by Gwen Rowley
Lancelot scrambled back, very much aware of the hedgerow behind him catching his hair and digging into his neck. “You mistake me,” he said with as much dignity as he could muster. “I am sorry if this sounds discourteous, but you have forced me. I will have none of you.”
“That,” the auburn-haired queen said with another catlike smile, “is not a choice available to you.”
“It is, however, my decision.”
“Then, sweet Lancelot,” the yellow-haired lady sighed, “you must think again.”
“I could think from now ’til—” he began, twisting away as she put out a hand as though to stroke his face. Then her fingertip touched the space between his eyes, and the world vanished.
When he awoke—for the first or second time, he didn’t know—it was to find himself in a dungeon. Soon after, a pretty serving maid who either did not know or would not say who had imprisoned him, helped him to escape on the condition that he fight in a tournament for her father. In the ensuing excitement, Lancelot had convinced himself that the four queens were nothing but a strange dream.
So when Queen Morgause of Orkney had strolled into King Arthur’s chamber some months later, looking just as she had that day beside the hedgerow, Lancelot had been thrown into confusion.
And now, facing her in the twisting passageway leading to Camelot’s kitchens, he was once again at a loss.
“Don’t tell me you have forgotten me?” she inquired, laughing.
“No, of course not, madam.” He bowed briefly. “We met in the chamber of the king, your brother—”
“Half brother,” she amended sharply. “My father was Duke Gorlois of Cornwall.”
A man walked out of an alcove, fastening the brooch clasp at his shoulder. When he saw Lancelot he immediately stepped back into the shadows.
“Lamorak!” Morgause called imperiously. “Come out and greet Sir Lancelot.”
Lamorak had been with them this past year; he’d been knighted on the field. He must be all of nineteen, Lancelot thought, though he looked even younger with a blush staining his cheeks.
“Good evening, Sir Lamorak,” Lancelot said, rigid with embarrassment.
“Sir Lancelot,” the boy mumbled, staring down at his feet.
“What, has Camelot become a monastery?” Morgause inquired with a mocking laugh. “It wasn’t so in Uther’s day! Come, Lamorak, hold your head up. Sir Lancelot is in no position to sit in judgment on you. Stay,” she ordered sharply as Lancelot turned to leave. “Tell me about that wench who burst into the hall earlier.”
Lancelot had no intention of answering, no more than he’d meant to halt at her command. Yet here he stood, saying, “She is—” before he clamped his lips shut. Morgause’s brows rose.
“Tell me,” she said again, this time in honeyed tones.
And suddenly he wanted to. He wanted to tell her everything about himself and Elaine, for it seemed clear that Morgause would understand as no one else could. Indeed, he had to tell her; it would be churlish to refuse when she had every right to know … only he did not think he’d tell her just this moment. When he came to think of it—which wasn’t easy, for the effort made his head pound—he realized he would prefer not to tell her anything at all.
“It is late, madam,” he said, relieved to hear the words come out so firmly. “I don’t want to keep you here.”
She laughed, surprising him. “Well done! There is more to you than meets the eye. I suspected as much, and I’m sure you will forgive me for my little test. Certes, I have no wish to meddle with the Lady of the Lake, or her …” She paused delicately, but when Lancelot made no answer, she merely laughed again. “Well, she has excellent taste—as do I,” she said, smiling as she stroked Lamorak’s cheek. “Run along, my sweet,” she said to the young man. “You need your rest.” He obediently kissed her offered cheek, bowed to Lancelot, and vanished down the corridor.
Before Lancelot could follow his example, Morgause laid a hand on his arm. “But come, do tell me of that chit who arrived earlier, a squalling brat in arms and your name upon her lips!”
Lancelot forced his gaze to remain steady. He would not give this woman the satisfaction of knowing how deeply her words had angered him. “The child you refer to is Galahad, my son, born while I was away in the king’s service. Lady Elaine and I shall be wed as soon as possible, of course.”
