Free The Crystal Chalice (Book 1) by R.J. Grieve Page A

yesterday.  I also heard that you.....er.....over-indulged with the
decanter last night. Sore head this morning?” he enquired sympathetically, but
before she could answer he continued: “Never mind, it will soon pass once you
get some proper food in you.” He began lifting the covers off the dishes. “And
just look what those black-hearted scoundrels have done to your poor face.
Hydar, I would guess? He has red hair, you know, and a temper to match.”
     She finally found her voice. “No, it wasn’t Hydar,
it was Celedorn.”
     “Ah, well,” he excused, “he was mightily provoked.
Indeed, the men can’t understand why he hasn’t ........well, never mind all
that, my foolish old tongue sometimes runs away with me. Here, come and eat.
Nothing ever looks bright on an empty stomach.”
      He held out a plate of fresh bread and slices of
ham. “Just go ahead, don’t mind me.” He settled himself on the end of the bed,
as if he proposed to become a permanent fixture, and watched her as she ate.
     “I’ll stay and talk to you for a while, if you like.
I miss a bit of conversation that doesn’t involve words such as ‘pillage’
and  ‘slaughter’.” He winked at her, his little eyes dancing
mischievously. “It gets a bit monotonous, if you know what I mean.”
     She couldn’t resist smiling back. “Was it you who
put the blanket over me last night?”
     “Yes, indeed,” he admitted. “You didn’t think that
it was one of those uncouth fellows?”
     She laughed and shook her head. “How do you come to
be here, Dorgan, amongst all these......er......uncouth fellows?”
     “Ah, my dear, that is a long story full of the
vagaries of fate. Perhaps some day I will tell you when you have several hours
to spare. A rushed story is never a good one and I don’t believe in précis when
it comes to matters of importance.”
     The rebuff was so pleasantly done, that she accepted
with equanimity that he was telling her to mind her own business.
     When he saw she had finished, he said: “Now, what
shall we do for the rest of the day? How about a tour of this impressive pile?
But before you get too excited at the prospect, I should tell you that I
haven’t asked Celedorn’s permission yet. I have only lived to a ripe old age
because I am always most circumspect when it comes to asking his permission.
I’ll go and find him and attempt to use my limited powers of persuasion.”
     He lifted the tray and whisked himself out of the
room most nimbly for a man of his bulk. However, she noticed, with some
chagrin, that he turned the key in the lock behind him. He was so long in
returning, that she gave up pacing the dusty floorboards and took to staring
out of the window at the deserted courtyard below, convinced that he had
forgotten about her. However, he proved true to his word and arrived back,
picking up where they had left off as if he had only been away for a moment.
     “All is well. Permission has been granted. Actually,
Celedorn’s response was that I could do what I liked with you - provided I
didn’t lose you.”
     He held the door open for her and seeing her
hesitate, added: “Come, don’t look so anxious. I’m really perfectly harmless.
Indeed, I’m the only person you could say that of within these walls.”
     “I could believe that. I did, after all, spend an
evening with Celedorn.”
     He studied her reflectively. “The personification of
evil, in fact?”
     “Well.......” she hesitated, unsure of him.
     “A little more complex than you thought.”
     “Yes,” she agreed, relieved to find common ground.
     “Nevertheless, it is dangerous to relax with him.
Your uninhibited conversation might have entertained him last night but it is a
dangerous game to play. The only thing one can predict about Celedorn with any
certainty, is that he is always unpredictable.”
     She stared at him, alarmed.
     “Oh dear, I have brought back that anxious
expression that I was so set on