Kissing Shakespeare by Pamela Mingle Read Free Book Online

narrowed my eyes at him. “Picking your teeth in public is so … attractive.”
    When Alexander had finished, everyone put their picks away and rose. I swayed, the alcohol rushing to my head. The room spun, and Stephen grabbed my arm. “Whoa. Take care, Mir … Olivia.”
    “Olivia is tired from her long ride,” Elizabeth said. “It is best she spends the afternoon resting.”
    “My thought exactly, Aunt,” Stephen said.
    Blah, blah, blah, whatever. Just get me out of here .
    “Come, Olivia. I shall see you to your chamber.”
    “Mir-livia. Call me Mir-livia,” I said drunkenly. “Thash my new name.”
    “Hush,” Stephen said, a smile pasted on. “Someone will hear you.” I clung to his arm to keep from keeling over.
    Back upstairs, Copernicus greeted me with his sloppy kisses, and I knelt down to pet him. “Nice doggy,” I said, stroking his long back. When he shifted position, I rolled right over onto the floor. Stephen hauled me to my feet and lifted me onto the opulent bed, where I hoped to sleep for the rest of the day.
    Alas, it was not to be. He let me sleep for two hours, and then awakened me for dancing lessons. I opened my eyes and immediately squeezed them shut again.
    “My head,” I moaned. “Go away. Leave me alone.”
    “Nay, you must get up. You do not want to look foolish tonight, do you?”
    “I don’t think I can walk, let alone dance.” I told him I’d learned country dances at school and seen them performed a zillion times in plays and at Renaissance fairs, but he still insisted.
    “You try my patience, Miranda. Fresh air is what you need.”
    I staggered over to the washstand and splashed my face with water, cringing when I remembered the “Mir-livia” incident. As we headed outside I said, “I think you should call me Olivia all the time. It’s too confusing for both of us if I have two names.”
    Stephen nodded. “Olivia it is, then.” We circled the house, finally ending up in a rose garden full of bushes bearing tender buds.
    He guided me through all the moves, called “double,” “single,” and “slip step” or “French slide.” The dances always began and ended with an “honor,” when the ladies and gentlemen bowed to each other. At first, I could barely coordinate my brain with my feet. “How do you people drink so much alcohol and still function?” I asked Stephen.
    He shrugged. “Because we are accustomed to it, I suppose.”
    After a while, the fresh air revived me. All the dancing made my face grow warm and sweat trickle down my back. “I hope no one sees us. Wouldn’t they think it was weird for a brother and sister to dance together?”
    “They will think only that we are high-spirited youths free of parental restraints,” he said. “Here, let’s try a volta!”
    Before I could react, Stephen had lifted me high and was twirling me around. “It is rumored that the queen loves this dance!”
    I shrieked, afraid the spinning would make me nauseous. My stomach seemed okay, though, so I just laughed and grasped his shoulders. An elated feeling gripped me for a moment. I threw my head back and let it fill me up.
    When Stephen put me down, I noticed a drape on one of the second-story windows open. In a flash, it fell quickly back into place. Someone had been watching us.

D URING THE EVENING MEAL , Alexander announced that tomorrow, Maundy Thursday, we would ride to Preston to distribute food and alms to the poor. “ ’Tis customary,” Stephen whispered to me. I could live with that, except for the “ride” part. I hoped Preston wasn’t too far.
    When the meal and all its rituals ended, Alexander stood and said, “Let us have some dancing!”
    While we waited for the servants to rearrange the furniture, I stood off to the side, my mind clear and alert. I’d limited my ale consumption at dinner to half a tankard. I was dressed in the crimson gown I’d found in the trunk. After the dance rehearsal, Bess had helped me wash and change,