Chapter 27 - 1303
On the day of the feast of the Transfiguration, Lois awoke excited. It was the annual fair at Episkopia, and Kontostephanos had promised to take her with him this year. It was about an hour’s walk from the Provence casale. The road was busy with drays nose to tail.
Lois had never seen so many people gathered in one place before. Peddlers and merchants from the nearby casalia and beyond had come with all kinds of goods for sale, from spices to rugs, but Lois’ attention was caught by the dazzling jugglers. They moved through the crowds, tossing oranges skyward as they sauntered past.
She stopped at a booth filled with fragrant perfume vials of eau de chypre and was instantly enraptured by the aroma. She indulged herself in a moment of fanciful whimsy: she was a lady and
