Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception Read Online Free PDF Page A

heels sank two inches into the turf. “Thank God they at least have chamber music. I was afraid they’d have something awful, like that bagpiping earlier.”
    I disagreed entirely. Nothing was worse than being shut in a room that smelled like carpet cleaner with one hundred strangers. Instead, I saw students, parents, teachers, and judges roaming between large white tents set up for food and the quartet that provided the music. The food smelled great and reminded me of Saturday nights at home. And the hot summer air had given way to a cool breeze as the sun slipped down toward the treeline.
    “What is that smell?” Delia demanded. She was just being nasty, of course. She knew darn well that Mom’s catering company was here tonight. Dad always called Delia “my least favorite sister-in-law.” He was being funny, of course, since Delia was Mom’s only sister. But I agreed. Delia was an overbearing cake with condescending frosting, and frankly, I was on a diet.
    “Dee, you survived!” James sauntered up and paused half a step when he saw Delia. “Oh, I didn’t realize you were busy.”
    Delia surveyed his kilt, his unkempt hair, and his hands scrawled with various messages to himself.
    “You’re the piper, aren’t you?” she asked coldly.
    James smiled firmly. He had already identified her as a piper-hater. “Yes, but I do it against my will. The aliens won’t let me stop.”
    Delia’s smile was iron. Not amused.
    I said, “This is James, Delia. He’s the number two piper in the state of Virginia this year.”
    “Soon to be number one,” James said with a charming smile. “I hired a hit man.”
    Delia’s face remained exactly the same.
    James exchanged a look with me. “Well, it was nice to meet you. I’d better find out if the food’s lonely.”
    I gave a little wave as he retreated, mouthing later , and Delia frowned deeply. “What strange people always come to these events. We’d better find your parents.”
    “I’ll catch up to you.” I edged away from her. “I think I see some of my friends.” I wasn’t a very good liar, but Delia wasn’t a very good listener, so we parted amicably, her toward the tents and me definitely away from them. I glanced quickly toward the food tent crowds but didn’t see any sign of Luke, so I headed around the side of the chamber group’s tent.
    Here, the sun came slantwise through the trees across the road and made long gold stripes of light across the grass. I walked along one of the gold stripes, watching my incredibly tall shadow walking before me. I hadn’t gotten far along the stripes when I smelled herbs.
    The scent was so strong and came on so quickly that I checked the ground under my sandals to see if I had crushed something. There was nothing but clover beneath my feet. But the leaves caught my eye, and I crouched. Sure enough, there was a bunch of four-leaf clovers, a few among many three-leaf. I picked one and straightened up, looking at it. For luck.
    “I heard you play.”
    I blinked and focused beyond the clover. Unnoticed by me, a young man with ginger hair had approached. His face was a riot of freckles, but he was still amazingly handsome—like a magazine ad. He had the beautiful, cared-for look of kids with trust funds.
    I wasn’t sure how to reply, so I just said, “You did?”
    He ducked around me in a circle, as if studying me. “Yes.” He circled again; I spun to keep my eyes on him. “Very impressive. Quite better than I expected.”
    Better than he expected for what ? For a girl? For a student? For a harpist? For me?
    “Thanks,” I said, voice guarded. He circled again, a smile on his face. I got another whiff of the herbal scent, and I had an idea that it must be him. Something he was wearing.
    “Quite impressive altogether.”
    I asked politely, “Did you play?”
    He grinned. “Do I ever stop?”
    He kept circling, ceaselessly moving, and then his smile changed in some subtle way that made my stomach drop to my feet.