Twenty-Eight
The Banquet
Autumn 961 MC
Prince Alric, third son of King Leofric of Weldwyn, gazed around the formal dining room. A dozen of the king's closest advisors were here, ready to help plan the defense of Summersgate, should it prove necessary. They sat at tables arranged in an inverted 'U' with Alric and his mother, Queen Igraine, seated at the head. The feast was sumptuous, the wine flowed freely, and the young prince wondered, not for the first time, if all of this grandeur were strictly necessary. Surely, he thought, it would be better to meet while sober rather than plied with wine.
The room fell silent as the queen rose from her seat, holding a goblet before her. "Let us raise our cups in salute," she said, "to the fine horses that Lord Marlowe has brought to Summersgate."
