CHAPTER 21: A SEASIDE SOJOURN
It was raining when they woke up the following day and Arthur decided that a trip to the golf club made sense. He made a reservation for lunch and notified management that he and a guest would be taking advantage of the spa facilities.
After breakfast, they made their way to Arthur's Links. Of course, Merlin wanted to know if it was named after him but he laughed explaining that the owners were a conglomerate which also owned the Camelot Hotel above Tintagel. They had chosen the name. It had originally been known Ashburnham Manor.
Merlin was impressed with the set up. They were given a complimentary hotel room for their use while they were there including complimentary toiletries, fabulously thick bathrobes and terrycloth slippers. Laughing happily, Merlin said, "Travelling with you, Sire, has its perks."
Arthur pulled him over and threw him on the bed. He smiled down at him and said, "Learn your position, Boy, now up you get and fetch my swimming trunks."
Merlin fetched their sports bag, turfing everything out on the bed and in typical Merlin fashion aimed the trunks at Arthur's head. He caught them one handed grinning.
"Now, now, Merlin, play nicely."
They got into their trunks with Arthur making uncalled for comments about Merlin's physical attributes. Merlin took his time changing, daring Arthur to make a move, but he didn't just admired him from afar.
Once they were ready, they made their way to the pool. It was an indoor-outdoor pool but due to the weather, the adjoining doors were closed. Merlin happily did laps, Arthur was surprised. When they passed in the pool, he flagged Merlin down and mentioned that they had never discussed swimming.
Merlin said, "I don't discuss all my abilities with non-athletic calibre athletes." He dived but grabbed at Arthur as he swam away, surfacing ten feet away and turned grinning before settling into an excellent crawl.
When Arthur was tired swimming, he moved onto the thermal pool. It was a heated saltwater and mineral pool. He was sure he could feel the heat seeping into his bones. It was quite buoyant and he just let his head rest against the supports and gave himself up to the feeling.
He'd left Merlin doing back strokes down the pool. He looked fabulous and saw other visitors interested in his progress. Two of the lifeguards were watched him with interest. Arthur smiled thinking, 'Best of luck, men, but he is already spoken for.'
Arthur was conscious of movement in the water and he opened his eyes, to Merlin climbing in beside him. "Hello, Stranger, did you miss me?" he said reaching for him.
"Arthur, if you keep that up, you will be a persona non grata here. They'll throw us out."
"Well, you started it!" Arthur said.
Merlin grinned, "Close your eyes and enjoy the heat because the next step will be a freezing cold shower."
Hating cold showers, it took Arthur the longest time to actually turn on the tap. He decided maybe that the anticipation was worse than reality. He put out his hand to reach it but someone beat him to it and a voice said, "Let me do that for you, Sire!"
The cold water shocked him but after two minutes, he stepped away invigorated and wrapped himself in a towel. He could see Merlin sitting on the edge of the shower stalls smirking.
-0-0-
They returned to their room and changed. Merlin had certainly worked up at appetite and he was ready to go to the dining room. As the weather had improved noticeably since they had first got in the pool, they sat on the terrace and watched as swimmers passed through the tunnel into the outside pool. Golfers were also appearing on the course and it looked as if the afternoon would be nice.
"Did you check the weather for this evening?"
"Yes, Merlin, I did and you will be able to get great sunset shots from the cave." Arthur said with the patience of a saint.
"So we can still spend the night there?"
"Yes, unless you would rather spend the night in a comfortable bed in a lovely little cottage with me."
"I thought you were going to go as well?"
"Doesn't seem to make much sense, as I have slept there millions of times. I will however open the place up for you and lock all the doors once you're there so no unwelcome stranger arrives and accosts you!"
"That's not funny!"
"Yes it is, Merlin, just to see the look on your face…of course I intend to sleep in the cave with you. What would I do in that comfy bed all be myself in the cottage?" Merlin gave him a knowing look. Laughing Arthur continued, "Anyway, it will be another memory to add to our history of being together. If we are not too tired, we could plan something for tomorrow."
Arthur, I'm never tired!"
"So, I've noticed…" he said, allowing his foot to rub up and down Merlin's leg.