“Of course.” Morgause adjusted the collar of his robe. “That is handsome of you, Lance—may I call you Lance?” Without waiting for an answer, she went on, “But I feel it is my duty to give you just a word of warning. These forced matches, no matter how nobly undertaken, have a way of ending badly. Pay her off—I daresay you can afford it—and send her back to Carbuncle or whatever it is she comes from. When the boy is of age, you can make some provision for him. Knowing my half brother, Arthur will be pleased to take any number of your by-blows into his service.”
“Madam, you mistake me,” Lancelot said, and when their eyes met, he knew his dream had been no dream at all. “Lady Elaine and I were betrothed before the king summoned me away. Our marriage is something I have longed for since duty called me from her side.”
“Ah. Yes, I see.” Morgause smiled in a fashion that raised the hairs on his neck. “Very handsome. But who would expect less from the great du Lac! I only wonder,” she said, tipping her head to one side and examining him curiously, “how your lady will feel about sharing you with the queen … and the king. But there, I’m sure she’ll let you know precisely what she thinks. She doesn’t lack for courage, does she? The way she faced the queen earlier—it is a good thing that looks cannot really kill, or the two of them would have lain dead upon the floor!”
Lancelot could only stare at her, utterly nonplussed, as her gaze moved slowly over his gaping chamber robe. “I daresay you and Guinevere have made up any little quarrel that resulted.” She looked back the way he’d come, a knowing smile curving her red lips, as though expecting Guinevere to step from one of the shadowed alcoves.
“Madam, I beg you to excuse me. Lady Elaine awaits,” Lancelot said coldly.
Morgause laughed. “Ah, you young knights! Such stamina! Well, be off with you, then.”
Before he could reply, she walked away and was swallowed by the darkness.
Forgetting his errand, Lancelot raced back through the hall and up the stairway to his chamber, where Elaine still slept. He sat beside her, as if his presence could somehow protect her from the dark magic Morgause exuded like a noxious fume.
“There is no such thing as magic,” Elaine had assured him solemnly. If there was a God at all, she would go on believing that. He touched her warm cheek and smiled to see her smile when her fingers twined with his.
“Where is the food?” she murmured without opening her eyes.
“I’ve brought you something better.” Shrugging off his robe, he slid beneath the coverlet to catch her laughter on his lips.
Chapter Thirty-Five
“You have to face them some time,” Brisen said, tucking the last ribbon into Elaine’s hair and standing back to examine her handiwork. “Come, lady, you don’t want to keep Sir Lancelot waiting.”
“No.” Hearing the reluctance in her voice, Elaine stood and smoothed her skirts. “No, of course not.” That was better; she sounded firm and purposeful, but a moment later she spoiled it by adding piteously, “You will come with me, won’t you?”
“Of course. And your brothers should be there, as well.” Elaine wasn’t sure if that was comforting or not; given Torre’s aptitude for saying precisely what he thought, she rather thought it wasn’t.
“Sir Torre has promised to be on his best behavior,” Brisen said as they started down the passageway.
“I thought you weren’t speaking to him.”
“I’m not. But I made an exception for your sake.”
“What devotion,” Elaine said lightly. “Thank you. What exactly did he do to get in your bad graces?”
“Nothing he hadn’t done a hundred times before,” Bri
sen admitted with a wry smile. “But I walked in on him with that Bette from the vill—you know the one I mean, her father owns the alehouse—and suddenly I realized what a fool I’d been. Ah, well,” she added with a brittle laugh, “it happens to us all. Not you, lady,” she amended quickly, “I didn’t mean—”
“I know what you meant, and you’re quite right. But I’m sorry Torre is such a thick-headed idiot.”
“That’s very kind of you.”
Halfway down the stairs, they met a lady coming up. Elaine stopped to let her by. “Why, it’s Mistress Brisen, isn’t it?” the lady said.
“Madam.” Brisen made her a brief curtsy.
“Morgana has missed you dreadfully, you know, she was saying so just the other day.”
“I have been in Corbenic,” Brisen said. “Queen Morgause of Orkney, may I present my mistress, Lady Elaine of Corbenic.”
Elaine nodded. “Madam.”
