by Joyce
I thought about Chase and all the times he’d asked me to stay with him at the Village. I thought about how much I loved him and wanted to share the rest of my life with him. I had wasted so much time. If I didn’t die tonight, things were going to be different. I wasn’t going to be so worried about the future because I knew that there might not be one.
If I can just make it through the night. I closed my eyes as she squeezed the trigger.
Then I heard a dull thud and a loud groan.
Livy had hit Alice with the fireplace poker. She stood over Alice’s body, looking like she was ready to do it again. Alice was quiet and still on the plush carpet.
Lady Jane fell out of the tapestry chair in a dead faint.
Livy moaned and dropped the poker so she could put both of her hands on her huge stomach.
“I think the baby is coming. Oh God! What do I do now?”
There wasn’t time to think or question where help could come from. I heard sirens coming toward the Village or already on the cobblestones. I wasn’t sure which. All I knew was that Livy’s water had broken. She was going to have her baby right there in the castle despite all the preparations to get her to the hospital.
I slapped Lady Jane lightly to wake her up. She was upset but understood that I needed her. I sent her to look for help or call someone who knew how to deliver a baby. My knowledge of giving birth consisted of what I’d seen in movies and on TV.
“What about her?” Jane pointed to Alice with a shaky finger.
“I’ll take care of her,” I promised. “You go for help.”
Though Jane was obviously dedicated to her queen’s welfare, she was more than happy to comply.
Livy was breathing hard and yelling every so often. “What do we do? What happens now? Will the baby be okay?”
“The baby will be fine,” I assured her as I stripped all but the bottom sheet from her bed and threw the pillows on the floor. “You’re not hurt. Neither am I, thanks to you. Just lie down and help will come. It’s going to be okay.”
“Well I couldn’t let her hurt the baby, could I? This baby means everything to me and Harry. It represents a whole new life for us.”
I wasn’t sure about all of that, but she climbed up on the huge, old four-poster and did as I said. As she kept talking, I tore her sheets and used the material to tie up Alice. I didn’t want any surprises from her, though she was clearly out of it. Livy had done a heck of a job.
I wished there was someplace to boil water. I had no idea what for, but it seemed like the thing to do. Livy’s cries were getting louder. I pulled up a chair close to her face and encouraged her to breathe. I kept hoping Lady Jane would get back sooner rather than later.
After one bone-clenching grasp of her hand as she went through a strong contraction, the bedroom door flew open and police officers ran into the room, weapons drawn.
“Is everyone all right?” the lead officer demanded. “What happened here? A woman told us someone had tried to kill her.”
I explained as quickly as I could before Livy started another contraction. “We need a doctor or someone who can deliver a baby. I don’t know how close she is, but I don’t think there’s time for the hospital.”
Detective Almond scrunched through the line of cops. “And here you are.” He laughed. “Look for Jessie, look for trouble. So who’s the killer?”
“You found Esmeralda in the basement. This is her sister, Alice, who was married to Chris Christmas once a long time ago. She killed him and tried to kill Christine. That was before she tried to kill me and her sister.”
“I thought this was the queen?” Detective Almond queried.
“She’s—”I looked toward the tapestry chair where I’d left Alice—“gone. I don’t know where she went.”
“Edwards, Taylor.” Detective Almond barked out orders. “Take a few men and look for her.”
“She’s wearing a long black dress,” I told them. “I think she’s probably the only one up and around at this time of the morning.”
“And she’s got a big bump on her head where I hit her with the poker,” Livy ground out before her next contraction.
“I’m looking for the pregnant woman,” someone yelled from the sitting room. “Let me through.”
“That should be the paramedic,” I said, gratefully giving up my place at Livy’s bed.
Lady Jane, a true friend to Livy, led the way with the paramedic.
Detective Almond and his men left the room to start searching for Alice. I knew it was going to be like looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack. They didn’t know the Village. There were plenty of places to hide.
