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

at all?"Joanna scanned the letter again. "At the end. She says she and Hugh will sendJoanna back to England if Henry desires it. Llewelyn .. I just remembered something very intriguing. When I last saw Isabelle, she spoke very kindly of this same Hugh de Lusignan, sounded as if he'd already made quite an impression upon her.""Mayhap he had," Llewelyn said dryly, "but she's been back in Angouleme for two years now, and you notice she did not marry him until his father died, until he became the new Count of La Marche. Our Isabelle might look like gossamer and gold dust, but when it comes to practicality, she'd put a French peasant to shame.""Nonetheless, I mean to cling to my romantic illusions," Joanna said and laughed. "What's more, I wish Isabelle well, hope she finds contentment in her new marriage.""I wonder what the Pope will make of it. Isabelle was plight-trothed to Hugh's father, and Hugh to Isabelle's daughter. The truth, breila does that not sound somewhat incestuous?"But Joanna was no longer listening to his banter, for Henry had just entered the hall.HENRY turned as Joanna joined him in the window recess. He was an attractive youngster, with his mother's striking blue eyes; they were reddened now, suspiciously swollen. "You heard?" he mumbled, ana Joanna took a sister's liberty, kissed him sympathetically upon the cheek."I know it was a shock, dearest. But it was only to be expected that your mother would one day wed again. She's been a widow for m than three years, and although thirty-two doubtless seems ancient tr your vantage point, she ought to have many years ahead or ^-^ KO i,-,r,piv nr emotv, Henry, 1 know , your vantage point, she ought o nave ^ ^ , knOw You'd not want those years to be lonely or empty, Henry, would not." _ ^^OA his tears, t>u a IlUl wain, vii^j^- j -"rdo no, »a, Hen^a^ - ^>"You do not understand." Henry nau uict-^c^ * voice still quavered. "Do you not see what this marriage means, J° Now Mama will never come home."

537]M the early years of the twelfth century, the English King had encouraged the settlement of large numbers of Flemings in South Wales. The settlements thrived, and in time Dyfed lost much of its Welsh character; VVelsh was no longer spoken there, and the area came to be known as "Little England beyondWales." There was much bitterness between the displaced native-born Welsh and the Flemings, and the Welsh had been complaining to Llewelyn that the Flemings were burning their churches and running off their cattle. Llewelyn was quite willing to intervene on behalf of his countrymen, to punish the Flemish intruders, for that was how he viewed them. That the Flemings were tenants of the new Earl of Pembroke had not escaped his attention, either.On August 16, Llewelyn was waiting in the city of Chester to welcome the Earl of Chester home from the crusade. Just a few days later, Llewelyn led an army south into Dyfed. Accompanied by most of the Welsh Princes, he destroyed the castles of Narbeth and Wiston, burned the town of Haverford, and did extensive damage to the Earl of Pembroke's lands in Rhos.Pembroke vowed vengeance, but for the time being he was unable to act upon his anger, and the Welsh Prince's year closed in triumph.But Gruffydd and his wife and infant son had withdrawn from Llewelyn's court, and Gruffydd still spurned all of Llewelyn's attempts at reconciliation.ABER, NORTH WALESJuty 1221$ , IVHYS, Adda, and Morgan were seated at the fjh table in the great hall of Llewelyn's palace at Aber. Llewelyn had lot^7 returned from Shrewsbury, where, meeting with the young En^ King and the papal legate Pandulf, he'd agreed to a truce with the Pembroke and Reginald deBraose. It was a truce none expected

532to last; the interests of the Welsh Prince and the Marcher border lords were too antithetical to reconcile for long.In Llewelyn's absence, Adda was accorded the place of honor, but he'd barely touched the food ladled onto his trencher. Neither Rhys nor Morgan had much appetite, either."Are you sure we ought to wait till Llewelyn returns frorn Shrewsbury?"Adda nodded. "We can be that merciful at least, can give him a few more days ere he has to know about Gruffydd."Rhys could not quarrel with that. Picking up a piece of bread, he occupied himself in cleaning his knife for the next course. "I still do not understand why Llewelyn took his wife with him. A council chamber is no fit place for a woman.""Llewelyn thinks otherwise," Morgan said composedly. "He told me he felt certain he would benefit from her presence at Shrewsbury, even saidonly half in jestthat he considers Joanna his ambassador to the English court."Rhys looked rather skeptical, but then he startled them by saying, "I would that I'd gone to Shrewsbury, too, with Llewelyn and Ednyved."It had been more than six years since Llewelyn had chosen Ednyved to replace the ailing Gwyn ab Ednewain as his Seneschal, and Ednyved had made the most of the opportunity; he'd become Llewelyn's mainstay, wielding far more political power than his predecessor. But Rhys had never before given the slightest sign of jealousy, given any indication that he nurtured political ambitions of his own or begrudged Ednyved his ascending star, and Morgan and Adda were not sure now whether his remark was an oblique admission of envy for his cousin's privileged position.Rhys was unmindful of their speculative looks. He swallowed a mouthful of gingered carp before concluding morosely, "If I had, I'd not yet know aboutGruffydd, would not be sitting here wondering how to tell Llewelyn that his son is in rebellion against him.""YOU'RE sure it was Gruffydd? There can be no mistake?"Llewelyn's voice was quite even, but Morgan was not deceived; he found it very hard to continue, to take away Llewelyn's last shred ol hope. "A fortnight agoGruffydd led an army from Ardudwy into