“It’ll be a while before that crowd clears out,” I said. “Let’s go see who didn’t win.”
He nodded and followed me as I walked over to the table where the entries in category 127 were displayed. We stood side by side a few feet from the entries and studied them.
“Cordelia’s not here,” Dad said, with a note of rising excitement in his voice.
I stepped closer and examined the remaining entries one by one. Many Black Magic roses . . . a couple of numbered seedlings . . . but no 2005-427, which was still the official name for Dad’s Cordelia rose.
The last rose, Mrs. Winkleson’s so-called Black Magic, had the letters DQ written on the top of the tag.
“What’s DQ?” I asked Dad.
“Disqualified,” he said. “Who’s disqualified?”
“Mrs. Winkleson’s entry. The stolen Matilda.”
“That’s impossible,” Dad said. He hurried to my side and peered down at the rose. It was as beautiful as ever, and a full shade darker than any of the others— maybe two shades. Hard to believe it hadn’t won.
Rose Noire came running up.
“Meg! One of my roses was a runner up! Well, Mrs. Sechrest’s roses, but I groomed it! And your Mother won Queen of the Show!”
“Splendid,” I said. “Not Dowager Queen?”
“No, Mrs. Burke won that. Even the chief’s in a good mood. And Uncle James! Your Cordelia rose won the black swan!”
“Wonderful!” Dad exclaimed. “But why did the judges disqualify Matilda? She’s just as good as Cordelia any day.”
I reached down to Mrs. Winkleson’s stolen entry and lifted up the tag so we could see it better.
“Ooh,” I said. “The judges have sharp eyes.”
Written beneath the DQ were the words, “This is NOT a Black Magic rose!!!!”
“No,” Dad said softly. “It’s a Matilda Hollingsworth. And now that I’ve got her back, she’ll be winning a few shows herself.”
With a broad smile on his face, Dad marched to the other end of the barn to inspect his trophy.
Table of Contents
Cover Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Swan for the Money Page 25