Meilyr drew the list closer, speaking as he wrote, distracting himself from the feeling of the prince at his shoulder. They both wore their collars fully fastened this morning, but there was no denying the small but colourful purple-red welt that had met Meilyr in the mirror, just above his collarbone. ‘Thank you. She has asked for advice – I keep notes on our patrons, but they are usually in shorthand. When someone has a new issue, it can be confusing.’
Osian watched him carefully. ‘You do not require your notes to reply?’
‘Not for these, thankfully.’
Wade Bevan’s summer rash had returned, and Meilyr’s notes said ‘the usual’, which needed clarification. Alys Lowe had broken her arm but could neither take the medicine prescribed by the physician nor what Heulwen had suggested, as she was heavily pregnant and allergic. Gwyneth Prosser’s twins still had stomach-aches, and Heulwen had tried everything she knew. Gwyneth was now very concerned and very upset, and only wanted Meilyr’s advice.
Meilyr replied carefully. Added a key for shorthands Heulwen might find in his notes. Circled back to Gwyneth’s problem.
‘Majesty?’ The prince had allowed this, but would more be too much? ‘There are a great many unusual plants in the gardens.’ He had mentally inventoried most of them. ‘I wonder, would you happen to know if something calledfox’s tearsis present?’
‘Fox’s tears?’
‘It is a small dark plant, with russet-green leaves.’
‘I recognise the name, but I am not certain.’
Meilyr steadied himself and asked, ‘There is a chance one patron’s children have come into contact with a toxin. I have suggested an alternative, as fox’s tears themselves are poisonous but can be used as a last resort to clear the system of others. I… Is there any chance…?’
‘I will have it asked of Nelda, the Keeper of the Grounds. If the plant is not present, perhaps it can be procured.’
‘It is rather rare. There are other things that can be used.’
‘I will see what can be done.’
The tension eased out of his chest. ‘Thank you, truly.’
‘Of course. I will have this sent as soon as it is ready.’
‘Thank you, Majesty.’
Surely he did not have to be this accommodating.
The next weeks would be filled with continued pomp and ceremony,assuming Meilyr was not accused of murder or discovered by the king’sEctheid adviser.
A pre-coronation tournament was to take place in purpose-built structures on the western hills, cleared earlier that spring. Demelza asked Meilyr to help her oversee things, as befitted his title. He would rather have hidden away, but at least it meant he was busy, and away from Lord Gelens.
Gelens, who had to be avoided without drawing suspicion. No small feat, since the king’s adviser was a facet of every court event, allowed everywhere, their eyes tracing Meilyr with that small, self-satisfied smile, as if anticipating a secret no one else could fathom.
It made his skin crawl, in a very different way to Lord Leighton’s previous stares.
Beyond the coming tournament, there was something else to occupy his time: both a risk and a relief. Deryn injured her hand, and Meilyr suggested a specific salve to aid healing. Parr overheard, and the next afternoon sheepishly asked if he knew anything about horses.
With the bay stallion’s leg seen to and the ebony foal’s cough on the mend, word spread from the stables like fire through hay. It was only when yet another formerly unknown member of staff approached him with a request for an ailment that he realised what had happened.
At least Lord Gelens and the others already knew he was an apothecary. Still, it soothed the nettle-itch todo something, every time he offered advice. Every tonic he mixed or ointment he strained was its own balm, after Osian confirmed he could work as he pleased in his rooms. The prince even had burners brought from somewhere, as well as a mortar and pestle, jars and scales, twine and more papers and inks. Even a beautiful leather-bound notebook, embossed with his three oak leaves and fastened with soft midnight-blue ribbon. Osian presented it to him humbly as Deryn and Parr pretended not to watch.
‘He’s so gentle with you,’ Parr remarked fondly after the prince left. ‘Absolutely smitten, melts my heart.’
No, Osian was just very good at playing the part.
Only a few more months, then he would be crowned. They would annul their union, and Meilyr would return to his old life. He repeated that silently, over and over, crushing agapanthus petals, and the treacherous bloom of warmth in his chest.
One grey morning, he and Osian were summoned to Aldreda’s solar.Captain Radnor stood with one of his higher-ranking crownsworn – LordGelens, Prince Wystan, Lady Demelza and the Heir Apparent herself alsopresent.
‘It was this or the garrison,’ Aldreda explained, reclined in her favourite chair. ‘Believe me, I’m not exactly enamoured with the use of my solar for… whatever this is, Captain.’
Radnor regarded Osian. ‘It has been confirmed from Gorsedd Arian that two children were raised around the correct time, by the Howells. Two boys.’