closer. It would have been delicious to sit, to catch her breath. But the chairs were too out in the open, too easy to see. And the procession was fast approaching.
So she hid in the shadow of a column, sandwiched between the thick wood and Vaughn.
“Don’t let them see us,” she prayed silently. “Don’t let them see us at all.”
Especially Melinda. If she really thought that she was Queen Elizabeth… Elizabeth inherited her legendary temper from her legendary father, and she was historically known to fly into furies over the littlest things. She especially hated any romances of the Ladies in her Court that were not sanctioned by her.
And from the way Vaughn had his arm around Sammie, even though he was only trying to keep her standing… It could definitely be misinterpreted as a romance.
Thankfully, it was not Melinda who caught them.
The person who did… His temper was far worse than the Queen’s.
And what he did was unthinkable.
<>
“My Lord High Sheriff! What be the meaning of such shocking behavior?”
The Queen’s voice bordered on shrieking. She was seconds away from the hysteria that accompanied her most lethal temper tantrums.
Jameson knew the tone. He heard the danger to himself in it.
He turned from the stage, from the pair he’d sought out with blind anger, and saw the wake of destruction he’d caused. The Queen and her entourage had been torn asunder by a wide path that the festival’s elephant might have caused.
His cheeks exploded in heat. He dropped to one knee and lowered his gaze to the ground. “I beg of you your forgiveness and your pardon, your Grace. I have noticed me my betrothed in the most vile grips of this criminal beggar.” He pointed behind him, to the stage where his Anne was with the vile Puck. “I wished me only to see to her health and wellness. Pray pardon me.”
He dared not move. His excuses were well and good. But the Queen could still have his head for shoving through her as bodily as he did.
The Queen said nothing… For an eternity she remained silent. Jameson’s legs shook. At any second the order would come, and he would lose his head.
“Thou art forgiven thine outburst, my Lord High Sheriff,” the Queen said finally, but sternly. Jameson dared to peak up. The Queen’s eyes were not on him. “Rise, but think thee not that another such outburst shalt be allowed.”
“Your Grace.” Jameson stood and took his proper place behind the Queen. The scoundrel Raleigh shot him a look, but Jameson ignored the pirate. Such a man did not belong in the presence of the Queen.
The Queen stepped towards Anne and the dastardly beggar, still cowering in the shade of the stage. “Remove thy hand from the Lady,” she said to the beggar, whose slimy arm was still wrapped around Anne’s delicate waist. “Remove thy vile hand from the Lady, or see thyself ever parted from it, Sirrah.”
That the beggar listened to the Queen was a surprise. He let go of Anne, and she stumbled forward. Her face was overly flushed. Her breath came in such short gasps it was a miracle she stood at all. It made Puck’s grasp on her all the more explained.
But no more condoned.
The Queen noticed Anne’s countenance, as well. “Art thou well, Lady Halloway?”
<>
If ever she had to convince people that she was Lady Anne Halloway, it was now.
It would do no good to tell these people that it was four and a half hundred years after the year they thought it was. They wouldn’t believe her. It might even make things worse.
If she and Vaughn were going to escape this, she had to play her part.
Sammie stepped into the sun. She considered climbing down the three shallow steps to the board, where now most of the Shire stood, but stopped herself as she stumbled. “Your Grace,” she gasped, and attempted a curtsey. But her exhaustion and her asthma got the better of her. She fell forward.
Johnny
So she hid in the shadow of a column, sandwiched between the thick wood and Vaughn.
“Don’t let them see us,” she prayed silently. “Don’t let them see us at all.”
Especially Melinda. If she really thought that she was Queen Elizabeth… Elizabeth inherited her legendary temper from her legendary father, and she was historically known to fly into furies over the littlest things. She especially hated any romances of the Ladies in her Court that were not sanctioned by her.
And from the way Vaughn had his arm around Sammie, even though he was only trying to keep her standing… It could definitely be misinterpreted as a romance.
Thankfully, it was not Melinda who caught them.
The person who did… His temper was far worse than the Queen’s.
And what he did was unthinkable.
<>
“My Lord High Sheriff! What be the meaning of such shocking behavior?”
The Queen’s voice bordered on shrieking. She was seconds away from the hysteria that accompanied her most lethal temper tantrums.
Jameson knew the tone. He heard the danger to himself in it.
He turned from the stage, from the pair he’d sought out with blind anger, and saw the wake of destruction he’d caused. The Queen and her entourage had been torn asunder by a wide path that the festival’s elephant might have caused.
His cheeks exploded in heat. He dropped to one knee and lowered his gaze to the ground. “I beg of you your forgiveness and your pardon, your Grace. I have noticed me my betrothed in the most vile grips of this criminal beggar.” He pointed behind him, to the stage where his Anne was with the vile Puck. “I wished me only to see to her health and wellness. Pray pardon me.”
He dared not move. His excuses were well and good. But the Queen could still have his head for shoving through her as bodily as he did.
The Queen said nothing… For an eternity she remained silent. Jameson’s legs shook. At any second the order would come, and he would lose his head.
“Thou art forgiven thine outburst, my Lord High Sheriff,” the Queen said finally, but sternly. Jameson dared to peak up. The Queen’s eyes were not on him. “Rise, but think thee not that another such outburst shalt be allowed.”
“Your Grace.” Jameson stood and took his proper place behind the Queen. The scoundrel Raleigh shot him a look, but Jameson ignored the pirate. Such a man did not belong in the presence of the Queen.
The Queen stepped towards Anne and the dastardly beggar, still cowering in the shade of the stage. “Remove thy hand from the Lady,” she said to the beggar, whose slimy arm was still wrapped around Anne’s delicate waist. “Remove thy vile hand from the Lady, or see thyself ever parted from it, Sirrah.”
That the beggar listened to the Queen was a surprise. He let go of Anne, and she stumbled forward. Her face was overly flushed. Her breath came in such short gasps it was a miracle she stood at all. It made Puck’s grasp on her all the more explained.
But no more condoned.
The Queen noticed Anne’s countenance, as well. “Art thou well, Lady Halloway?”
<>
If ever she had to convince people that she was Lady Anne Halloway, it was now.
It would do no good to tell these people that it was four and a half hundred years after the year they thought it was. They wouldn’t believe her. It might even make things worse.
If she and Vaughn were going to escape this, she had to play her part.
Sammie stepped into the sun. She considered climbing down the three shallow steps to the board, where now most of the Shire stood, but stopped herself as she stumbled. “Your Grace,” she gasped, and attempted a curtsey. But her exhaustion and her asthma got the better of her. She fell forward.
Johnny
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