Mary Anne Gruen - The House of Red

That same morning in the past, Virginia went on a shopping trip to the village with Scarlet and her friend Lydia. The official reason for the trip was to purchase some material for a dress that Scarlet was supposed to make for one of the local women. The lady in question was the wife of a local maple sugar merchant. She had a fondness for the color purple and she was Scarlet’s main dressmaking customer. The money from this dress would be needed to see the family through most of the summer.

It was another beautiful spring day, but it wasn’t quite as hot as the day before. The three women were in excellent spirits and they talked easily. They had much in common, after all. For one thing, they were all three married to wolves.

“There’s a full moon tonight,” Lydia said with a secret smile. She was the oldest of the three. She wore her blond hair in thick braids, wrapped around her head. Her dress was made out of sensible brown muslin and had a sensible cut. “You know what that means,” she chuckled.

Scarlet laughed too and gave Lydia a friendly shove.

“Josiah and Goffrey are going hunting, right?” Virginia asked innocently. “Wolf is going with them.”

“Oh, yes,” Lydia said. “They’re going hunting. They’ll investigate the woods at length and bring back a bit of small game. But they won’t come back tired. They’ll still have lots of energy to burn off, if you know what I mean.”

Scarlet gave Lydia another shove and said, “You’re terrible.”

“Why? I love it when Goffrey comes home all hot and bothered and starts chasing me around. Don’t you?”

Scarlet laughed again.

Virginia blushed slightly. She’d finally gotten what they were talking about.

“Now, now,” Scarlet said. “You shouldn’t go talking like that in front of the new bride.”

“She knows what I’m talking about. Or she wouldn’t be blushing.” Lydia said. “It’s my favorite night of the month, when he gets all growly and hungry like that. Go ahead. Admit it, Virginia. It’s yours too.”

“Well,” Virginia said hesitantly.

“See,” Lydia said. “She agrees. We didn’t just marry these wolves for their looks, you know.”

“That’s enough,” Scarlet said. “You’re going to have Virginia thinking terrible things about us.”

So Lydia changed the subject, but only slightly. “Mrs. Palma is the one Scarlet’s going to make the dress for,” Lydia said. “She’s just about the wealthiest woman in town. She always acts so proper. But they say that whenever her husband steps out of town on business, there’s this certain much younger man who comes to pay her a visit.”

“That’s just rumor,” Scarlet said. “If anybody believed it, they wouldn’t have anything to do with her.”

“Does her husband know about this rumor?” Virginia asked.

“How could he not? Everybody else does. But the word is that he doesn’t care. Because, well, because he doesn’t like women anyway. At least not romantically. Supposedly their families planned their marriage when they were children. And they stuck with it because it was good for business. They’re supposed to be really friends, but that’s all.”

“Lydia!” Scarlet said.

“Well, that’s the rumor.”

“Mrs. Palma has been very good to me,” Scarlet said. “She’s given me work and even passed along some of her old dresses to me. There aren’t many people in this town who would give help to a woman who’s married to a wolf, you know.”

“That’s true. But it’s such fun thinking about her with that much younger man while her husband’s off doing heaven knows what. And then seeing them both act so proper.”

“I have a question,” Virginia said. “Have either of you noticed a tendency on the part of your husbands to get irrational at times, to just go off half-cocked without thinking?”

“During the full moon, we’ve probably seen everything,” Lydia said. “Otherwise, Goffrey is ridiculously easygoing.”

“And Josiah is so serious,” Scarlet said. “Funny you should ask that, though. Josiah is always saying I’m like that.”

Virginia’s eyebrows went up. “Really? I haven’t seen that side of you.”

“You just haven’t been around me long enough,” Scarlet said. “My mother was headstrong and I guess I am too. My father was very animated and emotional.”

“Really?” Virginia thought that was interesting. It meant that Wolf got his father’s dark looks but more of his mother’s personality. And Rose was basically the other way around. “Do you miss having your parents in your life?”

“My father died when I was fairly young. And my mother died a few years back. I never saw her again after I left home. She pretended I didn’t exist anymore. I didn’t just run off with Josiah, as far as she was concerned. I ran out on the plans she had for me. I think for her, that was even worse.” Scarlet’s face went dark and thoughtful. She didn’t seem to want to say any more.

“Scarlet doesn’t like talking about her family,” Lydia explained. “I don’t blame her. Mine wasn’t too thrilled about my running off with Goffrey either. But my mother still visits us from time to time. They’re not always happy visits but at least they’re cordial.”

“You’re lucky your father accepts Wolf,” Scarlet said.

“Maybe,” Virginia said. “But they spar a lot.”

“That’s bound to happen with men,” Scarlet said. “They all want to be alpha wolf. But the way your father is with Warren, I’m sure he’s going to be a great grandfather to your little one.”

“Yes,” Virginia said. “I’m surprised at how friendly he is with little Warren.” That was putting it mildly. She was flabbergasted. And so was Wolf.