"Arthur if you get us thrown out of here, I will die of embarrassment."
"What?" said Arthur putting his elbows on the table and holding both of his hands in plain sight. Merlin just shook his head.
The waiter arrived. "Have, you gentlemen, had time to check the menu? And if so are you ready to order drinks." Merlin glanced around and many of the men and women in the restaurant had drinks from the bar.
Arthur said, "I'll have a Stella, please. Merlin?"
"I'd be happy just to have a sparking Pelligrino, thank you."
They both decided upon fish dishes. Arthur had the mussels. Merlin was interested in Starry Gazie Pie until the waiter explained that it was a fish pie with fresh sardines which were placed so that their heads poked up through the top level of pasty. Merlin's stomach flipped and he chose scallops instead.
Arthur laughed, "I'm agree that pie sounded dreadful. They are held captive in the pastry and are watching you as you go to eat them. You're better off with the scallops as at least they won't be looking at you!"
Following lunch they returned to their room to pick up the sports bag. Arthur handed the keycard in at the reception and the manager came out to see that everything had been to their liking. Arthur thanked him and they left to walk back to the cottage.
-0-0-
"Merlin, do you like swimming in the sea? There are a few beaches around here that are safe and very poplar. Maybe if the weather warms up a bit, we could go there one afternoon. Have you ever tried surfing?"
"Yes, it was embarrassing as although on dry land, I could stand with no trouble in the sea I seemed hopeless. Spent most of my time either below my board in the waves or being dragged into shore by it."
Arthur laughed. He'd not had much luck with surfing though he had enjoyed wearing a wetsuit and carrying his board up from the beach. It had been a great excuse to meet girls. He smiled, those days were well passed and looking at Merlin beside him, he knew he had no reason to meet anyone else.
As soon as they got into the house, Merlin said that he'd like a cup of tea. To Arthur, this sounded a good idea so he made his guest sit on the terrace overlooking the sea while he put on the kettle.
By the time he had the tray set, and went outside, he couldn't see Merlin. Then he noticed him kneeling in the sand dunes with his camera. He laughed thinking, 'If all guests were as easy to entertain as he is, life would be simple.'
He hollered and Merlin raised his head and waved back. He came running back to the terrace and showed Arthur what he had been photographing. It was a half buried anchor.
"Do you think it's a historic artefact or just something old?
"I don't know, it certainly looks interesting and it's not modern."
Merlin was on the roll so he said, "Maybe it's from a ship that years ago was wrecked and the smugglers decided that once they had all the valuables, that someone should go back and get it because of its iron content. Today, someone would just put it in their garden as decoration but in those days, I guess they'd sell it. Let's try to pull it up. It would look nice leaning on your stone wall near the little gate."
And, that is exactly, what they did, Arthur got shovels and a wheelbarrow which proved useless and finally they managed to uncover the whole things and slid a tarpaulin under it and dragged it up to the cottage. They stood back admiring their work and Arthur agreed that Merlin's idea of putting it against the wall was a good one. They searched for a manufacturer's name or a date but found nothing.
Arthur looked at his watch and realised the afternoon was practically over. He wanted to get together the camping things they'd need in the cave so he went into the house to get things together. "We can take everything down in the wheelbarrow because it is better on grass than on sand."
Once everything was transferred to the mound door, Arthur checked on the cottage and locked it up. Merlin had all his camera equipment including a tripod as he wanted to take night time shots and the sunset.
The last thing Arthur brought with him was kindling, "If we want a fire we always take some wood in as I never remember how much is already there." It took them two trips to get everything down to the cave. Arthur had insisted that they take warm sweaters as well and Merlin noticed that it was a few degrees colder in the cave than outside.
He stood looking out over the sea and he suddenly said, "Arthur?"
Arthur who was busy trying to make order out of the mound of supplies in the middle of the cave said, "Yes!"
"Did any of your friends ever fall out of the cave? The rocks across the mouth are not very high and if Gawaine was here, I bet he was all for climbing out as far as he could."
Arthur laughed, "Actually in some aspects, my father was very parental. He had an iron grill placed across the opening just in case kids decided to imitate the seabirds. Dromo was usually here with us as an added precaution.
