Page 2 of Chivalry in the Meadow (Hope Runs Deep #2)

She glanced at the carved wooden owl on her fireplace mantle which had also sat on her grandmother’s fireplace mantle.

Worn smooth from years of being touched, she sometimes took it down just to hold it, as she’d done as a young child.

Though now she did it when she was remembering her grandmother. A tactile way of remembering.

Last night she’d had that dream about an owl.

She wondered what her grandmother would have said about it.

Her grandmother had died right before Mia went to high school, so Lilly had never met her.

Now that her parents had passed, there were few people still living who remembered her grandmother and she missed having that connection with someone who did.

There were days when she missed her grandmother very much, as her grandmother had raised her while her father worked. Today was one of them.

Instead of taking the owl down and holding it, Mia turned her attention to her book and began to read, forgetting everything but the story of the medieval world she was immersing herself in.

Soon she would be in a real-life medieval world, or as close as you could get to it in a modern age. And she couldn’t wait.

A sound outside drew her attention away from the novel. Lilly.

Mia peered out the window as Lilly’s car pulled into her driveway. Good. She’s here.

She dropped the paperback into her handbag and was out the door with it and her overnight bag before Lilly could make it out of the car and up the walk to ring the bell.

Lilly rolled down the passenger side window and grinned. “Excited?” Lilly asked through the window, laughing, because she already knew the answer.

“Yes!” Mia opened the car door, got in, and swung the door closed.

She turned to face Lilly. “Tell me more about the Ren Faire, and about your cousin. I know people usually pay to attend the Faire for the day and evening, and then go home when the Faire closes. But I don’t know much about the people who work those events.

And I met Finn for all of two minutes at your grandfather’s funeral a few years ago. I don’t remember much about him.”

“We were just kids, so no one would expect you to,” Lilly said. “Finn was always the one in the family who would joke around, make people laugh, play pranks, and get into trouble. But he was quiet and well behaved at grandpa’s funeral, so you didn’t see that side of him.”

“What does he do now?” Mia asked. “Other than this summer job, what else does he do?”

“For the past two years, he worked for the circus, as a fire breather and flame swallower. Circus people go to Florida in the winter and practice down there, before touring starts up again. But he wanted to try something different this summer, so he accepted the Ren Faire job.”

They had an hour and thirty-minute drive to get to the Ren Faire, so they went to a fast-food drive through and got two hamburgers and two chocolate shakes.

They ate on the way, instead of stopping, as both were anxious to get there before dark.

If the Ren Faire food turned out to be expensive, at least tonight’s supper wouldn’t be.

They’d drop their stuff in Finn’s tent, and find the costume lady to pick out dresses, without having to worry about supper as well.

“I had an unusual dream last night.” Mia said.

“I dreamed an owl came through my bedroom window and perched on my dresser, looking at me. But when I woke, it flew away. I think that must have been part of the dream, because when I woke and got up, I check the window. It was closed and there was no owl to be seen.”

“Weird,” Lilly said. “Have you been reading about owls, or seen one on TV?

“No.”

“You and your birds,” Lilly said.

Mia was always noticing birds, often when no one else did.

Now I suppose they’ve followed me into my dreams , she thought. At least it was a kindly owl. She didn’t know how she know that it was, but she did.

“Are you missing your grandmother?” Lilly asked. Being her best friend since high school, she was very astute sometimes.

“Yes, how did you guess?”

“Every time you talk about owls, you tend to bring her up,” Lilly smiled. “This time you didn’t.”

“I suppose it’s because my mind has been so much on the Renaissance Faire,” Mia said.

“Mine too,” Lilly said. “I’m excited! What are you most looking forward to this weekend?”

“So many things, I don’t know where to start,” Mia said. “I love the idea of stepping back in time, wearing pretty, renaissance gowns and meeting handsome knights. The music, maybe dancing, and the jousting.” She laughed. “I’m looking forward to all of it!”

Lilly laughed with her. “You’re such a romantic. I’m hoping the knights are handsome and manly, not girly.”

“Girly?” Mia laughed.

“You know, the kind who fusses overly much with their appearance. Vain and preening. I cannot be attracted to a girly type of man.”

