Alex Bledsoe - Dark Jenny

“You’re still going to hold court?” Kay interjected.

Drake nodded and turned away from his wife. Her gaze followed him with something very like contempt. “First thing tomorrow morning. We’ll let everyone speak, get their grievances into the open. No secrets.”

A sharp knock sounded from the door. Everyone except Drake jumped. Kay strode across the room and opened it. “Who the hell is knocking on the king’s private-”

He stopped suddenly. Thomas Gillian waited just outside. He wore shining dress armor and stood at ease with his hands clasped behind his back, polished boots apart. “Your Majesties, I offer my sincere apologies for this interruption.”

“Tom,” Drake said patiently, “we’re kind of in the middle of something. Is this urgent?”

“I believe it is.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Kay said, and stepped outside with Gillian. He didn’t shut the door all the way, but they spoke in low tones none of us could hear. I risked a glance at the queen, but her expression was unreadable.

Kay came back into the room and closed the door. He grimly faced Drake and Jennifer. “Gillian wants to speak to both of you,” he said darkly. “He’s got some of the others with him.”

“Show them in,” Drake said, sounding perplexed at Kay’s tone. “If it’s so important he-”

“Maybe you should speak to him alone,” Kay suggested. “I’ll tell the others to wait in the hall.”

Drake’s eyebrows went up at the interruption. “No,” he said firmly. “That would just spread more rumors.”

Kay started to protest again, but thought better of it. “You’re the king,” he said wearily, and returned to the door.

He stepped aside as Gillian and three other knights entered the room. Like Gillian, the soldiers wore their best go-to-court clothes and were clean and neatly shaved. In unison they knelt before Drake. The metal shin guards on their boots clanked against the stone floor.

“Permission to rise?” Gillian said.

Drake frowned a little at the formality, but he went with it. “Yes. Welcome, Sir Thomas, Sir Harold, Sir Peter, Sir Jordan.”

Gillian and his companions stood. He held his chin rigidly parallel with the floor. Ironically, he conveyed far more of royalty’s innate nobility than Drake. “Sire, I have come to a deeply troubling conclusion about yesterday’s attempt on my life.”

Drake crossed his arms. “And what’s that?”

“Sire, I have reflected on my past misdeeds, my deepest sins, and those whom I have wronged. In each case, I considered those affected by my actions and their possible desire for revenge. I have come to the conclusion that none of them could possibly have been involved.”

There was a moment of silence. “And?” Drake prompted.

Gillian nodded at me. “This man is clearly not the culprit, despite what the nobles may say. I have expressed this certainty to the other knights, all of who agree with me. With the usual three exceptions.”

“Dave Agravaine,” Kay asided to Drake. “And Hoel and Cador, of course.”

Drake said to Gillian, “I have to say my conclusions are pretty much the same as yours.”

Gillian nodded. “I would expect that, Your Majesty. You are a wise and intelligent man. But I and the other knights have come to an additional conclusion that you will no doubt dispute. Yet we are convinced it is the case. We believe,” Gillian concluded, his words utterly devoid of passion, “that the queen, already morally suspect for her past conduct, was behind the entire event.”

Drake showed no reaction, Kay sputtered in outrage, and Jennifer hissed, “That is absurd!”

Drake shushed everyone with a small wave of his hand. Except for the red flush of anger, he showed no outward sign. His voice remained steady. “So why would Jennifer try to kill you, Tommy?”

Gillian’s composure broke slightly, and for an instant, no longer than a bee’s wingbeat, real emotional pain showed. Then it was gone. “After much thought and prayer, I believe the queen intended to murder me as a warning to those who have publicly discussed her past conduct.”

“Tommy!” Jennifer gasped.

“How dare you!” Kay thundered simultaneously.

“Quiet!” Drake snapped. The effort to control his temper caused sweat to pop out along his hairline. Through clenched teeth he said, “That’s a very serious accusation, Gillian.”

“Yes, sir,” he responded. The knights behind him had neither moved nor spoken and, now that the king’s wrath was about to boil over, seemed anxious to be mistaken for furniture.

Kay had no regal image to maintain. “Why in the hell would the queen want to kill you?” he demanded. “ You never gossiped about her to anyone.”

Gillian turned just enough to meet Kay’s eyes. “That is true, Sir Robert. But the first rumors of the queen’s misconduct came from the Knights of the Double Tarn. I have achieved some prominence in that organization, second only to Elliot Spears. Therefore, by killing me, the others would be frightened into silence.”

“Tommy, you’re my friend. ” Jennifer’s disbelief and hurt certainly sounded genuine. “We’re family.”

“Indeed, Your Majesty, I once thought so.”

“Tommy, be reasonable,” Drake said, still calm. “You can’t seriously think Jennifer would go to such lengths just to quiet some rumors.”

“And those rumors are ancient. ” Jennifer’s voice shook with emotion. “I’ve had no opportunity to be indiscreet with Elliot in years. And I never have been.”

“I regret my lack of conviction in your response.” Gillian’s gaze did not waver.

“So what do you want me to do, Tommy?” Drake’s voice rose as he spoke. “Lock Jennifer up? Burn her at the stake? Chop off her head and stick it on a post? Would that satisfy all of you? Or do you just want to pass her around, so that what one knight got, you all get?”

By the end Drake was roaring, and Gillian’s three pals wilted under this royal onslaught. But Gillian was unbowed. “When you hold court tomorrow, sire,” he said in the same infuriatingly even tone, “I will ask to settle the matter in trial by combat.”

Drake laughed humorlessly. “No one’s settled a dispute that way in years. We have courts and laws now.”

“That is true, and were this any other crime, I would expect nothing else. But this is a crime of both treason and blood betrayal. As she said, the queen is also family. As such, this can only be expunged through spilled blood. Mine, or the queen’s through her champion.”

“Tommy, please,” Jennifer said, and approached him. Tears shone on her cheeks. “Look at me. I’ve known you since before you could shave. You’ve been my friend and confidant. How could you believe this of me?”

He turned those blank, serious eyes on her. “I assure you it was not an easy decision. And it broke my heart to admit it to myself.” Then he faced Drake again. “Because of the seriousness of the accusations, I ask that the combat be scheduled as soon as possible. Since Elliot is not here, I must insist that we not wait for you to summon him. You must choose a champion from among the knights present.”

“I’m not choosing anything,” Drake snapped. To the three silent witnesses he added, “Nor am I denying Gillian his request.” He stood to his full imposing height, and his voice grew official. “But since it involves the crown directly, I am claiming royal prerogative and will take the day to think it over. I suggest all of you do the same. If you go through with your intention to raise the issue at court… I’ll make my decision then.”

“As you say, Your Majesty,” Gillian said. He knelt again, and the three men with him followed suit. They stood and strode from the room without waiting to be dismissed. The door closed behind him with a solid, funereal thud.