I passed King Harold as he made his way into the bedroom. He paused as Livy let out an ear-piercing shriek, but to his credit he kept going.
Maybe Livy was right. Maybe this baby would change everything for them. I had no vested interest, but I sincerely wished them the best.
I limped out into the well-lit hallway to find the kitchen staff and everyone else in the castle running from place to place trying to figure out what had happened and what part they could play in it. Paramedics and police were talking with Merlin, who was back in his starred robe minus the pointy hat.
And I wasn’t sure if I could take one more step. Everything that had been hurt was throbbing painfully. There was no chocolate or whiskey in sight to help.
Worse, I knew where Alice would go to ground. I knew where the rest of her mission would take her. I couldn’t rest yet. Too bad I hadn’t realized before all the police were gone.
I knew I couldn’t face Alice alone, even if she was woozy from a hit in the head. I wasn’t sure if I could move my arm that had been shot.
I didn’t see anyone else available, so I took some kitchen wenches, a few fools, and a knave or two with me. I wished I had time to find Gus or Bart. I wished Chase was here. But it looked like it was going to be only me and those stalwart Village folk on the trail of the Black Widow.
The pirate ship was dark and quiet. Even the safety lights, required by OSHA, were off. I knew that wasn’t right. Could Alice have overtaken the watch and made her way below deck to the children? My heart started pumping hard as my small group climbed onboard the Queen’s Revenge.
The pirate who should have been on watch was splayed out on the deck, unconscious. Not a good sign.
“What now, Lady Jessie?” a buxom kitchen wench whispered, a large urn in her hands.
“I don’t know. All of you stay here for a minute. If you see a woman in a black dress, take her down, but be careful.”
I hugged the shadows, trying to see through the darkness, listening for any unusual sounds. The rigging sighed in the slight breeze, and the ship made familiar noises as it bobbed in the water.
The outside lights at the castle came on again at the same time that Rafe opened the door to his cabin, took a look around, and said, “What the hell—?”
Alice was rushing toward me, a look of pure hatred on her face, a large pirate knife in her hands. Blood was dripping down from her hair. She looked like one of my worst nightmares come to life.
I took a deep breath and waited for her to reach me. I really had no strength left. I had to be devious.
Rafe yelled out my name and started toward me. My band of wenches and peasants surged forward. They would all have been too late.
But just as Alice reached me, I stepped away from my place at the rail. She kept going, and when she smacked into the side of the ship, I used her momentum to push her up and over the edge. There was a satisfying splash a few seconds later as she ended up in Mirror Lake.
“Use your radio,” I said to Rafe. “Call someone. There are police all over the Village.”
“Jessie, you look awful,” he said, putting his arm around me. “Can you walk?”
“I just need some coffee and a cinnamon roll,” I told him, sounding delirious even to my own ears.
I don’t really recall what happened after that. Rafe said later that I smiled at him and closed my
eyes before I blacked out. I never made it to the coffee.
Twenty-nine
I woke up in the Myrtle Beach hospital the next morning. I was covered in bandages and some kind of foul-smelling antiseptic. The sun was shining. It seemed we’d finally made it to morning.
Chase was asleep in a chair beside the bed. He was wearing street clothes, jeans and a Ren Faire T-shirt. The sunlight from the window was golden on his handsome face. I was grateful just to be able to sit there and watch him for a few minutes.
I felt pretty good considering everything that had happened. I was rested and ready to get out of the hospital. There was so much I needed to know, so many questions to ask. I figured I’d lost about eight hours. I needed to know what was going on.
I was about to wake Chase and ask him about Christine and Livy and Alice when a young doctor with very serious gray eyes came in to talk to me. He introduced himself as Dr. Steve Brown and said he was glad to see me awake finally.
