Page 31 of A Bear in a Birdbath

“How did you get here?” the Queen asked crossly. “Do the gates of Faery mean nothing?”

“Your gargoyle buddy sent us an invitation,” Harriet said. The Queen shot Gary an outraged look, but Harriet went on. “Eva and Margo are my employees, and I’m not losing them to some stuffed-up royal tart when I’ve finally got the business going smoothly. And I need Eva to design my wedding dress. I’m not settling for some off-the-rack affair when I could have one of her pieces.”

The Queen’s porcelain skin went almost green. “Your human contracts have no weight here.”

“Sure,” Harriet said. “But I’ve read your precious Code. Bruno, you want to challenge for Eva and I’ll challenge for Margo? Either way, really.”

“You will lose too,” the Queen hissed. “I’ll just add more to my collection.”

“I would challenge for either of them,” Tobias said, stepping forward.

“And when you lose?”

“Excuse me! Sorry! Coming through!”

The path in the crowd had closed and scattered again in surprise as a second pair came hurrying up. Frank and Anita were both carrying wide trays covered in careful little towers of frothy dessert.

Anita was apologizing to everyone. “I’m so sorry we’re late. The cupcakes had to cool enough to frost!”

“You brought cupcakes?” Harriet asked in disgust. “We’re here for a duel.”

“Of course!” Anita said, nearly tipping over her tray in her eagerness. “But who wants to fight when there are cupcakes? There was nothing in the Code about not having refreshments. Try this one, it’s blueberry lemon with a sprinkle of cardamom! I invented it this morning!”

“Is there a place we could put these down?” Frank asked courteously. “I might have to fight with someone to save Tobias or Bruno, and I don’t want to put them on the ground.”

“Does Faery have ants?” Anita asked eagerly, gazing around. “I’ve never been here before.”

Some of the Queen’s court melted away and returned with tables that appeared to be made of rigid lace. Anita cooed over them and put her tray down, immediately pausing to fix a smudged icing job as she chattered on. “It’s a French buttercream frosting, because I wasn’t sure how hot it would be or how long they would be out. That three day clause sort of complicates things, doesn’t it? The last thing I wanted to do is give everyone food poisoning! Not that I’ve ever poisoned anyone, I promise.”

“Sugar poisoning, maybe,” Harriet said dryly. “Look, I haven’t got all day. Who do I have to peck into submission to get my dressmaker and business manager back?”

27

EVA

Eva blinked back tears of hope and joy. She didn’t care if the Queen or her court saw her cry, but she didn’t want to miss a moment of the unbelievable story unfolding before her because of blurry vision.

Harriet had come to save her.

Eva knew that Bruno and Margo would fight for her, but she hadn’t expected Harriet’s brusque loyalty, or Tobias’s faithful support. She didn’t know Frank and Anita at all, except by reputation, but they were already listing the people who would come and advocate for each of them if anyone lost. “I couldn’t get Frank’s family here on such short notice, but with three days between each challenge, they can get standby flights from Florida and still be here before it’s too late. Have you tried one of the sour apple cupcakes? Those green ones! They’re one of my most popular flavors! They were Harriet’s idea, really.”

“I don’t need that kind of credit,” Harriet assured her.

The gargoyle leaned in to the Queen and if Eva had not been standing so close to her chair, she would not have heard his words.

“How much do you want these women for yourself? Enough to risk being a laughingstock as this string of misfits fight for their friends and possibly even sometimes win? How many champions do you ultimately have to throw at them?”

His gravelly voice went unexpectedly winsome. “A wise ruler would recognize an opportunity to regain respect. It would be an act of unsurpassed generosity to let them all go. Your court could use a reminder of mercy.” He walked backwards a few steps before the Queen could answer.

Eva could feel the Queen’s struggle, but the gargoyle was not wrong.

The faery monarch had greatly misjudged her court’s appetite for cruelty, and she must know that she was losing her grip on them. They wanted to see love win over revenge and they were charmed by this show of rag-tag loyalty and friendship. Anita was already pressing cupcakes on everyone. An elegantly-dressed, stag-horned man was eating his third, and there was icing on his nose.

“Eva?” The Queen looked at the gold chain in her hands and gave it a little tug.

Eva left Margo’s side, gesturing her to wait where she was, and went to her customary place at the Queen’s side.

“Yes.” The Queen’s voice was so quiet that the word seemed like a floating flower petal out of the corner of an eye that wasn’t there when you turned to look.

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