Bewitching Boots Read online

  “Good fortune to you, Lady Jessie!”

  “Hey—will you bring me back a sandwich and a tankard of ale?” Bill requested. “I probably shouldn’t leave again after being gone all morning.”

  “Sure.”

  I started down the cobblestones, not sure where I was going. Dozens of archers in brightly colored leather hailed me, their broad smiles interested, and muscles rippling. I was sure Robin Hood was checking them out. He was always looking for new Merry Men—and Women.

  I thought Chase might have time for lunch. He had to eat, right? If I could catch him before he changed clothes and went back out, we could have lunch together.

  I walked into the bottom floor of the Dungeon where the cries for help from jailed prisoners rent the air. They were just mannequins made up to look like pathetic people who’d been tortured and left to die. I scared two young boys who were wandering by the cells when I closed the outside door.

  I have to admit that the crying and wailing isn’t too bad during the day, but when Chase accidentally leaves the soundtrack on at night, it can be a little unnerving.

  “Excuse me, good sirs.” I made a curtsy to them and smiled to let them know it was still safe.

  “Uh-hi.” One of them smiled and spoke back.

  “Have you seen the Bailiff? A big fellow with a braid wearing brown leather.”

  They glanced at each other. “No,” the same child answered. “But we just got here.”

  “Thank you, my lads! A good day to you!” I checked upstairs anyway, carefully locking the door to the apartment after I went inside. I didn’t want the kids following me. Chase had already changed and was gone. His gray suit and tie were on the bed.

  With a sigh, I put them in the closet. At least he’d put his shirt in the hamper.

  The boys downstairs were gone when I left the apartment. An older girl and boy had replaced them. They were flirting. He was trying to scare her. She was pretending that he was. Harmless fun.

  I ignored them and went outside.

  I glanced toward the Field of Honor. It was between jousting times so the large dirt field was empty. There were bleachers on either side where fans would cheer on their favorite knights. At the back of the field was the grandstand set up for royal personages and their guests. There was a joust in honor of the king and one in honor of the queen each day, as well as the Peasant’s Joust.

  I knew Chase was interviewing potential knights and scouting for jousters. Maybe he went to the field. We might still have time for a big pretzel with mustard and ale from the cart near the field.

  There were many knights who lived in the Village, but only a select few were chosen to be in the jousts. The candidates had to be good with horses, have large egos, and be willing to do anything for the sake of applause.

  To be fair, it wasn’t easy working at the Field of Honor. I’d worked there for a few months as a squire one summer. It was amazing watching the riders as they went through their paces. They had to learn how to joust with another man coming at them with a large lance—making it appear real while not seriously injuring anyone.

  But since the point was to knock your opponent from his horse, there were many strains, sprains, and backaches. None were life threatening because of the training.

  Chase had worked at the field for a few years both as the Black Knight, and the Queen’s Champion. Everyone had loved him and had been sorry to see him go when he decided to take on the role of the Village Bailiff.

  I leaned against the heavy wood fence that surrounded the field. Even though there were no jousts at that time, a few interested residents and visitors were in the bleachers watching as the potential knights trained.

  There were twelve men wearing lackey’s clothes of colorful shirts and dark britches. They each wore a breastplate to protect their chests. Later they would be required to wear full armor if they made the cut.

  I’d worn armor a few times for one reason or another. I’d never experienced anything hotter and more difficult to move in than a suit of metal. The ones used now were of lighter weight materials than they had been during the Middle Ages, but they were still like wearing a tin can with your arms and legs sticking out.

  In the summer, that was like being in a soup can being cooked for lunch. Not a pleasant experience, yet hundreds of young men vied for their place to be jousters each hiring cycle. Not many lasted longer than a few months.

  I’d been right. Chase was in the middle of everything. He’d left his leather at home, wearing his loose green shirt and brown britches with the breastplate that had been given to him by Queen Olivia. His dark hair was dusty and pulling free from his usual neat braid, but I could still hear girls sighing by the fence as they watched him demonstrate what would be required of a jousting knight.

