Circle of Knowledge

Poor Elliot Saint James.

He was the bookseller over at Circle of Knowledge and the local archivist.

He had just learned that his wife cheated on him. And he's chosen to cry on MY shoulders. How ironic. Especially with Gustave acting stranger and stranger.

"It's going to be all right. You'll find someone else," I told him.

"That's just it," he reminded me, "I already have."

"So you're the one who cheated?"

"She cheated first," he said, "but then I tried to get back at her and cheated myself."

I shook my head. Those games NEVER work.

So while Elliot had his eyeballs deep in the archives ...

I sneaked in to fish out some of the notes for the research paper on the history of nectar that Gustave so absent-mindedly misplaced somewhere in that house. Either that or Jolene tossed that paper in the garbage.

After I was done with getting the notes, I waited outside Gustave's place for him. I was careful to stand next to his marble fountain so that he'd see me. My dress looks like it could be a regular girly flowered dress but it actually has a skull print.

"Bonjour!" he greeted me, still wearing his work uniform. "Interesting outfit."

I laughed. "Merci beaucoup," was all I managed to come up with for a reply.

"Guess what? I did it."

"You did what?"

"I did it. I got those notes for the paper we're presenting to the historical society."

"How?"

"Tres simple, I sneaked into the archives, then I put together the notes I had. Seriously, did you expect me to just let this go?"

"Vous êtes-vous incroyable, savez-vous cela?"

"Je sais."

"To say you are an American, your French is excellent. If I didn't know any better, I'd have thought you a native."