“That was truly fine, Jamette,” Acelin said in between belches, “my compliments.”
“You are most welcome. We receive visitors so rarely, it makes a pleasant change.”
She had prepared a vegetable stew and baked fresh bread in the stone oven beside the fireplace. Edmond did not notice, but she had brushed her long auburn hair to a sheen and put on her best embroidered smock. An uneducated woman, she took an avid interest in the world around her, such as it was. With a twinkle of curiosity in her eyes and even white teeth, she was an attractive wife, undervalued by her husband. She often wondered what life would be like away from their rustic cabin, in the company of folk who laughed and sang with abandon and worked hard for a prosperous future. But for Jamette, these were, and would remain,
