Knowing Yourself - A Medieval Romance

Chapter 5

Chapter 5  

Kay followed Reese down the spiral staircase and came up beside him as he waited for her at the bottom. It seemed so natural, so comforting, to enter the main hall with him by her side. She smiled when Alistair, Jack, and Galeron looked up with interest. Uther was nowhere to be seen.

Jack’s voice snapped out with sharp precision. “So, is it true? Uther is out of the running?”

Kay moved forward to sit down at the table, looking around for the maids. While this might have been great news for the men in contention, and certainly for her personally, how would it affect her household? Perhaps she should seek out and speak with Anne and Jessica first.

The pair of women came sweeping into the room with platters of roast duck, their faces wreathed in smiles, moving side by side in smooth harmony. The difference in their bearing from the night before to now could not be more distinct.

Kay held her eyes on the two women. “Yes, Uther has chosen to return to London, to rejoin the throngs there,” she admitted.

Anne tossed her blonde curls. “And good riddance, too!” she chimed in. “The man was not to be trusted!”

Jessica put down a pair of tankards with a solid ring. “Not at all,” she agreed “I think we can all be grateful that lout is on his way!”

Jack moved his eyes along the table of men with careful evaluation. “And so the field reduces,” he mused. “I think this occasion deserves a toast.”

He raised his mug, and the others did in turn, clicking and downing their brews in unison. A shiver ran through Kay. The reality of the situation suddenly enveloped her full force. This was not just some kind of game. This was a serious endeavor, and at the end of it she would be tied for life to one of these men. Not only would her own future be set in stone, but also the lives and safety of every person within this keep.

She spent the meal in quiet, pushing the cubes of turnip around on her plate with her knife, suddenly without appetite.

When the meal was over, she excused herself and retreated into the library, taking down the family copy of the Bible, delving into Corinthians. She found the verses comforting, the message strong and powerful. She lost herself in the reading for several hours, the storm brewing outside her window, the candles providing a serene glow.

The door swung open, and she glanced up. Alistair was standing there, a look of surprise on his face.

“I am so sorry,” he stuttered, looking at the Bible in her hands. “I did not realize another might be interested in sharing the wealth of the Holy Book. I thought only I drew comfort from its pages.”

“Not at all,” demurred Kay with a smile. “There are many inspirational passages in here.”

“I agree completely!” responded Alistair with growing enthusiasm. “If I could but sit with a Bible all day long, and draw in its message, I would count myself a lucky man!”

“Part of taking in the word is to then put it in practice, do you not think?” countered Kay cheerfully. “If you sat in a room solely reading the word, where would be the time to take action on what you had learned?”

“Is not the knowledge itself enough?” asked Alistair with some confusion. “To become a lamp full of glowing oil, brilliant with the word of God?”

Reese suddenly appeared over Alistair’s shoulder, his eyes serious. “Kay, I think you need to come out to the stables,” he called, his voice tense.

Kay tossed the Bible down without a second thought, her heart tight, leaping to her feet. She ran out the door, through the hall, across the pelting rain of the courtyard to the open stable door.