Chapter 20
Ninth Week of Faire: Battle of the Bards
“ I sing to my love,
“I sing to my love,
“Oh, sweet Matilda,
“Why have you gone… above?”
A chorus of giggles followed the poor attempt at a ballad, followed by polite applause.
Lilian peeked out her door, surprised to see such a large crowd gathered near the picnic tables in Reject Woods.
Usually, the space was completely empty.
But it seemed one of the court minstrels had set up camp, occupying them with terrible song after terrible song.
“You think that's good?” a pirate actor called out from the crowd. “I'll show you a real song!”
The crowd cheered as the man plucked the strings of a guitar before falling into a well-practiced shanty. It was objectively better than what the poor bard had come up with, but that was the nature of Bard Weekend. What had once been a cheeky name had become something the actors took to heart.
The theme, Battle of the Bards, was a new addition to the faire in recent years, but Lilian had to admit it was growing on her. The air was full of music and singing, both good and bad.
Court Bards found themselves in direct competition with the band of singing pirates.
Logan's men and Alex's crew had even done a few serenades together.
Since Pirate Weekend, Lilian noticed an uptick in visitors from the Cove roaming around their part of the fair.
The shift certainly helped increase foot traffic of guests as well.
Reject Woods was no longer the forgotten part of the faire. Smiling guests strolled through the paths, their laughter filling the area more than ever before. Hearing them elevated her mood after the disaster of last week.
Margo kept shooting worried glances her way, no matter how much Lilian assured her everything was okay.
And it was okay.
Bodice and Brawn had customers, and she and Hawk were growing closer. All of that was good, right?
Except, Ten Cents Books still wasn't doing great business. Even though she’d revamped the prices and the interior, even as the entire town had come by to see the changes.
But it still wasn't enough.
“So,” Margo said eventually, clearly looking to lighten the mood between them. “Are you going to finally tell me what is going on with you and Hawk?”
Lilian stilled. She’d known this moment was coming. Both Margo and Alex had been texting her nonstop, but she'd diligently pushed off responding. Now there was nowhere to run.
She refused to lie, but she could answer the question in her most innocent I’m not doing anything crazy tone. “He took me home?”
Margo’s brows rose over the rim of her glasses. “And?”
Lilian gave her friend a long-suffering look. “Are you really going to make me say it?”
“I need to actually hear it.” Margo grinned.
“Fine.” She spared a look at the door. The crowd was still wrapped up in the impromptu bard battle. They had a few minutes of alone time where no one could overhear them. “He took me home and we did nothing.”
Margo waited, unmoved by the information. She waited until Lilian sighed and tried again. “But a couple weeks ago he came home with me.”
She trailed off, hoping the implication was enough. It was plenty, too much even, as Margo exclaimed, “You slept with the enemy.”
“He's not the enemy,” Lilian said, feeling defensive. “And we didn’t sleep together. Not… all the way.” Not that she hadn’t wanted to. The memory of Hawk’s cock. The smooth muscles of his chest. She wanted to see him again. Needed to.
Margo was still looking at her expectantly.
Lilian sighed. “You know he's been helping me with the business end of all this. I’ve really gotten to know him better. He’s not such an asshole after all.”
“There, was that so hard?” Margo asked, looking satisfied.
No, it wasn’t. In fact, it was a relief now that she’d gotten it out of the way. She’d been worried her friend would judge her, or think she was immoral for sleeping with their boss, who had been their sworn enemy only a few weeks ago.
“I feel so far behind, though, tell me everything. When did you guys figure out you had the hots for each other? Oh—” She gasped as a new thought occurred to her. “That night at Alex's house?”
“That was the start of it,” Lilian admitted.
“Lilian.” A broad smile broke out on her friend's face. “You seduced the tyrant prince!”
Seduce? Her? She buried her face in her hands, a fresh rush of embarrassment taking over. She’d never thought of herself as someone really capable of seducing anyone. But these last couple weeks something had changed within her. “Please don't tell anyone. We're keeping it quiet.”
“Why?” Margo's brows narrowed in suspicion. “Everyone at the faire sleeps together.”
“Yeah, but not everyone sleeps with their boss at the faire,” she pointed out. “And you know how he is about rules. We’re keeping quiet until after the season.”
