Fatal Fairies (Renaissance Faire Mystery Book 8) by Joyce Lavene, Jim Lavene Page B

you go find the woman in yellow?”
    “Okay. Good plan.” He shook Chase’s hand. “Thanks for taking care of her.”
    Chase mumbled something as he shook Tony’s hand and then turned to me. “Are you ready?”
    “I don’t want to go to the castle. I know the joust is off. Let’s go back to the scene of the crime and ask more questions. Maybe we can find the killer today. Wouldn’t that be nice?”
    My voice sounded desperate and strange. My head still hurt, but I didn’t want to waste any time in the castle because of it. Chase and I needed to find the killer. I wanted to go back to my Village more than anything. I wanted to sleep in his arms that night, in our bed, in our Dungeon.
    “We’re not going anywhere but to the castle.” He picked me up like I was a rag doll. “At least you’re not. Unless you want to go to the hospital, you have to take it easy the rest of the day.”
    I leaned my head against his broad shoulder. “Whatever. I just want to go home.”
    “I know. We’ll find you somewhere more permanent soon. In the meantime, you need someone to take care of you.”
    It was a nice thought. I closed my eyes and let him carry me without protesting. I was surprised when he put me on the front of the horse and climbed up behind me. The rain had slacked off as we ambled away from the Field of Honor. Chase’s arms were around me. Everything was right in the world.
    What I hadn’t counted on was the photo-perfect image we had created for hundreds of visitors. Cameras flashed, and people yelled, “ Huzzah !” I kept my eyes closed and ignored them, but I knew it was going to be hard for Chase to do the same. It would only take a few minutes for our pictures to be on the internet.
    It created a spectacle. Visitors to the Village loved a romance even more than a fight. They lined up to watch Chase and me ride slowly down the cobblestones. People threw confetti and flowers. It wouldn’t have surprised me if Adventure Land began ordering a couple to do this every day.
    Chase rode right up to the castle gate. It was still guarded by Gus Fletcher, the huge, ex-wrestler.
    “Hail, Sir Knight!” Gus shouted at Chase. “Looks like you’ve been hunting.”
    “Get the door, huh, Gus? I’m taking her inside for the rest of the day.”
    “In a very public way, too. I admire your stamina, sir.” Gus saluted him before he opened the door to the castle.
    And immediately inside the door stood Isabelle. She was so angry that I thought she might explode.
    “What is the meaning of this?” she demanded. “Why are you bringing her here?”
    “Because she has nowhere else to go right now. She can have my room until tomorrow.”
    I was between Chase and Isabelle with them talking across me like I was invisible. It was an odd feeling. I wanted to volunteer to leave and get Chase out of this, but a bigger part of me hoped this was the last straw for their relationship. The sooner they broke up, the sooner I could step in and console my husband.
    “You forget that you and I share a room.” Isabelle sharply nodded toward me. “She’s not sleeping in my room.”
    “And you forget that I have a room of my own here,” he replied. “That’s where I plan to take her.”
    He walked by her—it had to be tiring carrying me around.
    “You’ll need that room for yourself,” she shouted after him. “You’re not sleeping in my bed tonight, Chase Manhattan!”
    I realized as I peeked over Chase’s shoulder that dozens of people had followed us to the castle. They were murmuring to each other and taking pictures. It wasn’t the best publicity, but Adventure Land had a policy that any publicity was better than none.
    Gus was laughing as he closed the castle door. I shut my eyes again and sighed.
    Isabelle didn’t follow us to Chase’s rooms as I thought she might. He took me to one of the suites used for special visitors to the Village. They weren’t rented and could only be gifted by one of the high-ranking