When Lightning Strikes by Cynthia Lucas Read Free Book Online

really are. And you are staring at some Gypsy horse’s ass with a few muscles and a great tan!
    She was ashamed of herself. She was engaged and supposed to be getting married today…if that even existed now. How would David feel if he knew what she was doing? Right now she needed to be thinking about more important things, like what on earth she was going to tell this Dominic character when he asked her who she was and where she had come from.
    Abruptly Dominic turned towards the wagon and she realized she had better think of something quickly, because he would be here in about twenty seconds or less. She closed the small part in the cloth she had been peeking through and ran over to the spot where she had been lying and quickly lay back down and slid her legs under the blanket. She didn’t know whether to feign sleep and give herself more time to think of what to say or confront him now, but before she had a chance to decide the canvas parted and he stepped inside the wagon. There would be no chance to pretend sleep. She just stared up at him with wide eyes.
    “Ah cheri e  , I see you have awakened.” His eyes traveled to where the white shirt hung half off one of her shoulders.  “My shirt looks quite fetching upon you…much moreso than upon me. Does your wound pain you?”
    His expression showed some honest concern.
    “No. I’m okay,” she said, eyeing him warily.
    A puzzled look crossed his brow. “Oooh-kay. What does this mean? I heard you speak it earlier and I have never heard it used before in the language of the English.”
    She cringed. She hadn’t bothered to think about the fact that people in this time didn’t speak Modern English. This Dominic guy had one thick French accent, but from what she could tell, what he spoke to her definitely was not Old English because she could understand it pretty well. It must be some form between Middle and Early Modern, which began around mid to late 1300’s or so. A sigh of relief escaped her lips. Thank God. That would mean she was not in the Dark Ages! At least if she were anywhere close to the Renaissance period, it wouldn’t be as bad.
    Let’s see, the Romany started arriving in Europe in the 12 th and 13 th centuries or possibly a little earlier.
    Her brow wrinkled as she remembered Mr. Harther’s words from 10 th grade history class. She could see him plain as day right now in her memory; short and balding with his round, wire rimmed glasses as he paced the perimeter of the classroom on those long afternoons as he lectured on different periods in history, both American and European.
    She was thankful right about now that she had been at least a decent student in that particular subject and for the endless stories her mother and Grandmother had told her of their heritage.
    At least she had a ballpark figure of when she was but she would still have to find a way to ask him what century they were in exactly, in a way that wouldn’t be too obvious. And from this moment on she was going to have to be very careful of every word that came out of her mouth. She would pay close attention to how they spoke, although it wouldn’t be easy with their heavy accents.
    Dominic stared at her and the silence made him uneasy. What was the witch thinking of? He crossed his arms over his chest and raised his brows.
    Sarah realized she had been lost in thought for too long trying to think of what do and say. She squirmed at the suspicious look he was giving her. “Um…well, it means I am alri…I mean it…it means I am well.” She swallowed hard. This was not going to be easy.
    A look of puzzlement crossed his face and he walked over to her and crouched down. He reached out and lay the back of his hand across her forehead and then tentatively moved in closer and pressed his lips to the place where his hand had just been to check for a temperature. She was cool to the touch but she was stammering and talking as if she was daft. Maybe the lightning had injured her