"Everyone loves a happy ending." Merrigan was somewhat relieved when they stepped through the double doors of the Bookish Mermaid and the man released her. Was everything about this place going to be massive?
"Tiny! Just what do you think you're doing?" a black-haired woman shouted from the far end of the long room.
Yes, Merrigan decided. Everything about the Bookish Mermaid was massive. Long tables set with heavy crockery. Four fireplaces big enough to roast an ox, down the two long sides of the room. Wide bookshelves jammed with books and scrolls and piles of newspapers everywhere. The woman standing in the doorway with an equally massive, blazing white apron covering her clothes, could only be called small when compared to the man. Everywhere else, she would be called statuesque.
"I found you a lady to help with the sewing, Ma." The man snatched his sailor's stocking cap off his head, jammed it into his coat pocket, and wrapped an arm around Merrigan's back to hurry her down the aisle between the long rows of tables.
"Goodness, you didn't kidnap her, did you?" The woman gestured for them to come through the door into the room beyond. Later, she told Merrigan everyone called her Ma, so she might as well also.
The dining room was only about half-full, and most of the people ignored them, either concentrating on their meals, which smelled incredibly delicious, or reading. Merrigan had never been in such a quiet dining room. She remembered too many tantrums when she had brought a new book to a meal, and her father or some high-ranking servant had insisted she engage in conversation with her brothers and sisters. Here, reading while eating was not only permitted, but appeared to be encouraged.
We have to stay here, she thought to Bib. No matter what it takes.
Oh, definitely, Mi'Lady. He sounded somewhat distracted. She wondered if he was already harvesting information from all the books and newspapers surrounding them.
Once in the other room with Ma and Tiny, Merrigan entered the heart of the Bookish Mermaid. One side of the room was a living area, with more bookshelves and long couches full of pillows and quilts for cozy reading, while the other side, taking up three-quarters of the room, was the kitchen. Four stoves, two roasting fireplaces, and two baking ovens. Eight people of varying ages hurried about among long worktables, working on various pots and bowls and platters. Two boys stood on stools in front of a massive sink long enough to bathe a horse, washing a pile of dishes taller than them.
"Are you sure you're all right?" Ma asked, as she guided Merrigan to sit in one of the thickly cushioned reading chairs. "My boy has a good heart, but he doesn't always think, or explain. I can see from your clothes, you're a lady, and you're used to fine sewing. We do need a seamstress, but most of your work would be mending. We don't have much call for new clothes or even for making over old into new and stylish."
"You and your son and your kitchen crew?" Merrigan asked.
"And the girls and boys who clean the rooms and do the laundry. And my man and older boys and girls, when they're in port. We'd keep you busy, but we'd pay you well. Room and board included."
"It sounds like you're offering me the position without knowing anything about me."
"My Tiny may be the runt of the litter," Ma said, reaching up to pat her son on his massive arm, "but the faeries kissed him in his cradle. He's a good judge of character."
"Runt?" Merrigan fought not to choke.
"Just a joke with my Ma," Tiny said, his face going red. "Beauregard is the runt. That's why he gets to be the cook on Pa's main ship—'cause he fits through the doorway of the galley when nobody else does."
"Now, now, lad, enough about us. The lady here is right, we know nothing about her and we're overwhelming her talking about us." Ma sat back more comfortably in the chair facing Merrigan's. "Where be you from? What sort of sewing have you done?"
"I sewed for Princess Merrigan of Avylyn, and then I sewed in the court of Carlion, when she married King Leffisand." Merrigan shivered when Ma just frowned at her words.
Just her bad luck—she had come into one of the countries that considered Avylyn an enemy nation. Come to think of it, she still hadn't found out the name of this country where she had landed.
Bib? Where are we?
I'm sorry, Mi'Lady, I was having so much fun talking with the other books—the country is called Swyfflbyrne and so far it looks like no one here—at least, none of the books I've looked into—knows anything about Avylyn or Carlion. You're very far from home.
Indeed. Merrigan took a deep breath and clasped her hands tight enough to threaten the seams of her black lace fingerless gloves. "I realize those names mean nothing to you. Perhaps someone from one of those ships out in the harbor, coming from over the sea, can verify that Avylyn and Carlion do exist. The truth of the matter is, when the king died and the queen ... well, the queen fell into a great deal of trouble. It seems some inimical magic caught me up and threw me around, and ... I'm really not sure how I ended up in Swyfflbyrne. You probably think I'm a madwoman, but I have no idea how to prove to you I'm not lying."
"You could show me to them, Mi'Lady," Bib said aloud.
"Who's that?" Tiny said, turning around so fast he wobbled on his peg leg.
"My ... my only real friend in the entire world." Merrigan tugged the bag up onto her lap and pulled Bib out, to sit on top of the
