They drew in then to the wharfside, and Alice, in the bustle of leave-taking and disembarkation, was able, though with some difficulty, to turn her mind away from what awaited her at home.

FIVE

Alexander in Love

24

It would be tedious to detail the all-too-swift and inevitable process by which Alexander came to be Queen Morgan’s lover. She nursed him, and if the low fever took rather a long time to leave him, why, then, the lovely queen spent all the more time in the sickroom, and all the more often brewed for him her subtle concoctions of herbs and fruits and other, secret, ingredients. The Lady Luned kept aloof; the other young men of Morgan’s party might smile or sulk and talk among themselves, but the queen herself seemed to have eyes – and time – for Alexander alone.

At length the fever left him. There were some who noticed that it only left him when he was securely in the queen’s toils, and then, when he was seen to think only of her, and pine for her touch, her look, her presence – why, then she withdrew herself from the sickroom, and let old Brigit do the nursing. From which time the young prince gained strength rapidly, and was soon able to leave his bed, to stand and walk about the chamber and bathe and dress himself without aid. Which he did, one evening when Brigit had left him, taking out his best clothes – which had been washed and laid carefully away in one of the chests – and set out to look for the queen.

The royal rooms where Alexander had been housed were in the central part of the castle, with doors opening on a corridor running to right and left towards the twin towers. He hesitated outside his door, wondering where the main stairway lay that would take him down to the castle’s public rooms. He had no doubt that now, favoured as he apparently was by the queen, he would be received by the Lady Luned and made free of the castle’s hospitality. Eager though he was to see Morgan again, he realised that courtesy required him first to seek out his hostess, tender her his respects and thanks, and wait for her invitation to join the company that evening.

A boy in Morgan’s livery came running along the corridor, bent on some errand. Alexander put out a hand.

“A moment, if you please! What’s your name?”

“Gregory, sir.” The boy regarded him with a curiosity that Alexander found flattering. The queen’s servants had no doubt been whispering about him, and he thought – hoped – that he knew what was being said.

“Well, Gregory, can you tell me where I can find the Lady Luned? Will she be free at this hour to receive me?”

“I’m not sure about that, sir. But I do know where you’ll probably find her. At this time she’s usually in one of the rooms where the ladies sit. Down that way.” He pointed back the way he had come. “Down the staircase there, sir, and one of the servants will show you.”