  He loved horses and had a large collection of miniatures he kept at the Dungeon. Horses seemed to love him too. They followed his slightest body movement and responded to what he needed them to do. It came easy for Chase. That’s why he’d been so good at it.

  “We’ll be working with the lances today,” he told the candidates. “Not against each other—not until you’ve mastered using them against the dummies. Everyone grab a lance and a horse and then line up, six in front of each target.”

  He hadn’t noticed me yet. I thought about all the times I’d watched him working out here before we were together. He was always the star of the jousts, whether he was the evil Black Knight or receiving a rose from the queen as her champion. People in the bleachers had screamed his name.

  “He should do the whole show by himself.” A young woman wearing a knee-length blond wig and fairy wings was standing beside me. “I’d like to help him take off his armor every day.”

  She smiled at me with her glittery fairy face, a Pan’s pipe hanging from her neck. Her dress, what little there was of it, was almost transparent in the sun.

  I hated fairies. They might seem sweet and nice in stories, but here at the Village, they were devious and conniving. And they were always tiny and fragile-looking. None of them had size twelve shoes or were six feet tall.

  “I don’t think so.” I smiled, wanting to run a lance into her. “You must be new here. He’s married.”

  Her very blue eyes widened innocently. “I don’t want to marry him. I’d just like to spend some time in one of the fountains with him—after he takes off his armor.”

  “Go away.” I turned, too annoyed to play games with her. “I have magic dust in my pouch that kills fairies. I’d hate to see you dead on the cobblestones.”

  “Sorry. But this isn’t a LARP. I’d just get up and run after him again. What is his wife thinking letting him out here alone like this?”

  Since she wouldn’t leave me alone, I moved away from that side of the fence. My friend, D’Amos Torres, worked with the animals in the Village. He was standing next to Hans Von Rupp, the Village blacksmith. They were watching the knights practice too.

  “Jessie!” D’Amos smiled when he saw me. “Nice crop of new knights, huh? I really like the redhead in the blue breastplate. Who would’ve ever thought we’d see a female knight who wants to be a jouster?”

  Chapter Six

  It seemed I’d found the source of the rumor mill that was saying Chase and I were breaking up.

  “Women don’t belong out there,” Hans said. “They’ll only get hurt.”

  D’Amos laughed. “I’ve been watching this one for a few days. She has style and knows how to ride a horse.”

  Hans snorted. “She’s still gonna get knocked out of her saddle a few times, and she’ll come up crying. I don’t think she belongs out there.”

  The horses and riders were lining up in front of the two dummies they would be attempting to hit with their lances. Safety always came first. Chase worked hard teaching the jousters not to have accidents.

  I watched him lean over the rider in the blue breastplate—her hair was pinned up so it was hard to tell that she was a woman. He was adjusting something on her s
addle. Or showing her a better way to hold the lance. People had injuries every year from holding the lance the wrong way.

  Why didn’t he tell me that he was training a female knight to joust?

  Not that it mattered to me. I trusted Chase, but he had to know that his hands-on methods would become fodder for Village gossip. Just having a female knight would be enough to set idle tongues wagging. Since she was spending time with Chase that meant there was more to gossip about.

  He probably didn’t think anything of it. It was a job to him. He enjoyed training the knights. I was sure he didn’t care if one of them was a woman.

  But why didn’t he tell me?

  Hans had to go back to work at his shop. He was responsible for shoeing all the horses in the Village and sold specialty iron items he made at his forge.

  D’Amos had once worked at the zoo in Columbia. We’d met years before when I was still teaching at the University there. I’d convinced him to come to the Village when he was ready to retire. Now he used his skills to keep a large group of animals—from elephants and camels to goats and pigs—healthy and happy. He also took care of the Cinderella carriages that visitors used for weddings and to tour the Village.

