Harrowing Hats (12 page)

All of these demands were made from a bad position—sitting on the ground by the fire, trussed up like a turkey and blindfolded. No wonder everyone hated the knights. I was starting to lean that way myself.

The music had stopped, but I could still hear muted talking. They were out there, just ignoring me. Or worse, trying to figure out what to do with me. I didn’t like that part at all.

Where was Chase? I hoped he wasn’t close by in the same condition. I knew it would take a lot more than being surprised by an attacker to tie him up and blindfold him. I wanted to kick myself for not putting up more of a fight—but I couldn’t move my legs.

I kept reminding myself that this was Renaissance Village. Nothing really bad would happen. The knights might put on a good show, but I’d been kidnapped by pirates and the Merry Men before, not to mention the monks. It might seem scary but, in the end, it was all just good theater.

The smell of pine smoke from the fire was strong. It was getting a little too warm. I hoped they remembered I was here. While I didn’t believe anyone would purposely hurt me, there were always accidents. I didn’t want to be one of those.

I was about to start screaming again when I felt someone testing the rope that held me. “Sit very still, madam, if you value your limbs. I am going to free you now. I hope you won’t make me regret my decision.” The voice was very low and husky. I didn’t think it was the knight from the morning Cesar died. But I couldn’t be sure.

I felt something cold touch my skin as a knife cut the ropes that held me. I sat very still for that moment. I planned to get up and run as soon as I could. Maybe I could find a weapon and still give them a good fight.

“The blindfold stays on,” the deep voice told me. “We can’t have everyone knowing what goes on out here.”

“I demand to see your leader.”

“I am the leader of the Knights Templar.”

“Oh. Well in that case, I demand to know where the bailiff went.” I was feeling a little more courageous since I wasn’t tied up.

“I think you should be more worried about yourself,” the deep voice told me.

“I’m not leaving until I know where Chase is. I saw him come out here with one of your other knights. Where is he?”

I felt him lean closer to me. His voice was a whisper near my ear. “You may have given him away. Did you think about that? What if he came out here to spy on us and now we know about him. It’s much wiser to think before you speak.”

I hadn’t thought about that. And I didn’t believe it. Chase is always upfront. He might be afraid to confront the knights, but I had no doubt that he’d do it face-to-face when it happened.

“Thanks. I appreciate the advice. Can I leave now?”

“I thought you wouldn’t leave without the bailiff?”

“Are you mocking me? If you are, you should know that I am the queen of retribution. You don’t want to mess with me. Just ask the pirates, if you don’t believe it.”

“Time for you to leave.” He helped me to my feet. I must have been sitting there cross-legged longer than I’d thought. I felt the pins and needles in my legs and would’ve fallen back to the ground if he hadn’t caught me. “Careful. Don’t be in such a hurry.”

As I held on to him, I felt him moving away, clumsily taking me with him. I smelled horse and, before I knew it, I was up on the beast with the knight. “Where are we going?”

“You’re going back to the Dungeon, where I feel sure the good bailiff awaits you.”

“What about Queen Crystal and the other missing women from the Village?”

“They are not your concern, Lady Jessie. Don’t return to our encampment. The next time could be your last.”

Even though the large horse only walked down the trail between the trees, we were back in the Village in no time. I could tell because the smell of wood smoke and pine were replaced with popcorn and barbecue being made for the next day.

He slid me down the side of the horse like a sack of beans. I rushed to remove my blindfold and have a good look at him, but he was gone too quickly. I felt like shaking my fist and cursing him for good measure, but it wouldn’t do any good.

I had to admit it was an interesting, if infuriating, experience. All that leather and wood smoke is very attractive. I could tell he was strong—I was nothing for him to lift, and I’m no lightweight. I also understood why the women of the Village were headed out to the black tents. Not that I’d be one of them since I was totally committed to Chase.

“Jessie?” Chase asked when I finally got upstairs (it took me a few minutes to get the pine needles out of my sandals). “Where have you been?”

