Queen of the Summer Stars (45 page)

“It’s fine for an old lady like myself,” the chaperone would conclude, cheerfully taking over the girl’s chores, “but Her Ladyship isn’t used to such things.”

I wondered what, beside play and frivolity, the young lady was used to, but Elaine’s high spirits made it hard to blame her for her chaperone’s behavior. The girl could invest anything with an air of fun, conjuring up pranks and games that delighted everyone. Before long she had usurped Augusta’s place of honor among the girls, but while the Roman beauty fumed, Ettard simply withdrew more and more into herself.

One day in the full flush of spring I brought an armload of flowers into the Hall as my ladies got out the silver to be polished.

“Well, I don’t know who he is,” Elaine said as she dragged a piece of string across the floor for her homely kitten. “But he’s certainly the most exciting man I’ve seen yet.”

“Exciting?” Augusta made the term sound unbelievable. “What sort of emblem did he wear?”

“None at all that I could see,” Elaine answered, lifting the twine into the air when the kitten pounced. The little animal was all eyes and claws, thrashing its tail wildly as it looked about for the string. In spite of its diminutive size there was something so single-minded in its actions, one couldn’t help being amused by it.

Elaine scooped up her pet, bringing it in to snuggle under her chin. “He has black hair, and is as lithe as a cat,” the girl from Carbonek added, still thinking of the stranger she’d seen.

My heart leapt in my ribs, and I instinctively glanced out the window toward the courtyard, sure she was talking about Lance.

“Where did you see him?” Enid asked, sorting through the blossoms.

“At the stableyard. He was attended by a blond page.” The girl sighed extravagantly. “I can’t remember a more splendid fellow…Surely he has a name?”

Augusta was buffing her fingernails with a strip of lambskin usually used on the silver, and she paused to admire their shine. “He didn’t tell you?” she queried, baiting the new girl.

“No, he didn’t,” Elaine flared. “We weren’t close enough to speak. Besides, he and the boy went off toward the Hall.”

“Still, he should have noticed you,” the Roman vixen opined, “what with your being so pretty, and having such gorgeous red hair.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake!” I stormed. “Can’t you do anything but stir up trouble?”

I’d risen without even thinking about it and ran out of the room, leaving my women speechless.

It was coming up to the anniversary of our midnight ride, and though I tried not to remember the occasion of that rescue, Lance had been more and more in my thoughts of late. I hadn’t the slightest idea what to do or say, but I moved toward the Hall as though drawn by a magnet.

“Ah, Gwen, there you are,” Arthur called as I came into the room we used as an office. “The Queen’s Champion has returned.”

Lancelot was leaning against the window frame and he came to attention as I moved across the room. His smile was pleasant but serious, though the full lips never parted, and he greeted me with a cross between a nod and a bow. I extended my hand as I would have to Bedivere or Gawain, relieved to discover I could look him fully in the face without a qualm.

“He just now got in from Warkworth.” Arthur’s voice was more cheerful than I’d heard in months. “And he brought this young fellow with him.”

A blond boy of about the age of twelve came forward and gave me a full formal greeting. His pale, silky hair was cut in the short style of the north and even the motion of his hands was graceful—a rare thing for a lad barely out of childhood. From his actions it was obvious he was familiar with court protocol, and I wondered who he was.

“We met on the Road,” Lance explained. “He prefers not to go into his family background, but I thought he might find a place as a page until he’s old enough to train as a squire.”

The lad inclined his head slowly. “I haven’t much in the way of credentials, but I’m willing to work,” he allowed.

“Lance’s recommendation is enough,” Arthur answered. “Do you have much experience with horses?” The newcomer shook his head, and Arthur shrugged. “Well, no matter. We’ll find something for you to do while you leam. Now,” he went on, turning back to Lance, “tell us about the north.”

The three of us settled into chairs while the boy sat tailor-fashion on the floor and we began catching up on news and gossip.

