Marek’s family sat with
them, although Bryn sat at one of the trestle tables, a better vantage point
for grabbing the backside of every passing serving girl. As she looked around
the great hall, Kitty thought every villager in Stonebridge must be in
attendance. Many had never been to a feast as grand as this.

There was no corn or
sweet potatoes, but Vale and Bryn had managed to hunt down a flock of birds
remarkably like turkeys. There was no end to the bread stuffing, gravy, even
stewed cranberries. Kitty herself had been guiding the cooks for a week to
prepare enough food for everyone. They had even baked over one hundred pumpkin
pies for dessert.

“My lady,” Bryn called
from the floor below. “Tell me again the name you have given this feast.”

“Thanksgiving,” Kitty
shouted back to him. “While you’re eating, you have to go around the table and
tell about something you’re thankful for.”

Marek reached over and
squeezed her hand.

Thane, who sat next to
Bria, leaned behind his niece to speak to her. “Sister,” he said with a lowered
voice only she could hear. “I have been forced to contend with talk of you
among many of the villagers. It is not wise for you to suddenly appear out of a
fire. I can only do so much to protect you. I beg you not do it again.”

Kitty smiled at him. “I
promise.” She reached beneath the table and pulled out one of the carpet bags
she’d brought with her. “I have something for you.”

When she handed him the
portable Play Station, he looked at her like she might indeed be from the
devil. Kitty smiled. “It’s a game. Watch.” She pushed the little machine
beneath the table and away from prying eyes.

Thane nearly dropped the
PSP when it lit up. “Shh. You’ll have to keep it secret. This is an easy game
called PacMan. You have to move him through the path and eat as many of these
little dots as possible. But don’t get caught.”

Kitty left Thane to the
wonder of electronic video games and moved to sit next to Remi. He looked at
her skeptically, but over the last few days, his animosity towards her had
dimmed some. She reached into her bag and pulled out a portable DVD player. She
had already loaded the Robin Hood
movie.

Remi barely breathed as
the credits started. “Don’t watch it now. If you’re caught, we might all be
burned at the stake. But pay particular attention to the parts about Prince
John.”

She caught Bryn’s
attention as he was in between wenches and motioned for him to join her. She
pulled a handful of Legos from her bag and spread them out on the table, hoping
no one nearby was paying them any attention. “Look…you can snap them together,
pull them apart. I have a whole box of them for you in my room. They come in
all sizes and colors and you can build anything out of them.”

Adin and Vale were
enveloped in ladies, so Kitty decided their gifts could wait. Vale would not
need his bullet-proof vest for several months yet. Adin would have years to
perfect his technique with help from the pristine copy of The Karma Sutra she’d gotten him.

By midnight, Bria had
crawled into Thane’s lap and fallen asleep. Kitty would have to give her the
Barbie doll later. Vanesa, however, was having the time of her life. She leaned
forward to peer around the massive form of her stepfather. “Mom!” When Kitty
looked across at her, Vanesa held up her goblet of weak ale. “Huzzah!” They
both laughed as Kitty toasted with her. “This is so much better than the
Renaissance Festival.”

“What is this
‘renaissance’?” Marek asked.

Kitty smiled and shook
her head. “Come carry Bria up to bed. I have a gift for you.”

Back Cover Copy:

Boring accountant, Kitty Petty, struggles to get through
each day one at a time since the brutal murder of her husband. She spends every
free moment caring for her young daughter, until the night she wakes to find
her bed on fire.

Kitty doesn’t know how she got to the year 1196, much less
how to get back. But if she doesn’t, her daughter will be institutionalized.
Having failed to save her child from the clutches of a madman. Kitty vows to
protect her future. But going back to her time means risking her own life and
separating her from the knight she has grown to love.

Marek Stone wants to protect his wife from the people of
Stonebridge. Katherine has been declared a demon after her miraculous rise from
the funeral pyre, and the villagers want justice.

Kitty doesn’t know how she got to the year 1196, much less
how to get back. But she must if she has any hope of saving her daughter.
However, the knight who loves her will do anything to make her stay.

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