Nobody moved.
“That is a failure to follow the first line of orders.”
Galahad’s jaw tightened barely, but it was enough that I caught it.
“Additionally,” I said, “two knights present in the corridor that night, neither of them assigned to the prisoner’s custody, were compelled to intervene. This required the involvement of Sir Tristan, who wasn’t on duty. It required the attention of Sir Lancelot and the rest of you, I daresay.” I didn’t look at Lance. “It required my own attention at an hour when my attention was required elsewhere.”
Kay shifted his weight slightly. Just slightly.
“These are not small failures,” I said. “They represent a chain of operational breakdowns that originated with a single point of failure. An authority was granted. That authority was not exercised within the terms of its grant.”
The fire in the hearth popped. Gawain shifted in his seat.
I looked at Galahad directly.
“Sir Galahad’s autonomous custody of the prisoner is hereby revoked. Effective immediately, the prisoner returns to a standard rotation under the watch captain’s assignment. Sir Galahad is formally rebuked for failure to report and failure to operate within the scope of his orders. This rebuke will be entered into the record of this council.”
I watched Galahad absorb that information, watched him decide how to absorb it. He inclined his head in a small, careful motion, the angle of a man accepting a consequence he found unjust but had no ability to contest.
“This is not a question of Sir Galahad’s faith,” I said. “Nor of his competence as a knight. It is a question of the king’s authority. When I give an order, it is followed. When I grant an authority, it is exercised within its terms. When something goes wrong, I am told.” I let that sit for a moment. “These are not complicated requirements.” I took a breath. “Sir Galahad’s title and his seat at the Table continue. Neither will be revoked.”
No one spoke.
I reached for the tankard in front of me and drank a few swallows of ale before I set it down again.
“We’ll move to the northern dispatch.”
Kay opened the ledger in front of him and began to read, and the council moved forward. Meanwhile, Galahad’s hands stayed folded on the table in front of him, and I didn’t look at the bruise on his jaw again.
The fire filled the silence where everything I hadn’t said lived.
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
-GUIN-
Gawain was now posted outside my door.
I wasn’t sure why the King’s Guard weren’t taking on the duty, but I also knew better than to ask. And, honestly, I was happy to see Gawain. Even though I didn’t know him well, it was nice to see a familiar face. And it was a handsome face, with a square jaw and the kind of red-brown hair that couldn’t decide what color it wanted to be. He’d always been one of the quieter ones, not cold, just contained. Now he stood in the doorway with his back straight against the corridor outside and his hands clasped behind him. He hadn’t treated the assignment like an insult the way most of the knights would have.
When I came back from washing my hands in the basin, he was still standing in the doorway, and the door was still open. He looked at me the way people look at something they’re trying to work out.
“Whatever Galahad did to you or tried to do to you,” Gawain said in his soft voice, “it wasn’t right.”
I didn’t answer immediately. Instead, I dried my hands on the inside of my sleeve because there was no cloth for it, and the motion gave me something to do.
“He’ll be punished for it,” he added.
I laughed, but the sound came out shorter than I meant it to. “No, he won’t.”
Gawain’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t argue with me, which I respected. He just stood there with the weight of someone who disagreed but understood exactly why I’d said what I had.
“For what it’s worth,” he started, “I hope he is.”
I gave him a smile. “Thank you, Gawain.”
He nodded. “And for what it’s also worth, I always liked Lioran.”
Something moved in my chest, and I looked at him properly then. “Lioran liked you too.” I paused. “And so do I.”
