"Ah, now we love books here." Ma chuckled. "As if you hadn't noticed already."
"Yes, I did, and that's why I would dearly love to be able to stay here." Merrigan didn't mind that for some odd reason, her eyes felt very wet. If tears convinced these people to give her a job and a place to stay, she didn't mind displaying such weakness.
"I assure you, Mi'Lady is a good seamstress, and she has indeed been in the royal palaces of Carlion and Avylyn," Bib said. For emphasis, he flipped open to blank pages and wrote the same words he spoke. "Since you love books so much, may I assume this is a reputable, well-mannered establishment, where Mi'Lady will be safe?"
"Just see what happens when people don't behave themselves," Ma said with a chuckle. "We're an oddity, since we don't allow heavy drinking or cussing or spitting or wenching. You'd be surprised how many folks appreciate having a quiet, clean place waiting for them when they step onto dry land. Well, I may be considered a fool for taking the word of a book, but only a fool ignores magic when it sits in front of him. Have you had your nooning yet, Mistress—" She frowned, but it was a bemused frown. "Now don't that beat all? I never did get your name."
"Mara," Merrigan said. Since she was likely very far away from Smilpotz and Carnpotz and Judge Brimble, she doubted tales of what she had done to contribute to his downfall would ever reach this place. It would be wise to stick with a name she was used to using already.
"Welcome to the Bookish Mermaid, Mistress Mara. Have you had your nooning yet?"
"No. I've been rather busy looking for employment."
"Well, no one goes hungry if they work for the Mermaid. You stay right here and we'll share our first meal together, and then we'll get you settled. Have you anything to your name besides the book—and does he have a name?"
"Bib," he responded.
"Biblio," Tiny said with a chuckle. "It means book!"
An hour later, Merrigan had eaten the first bowl of fish stew that she actually enjoyed, and moved into a comfortable, clean room on the fourth floor of the Bookish Mermaid. Ma explained that while it was a chore to climb all those stairs, she put the staff on the fourth floor so they could be as far from the noise of guests as possible. The heat from the stoves and fireplaces in the winter made the rooms cozy, and they were high enough to catch all the good, cooling winds off the sea in the summer. Tiny ran to Mistress Coppersmythe's boarding house while Merrigan and Ma ate and discussed her duties and pay, and came back with Merrigan's bag of clothes and sewing supplies, as well as Mistress Coppersmythe's feebleminded son, who worked evenings in the Mermaid's stables.
That odd, warm, full and yet feathery light feeling settled into Merrigan's chest as she unpacked her few possessions in her tiny, cozy room. She would spend her days in the main room off the kitchen, mending clothes of guests and workers and family, and if she cared to take on any sewing of new clothes for guests, she was free to do so and make her own arrangements for payments. Ma insisted that everyone who worked for her learned to read, so there was always someone practicing their lessons in between chores, reading aloud in the main room. Sometimes newspapers, sometimes history books, and sometimes books of fables and adventures. Ma admitted with a blush and a twinkle in her eyes that her entire family preferred the fables and adventures.
Yes, Merrigan thought, she would be not just comfortable here, but she could be happy. At least, as happy as a queen who had lost her throne and her husband and her beauty could possibly be.
THE WINTER PASSED IN warmth and comfort, and though Merrigan preferred to stay on the sidelines, Ma's loud, happy, busy household and enormous family wouldn't allow it. They drew her in and made her one of them, and didn't push when she declined to talk about herself. She loved to read, so that made her one of them. She was happy, except for the times that she remembered who she used to be and what awaited her. While she enjoyed life at the Bookish Mermaid, the thought of still being here after one hundred years was enough to make her take to her bed and snarl at people. Only once did her foul spirits get bad enough that Bib had to scold her. The shock of it seemed to snap something back into place inside her head and heart. The odd thing was that apologizing to everyone for her bad mood and sharp tongue seemed to do her even more good.
Tiny and Ma and the rest of their vast family laughed it off and blamed the winter weather and being housebound with the stormy sea crashing within earshot of the inn. Their understanding and easy forgiveness brought her close to tears as well. Merrigan hoped they were right, and it was only the weather.
They were proved right when the days lengthened and warmed and her temper stayed even. Dreams of the past didn't plague her and she could hold off the memories during the daylight. Spring in a seaport was a busy, invigorating time of the year. Merrigan thought about spending the next ten, twenty years here. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.
"If you can arrange to sleep through the winter," Bib teased her, when she finally mentioned the idea to him.
Merrigan managed to laugh, despite a twisting in her belly. He was right, of course. Bib was always right. Would she have to leave this comfortable place that valued her, just to stay sane?
Before she could work herself up to seriously contemplate booking passage on a ship to Armorica, Merrigan ran into a real mermaid on the steps of
