The Savage Damsel and the Dwarf Read Online Free PDF Page A

be best if we were gone before the others awoke. Less chance they'd spot you for a lady." Lynet nodded, and Roger added, "Though they might not have guessed anyway, from how silent you were. You did very well in there, holding your tongue."

    "You mean that you thought all ladies talk too much?"
    The dwarf laughed. "I must admit that you are a surprising lady."
    "And you," said Lynet, "are a surprising dwarf. You don't act or talk like a dwarf, you know. Even that Sir Dinadan noticed it. And how is it that you seem to know all of them so well, but they didn't recognize you?"
    Roger did not look at her. "No one notices a dwarf," he said at last.
    The dwarf's voice was wistful, and Lynet tactfully changed the subject. "What did you call that place? The Knight's something?"
    "'The Knight's Sabbath'," Roger said quickly. "It's a secret resting place for knights errant. They go out to seek adventures, which is deucedly uncomfortable and not always so easy—adventures don't grow on every tree—and after a while they get tired of it. Then they go to the Knight's Sabbath. There they hunt all day, talk all evening, and make up stories of their great adventures to tell when they go home."
    "But that's terrible!" Lynet exclaimed.
    Roger turned his short, stocky body and looked at
her seriously. "Why? None of those men back there ever really wanted to be a knight. Not one of them enjoys fighting, jousting, rescuing damsels, and so on."

    "Why did they become knights, then?" Lynet asked.
    "What choice do they have?" Roger asked. "They're all younger sons: born into noble families but without any real inheritance. What's left for them but to become knights?"
    Lynet shook her head. "I still think they're horrid. All these high and mighty knights sitting in a circle saying mean things about knights who aren't even there—like this one that you used to serve."
    "Who? Gaheris? They said nothing about him that they wouldn't have said to his face." Roger smiled. "I'm sure Gaheris knows he's a rotten fighter."
    "Well, what about those terrible things they said about ladies?" demanded Lynet.
    Roger smiled more widely. "I wondered if that would rankle."
    "It was awful! Aren't knights supposed to swear some oath to honor ladies?" Roger shrugged, and Lynet shook her head decidedly. "I'm glad I'm going to King Arthur's court. Surely the Knights of the Round Table will be more chivalrous."
    Roger swiveled in his saddle and stared at her, amusement growing in his eyes. "Didn't you know?" he asked. "Every one of those knights back there was a fellow of the Round Table."

III. The Kitchen Knave
    "There it is," said Roger, reining in. "On the top of that hill. Camelot." Lynet stared at the towering castle where King Arthur held court and felt suddenly very small. For the first time she was struck with the effrontery of her whole project: she, the sixteen-year-old daughter of a former enemy of Arthur's, had come to his great court seeking aid. For a wild moment, she wondered about going home, and to make matters worse Roger wheeled his horse and said, "I'll be leaving you now. Even you should be able to find your way from here."

    "You're leaving?" Lynet gasped, too stunned even to resent his slur on her sense of direction. "Won't you go in with me?"
    Roger smiled a lopsided smile and shook his head. "Nay, you've no use for me now."
    "But what will I do? How can I see Arthur? Where do I go?"

    The dwarf looked at her sharply. "You're not frightened, are you?"
    Lynet mustered her self-composure. "Don't be a dolt. Of course not."
    Roger grinned. "That's the dandy. I've no doubt you can brazen your way into anywhere you like."
    Lynet felt her courage returning. She lifted her chin and said with dignity, "I should be pleased if you would accompany me, all the same."
    Roger hesitated, but at last he shrugged. "Oh, very well. But as soon as you're in, I'm off, do you hear?"
    Lynet was too relieved to argue, and they rode on together. As they