"It was paining her considerably, Papa," Frances Catherine announced.
"I'm certain it did pain her," he agreed. He turned his gaze to Judith and caught her staring up at him. "You're a brave little lass to help my daughter," he praised. "But if there be a next time, try not to catch the bee. All right?"
Judith solemnly nodded.
He patted her arm. "You're a pretty little thing," he remarked. "What's your name, child?"
"Her name's Judith, Papa, and she's my friend. Can she have her supper with us?"
"Well now, that depends on her parents," her father replied.
"Her papa's dead," Frances Catherine announced. "Isn't that pitiful, Papa?"
"It surely is," he agreed. The corners of his eyes crinkled up, but he didn't smile. "She's got the prettiest blue eyes I've ever seen, though."
"Don't I have the prettiest eyes you've ever seen, too, Papa?"
"Aye, you do, Frances Catherine. You've got the prettiest brown eyes I've ever seen. You surely do."
Frances Catherine was so pleased with her father's praise, she scrunched up her shoulders and giggled again.
"Her papa died before she was even borned," Frances Catherine told him then. She'd only just remembered that information and was certain her papa would want to hear it.
He nodded, then said, "Now daughter, I want you to keep real quiet while I talk to your friend."
"Yes, Papa."
He turned his attention back to Judith. He found it a little unnerving, the way she was intently staring up at him. She was such a serious little thing, too serious for someone of her young age.
"How old are you, Judith?"
She held up four fingers.
"Papa, do you see? She's just my age."
"No, Frances Catherine, she isn't just your age. Judith's four in years and you're already five. Remember?"
"I remember, Papa."
He smiled at his daughter, then once again tried to talk to Judith. "You aren't afraid of me, are you?"
"She's not afraid of anything. She told me so."
"Hush, daughter. I want to hear your friend speak a word or two. Judith, is your mama here?"
She shook her head. She started twisting a lock of her white-blond hair around and around her finger in a nervous gesture, yet kept her gaze fully directed on the papa. The man's face was covered with red whiskers, and when he spoke, the bristles wiggled. She wished she could touch the beard to find out what it felt like.
"Judith? Is your mama here?" the papa repeated.
"No, Mama stays with Uncle Tekel. They don't know I'm here. It's going to be a secret, and if I tell, I won't ever be able to come back to the festival. Aunt Millicent told me so."
Once she started talking, she wanted to tell everything she knew. "Uncle Tekel says he's just like my papa, but he's only mama's brother and I never sit on his lap. I wouldn't want to if I could, but I can't so it doesn't matter, does it?"
Frances Catherine's father was having difficulty following the explanation, but his daughter wasn't having any trouble at all. She was filled with curiosity, too. "Why can't you if you wanted to?" she asked.
"He got his legs broke."
Frances Catherine let out a gasp. "Papa, isn't that pitiful?"
Her father let out a long sigh. The conversation was getting away from him. "Aye, it surely is," he agreed. "Now, Judith, if your mother's at home, how did you get here?"
"With Mama's sister," Judith answered. "I used to live with Aunt Millicent and Uncle Herbert all the time, but Mama won't let me anymore."
"'Cause why?" Frances Catherine asked.
"'Cause Mama heard me call Uncle Herbert 'Papa.' She was so fuming mad, she gave me a smack on the top of my head. Then Uncle Tekel told me I had to live with him and Mama for half the year long so I'd know who I belonged to, and my aunt Millicent and uncle Herbert would just have to do without me. That's what Tekel said. Mama didn't want me to go away even half the year, but Tekel hadn't started his after-supper drinking yet, so she knew he would remember what he told her. He always remembers when he isn't drunk. Mama was fuming mad again."
"Was your mama fuming mad because she was going to miss you half the year?" Frances Catherine asked.
"No," Judith whispered. "Mama says I'm a bother."
"Then why didn't she want you to go?"
"She doesn't like Uncle Herbert," Judith answered. "That's why she was being contrary."
"Why doesn't she like him?" Frances Catherine wanted to know.
"'Cause he's related to the damn Scots," Judith answered, repeating what she'd heard time and time again. "Mama says I shouldn't even want to talk to the damn Scots."
"Papa, am I damn Scots?"
"You most certainly are not."
"Am I?" Judith asked, her worry obvious in her voice.
"You're English, Judith," her friend's papa patiently explained.
"Am I damn English?"
Her friend's papa was clearly exasperated. "Nobody's damn anything," he announced. He started to say more, then suddenly burst into laughter. His big belly jiggled with his amusement. "I'd best remember not to say anything in front of you two little tarts I don't want repeated."
"'Cause why, Papa?"
"Never you mind," he answered.
He stood up, holding his daughter in one arm and Judith in the other. Both little girls let out squeals of delight when he pretended he was going to drop them.
"We'd best find your aunt and uncle before they start in worrying, Judith. Point me the way to your tent, lass."
Judith immediately became frightened inside. She couldn't remember where the tent was located. Since she didn't know her colors yet, she couldn't even give Frances Catherine's papa a description.
She tried not to cry. She bowed her head and whispered, "I don't remember."
She tensed in anticipation of his anger. She thought he'd shout at her for being ignorant, the way her uncle Tekel always did whenever he was drunk and pricked about something she'd inadvertently done that displeased him.
Frances Catherine's papa didn't get angry, though. She peeked up to look at him and caught his smile. Her anxiety completely vanished when he told her to quit her fretting. He'd find her relatives soon enough, he promised.
"Will they miss you if you don't come back?" Frances Catherine asked.
Judith nodded. "Uncle Herbert and Aunt Millicent would cry," she told her new friend. "Sometimes I wish they were my mama and papa. I do."
"'Cause why?"
Judith lifted her shoulders in a shrug. She didn't know how to explain why.
"Well now, there's nothing wrong with wishing," Frances Catherine's papa said.
Judith was so happy to have his approval, she put her head down on his shoulder. His warm plaid felt rough against her cheek. He smelled so nice, too, like the outdoors.
She thought he was the most wonderful papa in the whole world. Since he wasn't looking down at her now, she decided to appease her curiosity. She reached up to touch his beard. The bristles tickled and she let out a giggle over that notice.
"Papa, do you like my new friend?" Frances Catherine asked when they were halfway across the field.
"I surely do."
"Can I keep her?"
"For the love of… No, you can't keep her. She isn't a puppy. You can be her friend, though," he hastily added before his daughter could argue with him.
"Forever, papa?"
She'd asked her father that question, but Judith answered her. "Forever," she shyly whispered.
Frances Catherine reached across her father's chest to take hold of Judith's hand. "Forever," she pledged.
And so it began.
From that moment on, the two little girls became inseparable. The festival lasted three full weeks, with various clans coming and going, and the championship games were always scheduled on the last Sunday of the month.
Judith and Frances Catherine were oblivious to the competition, however. They were too busy telling each other all their secrets.