Malcolm begins his observations

“Malcolm!” Egelric called from across the King’s stable.

Malcolm looked up and smiled, hesitantly at first, but he grinned properly when he saw the look on Egelric’s face.

“I should have known you would rather spend the afternoon with your horse than come say good day to me,” Egelric said. Oh! it was a pleasure to hear Gaelic spoken again, even if only Egelric’s.

“It’s a prettier nose he has,” Malcolm laughed.

“I grant him that.”

Egelric embraced him more tightly than Malcolm had expected. On the other hand, it meant that Egelric was still a strong man. He had not been wasting away these last months.

He had missed so much! Malcolm’s powers of observation were like a sixth sense to him. He would feel like a blind man for a few weeks, until he had caught up on what he could of everything that had happened in his absence, and refilled his store of observations on what was currently happening around him.

Egelric, in any case, seemed well enough – too well for Malcolm to feel at ease with regard to him. Something was not right.

Egelric grabbed the horse’s pretty nose and wrestled with his black head a moment. Druid snorted with laughter.

“I tried to find you,” Malcolm said. “It’s only the boys I saw.”

“Aye.”

“Wulf remembered me.”

“It’s the ugly nose he recognized.”

“It’s the very same he has!”

Druid snapped his teeth just shy of Egelric’s face and then retired into his stall to chortle over the startled look he had produced. It was one of his favorite games, and he played it with everyone – everyone except the dear little elf girl. He hadn’t seen her in so long, he remembered now. He cocked his hoof and let out a long sigh.

Malcolm slapped his horse’s rump and walked with Egelric to the door.

“Iylaine wouldn’t come out with you, either?” Egelric asked him, in English now.

“Come out with me? She wouldn’t see me at all.”

“Well, we must forgive her,” Egelric chuckled. “She’s rather new to this. She’s not truly ill, you know. I don’t know what she told you.”

“Ill?”

“Or rather, ‘sick like a girl,’ as Bertie says.”

“Oh, is that all?” Malcolm cried. “I thought it was me she didn’t want to see!”

“She doesn’t want to see anyone today but Lady Gwynn. But why wouldn’t she want to see you? When I heard you were home, I thought that if anyone could coax her out today it would be you.”

“Then perhaps she is angry at me,” he muttered.

Egelric pinched Malcolm’s ear between his thumb and finger and dragged him to a halt. “Just what did you do to make my daughter angry at you?”

Malcolm swatted his hand away and scowled. “Leof told her about a girl I was with in Denmark.”

“With?”

“With! Once!” Malcolm spat and stalked off towards the castle again.

“Is that what happened to Leof’s face?” Egelric laughed.

“Did you see him?” Malcolm stopped and turned back to him, grinning proudly.

“I saw him skulking around at Bernwald this morning.”

“I must have just left him!”

“The devil you did! Malcolm, you’re turning into me at your age! This had better stop.”

Malcolm snorted and walked on.

Egelric followed. “First time?” he asked.

“The devil take your tongue and lash it to his tent pole! You’re not my father!”

“First time Leof found out about it, at any rate.”

“That’s all you need to know. You don’t expect me to go to my marriage bed a maiden do you?”

“No, but I expect you to find one in it.”

“Aye, aye, aye, understood,” Malcolm grumbled.

“I was not quite thirteen,” Egelric chuckled after a moment.

“The devil take you!” Malcolm snarled and turned on him. “You weren’t good enough for your daughter, you know!”

“I know! But neither are you, and don’t forget it!”

“Aye! I know! I know! Where the devil are we going?”

“I don’t know,” Egelric said sweetly. “I was following you!”

“Quit your giggling!”

“I gather you’re new to this too.”

By now Malcolm was exasperated beyond words.

“Come on inside then,” Egelric said, “and I shall generously offer you a cup of the King’s wine, and explain to you how you might undo the damage Leof has done.”

“You would do that?” Malcolm asked warily.

“If you don’t try, Leof will. Or Stein or Eadwyn, or even Bertie. Or someone else.”

“We can’t have that.”

“No, Malcolm,” Egelric said grimly, and the grimness seemed real and true. “We can’t have that.”