Read Online Through The Leaded Glass by Judi Fennell - Free Book Online Page B

his
questioning look, but it wasn’t a laughing matter. “I really don’t
know all that much about your world, the country, or the daily life
here. I’ll probably screw up big time. I’m a twenty-first century
American, for Pete’s sake.”
    “ What’s an ‘American’?”
    “ See? I shouldn’t say things like
that. Who knows how it’ll affect history? My history, your
future... Let’s see.” She closed her eyes, calculating Columbus’s
soon-to-be discovery. “Yep, five years. Definitely your future. And
I’m not saying anything about that.”
    “ Very well, Kate.” Alex tapped her
arm. “You were widowed young, have been in seclusion since your
husband’s death, and know little of the world. It will have to do.
Now, I must defeat Farley in the tournament. After that, we’ll
discuss the rest of our plans.”
    “ And my window?”
    “ We’ll look for it immediately
after the joust.” Alex retrieved his gauntlets and held out his
arm. “So, Lady Katherine, will you accompany me as my
betrothed?”
    Kate tucked her hand in the crook of his arm,
committing herself. “I guess I don’t have a choice. Just don’t get
any big ideas, my lord .” She sniffed. “And don’t expect me
to keep calling you that, either.”
    “ Expect you? Isn’t it enough I
believe in time travel and fortune-telling? Now you wish me to
believe in miracles as well?”
     

Chapter Five
     
    The faire grounds were bustling around them
and Kate tried to take in as much as possible. How could she have
assumed this was a re-enactment earlier?
    The clothing, for one, should have been a dead
giveaway. For the most part, gone were the decorative jewel-covered
gowns she’d seen in the twenty-first century. Here people were
poorer, villeins freed from a day of work. If this was their
finery, it was decidedly lacking in beauty.
    And although the cloth was brightly colored,
their clothing had been made for function. The homespun dresses and
woven breeches all bore signs of wear. And just passing these folks
gave her pause; bathing was not a daily occurrence and washing
machines were eons away from invention.
    The air around her, however, was fresh. She
hadn’t realized she didn’t know what truly fresh air was. No
fluorocarbons polluted the air, no car exhaust or industry waste;
heck, the ozone layer was still intact. She breathed deeply—then
choked on the stable smell. Oh, well, at least horse exhaust was
better than car exhaust.
    Horses neighed, musicians sang, and the
townspeople’s laughter and the clang of metal-working all provided
a surreal backdrop as she looked at the jousting field.
    Ringed by a post and rail fence, a long oval
of hard-packed earth stretched out before them. Freshly cut oaks
divided the field for the opponents to face off against each other.
Dozens of men in suits of armor sat on similarly attired horses,
jockeying for position against the fences while the crowd cheered.
Squires scurried here and there, carrying loads of armor almost
bigger than they were while vendors milled about the ringside
hawking meat pies and mead, sweetmeats and pastries like
current-day peanut vendors at sports arenas.
    Benches ringed the field, filled with
spectators waiving the colors of their favorite knights whose
heraldic banners snapped in the breeze. The covered dais was as she
remembered it, and the blue banner was in the same place it’d been
in the twenty-first century. And Alicia was probably just as MIA
there, too
    “ Alex.” Kate leaned close to be
heard over the crowd’s noise. “Alicia told me to meet her by the
blue banner.”
    Alex nodded. “The Shelton area.”
    If she’d needed further proof of Alicia’s
intentions, that was it. Mixed with the annoyance of Alicia playing
both God and Cupid, was the awe that her friend had found out how
to do this in the first place. She better know how to undo it, too.
    Horses charged across the lists in all their
jousting glory, encased in shining armor, the