When I could not answer, Comes Artos put his hand under my chin and forced me to look at him. Unmanly tears trickled down my cheeks and I could not speak for fear of blubbering.
“He came on a pony, with a travel cloak and leggings,” Bericus said stoutly. I felt his encouraging hand on my shoulder blade, one hard thumb poking me to speak.
“He’s a thief as well?” cried Dolcenus. “Branded he must be!”
“Nonsense,” Prince Cador said. “I knew the boy’s father. Too honorable, too Roman a family to breed thieves. He resisted the temptation to flee to Armorica. Speak up, lad.”
“Aye, speak, lad,” and Lord Artos’s voice was as kind as his eyes, when at last I dared glance up at them.
“I bought Spadix with the small gold ring Tegidus thanked me with.”
“You see, Dolcenus, this boy’s no thief!” said Bericus.
“And the cloak and leggings with the coins you were kind enough to send me, Lord Artos! Please, I want to serve you, Comes Britannorum.” And I dropped to my knees in the dust, as much because my legs would no longer hold me up as to plead my cause with proper humility. “It is the horses of the land that I know, not the sea!”
“Is the boy a free man?” Lord Artos asked Dolcenus.
The man sputtered and stammered.
“Yes, my lord, I am free. I was only apprenticed to my uncle, not enslaved.” I glared at Dolcenus to make him speak the truth.
“That is correct,” Prince Cador said when Dolcenus still would not speak for frustration. “I remember the case of Decitus Varianus now. He acted honorably in his circumstances.”
“The boy’s too good with his tongue to be lost to a barge captain, Lord Artos,” said Bericus. “And he’s got a fine way with seasick horses!”
“Horses!” cried Lord Artos, grabbing me up from the ground. “We can just make the evening tide if we hurry. Bericus, I’ll leave you in charge.”
“He is my guest,” Prince Cador said quickly, and Artos raised his hand, grinning, in appreciation of the offer. “There’s a field not far”-and he pointed up the straight track that led from the harbor-“where the horses can be tended until you’ve brought the rest across the sea. My hostlers can help him with this lot.”
“I’ll count them every morning, Artos,” Bericus said with a broad grin, “to be sure they’re all present and accounted for.”
Prince Cador laughed. “Oh, I can wait, good Bericus, until I’m offered one.”
“You’ll join me, then, to drive the Saxons from our lands?” Artos said, with a leap of relief in his voice.
“You couldn’t keep me away, Artos,” Cador replied. “Now, we’ll just get these poor sea-wrecked creatures to a decent pasture and then we’ll await your return.”
Artos then placed his hand again on Cador’s shoulder. “Good prince, make what provision is needed to salve the uncle’s wounded pride, and give this port officer something for his attention to duty. Young Galwyn, you come with me!” He transferred his big hand to my shoulder and hauled me along beside him back to the captain. “Can we make the evening tide? You’ve taken aboard supplies?”
“Even as you ordered, Comes,” the captain said staunchly, pointing to crewmen loading while others were hammering the deck boards back into place.
WE MADE A SWIFT PASSAGE back to Burtigala with both ships, but the next return voyage was rougher and took its toll on man and beast. One foal broke a foreleg and had to be destroyed. Lord Artos himself severed its jugular vein, not wanting anyone else to have such a sad duty. Then the foal was heaved overboard. Its mare was so miserable, desperately trying to keep her balance, that she was not aware of the loss of her foal. A sailor swabbed the blood off the deck within minutes.
I was far too busy looking after the mares and my lord Artos to have time to be seasick. When we reached the port on the Exe Biver again, there were messages awaiting Lord Artos such that he could not accompany us on the third trip.
“Galwyn,” he said when we had the beasts safely on the shore, “had I more men like you, I’d be sure of driving the Saxons forever from our lands.”