A crease of concern formed between Margo’s brows. “He asked you not to tell anyone?”
Shame raced through Lilian, hot and immediate. This was exactly why she’d been afraid to say anything. “I know what you're thinking, but I was the one who made the moves on him first. This was our compromise. If it was up to him, he would've waited until the end of the season.”
The news did not reassure her friend. In fact, it only deepened the confusion on her face. “I was gearing up to my whole ‘if he breaks your heart blah blah blah speech,’ but I’m thinking Hawk might be the one who needs the speech.”
“No one is breaking any hearts.” The words came out faster than she meant them to. And what did Margo mean, give Hawk the speech? They weren’t even in an official relationship…yet.
Lilian barreled on, “As soon as the faire is over, we're going to make it official. Now promise me you won’t tell anyone else.”
“Your secret is safe with me.” Margo crossed her finger over her bare cleavage, sealing the promise. “But I hope you know what you’re doing.”
She'd suffered her friend's endless teasing for weeks, and the sudden shift to concern caught her off guard. Margo was supposed to be happy for her, not cautious.
As they neared the last two weeks of the faire, Lilian realized she hadn't gone out to explore the other vendors as much as she would have liked.
Making Bodice and Brawn successful had consumed her.
Now that they were finally seeing the fruits of their labor, she didn't feel the overwhelming need to always be in the shop.
Instead, she needed to get out and connect with the parts of the faire that she’d always enjoyed. The only things she'd really seen were her four walls and The Crown Theater.
And if she happened to see Hawk on her walk about, that wouldn't be bad either.
“I'm taking lunch,” she called to Margo. The picnic table where she usually ate was still occupied by singing bards and enthralled guests. Which gave her a good excuse to go walk around instead.
First stop was to her neighbors. A new dress hung on the display outside Russ's shop, marking the completion of the project he'd been working on since his arrival. A few customers were inside the space, some admiring the work, while a young woman was deep in negotiation for an outfit.
She smiled at the sight and moved on to the next shop, not wanting to interrupt a sale.
Her other neighbor was the wax and stationery shop.
It was run by Monica who played the French Madame Tudore.
The wood in the shop was soaked with scents.
A variety of candles, wax seals, and scented flowers decorated the space, giving it the air of a flowery apothecary.
At least one candle was always burning to show off the rich variety of smells.
Lilian inhaled it greedily. Smells like Ren Faire.
“Bonjour, Ms. Bodice, nice to see you come by,” Monica greeted in a singsong French accent.
“Have you been serenaded yet?” she asked as a way of greeting.
The older woman smiled. “At least twice. What can I say, men love the French mesdames.”
Lilian laughed as she picked up a small wax candle shaped like a mushroom.
Curious, she held it up to her nose, expecting the smell of earth and roots.
Instead, it smelled like amberwood with a hint of spice.
It reminded her of Hawk’s cologne, the way it made her nose itch in delight.
She brought it over to Monica. “I’ve been meaning to come by and get something before the faire ends. ”
“You are so sweet,” Monica said, ringing up the order. “Your shop looks like it has been doing well. I'm so glad to see it.”
“Me, too,” Lilian said with a happy sigh. “I don't know if we'll be able to make a huge profit this season because it took so long. But if we can keep this momentum next year, it'll be great.”
She'd been crunching the numbers herself since Hawk’s last warning.
The profit margin wasn't great. She’d even called Hawk in the middle of the night, nearly in a panic.
He’d been awake, watching some game on television, but the calm tenor of his voice had walked her back off the ledge.
“You have to spend money to make money.”
Most businesses aimed to break even their first year, and many fell into the red. She knew that now. It still didn't make her feel better, though. Her family didn’t have an excess of funds to spend on another side business. But Hawk didn't seem worried, and that gave her comfort.
“How are things going on your side?”
Monica's smile tightened at the question. “Not so great for us. We did fine last year, but this year, no one seems to be interested in wax candles or the stationery.”
“No way.” Lilian let her eyes linger on the shop.
She could see the collection of sculpted candles, each fitting into a fun design.
A little coffin, a rose, and there was even a bubbly little cauldron.
There was also a small stack of leather-bound journals nestled next to a wax set. “Your place is so cute.”