Free The King's Peace by Jo Walton

it. It was pinned with two Vincan cloak pins, but the piece of cloth I wore around my head had a round Malmish brooch to hold it in place. When I came back to Caer Gloran afterward I begged Amala to show me how to make the clever folds and tucks in the material and I generally wore a drape on formal occasions afterwards.
    We sat at benches by tables arranged in a circle. They almost filled the hall. Urdo sat at the table with everyone else. He ate heartily, laughing and talking with those around him.
    There was little elbow room. The center of the tables was piled with food, and there was an earthenware plate and cup set at each place. We had plates at home, but not so many nor so near to each other in color. My plate was a fine even orange. I had often heard my mother lamenting the fine pots of her childhood, and although she despised his work she had often tried to tempt the potter at Magor to move to Derwen. These would have pleased her, hardly any of them were cracked and those that were were mended most skillfully with rivets.
    The food was wonderful. I had never seen as many kinds of sweet and savory pastries.
    There was thick barley soup and great platters piled high with different breads. There were three whole roast sheep and a dozen chickens. Angas said it would have been boars in the north, where pigs were not so rare. Osvran threw a piece of bread at him for complaining.
    Marchel was there, although I was surprised to notice that her husband was not. A look from her was sufficient for Angas to apologize. So many people told me that I should not expect to eat like this every day that I almost believed Glyn when he said that the usual fare in barracks was thin porridge with cabbage. The servants kept coming round and filling our cups with ale, and people kept raising their cups to honor each other.
    Everyone I had not already spoken to wanted to know who I was, and many toasted me.
    There were so many of them it was hard for me to keep hold of all their faces and remember who they were.
    When the meal ended we drained our cups to the King's Peace. I was longing to lie down, but Urdo came over to me and asked to speak with me a little while. I followed him out of the hall and up some stairs into a chamber hung with tapestries. There was a neatly made bed in one corner and a large marble table piled with scrolls and pens and writing tablets. There were two spindly elegant chairs. Urdo sat down on one, and offered me the other, smiling.
    "I have a map here, I want you to show me where Derwen is and how you came from there. Do you think a large group of horse can go that way?" I looked at the map and began to show him the headland where Derwen lay, and pick out my route. There was a scratch at the door and without a pause the brown-robed man walked in.
    "Do you have a moment?" he asked, looking at Urdo and making the barest acknowledgement of my existence. Urdo raised his chin absently.
    "What is it, Raul?"
    "If you are really going off south in the morning, we have to arrange what's to be done about the prisoners, and also the ships."
    "Write to Thurrig to collect the ships. He's at Caer Thanbard. The prisoners go to Page 28

    Thansethan in the usual way—they'll work for their keep until they get ransomed or swear at the high altar to keep the Peace." Urdo smiled at me as he said this last. "Raul is my clerk. He's a monk of the White God. I couldn't manage the accounts without him."
    Raul glanced at me again, and away.
    "Talking about accounts, have you thought of how you're going to feed the alae this winter? We can't go on managing on booty like this." Urdo looked grave.
    "Excuse me a minute, Sulien, I want to show Raul some figures." I moved over and sat down on the floor by the end of the bed. There was a sheepskin rug laid on the boards there. It was beautifully soft. Raul sat where I had been sitting and began to talk to Urdo quietly, seeming to contradict a lot of what he said. They were discussing figures.