Free Wisdom's Kiss by Catherine Gilbert Murdock Page A

was
walking
marching some ways ahead + could see her coming, + before I really had time to think I was standing on the bridge railing so I could jump on her, + as I was sailing thru the air I was thinking how much better this experience would be if you were
with me
here to see me safe! But I did manage to land on
her more or less, + then climbed up her back which must be like climbing a sea serpent she was thrashing so much, + finally got her eyes covered—not easy at that speed!—+ luckily she calmed down. Poor Felis didnt know whether to scold me for
endangering my talents
or praise me for
saving so many lives
—so he
comprimized
made do by simply patting me on the back +I was so covered in bruises I yelped! You wouldve laughed so hard if youd heard me.
Do you remember how you used to watch for Hans when we played by the mill? + how you cried when you first
set eyes on
saw Felis, but you said I had to go with him anyway? I still think about that, + how
signifikant
important that day was.
I will see you again someday I am sure,
I just dont know when
it might be years Im afraid before I make it back to Bacio.
I miss you I dont miss Bacio
I do not care for any of the ladies I meet as much as I care for you + how nice you have always been to me—
—Tips
A Life Unforeseen
T HE S TORY OF F ORTITUDE OF B ACIO , C OMMONLY K NOWN AS T RUDY, AS T OLD TO H ER D AUGHTER
Privately Printed and Circulated

    TRUDY UNPACKED as hastily as she could manage, desperate to go find Tips. To have this opportunity emerge—so fortuitously!—within minutes of her arrival in Froglock ... She might never have such a possibility again.
    Hasty, however, by no means meant slapdash, particularly given the complexity of the luggage, their accommodations, and the palace staff. As the maitre du palais—a butler, Trudy gathered, not that she had any experience with such a profession—led her and Escoffier through the corridors in a parade of servants toting Montagne luggage, he explained the history and importance of the suite in which they were being installed, speaking to her as a peer, which—she realized belatedly—would be more than a little presumptuous if Trudy were in fact titled, and she was pleased to note that her blithe disregard for his familiarity greatly irked the man. Trudy's mother had always warned her that
ignorance never blesses a
tongue,
and Trudy now discovered the truth of this adage; the maitre du palais misinterpreted her silence as clever feint, and his arrogance decayed into a fawning that increased with every passing minute.
    Even if she had known what to say, however, Trudy would not have had energy to speak, so engrossed was she in the embellishments, garnishes, gildings, and objets d'art that mantled the palace's every surface. Draperies and paintings, carpets thick enough to hide a snake, chandeliers and candelabras, vases and flowers and great potted palms ... What must these things have cost? And who was the poor soul assigned to dusting? How marvelous it would be to describe it to Tips! She smiled to herself (thus escalating the maitre du palais's bluster) at the thought of Tips sending his letters to faraway Bacio—perhaps even now penning words she would not read for many days hence, until the real ladies-in-waiting, restored to health, made their way at last to Froglock and she could return to her gilt-free life in Alpsburg.
    The actual task of unpacking proved easier than Trudy had anticipated, for three palace maids labored over the trunks, occasionally asking where Her Highness or Her Majesty wished an item. Trudy answered their queries to the best of her ability, reminding herself that Nonna Ben would graciously tolerate any mistakes and that Wisdom probably didn't care. She agreed that Her Majesty desired warm milk before retiring (Trudy would drink it if Nonna Ben didn't) and that Her Highness would want a bath at, oh, eight o'clock the next morning.
    At last the maids finished—Trudy certain she would