Mr. Faire Part Four (special preview)

“I’m not as innocent as you would think,” I grumble.

Muna laughs, throwing his head back. “Oh, yes you are.”

Muna’s torture of me continues until lunch when Lancelot and Emberlie bring in my tuxedo. Emberlie and the children handmade the entire thing. The fabric is a deep red, almost black, with swirls of gold stitched in. The vest is hand embroidered with images from the carnival. 

“Where’s my best man?” I gasp. “He was supposed to be here.”

Those around me hesitate for a moment, glancing idly at one another before going on about their business again. 

“There was a minor emergency, sir,” Haytham says to me. “Robin and Puck were dealing with it to spare you the stress.”

“Emergency?” I balk. “What sort of emergency?”

“Wedding dress fiasco,” Puck says as he comes into the tent.

I stand up suddenly, knocking over Emberlie who was taking a lint roller to my jacket as a final touch. “Wedding dress fiasco? What happened?”

Puck holds up his hand to try and soothe me. “Nothing to worry about. Robin is taking care of it and the bride, I’ve come to placate you with the usual wedding banter.” He playfully punches my arm. “Buddy.”

I shake my head. “Don’t try, Puck, please.”

He scoffs and rolls his eyes. “I’ve had enough anyways.”

“So what happened?” I gasp. “Is Ruby ok?”

“Frazzled but in one piece, my Buttercup is with her as well, telling her the horror story that was our wedding day to assure her this is nothing in comparison.”

“But what happened?” I shake my hands at him. “What happened to her wedding dress? Was it fire? Oh god, did she catch on fire? Did she trip? Did the dress rip?”

Puck shakes his head. “None of those things. They were having wine with lunch and well--.” He grimaces. “Wine does what wine does.”

“Oh, my poor Ruby,” I gasp. “She must be devastated.”