Chapter Fifteen

Jocelyn had to hurry down the stone stairs to arrive in the Great Hall in time to greet Bayard of Mercia, as she tripped down the last few steps the sound of horses' hooves clattered through the courtyard.

However deficient Elaine might be in the art of horse riding, she had proved herself vastly superior in the matter of dressing and, despite the rush, Jocelyn found herself turned out much more neatly than was generally the case. If she could only make it to the hall in time, she was confident of escaping Uther's condemnation.

She slipped into the great hall past the two guards and found the rest of Camelot's court gathered at the far end, near Uther's throne, the King himself standing in conversation with Geoffrey of Monmouth. Knowing there was no way around it, Jocelyn took a breath and began her solitary walk up the hall, which had never seemed longer.

By the time she reached the assembled courtiers, most had their attention on her, and the King a raised eyebrow. Sweeping a low curtsey, she greeted him.

"Your highness."

He looked her over critically for a moment, but, finding nothing to comment on, looked away and over her head. "Jocelyn."

Knowing that was all she could expect, Jocelyn stood up straight again, moving away to the side in search of her sister. Before reaching Morgana, she caught sight of Arthur and, recalling his earlier bad temper, went to stand beside him. He spoke ahead of her, however, and placed the conversation in an entirely different direction.

"Merlin says you have a maid."

Jocelyn was caught off guard by the comment, so at odds with what she was going to ask, and frowned at him. "Yes, Elaine."

"And is she a good maid?"

"Well – Merlin seems to like her," Arthur rolled his eyes at the mention of his hapless manservant's preference. "And I'm sure she's a very good maid, in fact I know she is, but – " Jocelyn sighed and Arthur turned to look down at her, raising an eyebrow. "She's an appalling rider." She elaborated mournfully.

He let out a bark of laughter, hastily dampened under the disapproving look Uther shot their way.

"I did not think that was the main requirement for maids."

"No, you're probably right. I probably started with the wrong task, didn't I?"

"Well - " he acknowledged, reluctant to completely damn her methods. She was barely listening, however.

"It is very hard, though, managing servants. And I was going for a ride when Gwen found me, it seemed like the logical thing to do."

"I'm sure it did." He agreed and she looked up at him with suspicion, easily catching the amusement in his eyes.

"It is not funny," she informed him primly. "At all."

And on the words she turned on her heel and left him behind to watch her go to stand by Morgana and Gwen, irritation clear in the tense line of her shoulders.

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The formal greetings went off without a hitch, the men of each party sweeping towards each other down the long hall, capes billowing, as the women hung back, judging each other.

Jocelyn was relieved to escape, how such a huge room could feel so claustrophobic was beyond her. She caught up with Morgana as they both left through the doors, Gwen hanging back to allow the sisters to walk side by side.

"They all have such a flair for the dramatic, don't they?" Jocelyn remarked with a smile.

"Everyone just wants to show of their power and wealth, compete for who has the better and bigger retinue," Morgana replied with a small shrug. She always had understood the court better than her younger sister, Jocelyn found the spectacle and the ritual of the thing hard to fathom. "We're going to give the guests an hour and then we will meet the women in the with-drawing room until the feast, leave Uther and Bayard to negotiate."

Jocelyn sent her an annoyed look. "I didn't know we were on entertainment duty."

"Who else is there?" Morgana replied reasonably. "The Mercian women cannot simply be left to their own devices," she hesitated before turning off down another corridor. "An hour, Jocelyn." She repeated, looking for a promise.

"An hour."

Morgana nodded once and left, Gwen in her wake. Jocelyn looked after her, brow furrowed in thought, before turning and continuing her progress through the cloisters. The castle was busier than usual, not just because of the visiting dignitaries but their servants as well who were hurrying around, mingling with those of Camelot, attempting to set things to rights for their masters.

As she made her way down the stone walk, the people in front of her hurried to move to the side, allowing her to proceed unimpeded and preventing themselves from stepping on her train. It was mostly servants about now, the women of both courts having withdrawn and most of the men, the two kings and their respective knights, and Arthur, locked in negotiations. A little ahead of her she made out Gaius and after a moments pause she moved on to greet him. Jocelyn had a sinking suspicion that if she returned to her own chambers she would find Mistress Coulthard waiting for her and, while she had the legitimate excuse of this state visit to avoid her lessons, she meant to make the most of it.

Coming closer, she registered that Gaius was regarding the two kneeling on the floor next to him with barely concealed amusement. As those between her and the two kneeling servants moved aside, Jocelyn was afforded a clearer view and saw that it was Merlin who was kneeling on the ground, gathering the blankets that had spilled from the arms of the maid opposite him. They both got to their feet as she reached Gaius' side and exchanged a hesitant goodbye before the maid departed.

Jocelyn watched after her, she was one of Mercia's servants and, in the brief moment her face was visible, Jocelyn had seen that she was very pretty, her startling blue eyes easily arresting the attention. Merlin clearly thought so too because he was still looking at her retreating form.

"And how are you enjoying the Mercian visit, Merlin?" Jocelyn asked him, trying to keep her smile small.

He turned around quickly in surprise, before smiling when he saw who had addressed him and then belatedly remembering the obedience he owed to a member of the nobility, and the King's ward at that. He bowed slightly.

"Milady."

The formal greeting helped him to avoid answering the question and Jocelyn let him off, grinning as she turned to Gaius in time to see him rolling his eyes at his young relative.

"Is there anything I can do for you, milady?" he asked, looking upon her kindly.

"Er – " Jocelyn hesitated, having failed to prepare an excuse. Gaius took pity on her.

"Perhaps you wished to collect the book that you said you wanted to borrow?" he suggested.

"Yes, yes that was it, thank you."

"Well, you better come with me to my rooms then. Merlin, I'm sure you have duties to perform for Arthur."

"Always." Merlin agreed, sending Jocelyn an audacious smile before leaving them to complete whatever tasks Arthur had set him. She couldn't help but laugh at his attitude but Gaius shook his head.

"Please, don't encourage him."

This only encouraged Jocelyn's humour to deepen and she followed Gaius down the corridor having almost forgotten that she would soon be called upon to entertain a parcel of women from another kingdom, nearly all of whom were older than her and would be unlikely to be amused by her relating this anecdote.

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