  “I’ve heard the rumors,” he said with no preliminary. “I hope you’re not paying any attention to them. Chase loves you, Jessie. People are crazy if they think he cares about that Katharina woman. He’s only training her like he is all those others.”

  “Katharina?”

  “Yeah. She goes by one name, like Madonna or Liberace. She probably thinks people will pay more attention to her.”

  I wasn’t sure if her name made any difference, but she had a good seat on her horse. She’d be notorious as the only woman rider. I wished I’d thought of it. I loved the Field of Honor. I thought there was some kind of rule about not having any women there. I didn’t think to ask.

  “You’re not worried, are you?” D’Amos asked.

  “No. Of course not. Chase has to wade through tons of fairies, princesses, and washing women every day. What makes Katharina so special?”

  By this time, eleven of the twelve riders were on the ground. They’d either lost control of their horse or were pushed from the saddle when their lance hit its target. A few were laughing about it. Chase made a quick cut to get rid of eight of them who’d had the hardest time. Those riders left the field in disgrace but could still work as knights.

  Three knights got up and grabbed their horses. Katharina was the only one to hit the target and stay on her horse. She was obvious to spot in the group as she removed her blue breastplate and shook loose her waist-length brown hair. Red highlights glinted in her tresses. I could hear the male sighs around me as they watched her.

  “Oh yeah.” D’Amos wiped his broad forehead with a cloth. “She’s gonna be popular.”

  * * *

  I waited at the side of the Field of Honor while the four knights remaining received a few further instructions from Chase before he let them go to the showers. The show was over. Watchers from the bleachers disappeared, most back to their jobs. A few knaves, squires, and vassals started working on preparing the field ready for the next joust. They had to smooth the dirt and put away the practice dummies. Everything had to be perfect for the King’s Joust which was the last joust of the day.

  Sir Marcus Bishop was coming toward me. He was a handsome young knight with his own Facebook page and a legion of fans that followed him everywhere. He always arrived early to sign autographs and prepare for the joust. He seemed to be in his early twenties. He had a big ego that matched his great skill with the horses—and the ladies—of the Village.

  I decided that he would be a perfect match for Katharina. All I had to do was set them up. That would solve the problem for me with the gossips, and the two of them could be the stars of the show together. Everyone would love it.

  “Lady Jessie.” Marcus bowed deeply, but kept his smiling blue gaze on mine. “You do me honor by attending my joust.”

  “Save it for the women who don’t already hate you,” I said. “I’m waiting for Chase.”

  “Of course you are.”

  “Have you seen the new jousting candidate?” Katharina was already off the field, but I thought I could throw out my first salvo toward their relationship. “She’s a beauty and good with a horse. Perfect for you.”

  “Women don’t belong on the Field of Honor,” he said in a pleasant tone. “Women are perfect to help a man recover from his arduous endeavors at the end of the day. They shouldn’t be knights.”

  So much for that campaign.

  It was doubtful that Katharina would give her favor to a knight who didn’t support her attempt to become a jouster. I wouldn’t.

  “Good day, Lady Jessie.” Marcus smiled and saluted. He hefted his duffle bag and started toward the stables.

  Chase and Katharina were walking toward me, heads bent close together, talking and laughing. My heart did a little pitter-patter of jealousy before I could rein it back. D’Amos was right. It was stupid for me to take stock in the gossip.

  Katharina punched Sir Marcus in the arm as she passed him. Clearly, it was intentional. Maybe there was hope for them after all.

  Marcus ignored her and continued to the stable behind the royal grandstand.

  Chase saw me and waved. “Jessie! There’s someone I want you to meet.”

  Katharina descended on me in all her glory. She was a tall, muscular woman with an athletic body. She had beautiful blue eyes, and smooth, tan skin. She was probably somewhere in her twenties.

  “Lady Jessie, this is Katharina, first female knight of Renaissance Village, and possibly the first woman jouster.” Chase smiled at her as he spoke.

