Page 86 of The Road to Avalon
Coventina straightened, her jaw set in rebellion. “I’d ride to the Wall and back if it meant saving Cei. I wouldn’t mind the pain.”
I nodded. “I know you would, but Medraut would notice you were gone, just like he would me. We have to send someone he won’t miss.” I paused, knuckling my forehead as though I could beat a solution to our problem out. It worked. “I know. Llawfrodedd. He’s been keeping out of Medraut’s way like us, so if he goes missing, no one’s likely to say anything. They might even think he’s gone back to his post at Dinas Badan. We’ll send him.”
“But where to? He won’t know where to go.”
I sat down at the table by the wall. “Do you know where Arthur took ship for Armorica?”
Her brow furrowed. “I-I’m not sure. Let me think. They rode off south, I know that, to meet up with Theodoric and his fleet. Cei said Theo’s ships had been patrolling the south coast. I think he said they were heading for somewhere near Caer Durnac. Somewhere called… Clavinium, I think…” Her voice wavered with uncertainty.
I seized on her words. “South of Caer Durnac there’s an old Roman port on a wide river estuary. That must be Clavinium. A bit silted up, now, but deep enough for ships the size of Theodoric’s. Theo could still get his ships in close enough to take on men and horses. If they left that way, which I think they must have, then they’ll be returning by the same route, surely. Far enough away from the Saxon landholdings in the east.”
Caer Durnac was modern Dorchester, so the port south of there had to be Weymouth, or somewhere near it, where in my old world a huge car ferry daily took passengers to Brittany– our Armorica. “That has to be it,” I hissed in excitement. “And it’s not far. We’ll send Llawfrodedd to wait for them there. To catch them and warn them the moment they land. He’ll have to go as soon as possible.”
But how were we to attract his attention without alerting anyone else?
We waited for nightfall, and sent for Kala, Keelia’s oldest daughter, who was married to Seisyll, one of Llacheu’s old friends. She came creeping in as though she’d taken on the persona of a cartoon spy. “You’ll have to move naturally,” I told her, cross at her obvious subterfuge. “If anyone sees you creeping about like that, they’ll know you’re up to no good.”
“But I am up to no good,” she whispered. “And I feel like everyone do know.”
Keelia, who was at work in the kitchen, snorted. “Everyone’ll know if you act like that, you idiot of a girl.”
Kala sniffed and hung her head.
I patted her shoulder. “Don’t worry. We’re not angry. You’re just going to have to pretend everything is normal. Take a wander down to see your brother in the barracks, and get him to give this note to Llawfrodedd. Don’t let anyone see you when you pass it to him. Laugh a bit as though he’s told you a joke. Look natural.” I managed an encouraging smile. “You can do it.”
Keelia picked up a pile of shirts. “Here, you can take him these. Clean ones. That’ll be your excuse for going. Tuck the note under the top one, but mind and tell him ’tis there. And not to tell no one.”
Kala gave us a doubtful look. “I’m a-scared I’ll go an’ do it wrong.”
“Nothin’ to it,” Coventina said with a brisk firmness. “None of us can go because it’d be too obvious. You can, because no one’ll notice you. You’re just a servant girl. Your mother can’t go because she happens to bemyservant. But you can, to see your brother. You’ll be fine.”
Poor Kala. She didn’t possess much in the way of brains, and we were expecting a lot of her. Maybe we shouldn’t have, but who else did we have to send? We shooed her out of the door with the clean washing, and settled down to wait. The stew was ready, but somehow my appetite had dwindled to nothing, and anyway, my nausea had returned, reminding me of the new life growing in my belly. Neither Coventina nor Keelia showed any inclination to eat either, even though they didn’t have the same excuse as me.
At last, when I’d decided Kala must have given herself away and been caught with her message and was at present languishing in the noisome lockup, a timid knock came at our door, and Keelia let her back in. Another figure loomed behind her in the dark, tall and decidedly male.
Llawfrodedd slipped inside the house and Keelia closed the door.
I looked at Coventina. “I think Keelia and Kala should leave now. So if anyone asks them they can deny all knowledge of what we’re doing.”
She nodded. “Off you both go. And thank you for your help. Both of you.”
Kala couldn’t wait to be out of the house, but her mother left with marked reluctance. “I don’t mind being part o’ this,” she said to her mistress. “I want to help save Milord Cei and the king if I can.”
Coventina gently urged her through the door. “No, Keelia. I don’t want to involve you in any more of this if I can help it. You’ve done enough, and you’ve got your own family to think of. Now go.”
With the servants gone, we turned to Llawfrodedd.
“Is it true?” he blurted out, far too loudly for my liking. “Is the king dead?”
I shook my head, my finger to my lips. “It’s not true. I can’t be sure, I know, but I’m certain Medraut is lying. Think about it. Did you see any messengers arriving today? Or yesterday? I didn’t.”
Coventina caught her breath. “Of course. No messenger means no message. Why didn’t I think of that?”
“Why didn’t everyone?” Llawfrodedd added.
“Because no one dares to cross my nephew, so they don’t even think about it,” I said. “They’re all too scared to think for themselves.”
Coventina nodded. “You’re right. They didn’t even question what he said. And he’s got all the young warriors eating out of his hand, the slimy bastard. They all think the sun do shine out of his shitty backside.”
