The sound of an unfamiliar voice pulled her out of her daydream.Lilian turned, expecting to see a volunteer carrying a ladder.Instead, she found herself staring up at the clean shaven, well-dressed figure of Hawk Carlisle.
She instantly tensed at the sight of him.
Hawk Carlisle was faire royalty.His mother and father, the owners of the faire, had played the roles of king and queen as far back as Lilian could remember.Their love of history and theater had led them to name their one and only son Hawk.A truly theatrical name for the least theatrical person alive.
In all the years she’d been at the faire, not once had she seen Hawk wear faire attire.If he could wear a suit and not melt in ninety-degree Midwest weather, he would.Today, he wore a short-sleeved polo and gray shorts that looked like they’d been dry-cleaned and pressed.He never grew a beard or even let his hair touch his ears.Everything about him screamed modernity, in the worst way.
Hawk had been there since her first days at the faire, working the business side.Otherwise known as the boring work.
Which was fine.He was a good fit for it.From what she’d gathered, he’d gone to school for business and accounting, and he worked at the faire as a side job to help his parents.Of course, this was all hearsay, because she’d never once talked to the man.
The faire had three main managers.Jacqueline, who corralled the volunteers managed the entrance gate, helped with parking, and set up the carnival games.Elliot, who managed the actors and show.And Hawk, who only interacted with the contracted staff, the food vendors, and (of course) the shop owners.
Which now included her.
Lilian quickly climbed to her feet, wiping her sweaty palms on her dress.She grimaced when they left wet stains on the dark green of her skirt.Best not to shake hands.
“Hi,” she greeted, putting on her best smile.“I’m Lilian.Welcome to Bodice and Brawn.”
“A bookshop?”he asked, eyes focused on the open doorway.
“Yep.”She watched closely for his reaction.He was one of the first people to lay eyes on her baby, and this was a moment to cherish.A moment to savor the first reaction.
Hawk’s face remained expressionless.“Interesting…” He glanced at the clipboard in hand and wrote something down.
Lilian did her very,verybest not to lean forward to look.
When he was done, he clicked the pen and turned his attention back to her.“Is Lilian your stage name or real name?”
“Real name,” she answered promptly.Every actor and shop owner was required to be committed to the Renaissance show, which meant everyone had a stage persona.When her shop had first been accepted, they’d asked her to come up with a name and even a little bit about the character.“My stage name will be Ms.Bodice.”She made an attempt at an Old English accent.It wasn’t the best, but it was halfway decent after years attending the faire.
Hawk was not impressed.“Of course it is,” he muttered, writing again.
Um… rude.Lilian bit the inside of her cheek to keep her comment in check.
“Do you have your business license?”He didn’t even bother to look at her.
“Oh!Yes.”Lilian turned back to her small shop, and her stomach dropped at the mess of opened boxes, tools, books, and folders still scattered across the wooden floors.“Somewhere…”
A deep, long-suffering sigh came from the man in front of her.“Find it and present it to me by the end of the day.”He pulled a pile of papers from the board and let the metallic clip go with a loud snap.“In the meantime, here is the contract for the fairgrounds hosting your business.You should have seen this before.”
“Yeah, of course.”Lilian took the stack of papers.It was a lot bigger than it had appeared on her tablet.A heft of legal mumbo jumbo that she had only scanned for the important bits: the sales tax and the cost of her rented cottage, along with rules and policies for the shop.
The Carlisles prided themselves on authenticity when it came to their faire and their actors, which resulted in a long list of strict regulations.
All cast members must be in costume and in character at all times during faire business hours.
All items worn must be handcrafted (not necessarily by the actor) and preapproved.
