The Silver Bowl by Diane Stanley

Author:Diane Stanley [Stanley, Diane]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: cookie429, Kat, Extratorrents
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

Who Am I to Be?

TOBIAS FOUND A LIKELY PLACE to pull over for the night. It was a small inlet, sheltered by a strip of bushes that grew along the edge of the river. The bank had a gentle slope, perfect for landing a skiff. And not far inland was a grassy clearing surrounded by tall trees.

The prince was wide-awake by then, having slept the better part of two days. While we emptied our supplies out of the boat and tipped it over to let out the standing water, Alaric found himself a rock to sit upon and wrapped himself well in our only blanket.

“How far is it from here to the abbey?” he asked when we came into the clearing. “Can we get there by tomorrow?”

“I can’t say for sure,” I said. “I’ve never gone there by boat, only walked; and that took two days.”

“I think,” Tobias said, “if we continue by water, we will have to sleep rough another night, as the river has many curves and bends, and we are going upstream. But if we leave at first light and cut across to join the road, we might reach the abbey before vespers tomorrow. It’s more direct—though I fear, my lord, you are not up to walking so far.”

“I may be weak from my wound, but I am otherwise strong. And I have learned to bear what I must.”

“Is that your wish, then? To abandon the boat and walk the rest of the way?”

“Yes,” he said. “Now give me something to eat or I shall waste away to nothing but bones and flesh.”

Tobias cut a thick slice of bread, set a hunk of Margaret’s cheese upon it, and handed it to the prince. Alaric took a bite, then grunted and spat into the bushes. “The saints protect me!” he cried. “This bread is wet!”

“It rained, my lord,” Tobias said.

“And the cheese is revolting.”

“I’m afraid it was all that Margaret had to offer us.”

“So is this what you people eat? Can you possibly like it?” He asked this as though it were a real question.

“It drives the hunger away, my lord.”

The prince gazed long at Tobias, who sat quietly upon the ground, the loaf in one hand, a knife in the other, his expression remarkably calm.

“So it does,” Alaric said. “So it does. Now, I believe I shall have a cup of that exceptional ale, if you please, to wash down this delicious cheese.”

I turned my head so he wouldn’t see me smile.

When we’d finished our meal and packed everything away, we set to planning for the day ahead, working out what stories we would tell the monks when we arrived at the abbey.

Tobias and I had no need to dissemble. We had only to tell the truth: that we were servants who had fled the castle after the tragedy of the wedding feast. We’d decided to go to St. Bartholomew’s since my brothers were in service there. And as our master the king was now dead

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