At that point they arrived at the village. It wasn’t a large one. The main street was really only a block long by Virginia’s standards. It was a line of stores with a lot of quaint gingerbread style houses clustered all around. There was a General Store, a Harness Shop, a Pharmacy of sorts, a Shoe Maker, a Tonsorial Parlor (or barber shop), and a Magic Shop where you could get various herbs and powders. Scarlet led them to the General Store.

The owner of the shop, a man with a long mustache, did a double take when he realized who they were. “What do you want?” he asked, striding over, his mustache twitching up and down with each step.

“See, I told you,” Scarlet whispered. “More alpha stuff.”

“I said, what do you want?” The man’s tone was stronger this time, his chin firmly set against his chest as he looked down on them.

“Material for a dress for Mrs. Palma,” Scarlet said.

“Oh,” the man said, pulling back just a touch. Evidently Mrs. Palma’s name carried weight. He tugged on his mustache and said, “You’ll want to see the new purple print we have in. It’s in the back against the wall.” He pointed and stalked back to the front of the store to wait on some other customers. But he never took his eyes off them.

Scarlet led the way to the dry goods section and Lydia and Virginia followed.

“Why does he keep staring at us?” Virginia asked.

“Don’t mind him,” Scarlet said. “He’s afraid we’ll steal something. He probably wouldn’t let us come in here except for Mrs. Palma. She spends a lot of money in this shop and she told me to use her name whenever he gives me a hard time. It always works.” Scarlet held up the material the storeowner had told her about. It was predominantly light purple, but it had gentle swirls of darker purple and beige. “This would be good for Mrs. Palma,” she said. “Showy, but not too much so.” She picked up a bolt of beige cotton cloth and held it against the purple print. “What do you think? I could make the cuffs and collar out of this beige. Then, to finish the outfit, I can make a decorative apron also in the beige. It will come down halfway in the front and have ruffles around the edges. In back, the apron will have big flowing ties that drape. Beige buttons or beige laces can finish it off.”

“Sounds good,” Lydia said.

“O.K.” I’ll carry the purple print up front for him to cut. Lydia, you take the beige. Virginia, you take that card of beige lacing. I think I’ll go with laces. It’ll be more decorative because the top bow will echo the bow in the apron.”

As the ladies carried their purchases to the front of the store, an anxious young man came running in. “She’s coming!” The boy yelled, jumping up and down. “The Queen’s coming for her inspection tour!”

The other people in the store were excited. They smiled and murmured among themselves and hurried off. Scarlet and Lydia were not so happy.

“Oh, Cripes!” Scarlet said. “I didn’t know she was coming today!”

“Why don’t we buy these things for you,” Lydia said. “You run on ahead and we’ll catch up.”

“All right,” Scarlet said. She took Mrs. Palma’s money out of her pocket and handed it over. Then she ran out of the store.

Virginia wanted to ask what was going on, but she didn’t want to talk in front of the mustached storekeeper. Lydia took charge of the transaction and had them out in the street again in a few moments. The storekeeper came with them and locked the door behind him. The street was filled with people already. And an open carriage was making its way slowly through the crowd. A redheaded woman dressed in an ornate red dress was riding at the back of the carriage waving. In front of her were two women dressed entirely in black. One of them was holding a little girl of about four on her knee. The child was dressed in a frilly red gown and had her red hair done up fussily in a series of combs decorated with pearls. She looked like a well-attired doll.”

“Oh, no,” Lydia said. “She’s here. I hope Scarlet got out.”

“Why does she need to run?”

“She’s been successful in avoiding the Queen every year since she started these tours.”

“But why does she have to avoid her?”

Lydia sighed deeply but didn’t explain.

That was when they saw Scarlet at the edge of the crowd in the street. She was trying to make her way through to the path that led back to the woods. But the excited crowd refused to let her through. They were pushing forward too hard to allow an opening. When the Queen’s carriage came to the spot where Scarlet was desperately trying to escape, a pompous looking man stepped out into the street. Immediately, the carriage came to a halt.

“Your Majesty!” the pompous man said. He made an exaggerated bow. The sun glinted off his slicked hair, which he’d just had done at the Tonsorial Parlor just steps from where he was standing. “I am the mayor!” he announced loudly. He waited to see if the townspeople would cheer him, but they didn’t. So, he went on. “On behalf of all of your loyal subjects, I want to welcome you to our fair town!”

Now there was a cheer, a big one. Everyone was thrilled to have royalty in their midst.

The Queen didn’t smile as she beckoned for the man to come to the side of her carriage. From the depths of the frown wrinkles on her face, it was safe to say that she didn’t smile much. And her green eyes were dull, as if something had died in them long ago.

The pompous mayor with his slick head tried to approach the Queen’s side, but he had trouble getting through the crowd. They were pouring right up against the Queen’s carriage now. Against her will, Scarlet ended up directly in the mayor’s path. He looked down at her over his round belly, his eyes narrowing when he saw who she was. He wasn’t happy about the wife of a wolf coming to such an important occasion, especially when she was arrayed in a patchwork dress that was just one step above a rag. He thrust out his lower lip and tried to wave her aside.

