Page 29

G unnilde gazed around the room in bemusement. She had returned to their rooms in quiet triumph after spending her day basking in the Queen’s approval, only to find all the menfolk of her family cluttering up the sitting room and covered in cuts and bruises.

“And then Wycliffe seized hold of Bauer by the scruff of his neck and dragged him off Peterson,” Hal explained.

Gunnilde shot an astonished look at Neville, who was sat next to Hal and listening with an avid attention. She would never have dreamed he was so keen on fighting! At least his nice clothes weren’t ripped or disordered like the others.

“Shook him like a dog with a rat,” Kit interceded with satisfaction. “Then shoved him to one side and turned his attention to Bauer—”

“Who had practically jumped onto his back by this point,” Cuthbert interrupted.

“Naturally, I could not let that insult to my family pass,” Hal said with a modest cough. “So, I entered the fray at this point to knock some sense into Peterson.”

“Unfortunately, his cousin Sorenson took exception to that,” Kit put in. “So, he and his cronies all jumped on Hal—”

“So, we had to enter the fray,” Cuthbert finished reasonably. “You see, it all makes perfect sense when you simply consider the facts.”

Gunnilde’s gaze swept over them with gathering disapproval. Hal was sporting a bloody nose, Cuthbert a fat lip, and Kit a bleeding cut upon his brow.

“I appreciate that you have only just come to court,” she began with dignity, “but you boys simply cannot disport yourselves in such a vulgar fashion here at the palace! It is thoroughly disgraceful behavior!” she scolded them all roundly.

“Brawling in the Great Hall itself! What will the Queen say? I am a lady-in-waiting now, and my family’s conduct will be a reflection upon my own! ”

“We did not start it,” Hal protested.

“That is neither here nor there,” Gunnilde retorted. “I for one should not be surprised if the Squires’ Revels were entirely canceled thanks to such unruly conduct!”

The boys appeared immediately chastened.

There was much scuffling of feet and scratching of necks.

The latch sounded at that moment and James walked in, holding something to his eye.

“Bennett will bring us some ale presently.” His step checked on noticing Gunnilde.

“Ah, there you are,” he said, looking suddenly self-conscious.

“I apologize I did not come and find you this afternoon.” He lowered the poultice to reveal what looked suspiciously like the beginnings of a blackened eye. “But you see—”

Gunnilde let out a small scream and they all jumped.

“What happened to your eye, James?” she squawked, hurrying forward to seize hold of him. She reached up a hand to move his hair out of the way to get a better look.

“It’s nothing,” he grumbled.

“We just told you at great length!” Kit exclaimed. He turned to Hal. “I told you they never listen.”

Gunnilde rounded on them. “Indeed, you did not,” she said crossly as she shepherded James toward a chair next to the fire. “You told me that Neville—”

“Me?” Neville squawked in surprise. “What have I to do with it? I am entirely blameless in this affair, I assure you.”

“Neville wasn’t even there,” Hal agreed.

“No, I missed it altogether,” Neville confirmed. “I was taking sops with Lady Dortington and her friend Mistress Blanche Alden. Her servant serves it with spices and wine and a sort of custard made with the milk of almonds.”

“Sounds good,” Hal responded with interest. “What do they call it served that way?”

“Well—”

“Would you stop talking about sops?” Gunnilde begged impatiently. “No one cares about your sops, Neville! Did you or did you not shake someone like a rat and—”

“No, that wasn’t Neville,” Cuthbert interjected. “That was your husband.”

“But you just said—” Gunnilde broke off to look from James to Neville to Hal. “Do you mean to tell me that James was the one fighting by your side in the Great Hall?” Her jaw dropped when the boys all nodded.

“I wasn’t fighting,” James interjected testily. “I was attempting to break up the fight! Things escalated somewhat...”

“Who struck you?” demanded Gunnilde.

“No one,” James assured her. “I took an elbow to the face. It was mere accident.”

“Let me see.” She steered him into a chair where he sat passively as she peered anxiously around his eye.

“It looks very red and inflamed, I hope you do not get an unsightly bruise!”

“Well, I must say, you would think she would be more concerned about her own brother,” Hal huffed, scratching the top of Dustin’s head. “Instead, she fusses over Wycliffe like a mother hen with her beloved chick!”

“What is in that poultice?” she asked in a low murmur, for James looked embarrassed by her attention. “Does it have leek and garlic in it?”

“No, I’m glad to say, for that sounds most unpleasant. Cuthbert made it.”

