A Kiss at Midnight

She puzzled over it for a moment. She had spent the last few years devouring the languages and books that she never had access to when younger, but her knowledge of the Greek alphabet was still shaky. “Oh my God,” Kate whispered. “It says DIDO!”

Gabriel burst out laughing.

“What is it, Papa?” Jonas called, jumping about on one leg. “Why are you laughing? Have you seen how good I am on one leg?”

“You’re just like Biggitstiff!” Gabriel chortled.

“It says Dido ,” Kate protested, lying back down and holding the shard up in the light so she could see it better. “It does have a wing, darling.”

“That’s not the wing,” Jonas said disapprovingly. “That’s the bird’s bottom. See, it’s been dropping poop right there.” He pointed to a tiny mark at the bottom of the o for Dido.

“And that ,” Gabriel said, “is an alpha, rather than an omega, as you assumed, m’dear. Jonas’s poop is the wiggle that turns an alpha to an omega.”

“So what does the word mean, then?” Kate asked sleepily.

“My guess is the shard spells half of didascalos ,” Gabriel said, “meaning pupil or disciple. Which is interesting in itself, given that we were speculating over whether there might have been an organized school on the grounds.”

“It’s a bird ,” Jonas said disapprovingly, taking it back.

“Fly the bird outside and find Nanny,” Gabriel said, giving him a little push. “Mama needs a nap. Take Freddie with you.”

Barring the fact that he couldn’t seem to stay out of a shard pile when he saw it, Jonas was a fairly well-behaved boy, so he trotted away, leaving a dusky tent, an amorous prince, and a drowsy princess.

Who found herself tempted . . . and woke up.

Epilogue

I n the wondrously various world of Cinderella s, the prince always manages to find his cinders girl, and carries her off to his castle. Sometimes the evil stepsisters are banished, sometimes they become housemaids in the castle, and once in a blue moon, they transform into house fairies. The wicked stepmother is never seen again, the pumpkin rots in the garden, and the rats are set free to wander whither they wish.

This particular Cinderella ends a bit differently. Of course, the prince did manage to find his cinders girl and carry her off to his castle, except for those months when they happily migrated to warmer, less rainy climes. The evil stepsister, who wasn’t really evil at all, moved to a country estate with her inestimable husband, where they raised eight children. None of Lord Dimsdale’s offspring was very bright, but they were cheerful and extraordinarily beautiful. Even more important, they were very kind, taking after their papa and, indeed, their mama as well.

They did not take after their maternal grandmother, the wicked stepmother, perhaps because they rarely saw her. Mariana sold her estate to Gabriel, who bequeathed it to his brother Wick. She promptly moved to the city and married a prosperous banker. In a short time she acquired three times as many gowns as she had owned before. She died abruptly, of a lung ailment, leaving her banker impoverished and rather less bereft than he would have thought.

Kate and Gabriel settled down together in the messy, charming castle full of relatives, assorted children (they had three), and animals. Freddie lived to a ripe old age, traveling back and forth from archaeological sites with aplomb. The elephant lived even longer, though the lion unfortunately ate two shoes one day and expired the next.

And now I shall borrow from an author of some of the world’s best tales, Rudyard Kipling, to say, O Best Beloved, that every story must come to an end. I leave you with the final, crucial point of fact: They all lived happily ever after.

Even the pickle-eating dog.