That’s when the Queen’s eyes fell on Scarlet. Her face showed surprise first. Then anger. As for Scarlet, now that she’d been seen, she stared back boldly. She raised her chin and allowed her face to become full of both pride and rebellion.

“Driver!” the Queen called. “Leave at once!”

“But your Majesty!” the mayor said. “We have a whole evening planned.”

“Did you prepare me a place to stay?”

“Of course, your Majesty. The best accommodations in town, for you and the princess and your ladies-in-waiting.”

“Then step up beside my driver and take me there at once.”

“At once!” the flustered mayor said. “At once!” He jumped up next to the Queen’s driver and they galloped off down the street.

Scarlet looked after the carriage, fury written across her face. She barely acknowledged Lydia and Virginia when they finally made their way to her in the crowd. “Come on,” was all she could say to her friends at first. After which, she turned heel and marched off to the woods.

Lydia and Virginia walked after her, saying nothing at first. They merely let Scarlet march and swing her arms violently at her sides.

“Did you see the way she looked at me?” Scarlet said at last.

“Yes,” Virginia said.

“And did you see the way the mayor tried to order me out of his way?”

“Yes,” Lydia said. “He’s never liked us.”

“And to think. If things had been different, I would be Queen instead of her! Then it would be ME he would fawn over.”

Virginia stopped in her tracks. “What?”

“I promised myself I would never tell anyone,” Scarlet said.

“Only Josiah and Goffrey and I know,” Lydia said.

“Know what?”

“That I’m Red Riding Hood the First’s elder daughter,” Scarlet said. “I’ve never even told my children because I don’t want them to say something offhanded sometime and get us into trouble. Oh, Cripes!”

“Really?” Virginia asked.

“Really,” Lydia said. “Scarlet ran off when she was a teenager so she could be with Josiah.”

“And after that, my mother locked me out of her heart,” Scarlet said. “I didn’t just run off with a wolf. I also effectively ran off from everything she’d tried to do for our country. The Second Kingdom was still young then and so was my mother. There hadn’t been any thought yet of succession, except by my mother. She expected me to be Queen and continue her dynasty. Part of me wanted to do that. Only, I wanted Josiah more.” Scarlet pulled away from her friends and leaned against a maple tree, resting her head forlornly across one of its lower branches. “I think I did the right thing, at least for me. My mother had Ruby to fall back on. Ruby always wanted the job and the trappings more than I did anyway. I haven’t seen my sister since I ran away. But she obviously recognized me just now. And she obviously hates me. When our mother died, I thought about going to the castle to visit her. But I didn’t. When she started these tours, I just couldn’t bring myself to try and see her. Well, destiny seems to have had other ideas.”

“What are you going to do?” Virginia asked.

“Stay out of town till I’m sure she’s gone,” Scarlet said. “And try harder to avoid her next year.”

For the rest of the walk home, Scarlet was very quiet. Lydia dominated the conversation with more gossipy tales of the secret lives of everybody in town. Once home, Scarlet left her three younger children in Virginia and Wolf’s care while she pulled Josiah off into their room to tell him what had happened.

Virginia played a game on the floor with Rose and Wilhelm, while Wolf rocked little redheaded Lazar. She longed to tell Wolf what had happened with Queen Red the Second and the truth of his parentage. But it didn’t seem proper to talk in front of the children. Wolf knew something was up. Both Virginia and Scarlet were obviously distressed. But all he could do was shoot his wife questioning looks and wait.

Soon Scarlet came into the room. “I’m going to start dinner,” she announced. “Virginia, why don’t you and Wolf fetch me some water. Did you tell him what happened yet?”

“No,” Virginia said.

Wolf licked his lips and looked from his wife to Scarlet.

“Well, there’s no point in trying to keep it a secret from him,” Scarlet said. “All of you have become like family these last two days. Josiah will take care of the children. I just need to be alone for a while.”

“Of course,” Virginia said.

Wolf put Lazar in his crib and they left the children in the care of their father.

“So what’s it about?” Wolf asked, swinging the wooden water pail anxiously at his side.

“Well,” Virginia said, “your sister was right.”

“About what?”

Virginia stopped and put her hand on her husband’s arm and looked into his eyes. Now Wolf was really scared.

“You are Red Riding Hood’s grandson,” Virginia said.

“What? No.”

“It’s true. Scarlet ran into Red the Second today and they certainly knew each other.”

“Then why didn’t she ever tell us?”

“She says it’s because she was afraid one of you might say something out of turn and get the family into trouble. She probably would have told you when you got older.”

“I can’t believe it,” Wolf said, pulling away from his wife’s blue eyes and continuing on down to the creek.

“Come on,” Virginia said, running after him. “Can’t you see the resemblance between your mother and Topaz? Emerald’s family apparently has a thing for wolves. Every now and then, one them just has to run off with one. I can’t wait to tell Dad.”

Wolf shook his head uncomprehendingly. “Oh, sure, he’ll love that. Not only am I related to Aesophocles, I’m related to Little Red Riding Hood too. My self-help books would call both sides of my family extremely dysfunctional.” He huffed loudly and shook himself at the thought.