Lance had spent most of his time in his garden by the sea, developing the fort and getting to know the people of the nearby fishing village. He’d made several trips up the coast, meeting with settlers and making sure the area was free of brigands. And there’d even been a brief visit to the Lakes, where he went to see Morgan at the Sanctuary.

Arthur stiffened at the mention of her name, so I asked when Lance had visited her.

“On my way north, actually, but she wasn’t there. Someone said she had gone to London after all.”

“Indeed,” I answered, realizing that Lance knew nothing of her involvement with Accolon or how close Arthur had come to death. So I told the tale as simply as possible, wanting for Arthur’s sake to get it behind us.

“Ah,” the Breton sighed when I had finished. “Do you remember what I told you when you were accused of murder? There will always be those among the Cumbri who will plot and scheme for Arthur’s ruin, and you would do well to keep your guard up.”

Arthur nodded curtly. “Neither of my sisters is welcome at Court,” he said flatly. “They are banished, exiled, forbidden to come to Logres or wherever I may be visiting, and there are to be
no exceptions
.”

I had long since given up trying to figure out why Arthur harbored such hatred for Morgause. Whatever she had done following the Great Battle, I thought it should be remembered that she had just been widowed, and grief can make us all say hasty, ill-thought things. I had hoped that time would mellow Arthur’s attitude toward her, particularly since she continued to send her sons to serve us. But it seemed unlikely the rift would ever be healed now that Arthur was lumping both her and the Lady together in one prohibition. Morgan clearly deserved it, but I still wasn’t sure that the Queen of the Orkney Isles did.

***

Lance’s homecoming caused a flurry of excitement and some distress at the Hall that night. Arthur simply reinstated the Breton in his old position at the King’s side without mentioning it to Gawain beforehand.

I saw a look of surprise and then hurt cross the Orcadian’s face as he found his chair had been moved away from the King’s.

“Come, now,” I suggested, “no one’s spoken for the seat next to me, and I’d be delighted with your company.”

The Champion gave me a scathing look, then carefully scanned the Hall. “Thank you anyhow, Your Highness,” he said coldly. “But I see that the Lady Ettard is all alone, and I promised Pelleas I’d look after her until he returned.”

He picked up a handy goblet of wine and, downing it on the spot, sauntered across the room to where the convent girl sat. I watched him go and saw the sudden radiance that lit Ettard’s face when she realized he intended to join her. Oh, dear, I thought, she’ll never be willing to go live on a steading now.

It was Cei who sat beside me instead, and when Lancelot introduced the boy he’d found on the Road, the Seneschal looked him over through narrowed eyes. “I’d say he’s never done a day’s work in his life. You can see from his hands; they’re far too well kept for a workaday lad. What do we know of him?”

When I explained that he didn’t want to go into his past, the Seneschal gave a snort. “Could be a runaway slave escaped from some Middle Eastern merchant—I hear they like young boys.” Cei absently swirled the wine in his goblet and passed it under his nose several times while his eyes continued to appraise the youth. “He’s very pretty…one might almost say effeminate.”

That hadn’t occurred to me, and I turned to look at the newcomer more closely. He caught my glance and came to stand before me.

“I appreciate your hospitality, Your Highness,” he said, then nodded to Cei.

“What would you like to be called?” I asked, realizing he had not given us his name.

“I for one will call him ‘Beaumains,’ because his hands are so fair,” the Seneschal announced, abruptly leaning forward and taking one in order to examine it. Clasped in Cei’s bejeweled fingers, the boy’s hand looked almost delicate.

The lad gave a start but didn’t pull back.

“Have you and the King decided what you should do here at Court?” I inquired.

Beaumains shook his head, and Cei smiled tightly as he studied the lad’s palm. “I can use him in the kitchen,” the Seneschal decreed as he let go of the boy. “Have you any experience in cooking?”

“Not much, Sir…but I’m willing to learn.” The lad laughed in an open, friendly response; it was clear he was not going to let Cei’s abrasive style disturb him.