“Oh.” Her anxiety resided at once. “Well, he will know better than I.”

“’Tis of turmeric and dandelion root,” Cuthbert volunteered, revealing his excellent hearing. “It should bring the bruising right out.”

Gunnilde tsked. “I hardly know whether we ought even to show our faces in the Great Hall for supper tonight,” she said, straightening up.

“We most certainly will be,” Hal said with alacrity. “I’m half starved!”

“I scarcely got anything to eat at midday,” Kit agreed. “Cosgrave is like a bottomless pit, for all he’s so scrawny. Did you see how many of the eggs he got down his gullet?”

James cleared his throat. “How went it with the Queen?” he asked.

“Oh, excellently!” Gunnilde confided, beaming. “She showed me many signs of great favor and I was very fortunate.”

James hesitated, as though he wanted to press her further but did not like to with so many onlookers present.

“We heard you were fighting yourself today, sister,” Hal said knowingly.

“Aye, fighting for the Queen’s attention,” laughed Kit.

“Who told you that?” Gunnilde asked with surprise.

“Mistress Rheinholdt,” Cuthbert said promptly. “Hal asked her to hold Dustin when he entered the fray.”

“Yes, we have struck up something of a friendship,” Hal said modestly.

“You and Estrilda Rheinholdt ?” Gunnilde asked disbelievingly.

“Yes,” agreed Kit, “for none of the others would speak with us. They were too busy acting shocked and standoffish about the overturned table and broken pots.”

“Estrilda seems a good deal more sensible than the rest of them,” Hal observed sagely. “Said she would like a dog of Dustin’s size for her very own. Said she would keep him in her sleeve and feed him off her own plate.”

Gunnilde’s eyebrows shot up, but she managed to bite back the tart reply that sprang to her lips, pointing out that Mistress Estrilda had been sadly standoffish with her! “I see,” she said instead.

“So, are we taking supper in the Grand Hall or do we need to badger Bennett to bring something up to our rooms?” Neville queried.

Gunnilde looked to James. “We will be taking our supper up here tonight,” she said firmly and saw his shoulders visibly lower.

“But do not let that intrude on your own plans if you would like a more sociable evening.” In truth, the sitting room was rather small for any more than three to dine in, and it would be a squeeze around the table.

“We’ll go down. Care to join us, Wycliffe?” Hal said, turning to Neville. “You could introduce us to some of your acquaintances. We don’t know many court folk yet.”

Neville looked rather horrified at this prospect but ended up accepting their offer, and when the three boys took their leave shortly after, he accompanied them.

“I had better run and check in on Sir Ned,” they heard Hal say glumly as they trooped out the door. “He may have some tasks for me to perform before supper. You go and find Hadrian and I’ll meet you outside the Great Hall.”

Cuthbert paused in the doorway. “I will let your servant know you want your supper fetched up this evening,” he said, looking first at Gunnilde and then at James and closed the door behind him before Gunnilde could thank him.

“How will he know where to find Bennett?” James asked with surprise.

“It’s hard to explain how he knows things. His granny is a wise woman, you see.” James blinked at this but otherwise made no comment. “Are you sure your eye is not paining you?” she asked, dropping down into the seat opposite him.

“My eye is fine,” he said briefly. “Tell me more about how you passed your day. Were the Queen’s other ladies any friendlier this afternoon?”

“Not really,” Gunnilde admitted. “They whispered and stared at me a good deal, but I affected not to notice.” She shrugged. “They will doubtless come around, eventually.”

“Perhaps relations will improve with Mistress Rheinholdt at least, if she and Hal are to become friendly.”

Gunnilde was skeptical. “I think you will find that is more likely to be the result of her surprising fondness for small dogs than any great charm on Hal’s part.”

“On the contrary, I have it on good authority that Hal is very successful with the ladies,” James said, surprising her greatly.

“Who in the world told you that?”

“Cuthbert.”

“Oh.” She could not really disparage Cuthbert’s assessment of such things for he so often spoke with such uncanny truth.

Still, it seemed most unlikely to her. “I cannot picture it somehow.” She gave a gurgle of laughter.

“Likely because I still remember him sticky with figs and rolling in the dirt.”

James smiled back at her faintly. “Neville is popular with old ladies,” he volunteered. “They like to cosset him and feed him remedies for his various maladies.”

“Hal might be surprised, then, when Neville introduces him to his closest friends, and they turn out to be grandmotherly types.”

“He might well be,” James agreed. “Did you know the Ashdowns are a pair of elderly sisters?”