Page 86 of Gwen and Art Are Not in Love

She left the guard standing outside the tent and entered to see Bridget’s squire at her side, trying to relieve her of her armour as she poured water down her throat; when she saw Gwen enter, she handed the flask back to him, wiped her mouth with the back of her gloved hand and said, ‘Leave.’

‘But, you’re supposed to—’

‘Neil,’ she said, in a tone that invited no argument. ‘Leave.’

‘Well, fine,’ Neil the squire said crossly, ‘if you want to getrusty.’ He fussed around far more than necessary putting the flask away, then gave Gwen a brief and wide-eyed look of appraisal, before scurrying out past her and letting the tent flap fall back into place behind him.

‘Hello,’ Gwen said awkwardly.

Bridget just nodded. She was still trying to catch her breath.

‘Sorry you lost.’

Bridget started taking off her gloves, and then her vambraces, throwing them one at a time into an open trunk.

‘His lance was pre-cut,’ she said. ‘That’s why it split so neatly. He was cheating.’

‘What?’ said Gwen, instantly outraged. ‘We should say something!’

‘Nah,’ Bridget said, shutting the lid of the trunk so that she could sit on it and unbuckle her greaves. ‘I’ll sound like a sore loser. The Grand Marshal must have seen, it wasn’t cleverly done, but if he didn’t say anything then, he’s notgoing to. It doesn’t matter – I know the truth. It’s just one tournament.’

‘How can you be so calm about it?’ Gwen said. She had known the Grand Marshal was hardly a saint, but to allow outright cheating at the king’s tournament was no minor offence. Bridget shrugged. As she bent down, a necklace swung free from her neck; a plain silver chain with a dark stone pendant. Gwen had never seen it before. ‘What’s that?’

‘What?’ Bridget said, glancing up. ‘Oh. It’s … Elaine gave it to me. For protection. Apparently it’s magic.’

‘Of course it is,’ Gwen said, watching as Bridget caught it and tucked it away. ‘Do you need help? With your armour?’

‘No,’ Bridget said, pulling a larger piece loose and placing it carefully on the trunk beside her. ‘I can manage most of it, and Neil will do the rest.’

In the ensuing silence, Gwen fully realised what had been set in motion the night Arthur’s fever had broken. It was clear from the sudden distance between them, the slight coolness, the fact that Bridget suddenly felt untouchable.

Summer wasn’t over – but whatever she’d had with Bridget already was.

‘When will you leave?’ she said, trying to swallow down the nausea that had risen in her throat.

Bridget put down the armour she was holding. ‘After the final melee. I’ll go home for a while, get some rest, eat some real food and train with my father, and then I’m travelling to a tournament in Cumbria, meeting some friends. Are you crying?’

‘No,’ Gwen said, even though she probably was.

‘Gwen,’ Bridget said gently; she sounded sad.Good, thought Gwen. ‘We both knew this was—’

‘Please don’t,’ Gwen said, her voice shaking. ‘I really don’t want to hear it. Maybe it was stupid of me, but I thought this … meant something. It did to me. Obviously I was mistaken. I feel suitably foolish.’ She was definitely crying now, tears rolling steadily down her face. Bridget looked stricken.

‘It meant something to me too,’ she said, and Gwen laughed.

‘Not enough to stay.’

Bridget’s jaw was working, as if she were trying very hard not to rise to this. She failed. ‘You can tell yourself, if you like, that I showed up and flirted with you, and kissed you back when you kissed me, and led you to believe that I would stay forever if you only asked me – and then turned around and broke your heart. I know that’s what you think is happening right now. But I didn’t say no to you, Gwen. I said no to giving up my whole life to wait around for moments with you, whenever you could spare them. That’s not who I am, and it’s not what I want, and I think that, given some time, you’ll realise that it isn’t what you want either.’ She got up and tried to take a step towards Gwen – but Gwen stepped back, knowing that if Bridget touched her right now, all would be lost. Bridget sighed, letting her hands fall to her sides in defeat. ‘I’ll see you next summer.’

‘Fine,’ Gwen said. And then she fled.

The last thing Gwen wanted to see as she rushed through the courtyard, eyes blurry with tears, was one of Bridget’sfriends; she reluctantly slowed down as Elaine approached, looking bright-eyed and cheery with a smear of flour on her forehead.

‘I have something for you,’ Elaine said earnestly with a quick curtsy. ‘Bridget said your friend … yourbetrothed, I mean – she said he’s doing much better.’

‘Oh – yes, thank you,’ Gwen said, attempting to smile. ‘Thank you so much forallthe food, Elaine.’

‘Oh, it’s nothing – and this isn’t food,’ Elaine said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a little package. ‘They’re protective wards. I had the ladies from the Morgana meetings help. Give it to Arthur, all right? I already gave one to Bridget, for the tournament.’