Deep Amber by C.J. Busby

most ravishing young lady’s brother?” He looked questioningly at Cat, who nodded weakly. The knight sheathed his sword, and bowed.
    â€œGentle lady, and good sir knight,” he said, “I am Sir Bedwyr. You have called me forth by your magicks, and I am bound to whatever quest comes my way in this strange land.”
    Cat swallowed, and waved her hand in a kind ofgeneral greeting. Magic? Her legs felt rather weak. There seemed no point in denying it any more… there was magic, and there was another world – and it looked as if someone from that other world had just crashed right into their kitchen.
    The knight turned to his horse, and gave it a pat on the shoulder. “And my gallant steed, Dappletoes, is at your service also.”
    â€œDappletoes?” said Cat. Despite her shock, she felt a strong desire to giggle.
    Sir Bedwyr coughed, and coloured slightly. “Dappletoes was given me by a lady, who bade me call him so. I have fought many knights who dared to laugh at his name,” he added, with a frown at Simon. Simon was trying very hard not to explode with laughter and he looked like he might be in danger of choking as a result.
    â€œYou find the name amusing, young sir?” said Sir Bedwyr, and put his hand to his sword with a meaningful look.
    â€œN-no, no, of course not!” said Simon, but he was very red in the face and Sir Bedwyr was starting to look tetchy, so Cat decided she had better intervene. She moved in front of Simon, and bowed slightly to the knight.
    â€œThank you for… er… responding to my magic,” she said. “We are very pleased to meet you.”
    Sir Bedwyr took Cat’s hand and kissed it. “My lady,” he said, looking at her appreciatively. “I am at your service. But – if it would please you – a jug of mead would be most welcome after my long journey.”
    â€œUm… I’m not sure we’ve got any mead,” said Cat, blushing at the kiss. “How about a cup of tea?”
    Sir Bedwyr bowed. “Any refreshments would be most welcome, my lady. Especially from such a fair hand as yours.”
    It was quite hard to make tea with a large white horse in the way, especially when Sir Bedwyr insisted on showering Cat with non-stop compliments and appreciative glances, making her get all flustered and forget where the tea-bags were kept. Eventually though, the knight was happily settled at the kitchen table, slurping his tea and examining a cheese sandwich with interest, allowing Cat to manoeuvre Simon over to the corner by the window for a swift consultation.
    â€œWhat do we do?” she said, in a low voice,when they were nicely hidden behind the horse. “He’s obviously from the same place as the sword. Do you think we should call Jemmet?”
    â€œBut I thought other worlds and magic didn’t exist?” said Simon, with a grin.
    Cat rolled her eyes. “Okay, okay – you win,” she said. “Clearly they do. But should we call Jemmet? Things seem to be getting out of hand. And… oh my God! What did you do to Mum’s washing?”
    Her eyes had strayed out of the window to the garden, and she could see the trampled bits of laundry scattered over the muddy lawn like left-over patches of white snow after a thaw. She looked back at Simon.
    â€œMum is absolutely going to kill you,” she said.
    He waved his arm impatiently. “I know – I know. But right now we’ve got a large knight from another world sitting at the kitchen table and a white horse eating the pot plants. I’d say we’ve got more pressing things to worry about than washing.”
    Cat nodded. She contemplated Sir Bedwyr, who was now happily tucking in to the cheese sandwich, and then pulled Albert Jemmet’sbusiness card out of her dressing-gown pocket. She picked up her mobile. “Right. I’d better call—”
    But at that moment, Dappletoes lifted his head