The Handmaiden-Alchemist
ShortStory 4,954 words Recommended by 3 award/anthology sources
"Loire Valley, 1520 Estienne’s shadow fell over me, and I could not, of a sudden, recall the stitch I was making. He had invited himself onto the ladies’ porch without announcement. Odette’s voice faltered. “Take—” She was reading from the Queen of Navarre’s latest work, and the next line was given to King Henry."
Quasar links out; the story lives on Analog, where the author gets the click.