“The harpy squawked furiously when she realized you’d ridden off without her. She’s in her den right now preparing for our dinner feast. Her spawn are seeing to their horses.”
“Perfect, I can test them without Morgause hovering over my shoulder,” Britt said, making for the stables.
“Test what?” Merlin asked. “Wait—you didn’t.”
“I did.”
“And she actually helped you? By the bells of Heaven, if I knew that’s where you were going I would have tied you up and kept you here. The Lady of the Lake could have turned you into a frog you know.”
“I caught her in a good mood. Apparently she had just ridden herself of some unwanted lake-guests.”
“Fortune favors the foolish I suppose.”
“So you claim, but we’ll see if the spell actually works,” Britt said as they entered the threshold of the stable.
Morgause’s sons were clustered around two stalls. Gawain was in one seeing to a fine chestnut horse. Agravain was in the stall next to him, brushing a red roan. Gaheris and Gareth stood on their tip toes outside the stalls, straining to see their brothers.
Britt stopped just behind the two youngest boys. “Good afternoon to you Gawain, Agravain, Gaheris, and Gareth. I trust you slept well last night and enjoyed your morning?”
All four boys bowed to Britt. “We did, my King,” Gawain said.
Britt shot Merlin a triumphant grin.
The enchanter shrugged. “It’s faerie magic, of course it would work. I’m off—don’t go disappearing again or I shall send Sir Kay to sniff you out. Blast!” Merlin said when he almost collided with Cavall.
The giant mastiff dragged one of the kennel boys behind him without remorse as he approached Britt, his tail wagging.
Britt chuckled and crouched to rub the dog’s shoulders. “It’s fine. You may return to the kennels. Thank you for watching him,” Britt told the boy.
“Yes, My Lord,” the boy said, rubbing his arms as he made his retreat.
“Did you miss me, Cavall?” Britt asked the giant dog, laughing when he pressed his wet nose to her temple.
Gawain and his brothers stared at the exchange, reminding Britt that she was supposed to be winning Gawain over. “Do you have dogs back in Orkney?” she asked.
“Of course we do, My Lord,” Agravain scoffed.
“I didn’t mean if you had a kennel. Do you, hm. Do you personally own any dogs?” Britt asked.
“No, My Lord,” Gawain said. “I once had a small hunting hound, but since then Father has taught us that affection for an animal is useless.”
“That’s a downright silly thing to say,” Britt said, biting her tongue to hold back a laugh when Gaheris and Gareth stared at her with googlie eyes. “Where’s your beanbag?” Britt asked her dog.
Cavall trotted down the aisle, disappearing from sight.
“Affection weakens a man,” Agravain said. His voice sounded canned, like a parrot repeating words without knowing the meaning.
“And that is a stupid thing to say,” Britt said, ignoring the collective gasps from King Lot and Queen Morgause’s sons. “If you’re an idiot with your affections and act melodramatic about it then yes, it weakens you. But there are very few men here in Camelot that I am fonder of than Sir Kay, my foster brother, and there are even fewer men I would trust more with my life than Kay.”
The four brothers were quiet as they reflected on Britt’s words.
“Good boy,” Britt said when Cavall returned with his beanbag, which she threw for him.
When Cavall brought it back Britt took the beanbag and scratched Cavall under his chin. “Good boy, Cavall.”
“Can, can I pet him?” one of the younger boys, Gareth, asked.
“Certainly. Let him sniff your hand first so he knows you’re a friend,” Britt said, delighted she was able to share the odd bits of dog wisdom she had picked up since acquiring Cavall.
Gareth held a hand out to the giant mastiff. He swallowed hard when the dog snuffled him, but ran his hand down Cavall’s massive shoulders.
Cavall sat patiently, looking a Britt with a loyalty that made her throat tighten.
“He’s soft,” Gareth said as Gaheris joined him.
Gawain leaned out of the stall to watch his younger brothers. “He’s a fine looking animal. He was bred in your kennels, My Lord?”
“I believe so. Kay gave him to me when we first came to Camelot. He’s more well trained than I could ever teach a dog to be,” Britt said, passing the beanbag to Gaheris, who threw it.
Cavall watched the beanbag sail and looked back at Britt. She nodded, and Cavall got up to track down the makeshift toy.
“These are your horses?” Britt said, looking at the horses Gawain and Agravain stood with.
“They are, My Lord,” Gawain said.
“They’re some of the finest horses in Britain, My Lord,” Agravain said, daring Britt to say otherwise.
“You should see Merlin’s horse. It’s as skinny as a deer but it runs like the wind. The thing is half bones and the other half is spite. I’m sure it got its sweet temperament from its rider,” Britt said.
“The black horse the stable boy led here before you arrived, was that your horse, My Lord?” Gawain asked.