“I thought it was a little funny,” Rosemary Haversford said, her gypsy accent like musical notes curling around every word.
“You have to think it’s funny,” I told her. “He’s your husband. It’s, like, the law.”
“Hear that?” Dad said to Mom. “It’s the law.”
She smiled sweetly at him. “Keep telling yourself that. Maybe you’ll find what it’s like to sleep outside tonight.”
And there was a knock at the door.
“I’ll get it!” I shouted, pushing my chair back from the table, thanking the gods for the distraction. With any luck, it would be the police asking questions about a murder investigation where I was the sole witness (even though I had never seen anyone murdered), and would take up the rest of math night.
I threw open the door and, without seeing who it was, said, “I saw the whole thing! He used a fireplace poker and bashed the poor fellow upside the head! I am traumatized, I tell you. Traumatized.”
“Who did what now?” Morgan of Shadows asked.
Pete stood next to him, face in his hands.
A couple of other knights stood behind them, looking bemused.
“You’re not the police,” I reminded them, in case they didn’t know. “Ignore what I just said.”
“You should probably ignore a lot of what he says,” Pete muttered.
“That’s mostly true,” I admitted. “But hey! Hi! Look!” I pointed down at my pink and pointy shoes, beaming up at Morgan. “Did you get the thank-you note my mom forced me to write—I mean, that I wanted to send all on my own?”
“I did,” Morgan said, a strange look on his face. “I haven’t had a chance yet to answer any of the ninety-seven questions you asked.”
“That’s okay,” I reassured him. “You can get it back to me by next week. Tuesday at the latest.”
“Is this… where you live?” he asked.
“Yeah! With Mom and Dad. I have my own room and everything.” My eyes went wide. “Dude. I just had the best idea ever.”
“Uh-oh,” Pete said.
“You should totally come see my room.”
“Totally?” Morgan asked.
“Totally,” I agreed.
“Sam, who’s at the door?” Mom called.
“Just the King’s Wizard, Pete, and some other scary-looking knights!” I yelled back over my shoulder. “Can I take him to my room and show him my stuff?”
There was a brief pause and then what sounded like chairs getting knocked over and footsteps running toward us.
“It’s math night,” I told our visitors. “Sometimes it gets a little wild.”
Mom and Dad burst from the kitchen, looking wide-eyed and flustered.
“My l-lord,” Dad stammered.
“We are honored t-t-to have you,” Mom stuttered.
“So embarrassing,” I mumbled.
“Rosemary, Joshua.” Morgan nodded slightly. “Sam here was going to show me his room, if that was okay with you.”