The Thorn and the Blossom: A Two-Sided Love Story by Theodora Goss Page B

know any of the Celtics.”
    He laughed. “Have you seen the town yet? I imagine you have, if you’ve been up the main road. There isn’t much more to it than that, except Gawan’s Court.”
    “Mrs. Davies mentioned … what is it called?”
    “So you’re staying at the Giant’s Head. Not that there’s anywhere else to stay in Clews. Come on, then. It’s only a couple of miles. Are you up for a bit of a hike?”
    She was, but hesitated. “What about the store? Won’t you get in trouble for leaving?”
    “The store will take care of itself. It’s off-season anyway. Noone comes to Clews in the off-season.” Except crazy Americans, thought Evelyn. That was exactly the sort of thing her parents would worry about. If they knew she was here, they would call Dr. Birnbaum, ask if she should go back on the medication. “Anyway, Dad’s in London at an antiquarian book fair. I’m the son, of Thorne and Son. Brendan Thorne, at your service.”
    “Evelyn Morgan. All right, where is this Gawan’s Court, anyway?”
    I t was on top of a hill. By the time they had climbed the steep path Evelyn was breathing hard, although Brendan seemed barely affected. For the last part of the climb he had to help her, pulling her by the hand. “You’d get used to it, if you grew up around here,” he said.
    Evelyn concentrated on trying not to slip. She could imagine the headline: American Dies Trying to Climb Hill in Cornwall. What would her mother say?
That’s just the sort of thing Evie would do. She never thinks about whom she might inconvenience
. Imagining her mother’s voice, speaking to the other members of whichever fund-raising committee she might be lunching with that day, Evelyn almost laughed aloud. But then there they were, at the top of the hill.
    “Oh!” she said. The first thing she saw was a circle of standing stones. They were twice as tall as she was. Most were upright but some had fallen over, with grass growing up their sides. Beyond them she could see the sea, sparkling. It was perfectly quiet, except for birdsong.
    “There’s a legend about this place,” said Brendan. She could tell he was pleased by her reaction. “Once, when Arthur and his knights were feasting at Camelot, a lady arrived at his court. She was Elowen, queen of Cornwall, and she told Arthur that her country was plaguedby giants. She asked if any of the knights of the Round Table were brave enough to ride with her to Cornwall and fight them. The giants were aided by a sorceress named Morva, daughter of Magill, the chief giant. Most of the knights were willing to face giants, but what could a knight do against a sorceress, they wanted to know? However, Gawan, who had fallen in love with Elowen at first sight, volunteered immediately. They fought the giants together, for Elowen was a sorceress herself. Most queens seem to have been, in those days. To protect Gawan from Morva’s sorcery, she gave him a suit of magical armor made of green metal shaped like leaves.” Brendan sat on one of the fallen stones. “Am I boring you?”
    “Not at all,” Evelyn said. “I took a class on medieval literature at Oxford. We studied
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
, but this story sounds different.”
    “Oxford, is it?” he said. “Very impressive.” Evelyn sat on the stone beside him. Both
pretty
and
impressive
! Well, she was getting it with both barrels today, wasn’t she? She couldn’t help smiling. “Yes,” he said, “it’s different. This story was written in Cornwall around the thirteenth century. It’s a sort of long poem in medieval Cornish. It was translated into English in the nineteenth century, but it’s still largely unknown outside this area. My dad used to tell it to me when I was a boy.”
    “So, what happened? Did they win?”
    “Oh, they won, all right. The giants gathered on this hill, surrounding Gawan and Elowen. Gawan fought bravely, but even he couldn’t conquer them alone. Finally, fearing that he would be