So it was arranged. Beaumains walked away with a kind of instinctive ease and pleasure that was at total odds with the brooding, secretive Cei and I wondered how long the lad would last in the kitchen. At least I was sure that Cook would see he was treated fairly.

The evening went comfortably from then on, and after Arthur had gone to sleep I lay wakefully beside him, studying his profile in the moonlight and thinking about Lance’s return.

The Breton seemed very much at home with Arthur and me together, and the Companions were glad to have him back. For my part, I welcomed the return of Arthur’s enthusiasm and the easy friendship that flowed between the three of us, just as it had in the past.

Whatever Lance’s feelings were, he seemed to have dealt with them while he was at Warkworth. There was nothing in his manner to indicate that the encounter under the willow had changed anything. One might almost believe the kiss had never happened—and with care it would never be repeated. As long as I had Arthur to focus on, to stand between me and Lancelot, I was comfortable.

The notes of a wakeful thrush filled the night—rich-throated and exuberant, there is no other bird song so splendid, or so unselfconscious. By its very nature it made me think of Arthur.

***

I looked at my husband one last time and smiled before going to sleep.

The Lovers

With the return of Lance, Arthur’s recuperation was complete, and it wasn’t long before we were all involved in developing plans for the new headquarters at South Cadbury’s hill-fort.

“It’ll not only be a good headquarters for keeping track of the Saxons,” Arthur mused, “it’s also big enough to hold the entire Court. I’ve been thinking I’d like to put a fine Hall up here on the ridge, and the stables over there…”

Bedivere and Lance were so engrossed in the sketch Arthur was making, they didn’t notice Dinadan’s arrival at the door. The Cornishman was one of the most easygoing people I knew, but now he was travel-tired and haggard, and an alarming tension radiated from him. Tristan was nowhere to be seen.

“He cannot stay away from her!” Dinadan exclaimed, his voice full of exasperation. “The new priest lectures him—to no avail. I point out the folly of the thing—to no avail. Even the swineherd has warned him—to no avail. The man is deaf to reason!”

“Swineherd?” Lance queried.

Dinadan sighed wearily. “Tristan’s been living with a swineherd in the forest, and he sends the man to Castle Dore to leam when it’s safe to meet Isolde. I swear that Tris thrives on the dangerous part of this mess—even though King Mark has banished him from Court, he still creeps into her garden at night.”

“Banished?” Arthur’s reaction was one of shock. I thought of Uther and Igraine—perhaps there are some lovers for whom the element of danger is part of the excitement.

Dinadan gave another nod. “The Lady of the Lake sent Mark a letter saying straight out what everyone else already knew, and the old King flew into an absolute rage—made all kinds of fuss, swearing he’d give the girl over to bandits and brigands for their pleasure, threatening to have Tris executed…At least that made some impression on the lad; that’s when he went to live in the forest.”

“What happened to Isolde?” I asked.

“The wiles of women never cease to amaze me!” Dinadan made an apologetic nod in my direction. “Your Highness is one of the more exceptionally honest of the sex I’ve ever met, you understand. Isolde claimed that the accusations were only spiteful rumors started by people who were jealous of Tristan’s standing in his uncle’s Court.”

To prove herself blameless Mark’s Queen offered to undergo any test her husband might demand. One of Illtud’s pupils, a monk named Samson, had recently come to Castle Dore, breathing fire and brimstone. He convinced Mark to hold a Trial by Ordeal at the bank of a nearby stream, where all could see how the guilt or innocence of the Queen was resolved.

“I may have reason to question my bride,” Mark declared, “but I have faith that the God of Christ would not let harm come to an innocent party.”

As the day of the Ordeal approached, Isolde grew pale and tense, weeping through the nights and spending her days railing at her husband for believing more in his God than he did in her. Mark, meanwhile, lived with the misery of doubting both his nephew and his bride.

***