“I could ask you the same thing.” I nudged him as I walked by. “You ran off in the middle of the night, making me think you were seeing someone else. Then you left me in the encampment.”

“You followed me out there?”

“I just told you—I thought you were with a fairy or a dancer. What did you expect me to do?”

“You knew I was going to talk to the knights. I can’t believe you thought I was seeing someone else.”

“So what happened out there?”

“Not much. I told them they had to stop interrupting shows. That’s really the only thing they’ve done wrong, at least as far as I’m concerned.”

“And then you just left.”

“I didn’t know you were out there. You shouldn’t have followed me. The knights get a little testy when they find strangers sneaking around.”

I didn’t tell him about my return trip from the forest. I threw my sleeping bag (I always bring it to the Village just in case) on the floor and grabbed a pillow from the bed. I also didn’t tell him about the man who brought me back. There was no point, even though I could still feel his lips whispering close to my ear.

“You don’t have to sleep on the floor,” Chase said. “I can’t believe you’re making such a big deal about this. I get called out all the time during the night. What’s the difference?”

“The difference is that you purposely sneaked out. That’s the difference. Good night, Chase.”

He sighed but didn’t argue. When the light was switched off again, he said good night. I ignored him and closed my eyes. It wouldn’t hurt him to realize how upset I was. Maybe next time, he’d tell me what was going on so I’d know it was okay.

I didn’t plan to dream about the knight with the smoky voice, but it happened. In the morning, I shrugged it off. I wasn’t attracted to him—just angry at Chase. It made me feel guilty anyway.

Chase and I had breakfast and parted ways in better spirits than we had going to sleep. I wasn’t sure what I should do since Andre was at the police station. I didn’t want to take another job until I knew what was going to happen. So I walked over to the Hat House anyway, thinking I could hang out there while I waited. To my surprise, I found all the little assistants were there working on the hats.

“Good morning, Jessie.” Andre smiled and wiped his forehead with a clean white handkerchief. “You’re running late again, I see. I know watches aren’t allowed while the visitors are here, but surely you and Chase have an alarm clock.”

“I didn’t think you’d be here,” I confessed. “What happened at the police station?”

“Suffice it to say, the police don’t have any real proof that I was involved with what happened to Cesar. My hat pins are available to anyone who comes in the shop. They don’t have my fingerprints anywhere at the crime scene. There was nothing to hold me on.”

I understood then what Detective Almond meant about Andre knowing his way around the procedure. I didn’t think most people would realize their fingerprints needed to be somewhere around a dead body. Andre was very calm and understanding of the whole thing.

“Sure. Sorry. What do you want me to do?”

“Since you’re the last warm body here, I’d like you to clean the shop a little. Some ladies are coming by for fittings. I thought it would be nice for them to be able to get in the door.”

I shrugged. Such is the life of an apprentice. I thought Andre and I had reached a different level yesterday, but apparently I was wrong. “I’ll take care of it.”

He nodded, not taking his eyes from his assistants.

I opened the door to the shop from the work area and took a deep breath. Andre was right. The place was a total wreck. It looked like a tornado had gone through, leaving bits and pieces of fabric and hat material everywhere.

I started with the larger pieces of silk, satin, and felt that were still on the bolts and got them up on the worktables. The rest had to be swept up and gone through carefully since I knew Andre saved all but the tiniest scraps. I finally discovered the counter and cash register and knew I was on the right track.

In an hour, I could see the rough floor boards. The larger scraps were in cloth bags (no plastic here), and the smallest ones were in several barrels where they belonged. I was tidying a massive stack of stiff hat brims for the large, plumed hats when I was reminded of the fact that Cesar had been found covered by his large, red hat.

It made me think about the handmade hat pin, too. If Andre wasn’t guilty of killing Cesar, whoever was wanted everyone to think he’d done it. The clues were set up to make sure that fact wouldn’t escape notice. Why would anyone want to frame Andre?

What the castle wenches said about Beth came to mind. What if Cesar’s death was more about getting even with Andre than about killing Cesar? The chocolatier may have been collateral damage.