“You were quite a mess last night, Ms. Morton.” He picked up my chart as Chase woke up and looked around. “But I think you’ll be just fine. Stay off of castle roofs and away from loaded guns. I’m sure there’s a story to tell out of that. Maybe sometime you can get me free tickets to the Ren Faire. My wife and I went a few years ago. We had a great time.”
“Just give me a call,” I said with a smile. “I’ll be glad to set you up. When do I get out of here?”
“I’ll see what I can do about that.” He nodded to Chase. “Mr. Morton. I’m sure you’ll be glad to hear that your wife is going to be just fine.”
Chase shook his hand and smiled but didn’t correct him. “Thanks. I’ll try to keep her away from dangerous things in the future. It’s not easy.”
“Just one question,” Dr. Brown said. “I thought guns weren’t allowed at the Faire. I take it some foul villain was doing his dastardly worst.”
Chase and I both laughed at that. Dr. Brown did, too, but probably for some reason other than his terrible British accent.
When we were alone, Chase took my hand, wrapped in a big white bandage, and kissed it. “Don’t ever scare me like that again. I leave you alone one night and you’re climbing the castle roof and finding the killer. You didn’t leave a thing for me to do.”
“Believe me, if my cell phone battery hadn’t run out, I would’ve called you. And once I was up in that control tower, it was too late. Did you know that thing was still up there?”
“Yeah. They left it there on purpose. The door going up there was supposed to be locked. Some Adventure Land person wanted it to hang out in occasionally.”
“Does he dress like a wizard and like to flash the ladies?”
“I believe he does.” He kissed me very carefully. “You saw her and followed her again through the Village, didn’t you?”
I nodded. “I think she knew and that’s why she was ready for me. But your guys were on the spot as soon as I figured out how to make all the snow fall on the Queen’s Revenge. It was just a question of time before I caught up with Alice after that.”
“You were just lucky. She could’ve killed you.”
“Never mind that.” I moved stiffly in the bed to see him better. “What about Christine? Is she okay?”
“She’s fine. She went home to the kids this morning.” He smiled and ran his fingers through my hair. “She called me for advice on how to get her kids off the pirate ship. It seems they’ve all gone rogue.”
That was completely incredible. I laughed even though it hurt. “And Esmeralda? Is she okay?”
“A little repentant. She knew her sister killed Chris and didn’t say anything because she thought Alice was only gunning for him. But she’s going to be fine, too. The bullet missed anything major. She got out of surgery a couple of hours ago.”
“And Livy? How’s the baby? Did she and Harry make it through the whole ordeal without killing each other?”
“Livy’s fine and so is the baby. She’s forgiven Harry for sleeping with Christine while she was pregnant, and he’s forgiven her for stabbing him in the back because she was angry. Just their usual drama.”
“What are they calling the baby?”
He smiled and kissed me again. “You’ll love it. Princess Henrietta Olivia Jane Jessica Martin. I think they’re calling her Pea right now. She’s cute, for a wrinkled little human.”
“She gave her my name, too?” I couldn’t believe it.
“You might’ve saved her life. Even Livy can be grateful.”
A pretty nurse came into the room with a wheelchair. “Mrs. Morton? It’s time for us to get you packed up. Maybe your husband could excuse us for just a minute.” She smiled at him, and Chase let go of my hand.
“I’ll be waiting right outside,” he said. “We have a lot to talk about.”
The statement had an ominous ring to it. I was worried about where it might lead.
We went through the nursery and saw Pea before we left the hospital. She was kind of cute for being all wrinkled and squished looking. I talked about her all the way out to Chase’s Mercedes.
I purposely kept the conversation light and fluffy while we were driving back, talking about the Village and how great it was to be there for the holiday.
I knew what Chase wanted to talk about, and I wasn’t sure if I was up for it. I’d sworn things would be different between us—but that was last night when I wasn’t sure if I was going to live or not.
Today, everything seemed fine and I was just as scared of making the commitment that Chase wanted. Why couldn’t we go on as we always had?
