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Don't look at me that way, Angie; I'm just trying to last until the Earl
leaves or passes out; and I think he's close to passing out now."
"I hope you're right," said Angie. "I really don't think it's safe for you to
be here with all of them in this condition."
"Probably not," said Jim.
He looked out over the hall. Perhaps a third of those there were either
unconscious from the amount they had drunk or so close to being unconscious
that they could hardly stir from their seats. But there was a sufficient core
of people like Sir Randall who were still on their feet and moving about, or
able to go through the motions of being their usual selves; and within these
was the truly dangerous core.
These were the male guests who had been careful not to get drunk beyond a
safe point; and now sat around, stiff-backed, upright and smiling with
glittering invitation on all and sundry who might approach them.
The smile, particularly on the faces of such as Brian and Sir Harimore, was
something like the smile on the face of the tiger, on whom the Lady fromNiger
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mistakenly went on for a ride.
"I am too much of a gentleman to start a fight," that smile said, "but if you
would care to offend me, I would be happy to satisfy any desire you might have
for a small encounter."
"You know, Angie," Jim said thoughtfully, "remember how our spring breaks
used to be at the college back at Riveroak? We had ten days; and the first day
or so, it seemed that we had time unlimited; and those same first few days had
so many things going on in them that it seemed we could live half a lifetime
before we had to go back into academic life again? And then, all of a sudden,
we'd wake up to the fact that there were only two or three days left of the
break, and it was all going to be over in no time at all? You remember?"
"I remember," said Angie. "I also remember that, looking back on it, the
latter days of the break were just as filled with things to do as the first
ones, only by that time we weren't paying any attention to time at all, and
acting as if we were going to have a lifetime that way. Then we came down with
a bump on the last day. You know "
She broke off to glance around the hall. Everybody there was immersed in
their own conversation scene or argument.
" You know," she said again, "come to think of it, this is the best chance
I've really had to talk privately with you for days. Our rooms aren't the best
place, with Enna or the wet nurse in the next room with little Robert; and
every place else we're with people. I don't believe anyone in this time even
knows what privacy means."
"It's uncommon enough," said Jim, looking around the hall and silently
agreeing with her view on medieval privacy.
"Well, it's a chance for me to say something to you," said Angie. "Do you
know Agatha Falon's been bribing everybody's servants right and left to keep
an eye on our room 'because of course she'd like to visit little Robert when
it was possible, but she didn't want to disturb us more than was necessary. I
was such a good keeper of the little boy'?"
"At least she admits it," said Jim, trying to think of a way to lift the
anxiety that was clearly on Angie's mind.
"You aren't very perceptive, Jim," said Angie dryly. "That's an ultimate
fourteenth-century put-down. What she's doing is talking about me as if I was
on the servant level, with Enna and the wet nurse. The message is that I'm
actually no Lady. That's about as insulting as you can get in this society;
particularly talking about another woman who outranks you."
"Oh, well," said Jim uncomfortably. "I don't imagine she can do anything, so
she's taking it out in insults. She's been here at table with the Earl since
the dinner started."
"She's here now?" said Angie, trying to peer past Jim, two empty seats and
the bulky body of the Earl, without appearing to do so.
"That's right," said Jim.
"I came in from the side entrance," said Angie, giving up the effort. "I
didn't think to see her still at table. Is she drunk?"
"Not that you could tell," answered Jim. "From what I can see, she can really
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hold her wine better than the Earl, for all his body weight."
"The Earl's in for a surprise from her, one of these days," said Angie
darkly. "Anyway, the point is, Jim, there's only a few days left for us all to
be together here; and I'm sure she'll try something against us or little
Robert. I want another man-at-arms actually inside our first room, except when
you or Brian, or someone like that's there. And he's not to talk to the wet
nurse or Enna, or they to him. We can have that, can't we?"
"Another man, armed?" Jim asked.
Angie nodded.
"Theoretically, I suppose it's going beyond the permission the Earl gave us
out of courtesy to have an armed man at the door," he said. "But I don't
think, this late in the twelve-day period, it'll matter. What have we got?
There's just tomorrow and the next day, isn't there?"
"Don't tell me you've forgotten?" asked Angie.
"I haven't forgotten," said Jim. "I remember what day it is, in spite of what
I said earlier. But I've been pretty busy, you know, with Mnrogar and that
boar. Brian has been doing his best, but it's going to be a miracle if both
the boar and Mnrogar act like they ought to at the tournament. Also, we've got [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]