  “Lady Jessie.” Katharina curtsied. “I am honored to meet you. If it were not for the tutoring the Bailiff has given me, I am sure I would have fallen by the wayside.”

  “I’m sure you’re being modest,” I told her. “I was watching. You were good on the field today.”

  “Thank you very much. This is a lifelong dream for me. My father is Sir Reginald, one of the first knights to ever tread this hallowed soil. I have always wanted to be like him.”

  That surprised me. I didn’t know that Sir Reginald had a family. He was always at the castle, and it was common knowledge that he’d had an affair with Queen Olivia. But that was years ago. Now he stayed on as one of the envoys of the royal couple. He’d had a formidable reputation at the Field of Honor when he was in his prime. He hadn’t even put on a suit of armor in a long time.

  “I know Sir Reginald,” I returned. “I’m certain that he’s happy to have you here.”

  “You’d think so.” She pushed her hair out of her face with an impatient hand. The wind meshed the loose strands of her red-brown hair with Chase’s dark strands.

  I longed to tear them apart. Careful. Everyone is watching. They’re waiting for you to act like you’re jealous. Don’t turn a few days of explanations into weeks of torment.

  “So he’s not a fan.” I gritted my teeth as I said it. I just wanted to grab Chase and get him away from her.

  “Alas, no.” She smiled. “But I hope to win him over.” She put a slender, gloved hand on Chase’s shoulder. “We start private tutoring on the morrow. With the Bailiff’s personal attention, I hope to be the best jouster ever.”

  That was all the polite Ren speech I could handle. She had not only let her hair come into contact with his, she touched him. And what was up with that not so subtle emphasis on personal?

  “I’m sorry. We have to go. Good afternoon to you, Katharina.” I suddenly realized that I’d been gone from the museum for a lot longer than an hour. Manny and Bill were probably starving.

  “Where are we going?” Chase asked.

  “Away from here,” I growled.

  It wasn’t that Katharina had actually done anything wrong. She was beautiful, young, and strong. She was going to be a knight and a jouster. Chase was going to train her.

  Why wa
sn’t it me?

  “Is something wrong, Jessie?” he asked in the dumbest voice ever.

  “Why didn’t you tell me that you were personally training a woman to be a jouster?” My long legs moved rapidly over the cobblestones. Maybe Bill was right and the sandals were magical. I was walking faster than Chase for once.

  “What difference does it make? I tutor most of the new jousters. I thought you’d be thrilled that there’s a woman candidate for jousting.”

  I stopped walking so abruptly that he almost ran into me. “What difference does it make? Every person I met in the Village today, including Tilly Morgenstern, told me how sorry they are that we’re breaking up. Even Wanda knew about it. I thought they were all crazy—until I saw the two of you together.”

  He laughed.

  Bad mistake.

  “You can’t be serious! After all this time, you think I’m interested in someone else? I can’t believe you’d think I’d have anything to do with Katharina besides training,” Chase complained. “I can’t believe you don’t trust me after we’ve been married almost a year.”

  Chase started walking quickly as his voice got louder.

  “It’s not that I don’t trust you.” I caught up with him. “But you can be blind to women throwing themselves at you. I’ve seen you ignore them many times.”

  “That’s right.” His dark eyes were angry. “I ignore them. Not that I think Katharina is throwing herself at me. Men look at you too, Jessie. I don’t think you’re involved with them. I know you and I are together. That’s all that matters to me.”

  “Chase, everyone else is seeing this.”

  “Village gossip. You know that.”

  “And I didn’t know there could be female jousters.”

  “There’s no rule against it. Katharina wants to do it, and she’s good on a horse. She’s the best out of the pack you saw today. I don’t see why she shouldn’t be able to compete on the Field of Honor.”

  “But not with your personal attention,” I argued. “If she’s good, she’ll make it. She doesn’t need your help.”