But what if this was it between us? It had never happened to me, but I’d known couples that had broken up because one of them didn’t want to get serious.
When we finally reached the Village, I jumped out of the car and hobbled as fast as I could to the Main Gate. The sun was shining and the cobblestones were full of visitors. There was a long line stretching from the manor houses on Squire’s Lane, so I knew Father Christmas was in session.
“Where are you going in such a hurry?” Chase asked, catching up with me.
“I just want to see everything,” I gushed as though my brain had been injured with the rest of me. I felt terrible acting that way. Chase deserved better. I just seemed incapable of giving him what he needed.
To my surprise, I had a reprieve waiting for me as soon as I got past all the well wishes from the greeters at the Main Gate. Christine and all the children, out of pirate gear now and back in elf costumes, were there to see me. They all rushed up and hugged me, almost knocking me over in the process.
“We’re so glad you’re all right,” Christine said. “I’ll never forget what you’ve done for me and the kids. Detective Almond told me that Alice had actually planned to kill the children, too, after she got rid of me. He also dropped all charges against me, and the insurance company called to say that our money has been cleared.”
I hugged her back. “That’s great news. Are you leaving the Village?”
“No. As a matter of fact, that nice man from Adventure Land offered us an empty shop and house so we could stay here and sell toys. Can you imagine? It’s all the kids can talk about.”
“Wow. That will be awesome, Christine. And the kids can go to a real school, although I have a feeling it won’t be as exciting as it sounds.”
“None of it would’ve happened without you and Chase, Jessie. I hope you’ll consider finishing your toy-making apprenticeship with us.”
There were no sweeter words to my ears. It meant I wouldn’t have to walk around looking for work or deal with the drama that was sure to come when Her Royal Princess Pea came home.
“I would love to do that,” I assured her. “Thank you for asking me.”
Christine hugged me again, then said she and the kids had to get back to helping Bart. All the kids hugged me again, and Merry Beth hugged Chase, too.
Then we were alone again, Chase and I, in a crowded Village.
“I got the Dungeon all set
up for you,” Chase said. “I’ll take you upstairs, then check on you every so often. I’ll leave a two-way with you in case you need anything.”
“You know, I think I’m well enough to start making toys again. Why don’t I just meet you for lunch.”
“I’m not even sure you’re well enough to be out of the hospital. Your release papers say you’re supposed to rest for a few days, then go back in for a checkup.”
I stopped hobbling and faced him. I couldn’t stand it anymore. “Just say whatever it is you have to say. I can’t take the pressure.”
He kind of moved both of us out of the flow of visitor traffic, close to the hatchet-throwing game. “I really hadn’t planned on doing this out here, but if you insist.”
I braced myself. This had gone beyond where it was supposed to. I expected him to ask me to marry him. What was I going to say? I wasn’t sure how to say yes, or no, to him. Either one felt like it could break my heart.
Instead, he pulled some papers out of the leather purse he carried on his belt. “I want you to feel secure for once, Jessie. I spoke with a friend at USC-C. They are going to let you have your job back in January. They’re willing to offer tenure work as soon as you complete your doctorate.”
He put a copy of the e-mail from the university board in my hand, and I gawked at it. This surely wasn’t what I was expecting.
“And I don’t feel comfortable with you driving that old car anymore. These are the keys to your new car.”
I could barely feel the car keys in my hand. I’d gone numb all over.
“And the solution to your apartment problem.” He handed me another key. “I bought your apartment, which is now your condo, last night.”
“Chase.” I could hardly get the word out. “I can’t take all this from you. You know how I feel.”
He shrugged. “That’s fine. We’ll arrange payments, if that makes you more comfortable.”
So many thoughts were going around in my head that I could hardly keep track of one. “But I thought you wanted me to stay here with you.”
“Not because you don’t have anywhere to go. I want you to stay here with me because you want to. This way, you have a choice.”
