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“Glad to see you’re in one piece, Michael. Schuler will be, too. When we didn’t find you in the house Christian started to lovingly describe the ‘death of a thousand cuts’ to him. The head of the Bamberg city guard is in there, suggesting additional, cruder measures.”

Jo Ann was snuggled tightly against Mike on the sofa, firmly holding his left hand. They were sitting in the Clarks’ comfortable and familiar living room, listening while Wilf and Christian finished up the story of finding Mike.

“Michael saved himself. We just came along and cleaned up the mess he left.” Christian smiled and winked at Mike. “Reichard saw him in action and was impressed with how he handled himself.”

“Aye,” Wilf agreed, “impressed enough to suggest that we take him along the next time we go horse trading.”

Mike blushed, pleased at the compliment and half-appalled at the thought of the kinds of trouble Wilf and his friends attracted.

Jo Ann squeezed the hand she was holding. “Mike’s heard from Jena. They want him to teach archaeology.”

“Well, not really teach.” Mike’s blush deepened as he explained. “I won’t be a professor, more like a guest lecturer. It’s kind of weird. I’ll be a student but they want me to present some lectures on up-time archaeology, too.” The doubts he’d felt earlier were dying down. The letter proved that his efforts to reinvent up-time archaeology weren’t wasted and that there were smart people who didn’t think he was just a dumb kid. Even his dad had been impressed.

Lannie nudged her husband. Rob stood, excused himself, and left the room. He returned shortly, holding something behind his back.

“In light of your recent adventures,” Rob said, “and especially your new status as a college lecturer, we thought these additions to your wardrobe were appropriate.” Rob held his hands out. The right held a brown leather jacket; the left a brown fedora. “You’ll have to provide the bullwhip yourself.”

An Eye Opener

Kerryn Offord and Linda Davidson

Spring 1635, Magdeburg

“I hear business is slow.”

Ursula Sprug finished securing the door of her optometry practice before turning around to face Cathy McNally. “What makes you say that?”

“Your receptionist told me. He’s worried you’ll have to close your practice.” Cathy grinned. “I think he likes you.”

“Thomas is just happy with his new glasses.”

“But business is slow?”

Ursula sighed. Slow didn’t describe the near total lack of customers. “Yes.”

“Well then, why don’t you take advantage of your friends?”

“I don’t know many people in Magdeburg, and those I know don’t need glasses.”

“I don’t mean you should try to fit your friends with glasses. I mean you should ask them to help you. For instance, I bet there are dozens of girls at school who need glasses. Talk to Casey and Staci. See if they’ll let you examine their students.”

“They’d never let me take the girls out of school to bring them to my office,” Ursula protested.

“They might, if they felt the girls might benefit, but what about just using an eye chart and doing a simple screening test at the school? If you find any girls need glasses you can let Casey or Staci know and they can contact the parents recommending a proper examination and the purchase of prescription glasses.

“You could also offer to give the students a little talk about the different problems people can have with their eyes and how important properly fitted glasses are. Dad and Dr. Shipley would certainly approve of that.”

Ursula thought about Cathy’s suggestions. Dr. Shipley and Mr. McNally, the Grantville optometrist and optician who trained her, would definitely approve of her educating people about eye health. And Casey and Staci were, well, more than just teachers at the new Duchess Elisabeth Sofie Secondary School for Girls. They were part owners and could talk to Lady Beth Haygood, the principal. “How much can I charge though?”

“Well, just to get them interested, I’d suggest doing a screening test of the current pupils for free,” Cathy suggested.

“Free? Dr. Shipley said I should charge for examinations.”

“Hey, it’s not as if you have a lot of paying customers. And you might want to prepare a handout for those little talks. Those girls all have families, you know. The more people know, the more likely they are to want to do something. Think of it as preparing the ground for seed. Anyway, it’s a way to get your foot in the door. I know of at least a dozen girls who wear those funny down-time glasses, and I bet they would benefit from a decent pair.”

Cathy certainly had that bit right. Her father was pretty scathing of the quality of the glasses the local spectacle sellers peddled. At best they had lenses of equal power, when very few people who needed glasses needed the same prescription in each eye. At the worst, well, Jim McNally considered them more damaging than going without.

“Okay, I’ll talk to Casey or Staci.”

“Tonight! After class.”

Ursula glared down at Cathy. “Yes, tonight.”

“Don’t forget.”

Ursula had a feeling that if she did forget, Cathy wouldn’t. “I won’t forget.”

Karickhoff’s Gym

The dancers were pulling on their outdoor clothes after a hard session under the eyes of Bitty Matowski. Ursula was pulling a brush through her hair when she felt Cathy’s eyes boring into her. In the mirror she could see Cathy nodding suggestively toward Casey Stevenson who was just about to leave the changing room. She glared back at Cathy before thrusting her hairbrush into her bag and scrambling to her feet.

“Casey, could I have a word?”

Casey turned from the door and smiled. “Sure. Can you talk while we walk? I’m supposed to be going to the American Kitchen with Carl.”

“Thanks.” Ursula took a deep breath. “I was wondering if I could do screening eye tests on the pupils at your school?”

“What does that entail? We can’t afford the time to take them to your office.”

“I was just thinking of using a room at the school and doing a simple test using an eye chart. For most of the children it wouldn’t take more than five minutes.”

Casey nodded. “And how much were you planning on charging?”

“Cathy suggested doing the tests for free.”

“Can you afford to do them for free? I hear you haven’t had many customers since you opened your office.”

“What? Where did you hear…Oh. Cathy’s been talking?”

“Yes, Cathy’s been talking. You really should have spoken up earlier. Come on, there’s Carl. I bet Kelly Construction would be interested in having their work force screened for vision problems.”

Ursula skipped home with a new spring to her step, and after an hour and a half of barre and center work under Miz Bitty’s eye, that was saying something. She might not have any guaranteed customers, but Carl had promised to talk to the guy who doubled, or tripled, as health officer at Kelly Construction about scheduling screening tests, and Casey had promised to bring up the idea of screening tests and talks on eye health with Lady Beth. Surely some of the tests would result in customers.

She used her key to open the door of the boarding house where she had a room and made for the kitchen. Everyone knew she went to dance class after work, so there was usually something left simmering on the range for her.

She bounced into the kitchen, and froze. Sitting back at the kitchen table working her way through a bowl of stew was the landlady. “Hi, Elisabetha. It’s been a fantastic day, hasn’t it?”

Elisabetha Schmelzer smiled. “Did you get a customer?”

Ursula flushed. Did everyone know that she’d barely had any customers? “Not yet, but I’ve arranged to do screening tests at Kelly Construction and the new girls’ school.”

“What are screening tests?”

“It’s just a quick and dirty way of determining whether or not someone needs a proper examination. I can give you one now if you like. I just need to get a chart and tape measure from my room.”