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

own pastures, and he suspects Hubert de Burgh of grazing on th$ wrong side of the fence. There is no love lost betwixt them these d But de Burgh still holds the ear of the one who matters most, our yon King." "8Joanna nodded. "John ... I do not mean to interfere between a ma and his wife.But I've gotten a disturbing letter from Elen. She wrote that you forbade her to visit us" She stopped in mid-sentence. "You did not?""Indeed not," he said indignantly. "I would never act to cut Elen off from her family. I did tell her that I did not want her to go into Wales this summer, but only because war seems imminent. I know how homesick she is, but I had to put her safety first.""Yes," Joanna agreed slowly. "Of course." If this youngster was not speaking the truth, he was as skilled an actor as any she'd ever seen at Christmas mummeries. And Elen had ever been capricious and headstrong. But howeverJoanna sought to rationalize, one fact still stood out starklythat some seven months after her marriage, Elen was not happy with the husband they'd chosen for her.At that moment there was a sudden stir; Henry and Llewelyn were reentering the hall. Joanna hastened toward her husband. Gruffydd and Ednyved were also converging upon Llewelyn. He met with all three ot them in the center of the hall, gave them the bad news they could already read in his face."Shall I tell you their terms for peace? I am to yield up the castles took from Fitz Warin and de Hodnet. But Pembroke gives up nothing, gets to keep my castles of Cardigan and Carmarthen." y, Gruffydd swore under his breath. "What did you tell them, Papa^"What do you think I said?" Llewelyn paused, looked directly^ Joanna. "You'd best go and bid your brother farewell. I told him we leaving Ludlow within the hour." r^g{[Joanna was dismayed, but she knew better than to argu Llewelyn sounded like that. She nodded, did as he said. ^ ^erHenry gave her no chance to speak, took her arm an j toward the window recess. "Joanna, you must talk to your must get him to see reason."

557"Henry/ there is nothing I can do ""[ do not want war with the Welsh, you must know I do not But Ichoice, Joanna Cardigan and Carmarthen have too much strate-^3 portance to leave them in the hands of a Welsh Prince Surely you?« see that ""Yes of course I can Why should a Welsh Prince have any right to t]es on Welsh soil?"Henry had vivid blue eyes, a drooping left eyelid that gave him a wsv appealmgly vulnerable look But both eyes opened wide now, h vved so much hurt that Joanna was at once remorseful"I am sorry, Henry I do love you," she said softly "But I love my husband, too, and I am so very tired of always having to chooseHenry watched as she moved away, back to Llewelyn When Hubert de Burgh joined him, he said, "I never meant to hurt my sister, Hubert I was so sure I could make her understand You said she would ""It cannot be helped, my liege It is no easy thing to be a King, to tind the courage to make difficult decisions You must be strong, lad, must""I am1" Henry cried, stung "I'll do what must be done But that does not mean Ihave to like it "GWENWYNWYN'S two young sons had been living in England as wards of the crownOn the same day that Llewelyn rode away from Ludlow, Henry ordered the boys to be brought to his court at Gloucester in hopes of winning away from Llewelyn the allegiance of the men of Powys He then sent the Earls of Pembroke andSalisbury into WalesWhile Llewelyn sought to cut off their supply lines, Gruffydd sprang a lethal ambush in a hilly pass of Carnwylhon But Pembroke and "I were able to fight their way free, began to lay waste to the counfrvside of Dyfed Once more, Wales was at war a[rELYN S Slege °f BuelU CaStIe WaS m lts second week The Welsh had Waj.S ^en able to cross the deep wet moat, to breach the outer curtain

lad?560actually fear masqueradinnifcding as fury, and he said, still laboring -*- ~g for breath"Let it lie, Gruffydd""Christ, Papa, he coujo~ould have killed you! What if he'd mis^aassed, if he'Hhit you instead?"Llewelyn preferred b?d not to dwell upon that. "What's y3^ your name lad?"The bowman swallooJUllowed. "Trefor, my lord," he mumblsMloled. "Trefor ab Alun.""You're a good shot ionot, Trefor. I'll remember."Trefor beamed, but Jjjut dared not linger. Gruffydd's anger ca - counted for more at that moment thsrfJthan Llewelyn's approval, and he hurri_rwied to rejoin his comrades.Ednyved picked up qi-ap the broken sword, flung it out into tH± the moat. "It seems to me, Llewelyn,,nvn, that you're the one who needs the eg nursemaid not your Davydd1"Llewelyn's smile v s was wry, faintly discomfited. "I s~e should have known better," he admi/rumitted. "But it did prove one thing, thai^^at I was right about these Norman ha srfhauberks. Without it, I'd have been ske=_o.ewered like a stuck pig.""Papa . . ." Davyoy^ydd was standing several feet away. ~ He'd lost all color, was so shaken t m that Llewelyn knew at once he'd vwitnessed the fight.As Llewelyn climbfmnbed down the scaling ladder, he bega_ =.esn to appreciate the extent of his inni injuries; his muscles were already exr^=»ppHingly sore and tender. But he knerrznew how very lucky he had been, and _ as soon as he and Davydd were stanexanding on firm ground, he said, "I'm 53 glad you saw that, lad. I hope to GoD God you remember, for it might save - your life one day. I did something grig very foolish up there. I saw a man r~ lying on the wall, just took it for g -r granted that he'd been killed in the