Hidden in Time by Sarah Woodbury

Author:Sarah Woodbury
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: time travel, alternate history, wales, england, king of england, middle ages, medieval
Publisher: The Morgan-Stanwood Publishing Group Inc
Published: 2022-05-17T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-three

Day Four

Elen

“Up, Elen!” Gwenllian shoved her shoulder. “It’s time to get up.”

Elen woke from a deep sleep to find her cousin standing over her, her hands on her hips. The shutter that blocked the window at night was open, and the sun was shining brightly into the room. Elen rubbed the sleep from her eyes and pushed up off the pillow. “What time is it?”

“Happy birthday!” Gwenllian was alight with happiness.

Elen’s expression twisted a bit. “I was dreaming!”

“You were going to sleep all day, and we couldn’t stand it any longer. We’re going on a little trip, with a picnic for lunch, so you need to get up!”

Given the rain of yesterday, a picnic had seemed unlikely last night. But a trip sounded more interesting for her birthday than the regular party they had talked about and that Elen had thought her aunt was planning. “Where are we going?”

By the look on her face, Gwenllian was warring with herself as to whether she ought to keep it a surprise, but finally as Elen wrinkled her nose at her, she capitulated. “To St. Albans. There’s a Roman ruin Mom wants to see, and, of course, the abbey. She wants to speak to the abbot.”

Elen knew what that was about. Jewish people had been arriving in England in some numbers for a while, and Aunt Meg had taken it upon herself to ensure nobody was preaching against them. St. Albans had influence because it was the oldest Christian site in England. Alban had been a native Briton (so, in other words, Welsh), beheaded by the Romans for his faith, before the Romans themselves converted to Christianity. This was the kind of thing a girl was required to know when she lived with Aunt Meg.

Elen frowned. “We’re riding?” She knew how to ride, but she wasn’t as proficient as everyone else she lived with who’d grown up with horses.

Gwenllian was practically jumping up and down with excitement. “Of course we’re riding! It will take but a moment to get there by horse. It’s only five miles. I’m tired of being cooped up here all the time, so get going before Mom changes her mind!”

Elen rolled out of bed, entertained as usual by Gwenllian’s enthusiasm. A perfect birthday for Elen herself would have included sleeping the first half of the day and reading a book for the rest, but she could appreciate that it wasn’t sufficient for everyone else. In Wales, fourteen was a momentous birthday, and even if they were currently living in England to support David’s endeavors in France, they were still Welsh.

Gwenllian bustled about the room, gathering her things. Elen joined her, knowing what was necessary. They planned to be gone for just the day, but one never knew what might happen when one left a castle. More than once during their journeys a horse had gone lame on the road, a fierce storm had blown up, or someone had fallen ill, and they’d had to find shelter somewhere other than their intended destination.

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