any peasant lout. The man smiled at him and Roger melted. Oh please, he thought to himself, please let him . . . let me . . . he realized that the man had spoken to him and was obviously awaiting a reply. “I uh . . . oh, hell. I—” he broke off, blushing in confusion as he realized that his companion was laughing at him, then laughed himself as the ridiculousness of the situation overtook him.
“I asked how you were feeling, my lord,” the prince repeated, with amusement. Roger shrugged, then winced at the pain that shot through his left side.
“What happened?” he asked, and then winced again, mentally, at the banality of the question. He found himself blushing anew as the tale of last night’s adventure was relayed to him. He couldn’t have made a more perfect ass of himself if he’d set out to do so on a wager. Falling down drunk and waving his sword about was bad enough, but to be kicked to the ground by a disdainful horse! It didn’t bear thinking about.
“You are young yet, Roger, if I may call you that,” the prince spoke without a trace of condescension, as if, Roger noted with surprise, peering at him through his eyelashes, as if he were speaking to an equal. He nodded belatedly and the man continued. “And you are of the proper age to make a fool of yourself. But do try not to get yourself killed.”
“Why? Would you care if I did?” Roger heard the words fall from his lips with horror. How could he be so unguarded? His preferences could bring him to the stake, and however careless he was about the rest of his life he considered himself most circumspect in that regard. Usually. He doubted Essex even suspected, or Southampton, though he, Roger, suspected Hal of leaning more than a little in that direction himself . . . oh, no. He’d lost the thread of the conversation again. The prince was watching him with a quizzical smile quirking the corner of his mouth. Abruptly the man stood.
“I understand you have not eaten yet today, Roger. I will see what may be done to remedy that,” and he slid from the room like a shadow, returning minutes later with a large tray. He filled a plate with sliced beef and Cheshire cheese, added a serving of warm white manchet bread and set the plate on Roger’s knees, then he poured a rich dark wine into a pair of Venetian glass goblets.
“You do not sup, my lord?” Roger asked softly and Kryštof shook his head, holding out one of the glasses, which Roger gratefully accepted.
“I make it a habit never to take solid food after dark,” Kryštof told him. He watched as Roger finished his meal, awkwardly using his one free hand, then took the plate from him. “Tell me about yourself, Roger.” And Roger did, with an openness that surprised himself. Soon the prince knew all about the indebtedness that plagued the ‘Fantasticals’, as he and his friends were called by the more staid members of the Court, and had even garnered a few veiled hints on how they meant to remedy the situation. Roger, sunk sleepily down into his chair, sat suddenly bolt upright, turning an incredulous gaze on Kryštof.
“I dreamt of you, once. I fell asleep in a churchyard, and I dreamt that you were there, wounded and weakened, and that I helped you. I hadn’t even seen you then, but I dreamt of you. Then I saw you at Court, and I wanted it to have been real,” he left off, looking at the prince from under his lashes again. The man didn’t look disturbed, but rather amused.
“What is it you are trying to say, Roger?”
“I want to share your bed,” Roger answered baldly, then blushed redder than his wine, sneaking another look to see what effect his rash words had had upon the prince, who looked, not disgusted or horrified as Roger had feared, but rather calculating, as if he were weighing actions and consequences, a practice with which Roger and his circle were almost wholly unfamiliar. Several minutes passed, while Roger tried to think of any way to take back his words that wouldn’t only worsen the situation. What was it about the man that affected him so? Finally the prince smiled at him.
“Ask me again when your collarbone has healed,” he said. “You are welcome to stay here, or if you would