He laughed again. “I am used to the signs and have never thought about what a stranger might think, but know this. The sign is an invitation, and if you enter and find it is not selling what you wish, just ask the shopkeeper. They will not be upset that you entered the wrong one. Now, I really must be on my way.”
Prin called to his back, “Thank you.”
Sara said, “You have a way about you. I’d have never asked that question, or those questions, especially from a hunk of beautiful man like him.”
“Then how would I find out what I want to know?”
Sara paused, and a slight frown furrowed her brow. “You’ll understand in a few years. This is the first time I’ve managed to put a few things about you together. What you just did is what will make you a great queen.”
Prin felt herself blush. To deflect the statement, she said, “Let’s go explore.”
“And open any doors we come to.”
They continued up the hill, thinking it would be easy to walk back down to the ship. Prin smelled a bakery well before finding the sign. She opened the door and motioned for Sara to enter first, then she followed. A beefy man watched from behind a counter where baked goods were laid out for display.
He said, “You came by ship today?”
“How did you know? By our dresses?”
“No, because of how you entered my bakery. The sun is hot. You let my cool night air escape while you were being polite to your sister. Here, you open, enter and close, all in one motion. Do not hold a door for another.”
“I’m sorry. It’s how we do in our city.”
“And it was impolite to me, and to any who follow you into my shop later. I am not angry, you understand? I am trying to explain.”
Prin said, “And I appreciate that.”
He grinned, “And here I thought you only thirteen or fourteen.”
Sara chuckled, “She has that effect on people.”
“So, what will it be?” he asked.
“Be?” Prin asked.
“This is a bakery. I sell baked goods, so what will be your desire? Or did you only stop in to enjoy the free aromas of my excellent cooking?”
Prin said, “I like meat pies. Do you have anything like that?”
He waved an arm at the end of the display, “Baked or fried?”
“I’ve only had baked. Which are better?” Prin asked.
“Are you a diplomat sent from your country to mine to test our goods? I prefer the fried for myself.”
“Then, fried it is,” Prin said as she cast a satisfied glance Sara’s way.
Sara asked, “What other shops are near here?”
“What would interest you?” he asked as he selected two fried pies and handed them across the counter.
“Maybe a bookseller? I have the task of trying to teach a stubborn little girl the basics of reading and writing.”
“I am not stubborn.”
That brought a belly-laugh from the portly man. Then he said, “Follow the road up the hill past the first intersection. Turn left at the second, and then about four or five doors down on your left will be a scroll on the sign.”
Prin said between mouthfuls, “This is splendid. How about a place to buy the kind of heavy trousers sailors wear?”
“After you find the bookseller. I think there’s a place a few doors down from her.”
They left, as if in a rush, and Prin felt the blast of heat strike her outside. She hadn’t noticed how cool the inside of the bakery had been. The ovens must have been located out the back of the building, she realized, and as hot as it felt, they probably didn’t need a fire to cook bread. She chuckled at her small joke.
The pair went up the hill, looking at every sign, at every doorway and tried to figure out what business was inside. Most were self-evident. A hat, a knife, and a shoe were obvious. Others were not. At the second cross-street, they turned and watched the doors on the left until they came to the scroll. This time, Prin pulled the door quickly and almost leaped inside, Sara stayed at her heels to close the door to the jangle of a small bell.
The room was cooler, much cooler, and smelled like an old friend. The aged paper, leather covers, and whatever else, welcomed them as much as the meat pies they’d eaten. The room was not large, but the walls on the two sides held books on shelves, floor to ceiling, and a two-sided set of shelves lined the middle of the room. A small set of stairs in the rear led to the second-story.
A tiny woman appeared at the top of the stairs and called, “I’ll be down in a few. Just help yourselves.”
There were two straight-backed chairs. Prin selected one and sat, trying to read the words on the book spines and failing. She picked a book at random and opened it. The words were nothing she recognized. She held it out to Sara.
“Another language.”
Prin replaced it and selected another. The first word was The. She had found a book and instantly read the first word and a feeling of accomplishment flooded over her. The following word was unknown, and she couldn’t sound it out, but the next word was, is. Two out of three. She replaced it on the shelf and took the one next to it.
The small woman limped down the stairs and went directly to the other chair and settled heavily into it with a sigh. She formed a soft smile and asked, “What are you girls looking for?”
Before Sara could answer, Prin said, “Books about horses. With drawings.”
Sara caught the woman’s eye. “For beginning readers.”
The old woman pointed to the far end of the left wall, near the bottom. “If you’ll look there, I may have one or two.”
She had four. Prin was ecstatic. Until she’d escaped with Sir James from the Earl’s castle with a dozen or more men chasing after them, she’d never been on horseback. Now she wanted to learn all she could about them. Two had pictures on many pages, but larger writing than the others.
Sara considered those two and looked ready to return them in favor of the others that had far fewer pictures and smaller writing with larger words. Then, she relented and agreed to all four. Sara later located a book on herbs and healing for herself, and one on sailing ships. It also had pictures but included explanations that both could learn from, and the men on the Merry Princess might also enjoy it.
They left and went to the shop the tiny woman had told them about where a tailor had trousers favored by sailors of all sizes, already sewn. He took only a short time to hem the pants to length, two pairs for each. He suggested the pullover type of shirts many of the men of the Merry Princess wore, and they bought two more for each.
The tailor suggested shoes from a vendor nearby. Sailors liked them because they didn’t slip on wet decks and they dried fast after a rain. The filled their arms with their purchases and headed for the cobbler.
“We’re lost,” Prin said.
“No, the cobbler’s shop is lost, but our ship is right down there,” she pointed over the rooftops.
“Are you sure?”
“Not entirely,” Sara laughed.
Prin opened the next door at random and entered quickly, Sara at her heels, making a game of entering. A jeweler worked at setting a brilliant green stone in a mesh of silver. He didn’t look up until finished the delicate procedure he worked on. He said, “Thank you for allowing me to finish uninterrupted.”
“We were looking for a cobbler that makes shoes for sailors and became lost. That’s beautiful, by the way.”
“Again, I thank you. It will hang nicely on a chain and will be striking. Want to buy it?”
“Oh, I could never afford that,” Prin said.
Sara cast her an odd look, but she ignored it as he said, “If I could afford to, I’d give it to you as a gift because you have such a discerning eye. Now, you’re not really lost, you just found the wrong shop. You need to go out and turn right until you reach the next street and turn right again. You will be there.”