Here Be Dragons - 1 Sharon Penman (paper ebook reader .TXT) 📖

Joanna lit candles to yApollonia, but to no avail." Elen's screams had yet to abate; he read bed

321ut stroked the heaving little shoulder, and then retreated, leaving Jonna to minister to their daughter's painIt was a long time before Elen quieted, even longer before she slept Toanna slumped down upon a coffer, already dreading the moment vvhen Elen would awake, when her suffering would begin again "I do n0t know when I've ever been so tired, Catherine "She did look utterly exhausted, and Catherine felt a throb of pity, for she knew how bad a year it had been for Joanna A bad year for them all but above all for Joanna, who loved both John and Llewelyn, who was caught between anguished, irreconcilable loyaltiesSoon after William de Braose's flight to France, the Earl of Chester and theBishop of Winchester had led an army into Gwynedd, advancmg as far as the east bank of the River Conwy, where Chester rebuilt Deganwy Castle, which Llewelyn had razed in a futile attempt to keep it out of Norman control At about the same time, John released Gwenwynwyn from his two-year confinement, giving him money and menat-arms to mount a challenge to Llewelyn's hold upon his domainsLlewelyn thus found himself fighting a war on two fronts, and by December he'd been forced to withdraw from most of southern Powys But he struck back hard atChester, making raids of reprisal into Cheshire, burning the Earl's manors and running off his livestock Christmas that year had seen smoke-filled skies on both sides of the border, and Joanna, then in the second month of a stressful pregnancy, had miscarried on Epiphany EveWith Easter, a fragile, false peace settled over the Marches All knew it would not last Chester's men were still entrenched m Deganwy, and Llewelyn would never accept an alien presence on Welsh soil Gwenwynwyn was now back in power in Powys, with a blood score to settle And John had spent the spring forging alliances of expediency with Maelgwn and Rhys Gryg What should have been a season of rebirth and renewal was now no more than a time of uneasy waiting, was to be but a brief prelude to a summer of war"Joanna how is it between Llewelyn and you these days7 Are YOU getting on better7""Yes, we are," Joanna said, then gave Catherine a sad smile "But 'hat is because he has been so often gone from Aber this spring ""You argue about John, about your father7" Catherine asked tentahvely, andJoanna noddedIn the past year her life with Llewelyn had fallen into a disquieting Pattern sudden, sharp quarrels during the daylight hours, later reconC1'ed m bed "Ilove him, Catherine, and I believe he still loves me

322But. . . but we find little to laugh about these days, and I remember how we used to laugh together all the time ..."She rose, reassured herself that Elen still slept, and then turned back toCatherine. "When all began to go sour between my father and Llewelyn, I blamedLlewelyn for much of it, Catherine. I kept thinking if only he'd try harder to earn Papa's trust, if only he were not so set upon having his own way, so prideful. . . But then my father sent the Earl of Chester into Gwynedd, gaveGwenwynwyn the means of making war upon Llewelyn. Oh, God, Catherine, how could he? However angry he was with Llewelyn, did he never think of me? For my sake, could he not have found another wayrJOANNA was alone in their bedchamber, waiting for Llewelyn. Branwen had unbraided her hair, and she reached for the silver-backed brush Llewelyn had given her just four days ago, on their fifth wedding anniversary. As she did, her eyes fell upon a small crystalline stone, mottled with bronze streaks.Picking up the jasper pebble, she fingered it pensively. The stone was no talisman, was a goad to memories she'd rather not recall, memories of herJanuary miscarriage.But brake-root was not any more effective than jasper as a contraceptive.Isabelle had become pregnant within days of their confidential conversation atWoodstock, had given birth to a daughter while John was pursuing Maude deBraose in Ireland. That, too, was a memory Joanna preferred not to dwell upon, for she'd had an utterly unexpected reaction to the birth of her half-sister.She'd never realized how much it mattered to herbeing John's only daughter amongst eight sonsnot until it was no longer true, until Isabelle had givenJohn a fair-haired baby girl and he'd given her Joanna's own name.It was a common if confusing Norman custom to have legitimate and baseborn children share the same name; John had twice christened sons Henry andRichard. But Joanna could not keep from reading a superstitious significance into John's choice of names, could not keep from being hurt by that choice.She'd had ten months to accustom herself to the loss of her privileged status, no longer felt jealous of the baby sister she'd yet to see. But she had not heard from her father for months, not since that past autumn, and on this warm night in mid-May, she felt forlorn and forgotten and very much afraid of what the future might hold.Suddenly sensing she was no longer alone, she looked up, saw Llewelyn standing in the doorway. "I did not hear you come in. Have you been there long?" She gave him a self-conscious smile, for she did not like to be watched unaware."I finally had to give Elen a mild sleeping

323draught/ the pain was soLlewelyn7 Llewelyn, what is wrong7 What has happened7""What was bound to happen Your father is gathering a large army at Chester "She came to her feet with a choked cry, and he said bitterly, "You cannot be all that surprised It has been obvious for months that John vvanted war " But even as he spoke, he saw that her shock was unfeigned, that she'd somehow managed to convince herself the inevitable could be defeated merely by refusing to acknowledge it"No, it must not come to