The Squire's Quest Read Free Page B

as Morgan, so he said, "About fifteen years ago—"
    "Sixteen," corrected Eileen, who had gone back to her embroidery.
    "Sixteen, then. Eileen and I had a private sort of wedding ceremony. It was just a few months after Gawain and I brought her to court. We slipped out on our own and went to a religious man that I knew, named Trevisant, and with him as a witness we promised to love each other faithfully.
    "Then you're married, Sarah said.
    "Sort of, Eileen said.
    "It's not exactly official," Terence admitted.
    "Why not?"
    "Well, Trevisant was a holy man, as I said, but he wasn't a priest.
    "Oh. Sarah seemed to digest this for a moment. "So why not go to a real priest? Why the secrecy?
    "We went to Trevisant because he was the man who raised me, Terence said. Then he grinned ruefully. "Also because I knew that he would forget it within a few days. Trevisant was peculiar that way. You see, I'm a squire—and as far as the court is aware, a squire of unknown parentage. Lady Eileen is a noblewoman from one of the oldest families in England. For her to marry so far beneath herself would ruin her socially.
    Sarah glanced at Eileen. "Does that matter to you?
    Eileen smiled briefly. "At the time it did, a little. At any rate, I agreed to the plan readily enough. It doesn't seem so important anymore, but it still matters to Terence.
    "And so," Sarah said, "for fifteen years—"
    "Sixteen, said Eileen.
    "Sixteen, I mean. For sixteen years, you've been married, sort of, mostly, but have told no one.
    "Gawain knows, Terence said. "But, yes, that's essentially it.
    "Haven't you ever thought about going ahead and making it official?"
    This time Eileen replied. "Yes, of course we have. But the longer the current arrangement goes on, the harder that becomes. To get married now, suddenly, after years of pretending to be only casual friends, would give rise to all sorts of speculation as to what had really been going on all that time. And if we explained that we hadn't been having an affair, that we had really been married—
    "Mostly," Terence qualified.
    "Sort of, added Sarah.
    Eileen ignored them. "As I say, if we told people we'd been married all along, then we would have to explain why we'd deceived them. Awkward.
    "And besides, Terence said, "we are, as you say, comfortable together. There hasn't really seemed to be a need to change.
    Sarah looked dubious, but Terence reminded himself that she was still young. Young people sometimes place excessive value on external forms and ceremonies, he remembered, so he let it go.
    "And now, Terence, Eileen said, breaking into his thoughts, "you go report to Gawain and Arthur and whoever you feel should know Sarah's news. We ladies will go to bed. It really isn't seemly for a man to be in our quarters so late, you know. We're virtuous ladies, we are.
    "Virtuous?" repeated Terence.
    "Sort of, said Eileen.
    "Mostly, added Sarah.

Alexander of Constantinople
    Terence stood beside Kai and watched the last courtier from the Holy Roman Empire ride out the castle gates. It was shortly after noon the day after the state dinner, and Kai had worked tirelessly all morning to see that nothing prevented their leaving. Kai was always competent, but when he was speeding the departure of a large party of visiting dignitaries, he was brilliantly efficient. "Close the gates!" he called to the guards.
    "Close the gates?" repeated the guard captain. "But it's midday. The standing orders—
    "I don't care what the standing orders are!" snapped Kai. "We just got rid of that lot. If we leave the gates open, someone else'll come in." The captain grinned and did nothing. He had known Kai a long time and was familiar with his moods. After a moment, Kai shrugged and said, "Oh, all right. Suit yourself, Alan. Stick to your orders if you have to, but don't blame me if the next batch is even worse."
    For his part, Terence was as glad to see the Germans leave as Kai was, though for different reasons. Morgan's