21: You Can't Hurry Love

Chapter 21 of "A Grail for Eidothea"

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Before we get started on this week’s instalment, there is a video at the end for you to watch…

Eidothea catches us up on another meeting between she and Llyr while they were still at sea. Eidothea and Jasper explore the city of Bath together while using the Grealseeker Ring to locate the Greal. It seems to be somewhere in the Roman Baths. Having decided to bathe in the waters, they stop for a restorative cup of tea and discover a disconcerting attraction to each other.

He leaned over, tracing my cheek and jaw with a fingertip. “Would that rapturous look were for me,” he murmured, his head close to mine.

Our gazes met and held. For a moment, I forget to chew. I felt wonder rise in me, wonder and longing. My suddenly pounding heart told me Jasper felt the same way about me as I did about the marzipan.

But I should not be thinking this way. I leaned back, bumping the table with my elbow. The clatter of china brought us to our senses.

Jasper straightened, shifting away. He drained his tea cup and looked out at the passersby. I should have been blushing into my tea, but with a mental shake, I realised I had been staring at him. Even knowing that, I could not look away.

What had that moment been? Was Jasper teasing me? Or did he really feel— It couldn’t mean anything. He was a Tregallas. Yet he had earned my trust and I enjoyed his company. But a place in my heart?

I needed to focus on finding the Greal and returning to Caer Morgana. Everything else had to wait.

Susan, the maid, arrived and gestured to us through the window. A man in plain livery stood at her side, our chaperone for the baths.

“We should go,” I murmured, rising as I spoke.

“I will settle the account. Wait here.” Jasper disappeared into the small crowd around the counter.

I did not wait for him but stepped outside, needing some fresh air.

Jasper soon joined me, tucked my arm into his and together we strolled to the baths. “I do think Susan would like to beat me for daring to walk so close to you.”

“Perhaps at first,” I allowed, “but she is a champion for your cause now.”

“My cause?” Jasper questioned, looking at me with great intent.

“Must I say it?”

He said nothing, smiling.

We entered the Baths and separated into different changing rooms. Susan helped me out of my dark blue walking gown and into the bulky brown linen shift that was required wearing for bathing.

“For privacy,” Susan told me, surveying her handiwork, “and to allow the waters to reach your skin.”

It felt odd to wear such a simple outfit and yet have my blue and white striped bonnet still perched on my head.

Susan accompanied me to the doorway leading to the bath. Steam rose from the waters. The air’s humidity and temperature increased as we approached. “Should I hold your ring for you? The waters can do odd things to metals.”

I shook my head. “I will be sure to keep it out of the water.” One of the brown clad assistants helped me over the threshold and down the steps.

The waters surprised me. My linen shift floated momentarily but soon sank with the water’s weight. The water reached my armpits. The air stank of sulphur and I tried not to breathe too deeply.

A waving arm caught my eye. Jasper stood across from me. Near him was my uncle’s man, Joseph. We waded toward each other, the clothing and the water’s resistance hamnpering our movements.

“Shall we begin?” he asked. “You follow the ring and I will make sure you do not stumble.”

I nodded. The obvious starting point was the wall held in common with the Pump Room. The ring glowed brighter as I approached. I walked alongside the wall. Jasper guided me around those who sat on long stone steps that edged the bath’s perimeter.

The ring drew me onward until we reached the adjoining wall. It glowed brighter than I had ever seen before. We were close but the ring’s tug suggested the Greal wasn’t in the immediate vicinity.

I hesitated.

“What is it?” Jasper murmured.

“It is somewhere from this point. Is it down? Should I submerge the ring?” Susan’s earlier concern had resulted in my keeping my hand out of the water. “What if the waters damage it?”

“A brief dunk surely will not harm it.” Jasper’s hand rested at my elbow.

I lowered my hand into the water. Jasper sucked in his breath, manoevering his body to act as a shield.