"Before the big house was rented, we used to have great fun in it, we had free rein and could do what we wanted as long as we turned up on time for mealtimes and stayed in our bedrooms overnight. Now entertaining in the cottage is more difficult as there's not that much space but we've managed. Close friends don't mind bunking down on the floor and when there is no more space we have some tents we can put up in the garden, or they can stay at the golf club.
"Ever since, I took it over, Peggy and Dromo spend ten days here in the summer and one Christmas when my father and I were in the US. They spent Christmas here."
"I think I'd like that…" Merlin said.
Arthur left Merlin to his own devices. He took photos and studied a nautical map he'd found in one of the cupboards.
Over the years odd bits of furniture had made its way to the cave, there was a table with four mismatched wooden chairs, a couple of cupboards. Peggy didn't think that lying directly on the rock floor was a good idea so a sleeping shelf had been constructed along one side. In a pinch it could sleep seven children…plenty of room for the two of them.
Arthur lit the fire and put the old pot on the metal grill over it. Supper would be basic; a hearty vegetable soup, cheese, bread fresh this morning, some pre-cooked pasta a great marinara sauce and tinned peaches. Arthur told him, "You eat what you want and the rest we feed to the gulls but only before we leave as otherwise they keep walking around while we're in bed, pecking at us trying to find more scraps."
"Will they eat pasta and sauce?"
"Yes, if there is any left. I think they have stomaches like iron, they eat all sorts of things. One of our teachers called them the scavengers of the seashore. It's better not to delve too far into that thought."
Merlin smiled, "We always used to have peaches and ice-cream on my birthday at home. It was sort of tradition. The first time Gaius brought home fresh peaches, I was less than impressed as I didn't particularly like them."
They pulled the chairs over to the fire and ate there. Merlin entertained Arthur with more things about his childhood having him in stitches a few times. Soon they were both ready to turn in. Arthur allowed Merlin to choose which side of the bed he wanted. Understandably, he chose the sea side. "I want to be woken by the gulls at sunrise. Do you mind?"
"Not really, and if I did we could have always changed halfway through the night!"
-0-0-
They lay there not touching, listening to the waves slapping the rocks below the cave mouth. It was almost hypnotic and Merlin as Arthur expected fell asleep. It was a full moon and at sometime during the night not only would it be high tide but the cave would be flooded with moonlight. Arthur rolled onto his side and watched Merlin.
Tonight the cave held a special significance as he was there with Merlin. Merlin, the sea, the moon and probably somewhere marauding gulls…
Merlin woke as the moon reached his face, he smiled. He loved the moon it made him feel special. He glanced over at Arthur who was wide awake.
He said softly, "I was waiting for you as I knew you would wake up and I didn't want to miss anything."
Smiling Merlin rolled closer to him saying, "…and do you think, I would have let that happen?"
Their lovemaking was calm and slow, ruled by the rhythms of nature especially the sea. They lay there slowly coming back to earth and Merlin smiled at Arthur and said, "Has your bed servant, performed well tonight, Sire?"
"He certainly has, someday I might even lend him to you!" Arthur said playing along.
"Oh no, Sire, he belongs to you alone. It would break his heart if you dismissed him."
Merlin, I'm kidding as I have no intention of dismissing anyone especially you. For as long as you want to be, you are mine and mine alone. Together, we will face all the problems of the world."
Reverting to bygone times, Merlin said with a smile, "No problem, Sire, for as long as I can be in your bed each night, it will be sufficient." Then switching to the present he said, "By the way, Arthur, yesterday in Tintagel, I could have sworn I saw a statue of King Arthur that looked just like you. I meant to tell you but then we went down to the beach. Can we go back to the shop tomorrow to buy one? It will be a souvenir of our first visit together to Cornwall."
"Yes, now if you could stop chattering, I have a brilliant idea of what we can do…"
When Arthur finally woke up, Merlin had been up for an hour taking photos. "This is a great place Arthur just one problem, I need to pee!"
"Feel free! Just use the ocean…" Arthur waited until Merlin turned towards the ocean and then added as an afterthought, "…better first check the direction of the wind."
