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‘Can’t you go and rough him up or something?’ Gwen demanded of Gabriel, who was still staring at Arthur. ‘What? Er. No. Might cause a minor political incident.’ ‘Cause a major one. Do it for me. He insulted my honour.’ ‘Did he?’ ‘Well, no. But he was very snippy with me.’ Gabriel gave her a wry smile. ‘You’ll live.’
‘Arthur,’ Gwen said eventually, in a whisper. ‘That was a boy. You were kissing a boy.’ ‘Was it?’ said Arthur, sounding a little panicked now. ‘No, I don’t think so. I’d have noticed.’ ‘I should think it would have been obvious. You practically had your hand down the front of his—’ ‘All right,’ Arthur hissed. ‘All right. It was a boy. Congratulations, you’re a genius.
He knew. Of course he knew. It wouldn’t have crossed most people’s minds, but – he’d just been kissing a boy, hadn’t he? ‘Right,’ he said, the panic visibly draining from him. ‘Right.’ ‘I … Listen, I don’t know what exactly you think you’ve discovered here, but—’ ‘Why don’t we go and talk about this somewhere more private, hmm?’ He turned on his heel and walked away across the courtyard. With the air of somebody condemned to an extremely painful death, Gwen followed.
was forthcoming; it was not. ‘The last time you were here,’ the king said finally, ‘you set fire to something.’ Arthur grimaced down at his hands. ‘Yes. I mean – my apologies.’ ‘What was it, do you recall?’ Arthur pretended to think about it. ‘Er – I believe it was your wife, sire.’ ‘That’s right,’ said the king evenly. ‘It was only my son’s quick thinking that stopped her entire dress from going up in flames.’
‘What about me,’ Bridget said in a low, amused voice that sent a thrill up Gwen’s spine, ‘is so particularly vexing?’
God, Gwen thought wistfully. I hope she stabs me.
‘It doesn’t matter what you actually said,’ Arthur said, raising his voice more than he had intended. ‘Jesus, Gabriel – why are you punishing her for who she is because you’re scared of who you might be?’
‘I’m just saying,’ Arthur continued, ‘you should be happy that this is something you two can share. Not everybody gets to have family who might actually understand them.’ ‘I don’t want her to understand,’ Gabriel said finally, his voice shaking a little. ‘I don’t want this for either of us. Not with our titles – what’s expected of us. It’s too difficult, it’s too—’ ‘Well, hard luck,’ Arthur said. ‘I’m sorry it’s so abhorrent to you, so disappointing that you might be like me—’
‘Do you have any plan for what comes next?’ Bridget said, looking down at Gwen’s hands, which were still pressed against her collarbone. ‘Or did the forethought start and end at pushing?’ ‘Shut up,’ Gwen said, surprising both of them. ‘I’m going to kiss you.’ ‘All right,’ Bridget said. ‘Carry on, then.’
‘When you notice a flaw in security during a time of heightened peril,’ Gwen said, crossing her arms, ‘you tell the Captain of the Guard. You make sure nobody else can utilise it. You do not exploit said security flaw as a means to … party.’ ‘You make a good point,’ Arthur said diplomatically. ‘Unfortunately, I’m not actually in the market for good points, so – shut up and put your moustache on.’
‘In that case, Sidney Fitzgilbert – I have decided to make a series of poor decisions in an attempt to clear my name in the eyes of those I love, most likely culminating in our untimely deaths.’ ‘Well,’ said Sidney, shaking out his shoulders and then settling into the saddle, chin stubbornly raised. ‘Good of you to announce it this time. Usually, you just crack on.’
‘To be truly brave, first you must be afraid – and to be afraid, you must have something you cannot bear to lose.’
