"The king, the queen, and their two remaining servants will share your apartment, Sir Udolf. If there is a chamber for the little prince; Edmee, his nurse; and my daughter, the rest of the party will sleep wherever you have the space for us."

"You must have the bedspace nearest the hearth," Sir Udolf said. "You are not well, physician. I hear the rattle in your chest."

"It has been cold for spring," Alexander Givet said.

"The season can be cruel here in Northumbria," the baron admitted. He waved to a servant, who came to stand by his master's side. "Ask the cook when the dinner will be ready, and bring this gentleman more wine," Sir Udolf said. It was pleasant having another man with whom he could talk. He had had some small education in his youth, but his son could not even write his own name or read. Hayle had not wanted to learn, and could be neither forced nor cosseted into doing it. He was not a man to sit talking of a winter's evening. He preferred the company of his little mistress, Maida.

The servant returned to say, "The meal will be ready within the hour, my lord."

Sir Udolf nodded his acknowledgment. "Go upstairs and tell the queen," he said. Then, turning to the physician, he said, "The meal will be simple compared to what you have at court, I fear."

"The king will be content with a good soup and some bread," the physician surprised his host by saying. "He has never been a man to enjoy a heavy, oversauced meal, Sir Udolf. Sauces often hide spoilage of the meat. The king prefers light meals. Watch what the queen eats when she comes to the high board, and you will see her preferences. She has a delicate belly, and always has."

Sir Udolf nodded and gave the orders to his servant. The queen returned to the hall just as the steward announced that the dinner was served. She and her son joined Sir Udolf at the high board while the others took their places at the trestles below. Edmee and the queen's tiring woman, Fayme, sat with Alix and her father. The physician had more color in his face now that he was warm again.