Page 23 of Must Love Libraries and Libations (Moonshine Hollow #2)

ERASMUS

S tanding in the farmhouse bedroom of the orc Granik, I realized I had never been in the home of any Moonshine Hollow resident.

Ever. In five hundred-plus years. For some reason, the idea had felt absurd.

The elders had invited me to dine many times, but I had always been too busy with the codex, the bookwyrms, the library… any excuse to say no.

But now, stripped down to my waist, I stood in another man’s bedroom wearing his trousers, staring at his suit jacket and shirt, and wondering what to do next.

“Master Erasmus?” Granik called from the other side of the door. “It’s been… You’ve been in there a while. Is everything all right?”

I sighed. “I have a problem.”

“May I come in?”

“Please.”

Granik entered to see me standing, arms folded, at the foot of his bed, staring at the tuxedo jacket and shirt.

“Pants look good. Shirt doesn’t fit?”

As an answer, I spread my wings to their full width, allowing them to touch either wall of the room. In the process, several small items tipped over, and I nearly knocked over a lantern. I was able to gently maneuver it back in place with the tip of my wing before it tumbled to the floor.

“Ahh,” Granik said. “Right. Fit looks about right, though we just need a little…adjustment.” After a moment, he snapped his fingers. “I know what to do. I’ll be just a minute. Come downstairs, if you like. There’s lemonade and fresh grognuts.”

“I don’t want to be a burden.”

“It’s no burden. We’re all grateful to you for your work looking after the library, Master Erasmus. You’ve done a good job keeping care of the bookwyrms. I know you’ll do the same for Primrose.”

“I can only hope she’ll still have me.”

Granik grinned. “Have faith.”

“I’m grateful to you for your help, Granik.”

“We big guys need to stick together,” he replied with a laugh, then departed.

I pulled on my white undershirt and headed downstairs of the old farmhouse.

As he mentioned, Granik had set out a pitcher of lemonade and a plate of grognuts, an orcish-style donut flavored with ale and something orcish that tasted like cinnamon.

I’d never tried them before. I settled in at the table, surprised to find that the space was sizeable enough.

But then I remembered that a half-giant had once owned the farm.

As I ate a grognut and sipped on lemonade, I was struck by the sweetness and brightness of the space.

It was a bachelor’s home, with only a little embellishment in the form of blue-and white gingham curtains, curious duck-shaped canisters on the counter, and a few hand-embroidered scenes of orcish lands hanging in frames on the wall.

But there were also baskets of freshly harvested corn, squash, and mushrooms. And on the windowsill, an orange cat slept deeply, ignoring me entirely.

On the white kitchen table sat a pitcher of wildflowers and a half-finished loaf of bread.

There was a mellowness to the place that was not unlike my study, but here, there was so much life and light—definitely unlike my study.

A snort, followed by a frustrated squeal, and then a rustle, came from a box nearby.

Curious, I went to look. Inside, I found a tiny snufflecorn piglet looking up at me.

He was a cute little fellow, his skin a pale pink color, the wiry fur overtop in a rainbow of pastel shades.

His small, golden horn glimmered in the slants of sunlight shining into the room.

“Hello, little creature,” I said gently.

He gave a little squeal then circled his box once more, an indignant expression on his face.

“Ah, you’ve found Abraxis,” Granik said, returning. “He is taking some time out.”

“And what is his crime?”

“He’s an apple thief. He wanders, this one, and discovered the orchard next door. He’s been using his horn magic to pick a whole tree clean. He’s his brother and sister’s hero, but he is arch-enemy number one to Farmer Squashmire, with whom I’d rather stay on good relations.”

I chuckled softly. “Not unlike my mischievous bookwyrms.”

“I suppose so,” Granik said with a light laugh. “That red-scaled one knew I had a sack of granola in my pocket last night. Wasn’t satisfied until I gave it to him.”

“That would be Stevenson.”

Granik grinned. “They’re an interesting bunch, the bookwyrms. You do well with them. Now, as for your shirt and coat, help will arrive any moment.”

“Help?”

Almost on cue, there was a knock on the door. “Granik?” a soft voice called.

