“I thought, Lord Artos, it was the horses you needed to do that,” I said, so relieved that I hazarded an impudence.
“The horses need men to ride them, Galwyn: men such as you!” And he clamped his great hand on my shoulder, his eyes gleaming with his fervor.
“My loyalty, my heart, my soul are yours, Comes Artos,” I replied, dropping to my knee and bringing the hem of his garment to my forehead in an act of fealty, “to do with as you will.”
He raised me to my feet, his eyes fastened on mine. “With men such as you, Galwyn Varianus, on horses such as these, we will be invincible!”
I trembled, as much with relief that he accepted my oath as from weariness. And he saw that, too.
“Enough of talk. You men are all exhausted.” To be called a man by the Comes? I straightened my weary self. He went on. “Come, I’ve rooms for you, Bwlch, and the others for the night. And here are Bericus and some of Cador’s men to help with the horses. They will need to be rested, but Cador has put a field at our disposal until we have them all here. Then what a cavalcade they will make on the road to Deva! I can hardly wait to see old Rhodri’s eyes when they light on these fine steeds.”