Fairy Blossoms #3: Rose and the Delicious Secret
By Suzanne WilliamsHarperCollins Publishers, Inc.
Copyright © 2008 Suzanne Williams
All right reserved.ISBN: 9780061139390Chapter One
Strange Happenings
Dinner was over, but Rose and Marigold hadn't yet left the table. Sipping raspberry tea from a snail-shell cup, Rose began to look over her wish-granting notes.
Marigold pushed her plate aside. "Want to study together?" she asked. The fairies' first exams at Mistress Lily's Fairy School were in only two days.
"I'd better study alone," Rose replied. She didn't want to hurt Marigold's feelings; but if the two of them worked together, she was sure they would wind up talking more than studying.
"Well, okay then." Marigold slid off her satin-covered toadstool. She fluttered her wings. They were decorated with yellow and orange swirls—a perfect match with the yellow silk gown and orange sash she was wearing. "See you later."
"'Bye," said Rose. Flipping over a page of notes, she sighed. No one studied as hard as she did. Why, she'd barely spoken to any of her friends in the last few days—including Marigold. And besides reviewing for exams, she was still working on her ball gown.
Rose rubbed her tired eyes. She'd stayed up late the last two nights, practicing invisibility. Yet she still had trouble making herself vanish completely. There was always an elbow or a fingertip left visible, glowing faintly green.
Mistress Lily had tried to help. "You need to relax more," she'd said. But Rose only knew how to work hard. She'd never been good at relaxing. So far she hadn't been able to stay invisible for more than a few seconds at a time. None of the other fairies seemed to be having as much trouble. Violet, of course, was already an expert. But that was because she'd learned from her grandmother before coming to school at Cloverleaf Cottage.
Clink! Rose glanced up. Bink had begun to clear dishes from the table. A type of fairy called a brownie, he was taller than Rose. Not much taller, though—and flower fairies are barely two inches tall!
"Sorry I'm so slow to leave," said Rose.
"What?" Bink jumped, sending a fistful of forks clattering to the floor. He hadn't even noticed she was still there.
Rose leaped up to help pick up the mess.
"I prefer to do it myself," Bink said grumpily.
Rose sat. She'd forgotten how much brownies hated to have anyone do their work. Still, it wasn't like Bink to be so gruff. "Is something the matter?" she asked. "You're pricklier than a pinecone."
"Don't mind me," Bink said. "It's probably nothing." He brushed back a lock of reddish brown hair that had fallen over one eye. "Done with your tea yet?" he asked politely.
Rose handed him her not-quite-empty cup. Then she gathered up her notes and started to rise from her toadstool.
Bink sighed. "Of course, if you really want to hear about it . . ."
Rose sank back down. It was on the tip of her tongue to say that she needed to study. But after all, she had asked. "So, what's going on?"
"It started five days ago," said Bink. "I was late for work one morning and—"
"Overslept, I bet," Rose interrupted with a smile. It was no secret that Bink didn't like getting up early.
He frowned but went on. "My first morning task is to churn the milk into butter. But when I arrived, my work had already been done. The butter was cooling in the icebox."
"Maybe Cook did it," said Rose.
Bink's eyes widened. "He'd never offend me like that. Besides, he lives in the village. He comes in early, but not early enough to do my chores. Anyway, he commented that the butter was richer and creamier than usual. He wondered what I'd done to make it turn out better."
"Ouch," said Rose. "That must have hurt."
Bink nodded. "And the next morning was the same—only there was bread dough rising on the counter too."
"You make bread?" asked Rose.
"No, Cook makes it. And when the loaves came out lighter and tastier than ever, he yelled at me. He thought that I'd done his job!"
Rose tapped her fingers together, thinking. "Who else works in the kitchen?"
"No one," said Bink. "It's only Cook and me." He paused. "Cook threw a fit this morning when he discovered a tray of frosted hazelnut cookies sitting on the counter. He accused me of getting up in the middle of the night to bake them! He would have thrown them out if I hadn't stopped him."
"Were those the cookies you served for lunch today?" asked Rose.
"Yes," said Bink. "Why?"
"Just wondering." No way was Rose going to tell him how delicious the cookies had been. Since coming to Cloverleaf Cottage, she'd missed the talents of the hobgoblin baker who worked for her family. But the cookies at lunch today had tasted every bit as good as his. Marigold, who was somewhat plump, had even claimed to "love, love, love!" them. Three loves was high praise—even for Marigold.
Bink looked around the room and then lowered his voice. "Shall I tell you what I think is going on?"
"What?" asked Rose.
"Someone is playing a trick on Cook and me."
"Maybe," Rose said. "But who could it be?"
"Who indeed?" said Bink. "It must be someone who lives here."
"I suppose so. But besides the junior fairies and you, there's only Mistress Lily."
Bink nodded. "We can safely count Mistress Lily out, so . . ."
"Surely you don't suspect any of us fairies!" Rose protested.
Bink shrugged. "What else can I think?"
Rose opened her mouth to defend her friends. Then she closed it again. Though she didn't want to admit it, she was certain Bink was right. Someone at the cottage had to be doing this. But which of the junior fairies would play such a trick?
Continues...Excerpted from Fairy Blossoms #3: Rose and the Delicious Secretby Suzanne Williams Copyright © 2008 by Suzanne Williams. Excerpted by permission.
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