Granik gave me a knowing wink then went to the door.

“Ah, good morrow, neighbor.”

“Well, I brought my kit. What did you rip through this time, boy?” I heard a gentle but chiding voice ask.

“It’s not me this time. You will be surprised when you see who I have here.”

An elderly woman wearing a flower-print apron, her hair pulled into a tidy bun, a sewing basket dangling from the crook of her arm, appeared.

“Acorns and pinecones, is that you, Master Erasmus?”

I rose. “It is. Missus Lightfeather, isn’t it?”

“You remember me?”

I inclined my head to her, remembering her once-vibrant red hair and pleasing laugh. She would often come to the library for books on sewing magic.

“Master Erasmus needs my formal dress shirt and coat for tonight, but he has appendages I was not blessed with. Can you be of help?”

“Hmm,” she said, nodding as she sized me over. “For the party, then?”

“Yes, madam,” I replied.

“They said in town you threw a fit and weren’t coming.”

Granik snorted then swallowed a laugh.

Embarrassed, I cleared my throat then said, “I was…petulant, but I will attend.”

“And we want him looking sharp. He’s wooing a girl.”

“Wooing a girl? Well, then we’d best get at it. Where are the shirt and jacket? I will take the measurements.”

“I’ll fetch it for you,” Granik said, then departed.

Missus Lightfeather gestured to me. “Now, sit if you please, I need to take some measurements.”

Feeling awkward, I settled in, turning so she could reach me more easily.

At once, she set to work. Dipping into the basket, she pulled out a measuring tape that seemed to be made of magic and sunlight.

Giving it a shake, she set it to work, the magical band measuring my back, including the joints of my wings.

“I’m surprised you remembered me,” Missus Lightfeather said. “We rarely see you outside the library.”

“You used to come for books. I remembered…” I said, then smiled shyly. “I remembered your red hair,” I admitted.

At that, she laughed. “It’s been a long time since I had that red hair.”

“Yes, well, I have been at the library longer than the building itself. It seems like yesterday to me.”

“Well, you’re not part of the building just yet,” she said with a laugh. “Petulant or not,” she added, giving me a knowing smile. “Wooing a girl, eh?”

“Trying.”

“Trying? And failing or succeeding? Or being too petulant.”

“The latter.”

She laughed. “In my experience, a gesture to show her how you really feel goes a long way, but what do I know?”

“Quite a lot, I’d guess. I wasn’t the only one who noticed your red hair. I remember quite a few young men offering to carry your books home.”

“They did, but none did it as well as Hob,” she said, then smiled softly. Setting her hands on her hips, she fixed me with an amused glance. “Caught your eye, did I?” she asked, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

“I don’t think there was anyone in Moonshine Hollow whose eye you didn’t catch, Missus Lightfeather.”

She laughed. “Well, I’m glad to see you’re doing something about it this time .

Now, stand up. Let me see the length on those pants,” she said, looking over me, assessing.

She bent, her ethereal measuring tape snapping around my legs once more.

“A quick hem on those will have them in good shape. Off with them. I’ll make all the alterations and have them over to you at the library by midday. ”

“Thank you, Missus Lightfeather.”

“You are welcome, Master Erasmus.”

I turned toward the stairs, finding Granik there, shirt and jacket in his hands.

“I must leave her the trousers as well,” I told him. “But are you certain, Granik? With these alterations, the suit will not?—”

“Oh, Missus Lightfeather can adjust it back when you’re done. It will be like there was never a change at all. She’s pure magic, that witch.”

“Indeed, she is,” I said, then headed upstairs.

As I went, I heard the pair talking below.

“Not a bad chap, is he?” Granik said softly.

“No, not at all. Alone in the middle of people. Sad way to live, really. Glad that’s about to change.”

Alone in the middle of people.

No one had ever quite put it like that before, but it was a truth I felt deep in my stony heart. Even if Primrose would not have me, it was time for a change.

In Granik’s room once more, I slipped out of his clothes and into my old frock. When I stuck my hand into my pocket, I discovered the message slip from the council. I stared at it for a long time, my mind spinning with possibilities, then crumpled the paper and tucked it away.