Free Heroes Live Forever (Knights in Time) by Chris Karlsen Page A

leave so I can give you directions to my house."
    He took the paper with her number and opened the car door. "I'll see you tomorrow. Don't forget to lock your doors."
    Distracted, Elinor smiled wanly back, thinking more about the kiss, than his concern for her safety. She hoped he was a better date than a kisser. "I'll be okay."
    Once out of sight, Elinor wiped her mouth with her fingers. The memory of Basil's expert and delicious kiss came back. It occurred to her that Basil would rather fall on his sword than kiss like a fish. A big mouthed fish.

Chapter Thirteen

    Elinor heard the music to Born to be Wild from the end of her driveway. When she parked and got out, a voice not belonging to Steppenwolf sang along in a clear, fine baritone, Guy.
    Inside, record album covers were strewn over the drawing room floor. Guy, in the center of the mess, stood putting on a one man show.
    "I see you like rock and roll," she said and closed the door.
    He stopped singing and turned the volume down to a civilized level. He gave her a quizzical look. "Rock and Roll? If you mean the music with the loud drums and people screaming, then the answer is yes, it's brilliant!"
    "Brilliant? I've never heard you use the term before."
    "Heard it on the BBC, David Frost called Star Wars brilliant."
    Elinor cringed. “Admitting to me, a teacher, you’re updating your vocabulary from the telly is like a knife in my heart.” She laid her hand over her chest and feigned a wound. Guy grinned and pulled a couple more albums out.
    She carefully stepped around the records on the floor to put her purse and keys down. A quick scan of the titles showed a remarkably eclectic side to Guy. Elinor put several back into their jackets and tried to establish some order to the chaotic mess as Guy came over. He beamed in an odd self-satisfied way.
    "Have you been up to something?" She quickly scanned the room.
    "No, why do you ask?"
    "You have a mischievous air about you."
    Guy picked up an album by the Moody Blues. "I have discovered they wrote a song about us." He inclined his head toward the chair where Basil sat, legs draped over the arm, reading Horse and Hound magazine.
    "The Moody Blues wrote a song about you and Basil," Elinor repeated. "You...and Basil?"
    “Not us exactly but about medieval warriors.” Then, with all the aplomb of the chivalrous knight he once was, Guy announced, “Knights in White Satin.”
    She started to tell him it was Nights in White Satin , but stopped. He was so thrilled she couldn't bring herself to tell him he misunderstood. "Of course, it's a pretty song isn't it?"
    "Yes, it's quite nice indeed." Guy put a record on the turntable and moved the arm over to a specific song. He bowed slightly from the waist and held his hand out to her. "Lady Elinor, would you do me the honor of dancing with me?"
    "I'd love to."
    He held himself farther away than most dance partners and kept looking down, watching her feet. The steps were new to him, so Elinor found a way to gently suggest a lesson.
    "We're usually closer together when we dance to a slow song. It's considered very romantic. I can show you if you like. Why don't you play another slow song?"
    Guy agreed and rapidly went through the stack of records. The beginnings of Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers started. She showed him where to put his hands along with a basic box step. A natural, he caught on fast and played the song again, softly singing along.
    "You know, nowadays, if you danced with a woman and sang to her, she'd melt like butter," Elinor teased, batting her lashes at him. "You'd absolutely be invited into her bed."
    "They melted in my time too. Some things have not changed." He raised his chin in self-mocking haughtiness. "My charm transcends the ages."
    Elinor rolled her eyes, "You are a conceited devil and the most incorrigible man I've ever met."
    "Tis true. Those are but a few of the qualities I wear well, milady." A light tingle teased the small of her back