Arthur scratched his head. “No one can seem to find any sanitary facilities, so we have to make our own. What did the residents do, I wonder.”
“Trust me, Arthur,” Merlin said in a low voice. “It is not something you want to inquire into.”
“Tell me, what have you learned?”
“No, Arthur, I really-”
“Tell me!”
So Merlin described the interior of Marmaduke’s palace. “I have had Accolon taken there. He needs to be kept out of the elements. But that place cannot be healthy. I am told Lulua occupied a large old mill a few miles upriver. We should take him there, along with any other wounded men who may need more care.”
“Excellent. Before you go, though, there is this.” He produced a letter. “From Colin at Camelot.”
Merlin took the letter and unsealed it. It was in Nimue’s hand and was headed Confidential. Only for Merlin.
Merlin,
Reports from around the country have slowed due to these awful autumn rains. But the state of affairs, as near as I can determine, is this:
Cooler weather seems to have slowed the plague’s progress, as you expected it would. The area around Dover has been hardest hit, naturally, and the nearby towns have all reported outbreaks. There have been a few cases reported as far west as London. We have received no news of plague farther west than that.
Camelot, except for the death of John, has been spared. Not one more case has erupted here. Perhaps that is because we were quite prompt and diligent in cremating John’s body and having the ashes buried, not scattered.
There are reports that in some sections of the country social standards are breaking down. Large numbers of people are drinking much more heavily than is usual, and even larger numbers are engaging in orgiastic sexual abandon. (We have had tentative news that the same thing is happening across Europe, wherever this plague has erupted.) But with the plague on the wane, that will stop in time. And if it does not, it will be a problem for local authorities. In due course order will return, as it has already begun to do.
It may be premature to be optimistic, but it appears that the worst of this crisis is behind us.
Nimue
Merlin folded the letter carefully and placed it in his pocket. When he was finished reading he noticed that Perceval had joined Arthur and Bedivere. The three were conferring, presumably about how best to reach the spot where the Stone of Bran had been buried.
Perceval was saying, “I’m not certain how we should proceed. We were more lost in that bloody fog than we realized.”
Arthur told him, “We have maps with us. It should not be too difficult to find our bearings and decide how to proceed.”
Merlin interrupted their discussion. “Let me see who else should be removed to Lulua’s mill. There should not be many, I do not imagine. Marmaduke’s warriors were… less than skillful. Thankfully.”
“I think we should spend a day or two here before we move on.” Arthur told Perceval to go and check the maps, then turned back to Merlin. “A good rest will do us all good. Can’t you treat Accolon and the others here?”
“They should be kept warm, indoors. And the buildings in this awful hamlet are pigsties. It will be easier to keep them warm and tend to their needs in the mill. Assuming Lulua was more fastidious than Marmaduke, that is.”
“She would almost have to be, from what you’ve told me. I want to go and inspect Marmaduke’s little castle myself.”
Merlin looked at him inquiringly.
“Call it morbid curiosity.”
“Of course. But before you do it, Arthur, might I suggest that you get out of those tattered clothes? You look a good deal less than kingly.”
Arthur grinned. “There were times during the civil wars when I looked considerably less kingly than this. But you’re right, Merlin. I need to bathe and change. I don’t suppose you saw anything resembling a bathtub in the palace?”
“Hardly. A bathtub for a man as fat as Marmaduke would be the size of a small pond.”
“I’ll look around. There must be something I can use. Meanwhile, go and tend to the wounded and make whatever arrangements you need for their transport.”
“I’ll see to it right away, Arthur. Oh, and I’m told this foul little stream we are using joins a larger, cleaner one not far from here.”
“Good.”
Arthur began pulling his tunic off. Merlin saw that there was a huge gash in his left side. “In the name of everything human, Arthur. That wound!”
“It isn’t very painful. Marmaduke himself struck the blow.”
“Were you going to keep it a secret? What would be the point? You must let me clean it. I have some healing salve that will help it. And after you have had your bath-if that is possible-you must let me dress it with a bandage.”
“Don’t fuss, Merlin.”
“It is my duty, remember? We can hardly have King Arthur die because his wound went untended. We read that several Roman generals-”
“Spare me the history lecture.” The king sighed. “Very well, if you must. But go see to the others first, all right?”
And Merlin sighed in return. “If you insist. But do not think I will forget about it.”
“Your relentlessness is part of what makes you so valuable to me. Go, now.”
There were three more men whose needs could be better tended in the makeshift infirmary Merlin planned to set up in Lulua’s mill. He arranged for them to be transported there in the two carriages. The Stone of Bran was to remain with Arthur at Paintonbury for safekeeping. When Merlin had seen to all the necessary arrangements, he went back to Arthur to tend his wound. “You have put me off long enough, Your Majesty.” He leaned on the title with irony. Arthur grumbled but let him do what he needed to.
“When we are ready to move on, Arthur, I would suggest that you ride in a carriage for a few days, just to be certain there are no complications from this. It is not terribly serious, but it is close to your heart. If something should happen to tear it open…” He made a gesture as if to say, There would be very little I could do.
Arthur scowled. “If I listened to you, I’d be wearing an apron and hiding in Camelot’s kitchen all the time.”
“Hiding among the women did Achilles no harm.” He grinned. “Perhaps you should take a lesson from that noble hero.”
“I have a country to run. Achilles had nothing to do but tend to his concubines and fight. When you get to Lulua’s mill, if any of her people are still there, I want you to interrogate them. If Lulua was in league with my sister to make trouble, they will know about it. See what you can learn. I will stop there tomorrow to see how things are progressing.”
The road out of Paintonbury went northwest, paralleling the creek. About a mile out of town it joined with a much larger stream to make a small river. Merlin and Peter rode on horseback, side by side. The carriages followed.
“I do not recall this river on any of the maps, Peter. I am beginning to fear we may be more lost than Arthur realizes.”
“We don’t have good maps? I had the impression-”
“The ones we are using date from the civil wars, nearly two decades ago. Arthur has never seen a need to have the whole country surveyed and accurate maps made. I will have to have a word with him.”
“It does seem like a great deal of effort. Perhaps-”
“If we are ever to make England a truly unified nation, good charts are essential. How can we hope to unify it when we do not really know what is here? No, I think Arthur will have to make it a priority.”
The new creek was much larger and much clearer than Paintonbury’s one. When the two met, the muddy water from Paintonbury made what looked like a huge brown smudge in the new, larger stream. But after a few yards it was lost in the clearer water. Merlin’s eyes took it all in. “This is good. We will have fresh water. I was quite concerned we-and our wounded-would have to continue drinking that foul stuff.”