and approached the table. The morning meal was the usual porridge and bread with a little butter and milk. Lind and Bromley were already sitting at the table and eating their bread.
'I will need for you to comb to the field right away after the Glazier calls work for the dee.' Lind directed Richard.
This really is not what Richard wanted to hear, but it was exactly what he expected to hear. Instead of hurrying right back to the fields, he intended to visit the market and see whether he could find the girl that he had seen. He would be quick, he reasoned, and his father would not notice.
'I will,' grunted Richard in his usual early-morning style.
Lind and Bromley then started to discuss the work that they needed to complete today. There was the upper field that needed to be planted, a sithe that needed to be repaired and the cow might be giving birth today and needed to be watched.
Richard was thinking about the Master Glazier and whether he would still remember the broken glass from yesterday, but mostly, he was thinking about the girl. He didn't realize that his father was speaking to him.
'Richard, did you nay 'ear me, boy?' asked Lind. Richard looked at his father with a sleepy look. 'I want for you to repair that sithe when you get back.' Bromley kicked Richard beneath the table and smiled.
'I 'eared,' replied Richard.
'And do nay leave it in the weather when you are finished either,' offered Bromley.
Richard and Bromley usually got along just fine despite the fact that Bromley was five years older and they were of very different natures. Bromley had quick wits and was affable. He tended to be competitive, boisterous and impulsive. Richard was more deliberate in nature, more cautious, thoughtful and reflective.
Bromley had a young woman that he was courting who's nature was more akin to Richard's than his own. Her family also lived in Easton-on-the-hill. She had long, light brown hair. She was gentle and kind and enjoyed Bromley's wit very much. Her father approved of Bromley's attention to her on account of the fact that Bromley would one day inherit the farm and cottage. Bromley hoped that they could be married within the year. He intended to move her into the small quarters that Lind and Gleda occupied just outside the village when they were young.
Richard helped in the field until after the sun was up and then walked into Stamford to the Glazier's shoppe and continued working the window that he had been working on the day before. With more care and attention this time, he cut the glass for the angel's wing with precision. After he cut the pieces he used his glozing irons to trim the glass for a smooth and perfect fit. Later he began laying the pieces in pattern form and connecting them with strips of lead came. Tomorrow he would solder the came joints together. At that point the window would start to take on a finished form and would be nearing completion. Richard was pleased that it would be placed in a chapel where it would catch the light and be looked upon for generations to come.
It was mid-afternoon before the Master Glazier called a close to the day. Richard was pleased that he had been able to concentrate on his work for the most part. There were only brief moments that he thought about the girl that he had seen yesterday. Leaving the shoppe, he had a decision to make, go straight back to the cottage and repair the sithe or take a brief detour to the market and try to see if the girl were there. He chose the latter.
The market was on High Street past All Saints' and would be closing within a couple of hours, so Richard walked quickly down Scotgate to High Street. The numbers of people there were far fewer than would have been there earlier in the day, still a good crowd remained.
Richard actually loved going to the market. People from the many nearby villages came to market in Stamford in large numbers. Richard suspected that the girl that he had seen was from one of those villages. The market also attracted individuals that were looking to take what was not theirs. This didn't make much difference to Richard today, since he didn't have anything other than his clothing anyway. Just the same, he was careful to observe the nature of those around him.