Lawhead, Stephen Celtic Crusades 03 The Mystic Rose

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serving maids, stepped through the entrance and into what she could only describe as the interior of an
impossibly large tent.
The ceiling was hung with great, swooping drapes of cloth attached to the tops of the room's numerous
slender columns which took on the aspect of tent poles and from which large, many-flamed oil lamps
hung on brass chains. The wide expanse of floor was covered by rugs of every size and colour piled one
atop another in a profligate display of wealth; and here and there around the room were clumps and
clusters of enormous satin cushions.
Inexplicably, Cait remembered the first time she had entered a cathedral with her step-mother - the great
church at Kirkjuvagr in Orkney. While her father was talking some business or other with the tradesmen,
Sydoni had taken her to see the cathedral, and she remembered trembling with wonder at the
astonishingly majestic building, so strange and mysterious she felt it must have been enchanted.
She felt the same way now, as with slow, deliberate steps, she moved into the room, eyes wide with
amazement at the elaborate strangeness of her surroundings. As the doors closed silently behind her, a
new serving maid appeared, greeted her in Arabic, and offered a tray containing a silver cup, a heap of
bread torn into small bits, and a bowl of salt. It was, she recognized, a ritual of welcome - the Scots
observed a similar custom. Taking a piece of bread, she dipped it in the salt, and then ate it. The serving
girl then presented her with the cup, filled with sweetened wine. She took a drink and replaced the cup.
She heard the sound of voices in the antechamber beyond, and turned as the doors opened once more
to admit Rognvald and the knights. They trooped in, following a serving boy with a blue turban. Even
from where she stood, Cait could see that they had bathed and shaved and, like her, they had been
provided with clothes for the festivities: of the eastern variety, well made and of good cloth, only slightly
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less opulent than her own. Unlike her, however, they moved uneasily in their finery as men unaccustomed
to such luxury.
One by one they paused to partake of the bread and salt, and accept a drink of sweet wine. Upon
seeing Cait, they immediately gathered around her and exclaimed over her exotic dress. 'Oh, my lady,'
said Yngvar, his tone one slow gasp of pleasure, 'how beautiful you look.'
'No queen ever appeared more elegant,' agreed Svein.
Dag nodded enthusiastically, and added, 'Nor more lovely.'
The Spanish knights murmured their approval, and she turned to Rognvald as he raised the cup from the
tray. 'What say you, my lord of sombre mien?' she asked, teasingly. 'I make a fine princess, do I not?'
'Passing fine, my lady,' he said softly. She saw something in his eyes then that took her aback. She had
meant the question to be a playful, if somewhat impish jest; but staunch Rognvald was in grave earnest.
Suddenly embarrassed, she looked away just as the doors opened once more to admit their host, Prince
Hasan, and with him, a slender young woman with long dark hair and large dark eyes.
The prince greeted his guests effusively, making much of the remarkable alteration in their appearances.
Then he introduced the woman beside him, saying, 'My friends, may I present to you my sister, Danji.'
The woman pressed her hands together and bowed gracefully. 'Unfortunately, she does not speak Latin,
but I thought her presence, and that of her handmaidens, would make this evening's festivities more
enjoyable.'
Turning to the knights, he said, 'My lord Rognvald, perhaps you would be so kind as to present your
men to me. I would know the names of those who share my table tonight.'
'Of course, Prince Hasan,' he replied, drawing his eyes away from the lovely raven-haired woman
standing demurely beside the prince. Then, beginning with Yngvar, he presented each of the knights in
turn to the prince and his sister, introducing himself last. When these formalities had been observed, the
prince called everyone to join him at table, and proceeded to the centre of the room where a cluster of
cushions had been arranged to form an open circle.
He dropped on to a cushion in the centre of the horseshoe-shaped arrangement and waved others to [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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