The lady’s bright blue eyes widened. “My dear!” she cried, “I have so longed to meet you!” She turned back the way she’d come, slipping her arm through Elaine’s and drawing her down the stairway. “Sir Lancelot speaks so highly of you—and congratulations on the birth of your son. Galahad, isn’t it? I only caught a glimpse of him yesterday, but he seems a fine, healthy lad. Does he take after his father?”
“No,” Elaine said, bemused by this outpouring. “I’m afraid he takes after me.”
“Then he must be a very handsome boy—now, my dear, don’t bother to blush, you must know you’re lovely. Come, let me introduce you to everyone. Run along, Brisen,” she added over her shoulder, “I shall take good care of your lady.”
Before Elaine could protest, she was swept forward toward a small chamber off the hall. “Let’s begin with the queen’s ladies; a sillier bunch of maidens I’ve never met, but I’m sure they—”
They halted at the half-open door, where a girlish voice exclaimed, “—a most vile trick! Apparently her serving maid is a witch—trained up by the Duchess of Cornwall, and you know what she is like—and together they plotted to get Sir Lancelot into the lady’s bed.”
“The maid gave him a handkerchief bearing the queen’s scent,” another voice went on in a piercing whisper, “and kept the chamber darkened so he would not know the difference.”
Not know the difference? Elaine made a low sound, half amusement and half disgust. That doesn’t say much for the great du Lac’s powers of perception!
“He was quite mad with lust, of course—”
At least they’d gotten that much right, Elaine thought dryly as a small silence fell within the chamber, followed by a collective sigh before the first voice took up the tale again.
“—for the maid had slipped him a love potion. When he discovered the ruse—the next morning, it was, when the deed was done—he drew his sword and threatened to cut off her head! But of course he didn’t. He is too fine to use any lady ill, even one so false.”
“Poor Sir Lancelot!” a high voice cried, “to be so cruelly used!”
Elaine had heard enough. She whirled, forgetting that Morgause had hold of her arm. “Running is no good,” Morgause said, and though her expression was one of deep concern, her eyes glittered. For a moment Elaine wondered if she had led her here a-purpose, but the next moment Morgause had all but dragged her into the bower.
“Ladies,” she cried, “look who is here! ’Tis Lady Elaine of Corbenic—or, as some would call her, the Lady of the Red Sleeve.”
A rather dreadful silence fell, during which the girls—for they seemed girls to Elaine, even those few who were her own age—blushed painfully, guilty glances flying in all directions.
“Good day,” Elaine said stiffly to each one in turn as Morgause named them. When at last it was finished, she said, “And now I must be going. Sir Lancelot is waiting.” She knew the last was childish, and it was that, rather than anything they’d said, that shamed her.
The moment she’d left the chamber, a buzz of talk broke out. “Do you think she heard? So what if she did? After what she did to poor Sir Lancelot …”
Morgause, who had followed her from the chamber, laughed. “Don’t take it too much to heart. Any one of them would have done the same had Sir Lancelot looked twice at her.”
“The same? I assure you, madam, that I did not trick Sir Lancelot—”
“Of course you didn’t!” Morgause said warmly. “Why, a lass like you would have no need of magic to woo any man to her bed—even the great du Lac! Come, now, dry your eyes, you mustn’t let on that you’re upset.”
Elaine recognized the sense of that advice and obeyed as they walked together to the hall. Yesterday Elaine had not noticed its beauty, but now she hesitated in the doorway, staring about in wonder.
“You go ahead,” she said to Morgause. “I must wait for Sir Lancelot.”
Light fell through a high-arched window set with small panes of colored glass. Amethyst, emerald, carnelian, topaz—she had never seen anything so beautiful. Tapestries adorned the walls, not merely one or two, but dozens, each woven in the same glowing jewel tones as the window. Apparently she was early, for most of the company had not yet arrived, and Lancelot was not among the few who gathered in small groups, chatting easily. The high table was set with gleaming silver, and at its center sat a man in a high-backed chair.
The crown sat solidly on his high brow, and light hair fell to his broad shoulders. He looked kind, Elaine thought, as he bent forward to speak to a serving lad with a tray perched on one shoulder. The boy made some remark, and Arthur laughed, waving him away and relaxing back in his seat. His gaze drifted across the hall and fastened upon Elaine, hovering half-in, half-out of the doorway. His brows lifted, and then he smiled and gestured her toward him.
