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Suffice it to say that, by the time we’d arrived at West Edmonton Mall and met Queen Amelia and dispensed with all the pomp and circumstance, I was ready to learn more about my wife; something which took care of itself when Amelia turned to me in the packed ballroom and said: “You’ve done a man’s job, Mr. Williams; a hero’s job, as promised. My husband was right about you. And that goes for your animal, too. Ank, as they say. And so. The question becomes: Given what you’ve accomplished—how on earth can we ever repay you?”
I didn’t dawdle or mince words. “Your highness, I ask only that you take me to the shop where you purchased the purple dress: the one with the entwined serpents that you gifted Gisela—a shop called Eastern Market, and introduce me to its proprietor. Do this and