Could Beth be capable of trying to hurt the man who’d rejected her? Her motive—despite my own self-interest—was much stronger than Eloise’s. The tart had been getting everything she wanted, a devoted slave with money and a handsome stud who could keep her happy.

I didn’t like thinking about Beth that way. I liked Beth. She was hardworking and a nice person. I didn’t want her to be guilty of anything. Portia, on the other hand, would be okay to take away in chains.

Unfortunately, the more I thought about Beth—rejected and humiliated as the man she loved pursued a bosomy tart—the more it made sense. Beth wasn’t a dainty woman. She could have hit Cesar over the head, stuffed his face in the liquefied chocolate, and crammed a hat pin in his eye.

Maybe she knew about Andre’s past, too. Chase and I had found the information easily enough. Anyone with that information would know how to make Andre look guilty by using the hat pin idea from the previous murder.

I stopped sweeping and sat down on one of the chairs I’d found buried under piles of material.

Andre was in the clear, according to the police. Cesar wasn’t the most likeable of men. Maybe his death could be one of the thousands of unsolved murders that happened every year. Not everything was fair and just. If I never said anything about Beth, the police would probably never think to question her.

It was a heavy weight on my conscience. Maybe if I went and talked to Beth, she might have a great alibi for the time Cesar was killed. Then I wouldn’t have to feel guilty and it would be obvious that she had nothing to do with this.

I put down the broom and would’ve left the shop, but Andre came to look for me. “I need you at once. Hurry, Jessie.”

The emergency was a visit from Princess Isabel. She looked like she’d been crying—no doubt worried about her royal position in the court now that the king and queen were going to have a real child. Isabel was just an actress hired to play the part. Her fate was anyone’s guess. They could decide to keep her on as she was or they could turn her out of the castle to do menial labor if she wanted to stay in the Village.

There had been several princesses who hadn’t lasted in the part. Isabel had been there for a while, but that didn’t guarantee anything. Major characters were recast sometimes.

I couldn’t say I’d miss her since she always insisted on flirting with Chase, but I felt sorry for her that morning. She looked awful. I knew how hard it was to be out of a job.

When I got in there with Andre, I could see my duty was to help her calm down enough to buy a hat. Shopping was always therapeutic—it didn’t surprise me that she’d taken that route to alleviate her stress.

Several of her waiting courtiers were already at her side to give her comfort. They patted her hand, offered her chocolates, and generally tried to make her feel better. She might not be Olivia and Harold’s daughter in real life, but she certainly sounded like the queen. Maybe she was rehearsing to take Livy’s part in case the queen had to leave after her pregnancy.

Andre watched her in frustration. “You there”—he pointed to one of his assistants—“get me some lemon balm tea from Mrs. Potts. And don’t forget the honey cookies. Maybe those will help.”

“Is there something I can do to help?” I hoped it would be something more productive than watching Princess Isabel cry. It was too hot to be so irritated.

Andre nodded and had me follow him out of the room. “You know, one thing about the great actresses, they worked when they were supposed to work. I know everyone isn’t ‘on’ twenty-four hours a day around here, but a little professionalism would go a long way. I really think some of the actors in Renaissance Village have forgotten that they’re acting!”

I couldn’t disagree with him. Of course this place wasn’t a movie set with start and stop times. It was easy to get lost in the part. I didn’t bother saying anything since it seemed he just needed to vent.

“I need you to pick up a few things for me. I’ll give you a list. Everything is paid for, so all you have to do is fetch it.”

“Okay.” I didn’t mention that fetching wasn’t really learning how to make hats. Things were tense enough without putting that out there.

He gave me the list, written in his flowery script, and waved his hand impatiently when I didn’t leave the shop right away. “I need those things yesterday. Don’t dawdle.”

Thus dismissed, I went outside and took a better look at what my master needed. Some of it made sense—silk flowers from Eve’s Garden, a crocheted scarf from Lady Cathy’s Crochet, a scarf from Sarah’s Scarves, and some material from Stylish Frocks.