Knowing Yourself - A Medieval Romance

Chapter 17

Galeron followed her gaze and smiled. “My dear, while you might be trusting of your staff, you will find I take a much more pragmatic view on things.” He pulled a heavy key from a pouch on his belt, fitting it into the keyhole. “This key unlocks both gates. If ever you need access to either room, feel free to ask me. I will be glad to come escort you in and out of the pantry or cellar.”

He undid the lock, pulling open the grill and then the wooden door behind it. Together they moved into the pantry. The small room was lined with wall to ceiling shelves, filled with a variety of breads, cheeses, dried meats, and fruits.

Kay’s mind was a whirl of confusion. The cellar door was locked. She could hardly ask Galeron to open it for her, to wait patiently while Reese and the others bludgeoned their way through the wall to free the keep from the hostile invaders.

Everything hinged on that key.

“Could I see the key?” she asked, her voice fragrant with curiosity. Just what was this nemesis which now confronted her?

Galeron shrugged, handing over the metal object. It was perhaps four inches in length, constructed of a solid shaft with a fairly basic pattern at one end. She stared at it in fascination. Such a simple thing to thwart the saviors from entering. Why, it was something a child could carve.

A flash of hope shot through her. Stephen could certainly carve a key like this, if only he had a model to work from. It only had to work once, after all. If he made it with the hardest wood he had available, and she greased it to turn carefully, it might just succeed.

It was the only chance she had.

But how could she make a mold of it?

She glanced around the room again, and her eyes lit on the blocks of cheese. Not the aged cheddar – that would crumble and lose the impression. The newest blocks would be gooey, unable to hold a form. But … there! She moved over to a rich yellow form and sunk a finger into it. The hole she made stayed perfectly in shape, conforming to her finger’s size.

She turned with a quick movement, putting her back to the cheese, her mind seeking for something to distract Galeron with. He would sense if she began babbling idle chatter; it had to be authentic.

A thought blazed in her mind, and she looked up with curiosity.

“Galeron, now that you have won the game, I am intrigued – just how did you manage to get the other men eliminated? It seemed in each case that you had a hand in the results.”

Galeron’s face lit up in delight, and he leant against one of the side walls. “My dear, you almost match me in your powers of observation,” he praised her. “Yes, of course I developed a detailed plan for each man the moment the game began. I carefully charted a path to ensure that they would fall one by one.”

Kay slid the key around behind her with one hand, seeking with her fingers for the cheese. There, it was just behind her now. She pressed the key with careful attention down into its firm top, giving even pressure to make a good impression.

Kay gave him a smile. “So, Uther, the flamboyant peacock. I recall that you encouraged me to sit next to him. Was that so I could see his true nature?”

Galeron chuckled, his eyes sparkling. “Oh, my darling, I did more than that,” he admitted with glee. “I scoffed at his stories of conquests in London. I stated in no uncertain terms that I did not believe him. On the ride here I challenged him to bed even three women in the keep within three days, to prove he was the great lover he claimed to be. I knew his pride would not allow him to refuse.”

Kay’s eyes widened. So it was Galeron’s doings that Uther was so aggressive in those opening days!

She was becoming fascinated with Galeron’s machinations. “And Alistair? Was he even a threat, with his tenuous nature?”