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Bryn gave Elwyn a gallant bow, then held out his arm for her to take. “May I escort you to the festival, my lady?”
She took his arm. “I would be honored.” But his escort didn’t last long. He needed both hands to pick up the urn of floral tea she’d prepared, and she carried a small basket of medical supplies in case of emergencies and a lantern to light their way home, though they had no need of it now.
It appeared that the entire village had turned out, including people Elwyn didn’t recall meeting. Word must have spread to the surrounding countryside. Mair ran up to them when they arrived and dropped a floral garland with ribbons hanging from behind it on Elwyn’s head. “Isn’t this lovely?” Mair said. “This is just what the village needed. What did you bring?”
“A cold tea that should be refreshing after everyone’s been dancing,” Elwyn said. “I’m afraid I don’t have much else to contribute. I am prepared if people get blisters from dancing or if they eat too much and develop indigestion.”
“You also brought a lot of the flowers, so you’ve contributed plenty.” To Bryn, she said, “You can set that urn down on that table, by the ale keg.” When he was gone, she took Elwyn’s arm and said softly, “He looks rather nice in those old clothes, though they might need some alteration.”
“Yes, he does.”
She must have sounded wistful because Mair asked, “What’s wrong? Did something happen between you?”
“Nothing can happen between us while he doesn’t know who he is.”
“Ah, yes, I can see where that might be a problem. You wouldn’t want to start a torrid affair, only to learn that he’s got a wife and children he has to return to. His memory hasn’t budged?”
“Not a bit, and I’ve done everything I know how to do. That’s why he’s going to leave to go find more help than I can give him.”
“He’s leaving?”
“He may travel with the musicians when they go, if they’ll take him. He needs to know who he is, and he’s well enough to travel. If he doesn’t have anything tying him down, he’ll come back, and then we’ll know.”
“And you’re afraid he won’t come back. I think he will, though. The village draws the people who need to be here, and it wouldn’t have drawn him if he had ties elsewhere.”
“It may not have drawn him. He seems to have been nearby for some other reason, and then he stumbled upon my cottage.”
“We don’t know how it works, and I choose to see the miracle. Now, come eat.”
Elwyn hadn’t seen so much food since she left the duke’s court. There, great feasts with many courses had been the norm. The people at court took the feasts for granted, but for these villagers, this was a real treat. With contributions from everyone, there was more variety than most of them were accustomed to. The Chicken Lady carved and served the chickens she’d contributed. “I can’t believe you gave us some of your chickens,” Elwyn said as the lady placed a slice of breast on her plate.
“These are roosters, and they’re mostly useless to me. I only need one. The rest get eaten.”
Elwyn also got a thick slice of mutton. She could hardly wait to sit and begin eating. She hadn’t had meat, aside from bits of bacon for seasoning soups and beans, in months. There were also greens, bread, and cheese, but she ate the meat first, chewing slowly to savor it. Bryn brought his plate over and joined her at the table. “I don’t know if I normally eat like this or not, but I think this may be the best food I’ve ever had, if I say so myself.” In a softer voice, he added, “Don’t tell Gladys I said that.”
“You do seem to have a talent for a roast. I’m sure Gladys could do as well if she had the resources. She’s been making the most of what was left in the cottage, what I’ve been able to grow since I’ve been here, and what I can trade for.” But Gladys would be back to cooking for one soon, so she wouldn’t need as much. The thought put a lump in Elwyn’s throat.
While people were still eating, the musicians began playing. They had tuned their instruments properly, Elwyn noted, which was a good sign. There were three of them, a piper, a drummer, and a viol player. They played softly during the meal, providing a musical backdrop to the conversation at the table.
The miller and his wife took the seats on Elwyn’s other side—with Nesta between Elwyn and her husband, much to Elwyn’s relief. Other regulars from the shop stopped by to chat. Elwyn had barely lived in the village for two months, but she actually felt like she belonged. She wasn’t treated like an outsider, the way she had been at court. There, she hadn’t had a defined place. She was a confidant of the duke’s, and she interacted with others when she tended to them, but she wasn’t considered a courtier, so they saw her as beneath them. Even if they’d known the position she’d been born into, they still would have considered her to be on the bottom rung of their society.
Here, no one seemed to care where she’d come from. In the absence of a lord, there was no real village hierarchy. If anyone could be said to rule the village, it was probably Mair, and since she’d accepted Elwyn fully, almost everyone else also did.
The only sour note came from Sara Smith, who glared at her as though she hated the festival and it was all Elwyn’s fault. Her husband wasn’t quite as dour as she was, but he also wasn’t particularly friendly to anyone. He gave the impression of someone who would have preferred not to be there. Sara whispered to people and glanced toward Elwyn, as though accusing her of something. As far as Elwyn could tell, she hadn’t swayed anyone, but it wasn’t for lack of trying.
Elwyn forced herself to ignore Sara and turned her attention to Bryn. “That may be the best mutton I’ve ever had,” she said.
“It’s certainly the best I can remember.” His expression clouded briefly. “It’s also the only mutton I can remember.”
“But you knew exactly how to cook it, so you must have had it before.”
“I don’t know how I knew that. I just knew. It’s very strange. What else do I know how to do that I don’t know I know how to do it because it hasn’t come up?”
“We should run you through the village and let you try a little of everything.”
“I’m not sure I’ll have time for that before I have to go.”
She fought back the wave of melancholy that struck her at his words and forced a smile. “It might be easier to just get your memories back, and then you’ll know without having to try to bake bread or forge horseshoes.”
