitors waiting to rent or return costumes. Most residents got their costumes early in the morning each day. This left the costume shop free to handle the requirements of visitors who wanted to dress as woodcutters, high-born ladies, knights, and other characters.

“It’s about time,” Portia called out as I waved to her. “Beth has been looking for you. Go around back.”

In the shop, hidden from visitors, were dozens of seamstresses at buzzing sewing machines. Many times, they worked around the clock to keep up with demand.

Beth was attending to the details on a beautiful green silk gown for a visitor who was planning to be at the Ren Faire the following week. The work was demanding, but the fees for special orders like this made it worthwhile.

My wedding gown was on a mannequin dummy. I lifted the dust cloth that covered it. The split-skirt pink gown was simple—high-waisted with a low cut bodice. I would be wearing a white silk chemise beneath it. The gown was trimmed and laced in gold threads. I’d also bought a white corset for the ceremony that was done of handmade lace.

I’d opted not to wear white. It wasn’t a good color on me. The deep pink was so much nicer. Beth was making a six-foot, matching train for the gown that would be carried by several children who lived in the Village.

“There you are,” Beth addressed me when she’d finished the green silk gown.  She was a very plain-looking woman whose personal style never showed what marvelous creations she made each day. “I was beginning to think you’d lost interest in your gown.”

“I’ve been a little busy.”

“So we’ve heard.” Andre Hariot was the Village hat maker who was dating Beth. “You finally got Wanda back for her prank at the Lady of the Lake. I’m guessing her death was something you hadn’t planned on.”

I’d apprenticed with Andre at his hat shop. He was a dapper hat designer in his fifties who’d once been a hat maker to the stars in Hollywood before coming to the Village. He was a small man but he had big style, especially when it came to hats.

The hat he was wearing that day was bright blue and held three peacock feathers in the wide brim. Of course it matched his outfit and the shoes he wore.

He’d been accused of murder—once in the Village and once before he’d left Hollywood—exonerated in both cases. I figured he understood my position better than most.

“I only wanted to dye her blue. Now her ghost is following me, wanting me to find her killer. The only thing worse than Wanda alive, is Wanda dead.”

Andre and Beth exchanged disbelieving glances.

“Well.” Beth cleared her throat. “Let’s get this fitting over with. Is Wanda here now?”

“No. She’s out in the Village looking for people who can see her, people she can scare. Death hasn’t made her any nicer.”

I stepped behind the beautiful tapestry Beth used as her fitting screen and removed my loose white blouse and blue skirt. Beth came around the back, and with the help of one of her assistants, she lowered the wedding gown over my head.

“I’m not sure about this inset.” Beth played around with one of the darker pink panels in the skirt. “Why doesn’t Wanda know who killed her?”

“I don’t know. She says it happened too fast for her to see a face.”

Andre walked around the tapestry. “I saw a ghost once. It was Errol Flynn. That was a man who liked his hats, on and off screen. I’d been working on a hat for him. He died, and I set it aside. A few months later, I went to my shop, and there he was—trying on the hat. He gave me a quick salute and vanished.”

“Did he take the hat with him?” I asked.

“No, but I took that to mean that he approved. He would’ve looked
fabulous
in it!”

“What about you, Jessie?” Beth’s hands were on her hips while her assistant measured the hem of my gown. “Do you plan to wear a hat for the wedding, or a veil?”

“You should let me design the perfect hat for you,” Andre offered. “You have great cheekbones. Hats look good on you. I’m thinking of something in plum, with a three-foot brim, and a large plume. We could attach a nice veil as well. You’d look
splendid
.”

“Aren’t you making a hat for Chase?” I asked.

“Yes. It’s going to be
astonishing
,” Andre said with enthusiasm. “A handsome man like Chase shows off a hat to its full advantage.”

“Then I guess I’ll wear a veil. Two hats seem like a lot to me. I don’t want to crash my big hat into his hat as we take our vows.”

“I agree with Jessie,” Beth said. “Two hats are too much. We can do a great veil that will stream out behind you with your train.”

“What about a tiara?” Andre asked. “That might work.”

That was one of the big side effects of everyone knowing we were getting married. They had an opinion on what we should and shouldn’t do. I loved weddings at the Ren Faire and had dreamed of one for years. I didn’t want to give mine up. I just had to hang tough on what I did and didn’t want.

“No tiara,” I said. “I’m too tall.”

“Flowers?” Beth asked as she checked the inset on the dress again. “Flowers would look nice.”

“I don’t know about flowers.” I noticed my reflection in the mirror. It didn’t even seem like me. “I might start sneezing.”

Andre looked at my reflection too. “Have you thought about shoes? I know a shoemaker who makes wonderful shoes out of spun glass.”

That was it for me. Beth’s assistant had finished pinning the gown. I stripped it off—after Beth shooed Andre from behind the tapestry. “I have to go.”