I glanced up from the hypnotic light. “You can see it?”

“There’s a golden glow,” he whispered, awed. He looked around. “No one appears to have taken notice.”

I looked up. The Pump Room windows looked out onto the King’s Bath, as this huge monument of stone and water is known. We stood under the balustrade, shielded from prying eyes above.

I bent my knees, submerging to my chin. The ring shone a little brighter. “Is it on the floor?”

Jasper shuffled around me, making a thorough check of the immediate vicinity with his feet. “No Greal.”

Straightening, I lifted my hand out of the water. “What if it is underground, Jasper? How are we going to get it then?”

He cupped my shoulders. “This place must have been mapped or surveyed. We will look for someone who has knowledge of this and—“

“All before your father figures out our plans? We do not have time and we cannot dismantle this building…” Feeling hopeless, I stepped closer to him, resting my forehead on his shoulder. “Jasper, what are we going to do?”

His hands slid from my shoulders to the back of my neck. “We are not going to give up,” he murmured. “We will find a way.”

“Sir?” Joseph’s voice spoke behind us. “Is the lady all right?”

“A bit overwhelmed with the heat, I think. Help me with her.”

“Give me a moment,”I said, my voice clear. Through the water, I felt Joseph still. I wanted to break into sobs, but somehow I held the bubble of agony and fear in my breast. Jasper made small stroking motions on my back.

I did not want to move. Standing in this loose embrace, I felt protected and safe.

I took a steadying breath and raised my chin. “I am ready now. I can make my own way.”

The two men trailed behind me until I reached the stairs.

Jasper called to the female attendant sitting at the door. “The lady is feeling a bit faint.”

The woman helped me up the steps and back into the changing room. At the last moment, acutely aware of how the linen clung to my body, I glanced over my shoulder. Jasper’s gaze met mine, his brow furrowed with worry. He managed a small smile.

I remained silent on our return to my uncle’s house on Gay Street. Jasper walked beside me, hands clasped behind his back, honouring my silence.

I paused at the steps into my uncle’s abode. “I will relay our news to Father.”

Jasper nodded, tight-lipped. “I have been thinking. I will tour the coffee houses and societies tonight. Someone must know about the baths’ underpinnings. Have your father join me at Jellicot’s at eight.”

I agreed and stepped inside. I told Father the Greal was likely buried beneath the Pump Room, and the first tear fell.

“I will dine out tonight,” Father decided. “Perchance I will have news when I meet with Mr. Tregallas.”

The remaining storm of tears descended when I reached my bedroom. I had it all to myself, my youngest cousin having married a few months ago. I cried myself to sleep and woke to a darkened space lit only by a single candle.

Someone had thrown a coverlet over me and I pulled it tight about my shoulders. I felt the weight of the world’s future—human and dreigiau môr—but the despair that overwhelmed me began to recede.

We would retrieve the Greal, even if it meant marrying Jasper and moving to Bath in order to do it. We would find a way, somehow. I would not submit to failure until my last breath.

I sat up on the bed, hugging my knees.

Jasper.

I was glad to have him by my side, to have both he and Father determined to find the relic my mother had searched for all her short life. Yes, that was it — sheer gratitude moved my heart, stifled my breath, when I glimpsed Jasper’s regard.

Perhaps he too was amazed to be on this adventure, something out of the story books. No, he’d been on this quest for years for his father. Perhaps it was his zeal that I saw in his eyes. For what use would he have for a woman so rudely assaulted by his own brother? It would be ruinous if that got out in addition to the boat incident. Marriage would no longer be an option after a scandal with two men. Not that my future held marriage as the dreigiau môr’s new prophet.

I shuddered, hugging my knees even closer, shaking off the thought. For now, my future did not matter. Finding the Greal was all-important.

Watch the video for my experience visiting the location of this series (did I find her house or her village?) as well as an update on what’s coming here at The Môrdreigau Chronicles.

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