Merlin started to laugh, "Last time I ever trust you, Pendragon!"
-0-0-
They returned to Tintagel to pick up the Arthur statue which had entranced Merlin. Arthur couldn't see the likeness but the main thing was that Merlin liked it and it made him happy.
Merlin also wanted to get more shots of Ruben Eynon's Gallos, a slightly larger than life bronze creation which resembled King Arthur with a sword and helmet. He would have loved to have gulls in the photo but that was not to be. The title was Cornish for power and Arthur deciding it was suitable for his namesake, liked it. It was not a solid cast as it had been sculptured in a way to make the figure spirit like and allowed the sea winds to blow through the flowing cloak and almost skeletal body.
By standing to the left of the statue Merlin managed to get a shot with the rocky cliffs and sea in the background.
Not satisfied with that, he insisted that Arthur stand beside it adding, "Shame you're not dressed as an Arthurian knight, the photo would have been great."
"Excuse me! If I intended to dress for the occasion it would be as the king himself."
"If you did that you would be besieged by tourists wanting their photos taken with you. Might be a way of making some cash when you're skint, you'd make a pretty penny, just like the Roman Centurion characters do in Bath."
"Well, why stop with me? You could do a Merlin impression and bring in money too. Maybe the two of us could retire on the proceeds."
"Not with your expensive tastes, Arthur!"
They returned to the car and made their way to Newquay. "A bustling metropolis…" Merlin remarked as the street were crowded with holidaymakers. The beaches to the north however were fantastic. Miles of golden sand and in many areas just surfers.
However one house caught Merlin's attention, it was a little red-roofed house on a high rock on Towan Beach, connected by a gaited suspension bridge to the mainland. He did a little checking and found out that it had recently sold and become rental accommodation. Not for the faint of heart as the gaited suspension bridge was ninety feet above the beach and the weekly rent was £6000 ($10 0000) in season for a party of six. Arthur had laughed at him when he had suggested that they could rent it for a week and have a mega party. He's said, "Merlin, considering you are not really a party type, I don't think that would work!"
"I could learn to be more social just for that week…" Merlin insisted as he continued looking at his iPhone and finally said, "…or we could just rent it for the two of us at £1800 a week in the off-season." He took time to look Arthur up and down and then, sidling over to him so they were touching, he said quietly, "We'd be closer to heaven than anyone else in the area and I bet the sex would be great."
Arthur burst out laughing. Merlin certainly has a novel way of selling a week away in Cornwall. He shook his head laughing at him, "I thought you loved the cave at the cottage."
"Yes, I really do but remember that Variety is the Spice of Life."
Arthur said, "In the off-season the weather might be foggy for days, the seas stormy and I bet that bridge sways in the wind."
"Who said anything about leaving the place? We could have it stocked with food and be isolated by choice."
Arthur just grinned, seven days in a secluded hideaway at £257 a night actually sounded reasonable when compared to the five star Canary Riverside Plaza executive suites which his father used for visiting business partners at around £400 a night. He might look into this but he wouldn't say anything to Merlin until it was a fait accompli, he could take a week off in December and see if they really would be marooned in Merlin's idea of paradise.
It was their last day in Cornwall and they drove back to the cottage to pack and leave things in order. Tom and his wife would come by the following day to take care of any food left there, do the laundry and lock up the place until Arthur's next visit.
Their route via Bristol would take them just over five hours to get back to London. The drive to Bristol took them two and a half hours and Merlin's eagle-eyes had seen the sign for Glastonbury and talked him into making a side trip.
Arthur said, "Knowing you, you'll find somewhere else to visit so how about we spent a couple of nights here?" Merlin had suspension bridges on his mind so Arthur offered to visit Brunel's Clifton Suspension bridge so he could take photos.
"I'm happy to spend nights anywhere as long as you are beside me!"
In the end, they booked into the lovely Bristol Marriott Royal for two nights. They played tourists and took a city tour, sat in the Centre and had ice-cream, walked the length of the suspension bridge at sunset and had a very interesting night in the hotel.
Arthur wondered if he would be able to get out of bed the following morning.