The Darkest Knight (Guardians of Camelot #3) - Victoria Sue Page 0,38
flap open, Kay hesitated. What would Davidas expect him to do? Davidas came to a halt and turned, holding his arms out, and Kay took the hint. Kay stepped forward and started to remove the stiff leather breastplate, full steel ones still not commonly worn. Davidas paid him no heed, and Kay—even though he knew what he was doing—made a couple of deliberate mistakes. He doubted a farm boy would be used to taking apart a suit of armor. Davidas grunted but didn’t seem annoyed when he had to help, and then completely naked walked to the large steaming tub of water. Big enough to stand in, but not large enough to sit.
Kay picked up his sweat-stained clothing, and a servant appeared to take them from Kay. Kay hesitated. What exactly was Davidas asking? He picked up some drying cloths and moved closer. Davidas huffed. “Wash my back, boy,” he commanded and turned around. Kay did so as quickly and clinically as possible; then Davidas turned around and grabbed one of the drying cloths. He must have seen the expression on Kay’s face he wasn’t quick enough to hide because he grunted in disgust. “You’re safe. I’m not about to bed a boy the age of my grandson.”
Kay dipped his head in sheer relief. Not that he couldn’t have stopped him easily, but he didn’t want to end up under arrest. He’d fallen on his feet, as Mel would say, with such close access to Uther and Mordred, and he didn’t want to spoil that.
Another servant arrived with food for Davidas, and he waved Kay off as she left. “Go find some food. You will sleep in here. I will have blankets brought in.” Kay’s eyes widened, and Davidas sighed. “I found you, boy. I would at least like to either see you safely back to your village or to Camelot.”
Kay smiled, bowed, and offered his heartfelt thanks. He was hungry at least, and it would give him the chance to see where Charles was being kept and plan how to free him. He was leaving the tent and following the smell of cooking when a random fact he’d remembered burst into his head.
Sir Davidas Aldon of Canterbury, said to have been married for over nineteen years, had four sons and three grandchildren and owned huge swathes of England. Had he been born another thousand years later, he would have become the duke of Kent.
The man had been kinder to Kay in the space of three short hours than his own father had his entire life, but on the second day of the Battle of Badon in 516 AD, Davidas was killed. He remembered the tale told at Camelot because the man hadn’t died trying to save the life of the king, he had died saving the life of a servant.
Kay didn’t bother walking toward where the food was being served. He wasn’t hungry anymore.
Chapter 11
Charles was cold and exhausted. To say nothing of being chained and at the mercy of Mordred, but he’d seen Kay, and suddenly wherever he was didn’t seem as bad. He’d appeared carrying the sword and hadn’t had so much as a chance to take a breath before he had been surrounded by soldiers and had the sword taken off him. He knew Uther still lived which meant the battle hadn’t happened yet, so somehow he had to get free and be near Uther when he was killed.
Not hard at all. Charles heard the disturbance at the front of the tent, and a second later a guard strolled in followed by Kay holding a tray with a metal cup on it and a dish of some food. Charles was very careful not to look at him.
He rattled the chains tying his hands to the tent post. The guard huffed but understood his meaning. “No.”
“Then you might as well take it away,” Charles said, letting the defeat enter his voice.
“I can feed him,” Kay muttered, keeping his eyes down.
The guard shrugged but stepped forward and checked Charles’s restraints. He nodded. “Fine, but shout if you need me.” And he left the tent. In another moment Charles could hear him joking with the other guard outside.
Kay bent down and before Charles could ask anything, held a glass of wine to his lips. Charles drank it gratefully even if it was little more than vinegar. “I shouldn’t be glad to see you in this mess, but I am,” Charles whispered. “Are you okay? They didn’t hurt you?”