Conwy, Wales
The Prince invited Electra to leave the kitchen and eat in the great hall, not at his table but at an adjoining one.
“More wine, milady?” Percival poured and asked after. He sat on Electra’s left and Horatio on her right.
Prior to the Prince’s talk on why she should marry, neither knight said a word to her, let alone referred to her as milady. She wasn’t certain of the protocol but didn’t think she was in the milady category. The Prince never referred to her by that title. He called her by name. The sudden use by the two knights brought new angst. Prince Edward had to have ordered them to refer to her by the title, which she saw for the ploy it was to endear one or both to her.
She liked both. Neither were as coarse as many of the other knights, in front of her at least. A laundress, four kitchen assistants, and the blacksmith’s wife traveled with them. The laundress and two of the kitchen girls had late night assignations with some knights. They were happy to share their personal information the next day with any who’d listen. None of the women spoke ill of Percival or Horatio or any of the Prince’s men. The blacksmith’s wife was strikingly lovely and never complained about any of the knights trying to take liberties. The Prince took his chivalric code to heart and apparently demanded the same of his men.
At the end of the dinner meal, Percival said, “We have a good amount of light left this day. Shall we take a walk through the village?”
“I’d like that,” Electra said honestly.
“I’ll join you,” Horatio said, looking at Percival then winking at Electra.
They walked along the battlements to one of the mighty towers facing the village and down a narrow circular staircase. The entire town was protected behind a high stone wall. Conwy was one of Edward the First’s “iron ring of castles” he built throughout Wales. Any attackers had a daunting task of fighting their way through the villages prior to challenging the castle garrisons.
Electra wanted to see how the village compared to the modern version. Many of the medieval features remained. It would be nice to see them in a newer state. She hadn’t had a chance to see much, setting up the kitchen to her liking took most of her time since they arrived.
The knights asked her about Greenland. She answered from imagination. “Tell me Sir Percival, how did you become one of the Prince’s knights?” she asked, changing the subject.
“My father is a knight in service to the King in London, as was his father before him to the King’s father.”
“Were you knighted automatically when you reached a certain age?”
“No. I was only a squire at the battle of Crecy but I ran errands for the Prince on the battlefield. I was unarmed but unafraid to enter the melee to do his bidding. I caught his attention and when I reached sixteen, he granted me the honor of knighthood.”
“Interesting. If your father served the King wherever the King traveled, what about your mother?”
“She’s one of the Queen’s ladies. She is together with my father only when the Queen and King are together.”
“Do your parents live near the palace?”
“No. The Queen has provided my mother with a chamber in the palace but my father spends most nights in the barracks.”
They didn’t sound like a close couple to Electra. She wondered if theirs was an arranged marriage or one of love.
“What about you, Horatio? How did you become one of the Prince’s knights?” she asked. “Did you have a relative in service to the king as well?”
“No. My family are farmers in Kent. I was seen by the King while he traveled to Canterbury. My village was having a fair. There was a strong man contest and I won. I was only twelve and would’ve lost but the competition included an obstacle course.”
“Like what?”
“I had to cross a stream by means of a floating log. It sounds easy, milady, but it is not. The moment one’s foot touches, the log begins to spin. Many of the challengers got a good dunking.” He mimicked the spin with his hands, talking faster as he retold the events.
“After the log roll, I had to run to a wall twice the size of a man and scale it, then run to and climb a rope three times the height of a man and touch the limb it hung from. I rounded barrels set out in a willy-nilly pattern. The final test was to strike a plate with a hammer sending a weight up to ring a bell at the top.”
Electra’s uncle was in the Royal Marines and had to train on a similar course. Some things never change.
“You won this contest at twelve? That’s impressive,” she told him, receiving a big grin. His cheeks blushed bright pink and he looked younger than twenty-seven. “Then what? How did the King approach you?”
“He spoke to my father and I set off with the royal party that day. When I turned sixteen, I fought with the Prince at Crecy. He knighted many of us after the battle. I was among the chosen.”
They’d reached the village market, which still bustled with activity. Horatio bought an apple from vendor. “I’m very strong. Watch.”
He crushed the apple in his hand, tossed the juicy remains to the ground and wanted to buy another but Electra intervened. “Please, I can see how incredibly strong you are. You needn’t continue the apple carnage.”
“All the Prince’s knights are strong,” Percival said. He took one walnut from the vendor next to the fruit stand and crushed it in his hand. “Voila.”
“I believe both of you. Please no more demonstrations. Clearly, you’re well suited for your position protecting the royal party. Let’s see what else the market offers,” Electra suggested to end the rivalry and show for her benefit.
They continued on chatting and stopping occasionally to talk with different vendors. Towards the edge of the square a young girl sat on a barrel selling a colorful mix of sweet peas, daisies, and buttercups from a basket. Her chin rested in her hand and she busied herself drawing pictures in the dirt with a stick.
“How pretty,” Electra said, admiring the variety.
The girl stopped drawing to watch as Percival quickly gathered every bloom. “How much for all?”
Her eyes widened at the possible sale. Her gaze shifted from him to Electra and back to Percival. “A double groat.”
Electra suspected the girl upped the price, seeing he was one of the Prince’s men.
Percival dug into a pouch on his sword belt and tossed the girl a coin. He handed the bunch of loose flowers to Electra. “For you, milady.”
She’d had a devil of a time trying to hold onto all them. They filled both hands. “Hold them for a moment,” she told him and pulled the ribbon from her braid to tie them all together. “There.”
Her hair now hung wavy and loose over her shoulders. None of the castle folk had seen her hair untied. She braided hers to blend in with the other women.
Percival’s eyes never left her hands as she fingered through the waves freeing the strands. When she finished, he brought her hand to his lips and kissed the back of her fingers. “You’ve lovely hair.”
“Thank you.” Horatio lightly brushed her arm. She turned as he pulled back. “Were you sniffing my hair?”
“I confess. I was.”
“Smell nice?”
“It did, but perhaps another test is necessary.”
“Nice try, but no you cannot have a second sniff. One per knight.”
“Pity.”
She didn’t want to like them as much as she was starting to. The Prince had chosen well, if she were in the market for a husband, which she was not. All she wanted was to go home, marry Roger, and open a small bistro. Barring that, she’d prefer to remain the Prince’s unmarried cook. A status he didn’t approve of and not inclined to change his mind about.