“Lady Elaine?” he asked when she had made her reverence.
“Yes, sire.”
The king gestured toward the seat at his left hand. “Come and join me if you would.”
Elaine took the offered seat and accepted the goblet the king handed to her. “Welcome to Camelot,” he said, and she could only nod her thanks, too overawed to answer.
They sat in silence while the hall filled. At last, when it seemed that Guinevere and Lancelot were the only ones missing from their places, the king lifted his hand. A clear trumpet sounded, and a young page immediately knelt to present Elaine with a silver basin of water with rose petals scattered across its surface. She dipped her fingers, dried them, and turned to the king.
“Congratulations on your victory, sire,” she said.
“Thank you,” he said absently, his eyes turned toward the doorway. She followed his gaze, praying it was Lancelot, but some other knight walked in and took a seat. The king glanced over at her, and with an obvious effort, said, “I trust your journey was pleasant?”
“Yes, very.”
Silence fell again. Elaine picked up a bit of meat and dipped it in a small bowl of sauce. After one bite that burned her tongue, she set it down again.
“Corbenic,” the king said suddenly. “I remember now. The Saxons took it, didn’t they?”
“And you restored it to us four years ago,” Elaine agreed.
“Gawain did most of it,” Arthur said. “He fought that fellow—what was his name?”
“Binric.”
“Yes, that’s right. The land was in poor condition,” the king said. “How have you fared?”
“It was … difficult at first,” Elaine admitted, “but this year our harvest was a good one.”
“And your villeins?” Arthur asked casually. “Any trouble from that quarter?”
Elaine’s cheeks warmed. “We did have some,” she said. “I believe my uncle Ulfric wrote to you with a complaint—”
“Poaching, wasn’t it? He mentioned something of the sort when we were in Gaul. A good man, Ulfric,” the king said thoughtfully. “I can always count on him to send me soldiers, not just a pack of peasants armed all anyhow and ready to bolt at the first charge.”
“A good
man … and a careful one,” Elaine murmured. “But as I said, we are doing better now. I assure you my uncle will have no further cause for complaint.”
“My dear, it isn’t only Ulfric who concerns me. If your father is having difficulty, he should have come to me. I told him so when he returned to his demesne. I could see then that he had troublesome times ahead, and he wasn’t quite … himself. Perhaps I should send a man to speak with him and offer our assistance.”
“Please don’t, sire,” Elaine said. “Father would only be upset, and he wouldn’t understand.” When Arthur nodded sympathetically, she hurried on, “We have a new reeve now, he’s very able, and Sir Lancelot—” Her voice caught a little on his name. “—has been most … generous.”
“Has he? Well, then, we’ll say no more. But if you ever do need help,” the king said, looking straight into her eyes, “I hope you will not be too proud to ask.”
“No, sire,” Elaine promised, “I won’t. And thank you.”
“Ah,” Arthur said, “here is that boy at last with some real food. I can’t abide all this sauce and spice,” he added confidentially. “Would you care for a bit of plain meat?”
“Yes, I would,” Elaine said, and soon she was sharing the king’s trencher as well as his goblet, their heads bent together as they discussed Corbenic, which the king remembered well. He gave her several excellent suggestions about draining the southwest field.
“What became of those sheep Lance sent?” he asked unexpectedly. “I told him it was a mistake—Corbenic is too low-lying for sheep to thrive, particularly those long-legged ones, but he insisted.”
“I was the one who wanted to try them. But alas, I fear you had the right of it, sire.”
“Foot rot?”
“Among other diseases, some of which the shepherd swore were hitherto unknown.”
When Arthur laughed, she found herself laughing, too, though at the time the incident had been anything but amusing.
“I’m off to try my new gyrfalcon,” he said when the trencher was empty. “Would you care to join me?”
Elaine looked around, noting with some surprise that the meal was over. Lancelot had not appeared—nor had the queen. What that might mean, she did not know, nor did she want to think too deeply on the matter.