“Oh yes, I do know.” Mia nodded. “And a girly type of man is not likely to be attracted to you.” she laughed. “They lean the other way. Are you thinking of men in tights? I’d love to see them wearing armor. That would be manly.”

“Men in tights could be sexy, if they were manly men, and had strong thighs.” Lilly said. “I agree about the armor. Maybe some will be single.”

“I have terrible luck with boyfriends,” Mia said. “You know I do. There must be something wrong with me.”

“Jerry was a jerk, but that had nothing to do with you,” Lilly said.

Yes , Mia silently agreed. Jerry was a jerk.

“There’s nothing wrong with you,” Lilly said.

“You have gorgeous red hair, and an adorable scattering of freckles across your nose when you’re not hiding them with makeup.

You have curves and men always like that.

But best of all, you’re kind and considerate.

A good man will see that and see you. Really see you. ”

“Where are all the good men?” Mia asked. “Whatever happened to the heroes of old, men not afraid to stare death in the face, and even laugh bravely at it? To protect and defend their women. Who have a sense of adventure. Where are the men who’d risk anything for the woman they love?”

“We call them alpha males,” Lilly said. “And your romances are full of them. Which you know as you read too many of them.”

“No such thing,” Mia retorted. “And you read just as many murder mysteries.”

“What can I say,” Lilly shrugged. “I like to see villains get their comeuppance, and murders to be solved.”

“I want romance, Lilly,” Mia said. “And I want someone to love.”

“The kind of men in your romance novels likely don’t exist,” Lilly said.

“And if they do, they’re few and far in between.

The thing is, we ask where are the good men all day long, but that does nothing to help us find one.

Better to go out there and try. This could be an opportunity for us both to meet a wonderful guy.

Maybe you’ll get lucky and find one this weekend. ”

“I hope so. That would be simply amazing,” Mia said and with a dreamy smile looked out the window to daydream.

Lilly glanced at her and then left her to her thoughts.

Finally, they reached a gravel drive leading to the parking lot of the Ren Faire and saw a huge sign welcoming fairgoers.

Lilly found where the workers parked when she saw Finn’s truck and parked in near it.

“Do you need to call Finn, and let him know we’re here?” Mia asked.

“No. He left our tickets at the gate,” Lilly said. “He gets comp tickets, so he’s getting us in this way. We can act like guests, even if we’re in gowns. We’ll fit right in, once we change.”

“I’m in no hurry,” Mia said. She watched people in regular clothes heading toward the entrance.

They also wore jeans, so she’d blend in wearing hers.

She wasn’t ready to answer questions, as she knew nothing about the layout, not even where the restrooms were.

“Are we going to have to change our clothes right away?”

“No,” Lilly said. “Since I can tell you’re not ready for that, let’s go in the front gate, use our tickets to get in, find a map, and do a general walk around. We can find out if there’s an employee gate for when we come back out to my car.”

“Sounds good to me,” Mia said. Lilly knew her so well.

They got out, grabbed their bags and started walking toward the entrance.

Mia paused at the edge of the fairground path, near the entrance, her breath catching at the sight before her.

Colorful banners snapped in the breeze overhead, each bearing a different heraldic crest of stags, lions, ravens, serpents, and bears.

The sights and sounds of the banners were already awakening her imagination to step back into medieval times.

Her nervousness started to give way to her growing excitement.

They stepped up to the ticket taker’s booth, gave their names, and waited, while a thin man in a brown and green costume wearing brown boots, looked in a metal box for their tickets.

Once he found the tickets and handed them over, along with a map, they headed in.

Though they had the map, they started moving down the path before them, instead of stopping to look at it, which would hold up the people behind them.

With each step, they moved deeper and deeper into a medieval looking world, leaving the modern mundane world behind.

Laughter echoed from vendor stalls lining the dirt path, mingling with the scent of roasted meats, and the sharp sweetness of mead, drifting in the air.

“I’m not hungry, but things smell good,” Mia said.

“Yes, they do,” Lilly agreed. “I’m glad we already ate though and aren’t starving for something right now. This event is bigger than I thought it would be. Looks like we’ll be doing a lot of walking this weekend.”

“Just think,” Mia said. “Back then, everyone walked everywhere, unless they had a horse, or someone to give them a ride.”

A lute trilled somewhere off to the left. Children darted past in tunics and crowns made of flowers and twisted vines.