“Your wedding is going to be wonderful,” Beth reassured me. “People are going to talk about it for years.”

I thanked her and left Stylish Frocks. Being remembered for years could also be a curse. Kind of like the Hindenburg and Superstorm Sandy.

It wasn’t always a good thing, and that’s why I was determined to keep my wedding what I wanted for as long as I could.

Chapter Ten

I was glad to be out of Stylish Frocks. I watched the Queen’s Revenge on the glistening lake water as Captain Rafe shouted orders to his crew.

I’d spent a summer once on the pirate ship. Probably the best summer of my life. It had represented freedom to me. Now I had the responsibility of the museum—not to mention a husband, and possibly children in the future.

It seemed my wedding gown wasn’t the only thing I needed to make happen my way. There was a whole new life ahead of me. What was it going to look like? How would it be while I was living it?

Robin Hood aka Toby Gates was walking back toward me along the path from Hangman’s Tree and the Lady of the Lake.

“What ho, Lady Jessie! Remember to save a dance for me at your wedding.” He grinned. “And save several glasses of mead for me too. I’m looking forward to the event. Marion is out now perusing dresses for the party and depleting Sir MasterCard.”

“It’s good to see you, Robin Hood.” There were dozens of picture-taking visitors on the path around us. “I am looking forward to you and your good lady dancing at my wedding.”

He surprised me by putting his arm around my shoulder and urging me into a fast walk back the other way that he’d recently come.

“I wanted to get you alone.” He bent his fair head next to mine. “I heard about Wanda. Terrible news. Are there any suspects?”

“I’m probably the best one.” I briefly described what had happened. “After me are probably Shakespeare and then Sir Marcus.”

He frowned, puckering his forehead. “Sir Marcus, the knight?”

“Yes. Apparently they were lovers. He was with her the night before she died.”

“That
is
a bit odd. I know for a fact that Marcus has been keeping time with Ginny Stewart at the tavern. Hard to believe those two ladies would share
anything
. They were always rivals.”

“Marcus told me he only went to have a drink with Ginny after he left Wanda.”

“Is that what they’re calling it these days?” Robin laughed and slapped his thigh. “That’s what happens when you don’t keep up with the slang.”

“I was on my way over to see her. I’m not looking forward to it. She and Wanda both disliked me. They had that in common.”

“You’re kidding, right? Ginny wants Chase. She doesn’t like, or not like you. You’re just in her way.”

“I suppose she would’ve been okay setting me up for the murder at the museum then.”

“No doubt,” he agreed.

I thought about my run-ins with Ginny. There was an unscrupulous aspect to her nature that frequently showed itself. Yet, she was one of the unchangeable aspects of the Village.

I knew she flirted with Chase, but many women did. I’d learned to overlook it. As Wanda had said, Chase never flirted back.

“Let me come with you. You shouldn’t try to do this alone.”

“I’ll be fine. Chase is going over there too. It’s not like Ginny is going to try to kill me.”

Robin Hood stopped and smiled at me. “Okay. Time for the big farewell. Are you ready?”

“Oh yes, Sir Outlaw.”

He raised his voice for the benefit of the crowd, as was his job. “Adieu, my lady.” He swept me a handsome bow and kissed my hand. “Don’t forget that evil Prince John will be fighting the Merry Men from Sherwood Forest at three p.m. today, near the Main Gate.”

“Fie on thee, Robin Hood, for flirting with me. Where is Maid Marion?”

“Marion awaits! Good day to you, Lady Jessie.”

The crowd loved it. They snapped dozens of pictures and applauded as Robin went back toward Sherwood Forest. He was the more interesting of the two of us. The visitors followed him eagerly.

I had to wait for three horse-drawn carriages to pass before I could continue toward the tavern. After that, I scooted across the walkway and waved to Master Archer Simmons, at The Feathered Shaft. I’d apprenticed with him years before.

I wasn’t much with a gun, but I could shoot
anything
with an arrow.

There wasn’t a big crowd at the Lady of the Lake. Ginny started to greet me as I walked out of the hot South Carolina sun.

As soon as she saw who I was, she turned away with a scowl. “What do
you
want?”

“I want to talk to you about Wanda’s death.”

“Send Chase. I’ll talk to
him
.”

I looked at Ginny’s tough features and her long, wrinkled gown. She smoothed her unkempt white hair, and I noticed something on her arm. She pulled down her dress sleeves too quickly for me to tell what it was.

I’d seen her pull a knife on a few people who’d rubbed her the wrong way. She was fast and smart. But thinking about her killing Wanda was another thing.

Was she capable of something like that?

Wanda chose to join us at that moment. Despite myself, I was startled and made a small
whoofing
sound as the air abruptly left my chest.

“It’s about time you made it down here,” Wanda scolded.