Children of the Fountain by Richard Murphy Page B

clobbered him.
    “What’s this?” said Harry, pointing at a comb.
    “I have my first lesson with Lady Taylor today. I was told I have to look smart.”
    “Good luck!” said Harry, as he grabbed his cloak to leave. “It’s harder than any sword lesson, especially for people like me and you.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “We’re not like the others are we? Alonso picked us both up. We don’t have what they call breeding .”
    Matthias finished adjusting his shirt cuffs and flattened his hair one last time in the looking glass next to his bed. “How hard can it be? It’s just learning how to be polite.”
    “Yes,” said Harry, “just how to be polite.” He walked out the door to go to his lesson but not before calling out, “And of course how to dance !”
    Harry's laughter faded as he skipped down the corridor. Matthias looked at his wide eyes in the mirror and swallowed hard. Dancing? Surely Harry must be joking. For the first time since he’d arrived at the castle he felt genuine fear. Dancing was for girls. Give him half an hour in front of O’Grady with one arm tied behind his back, but not dancing!
    The chapel bells rang out two o’clock; he was going to have to hot foot it to the west wing of the castle where Lady Taylor resided. The journey took him ten minutes and as he walked into the drawing room he saw her waiting for him. She was seated at a small table by the window and was pouring tea from a delicate china pot.
    The footman who had shown him in gently closed the door behind him but Matthias remained where he was, unsure if he should move without direction. Looking around he took in the room’s magnificence. Tapestries and paintings hung from the walls, but unlike other areas of the castle where pictures of dukes and earls adorned the stone, here were works of art. Mythical lands and creatures, men and women depicted in perfect beauty amongst colossal mountains and seascapes. On a gilded table at one end where several sculptures of people Matthias did not recognise and next to that stood an enormous ornate vase, almost as big as he was. The patterns were exotic and mesmerising and Matthias’s senses struggled to take in all the beauty that was within this one room.
    Then, finally, his eyes fell on Lady Taylor. Her back was to him but Matthias could see she was dressed in white silk. Her golden blonde curls were set up high atop her head and underneath a pale slender white neck was decorated with fine pearls. He stood there for several moments before finally summoning up the courage to make a polite coughing noise.
    She turned around, her deep brown eyes met his and he instantly froze. She was beautiful. His gaze fell to floor instinctively and for a moment he felt unworthy even to be in her presence.
    “Matthias, I presume?” She spoke with a perfect, soft, sweet voice.
    “Yes ma’am,” he said, and attempted a bow.
    “ My lady ,” she corrected. “Please refer to me as my lady .”
    There was no malice in her words; she was just correcting him and her soft smile re-assured Matthias she had taken no offence.
    “Sorry, my lady,” responded Matthias, and attempted another bow which went slightly less well than the first.
    “Will you join me for tea?” she said, and gestured to the empty seat on the other side of the table.
    “Thank you, my lady,” said Matthias. As he sat down opposite her his eyes caught the shape of her womanly body and her perfume swept over him – it was a smell of sweet fruits, fresh forests and spring blossoms all rolled into one.
    She proceeded to serve tea in a meticulous and precise fashion. First a silver jug poured milk into the cup. Then, the pot delivered a wonderfully smelling golden red tea which tanned as it hit the milk. Finally after the offer of sugar, which Matthias duly accepted, he picked up the cup.
    Her short intake of breath was directed at Matthias’s hands. He felt sure he was doing something wrong; but what? He looked down at his hand