Chapter Five

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W ithin Owain’s writ the invasion ofdisorder might bring about momentary consternation, but could nothope to create disorder in its turn. His mind was too quick andresolute ever to entertain chaos. Before the muted roar of angerand resentment had circled the ward the captain of theprince’s guard was at his elbow, awaiting his orders. Theyunderstood each other too well to need many words.

This report is certain?” Owain asked.

“Certain, my lord. The messenger I had it from saw themhimself from the dunes. Too distant then to be sure how many ships,but no question whence they come, and small doubt why. It was knownhe had fled to them. Why come back in such force but for areckoning?”

“He shall have one,” said Owain composedly.“How long before they come to land?”

“My lord, before morning surely. They were under sail, andthe wind is steady from the west.”

For the length of a deep breath Owain considered. Perhaps aquarter of the horses in his stables had been ridden far, thoughnot hard, the previous day, and as many of his armed men had madethat journey, and sat merry in hall late into the night. And theride that faced them now would be urgent and fast.

“Short time,” he said, musing, “to raise eventhe half of Gwynedd, but we’ll make sure of reserves, andcollect every man available between here and Carnarvon as we go.Six couriers I want, one to go before us now, the others to carrymy summons through the rest of Arlechwedd and Arfon. Call them toCarnarvon. We may not need them, but no harm in makingcertain.” His clerks accepted the expected word, and vanishedwith commendable calm to prepare the sealed writs the courierswould bear to the chieftains of two cantrefs before the night wasover. “Now, every man who bears arms,” said Owain,raising his voice to carry to the containing walls and echo backfrom them, “get to your beds and take what rest you can. Wemuster at first light.”

Cadfael, listening on the edge of the crowd, approved. Let thecouriers, by all means, ride out by night, but to move thedisciplined host across country in the dark was waste of time thatcould better be used in conserving their energy. The fighting menof the household dispersed, if reluctantly; only the captain ofOwain’s bodyguard, having assured himself of his men’sstrict obedience, returned to his lord’s side.

“Get the women out of our way,” said Owain over hisshoulder. His wife and her ladies had remained above in the opendoorway of the hall, silent but for an agitated whispering amongthe younger maids. They departed uneasily and with many a glancebehind, rather curious and excited than alarmed, but they departed.The princess had as firm a hold over her own household as Owainover his fighting men. There remained the stewards and eldercounsellors, and such menservants as might be needed for anyservice, from armory, stables, stores, brewhouse and bakehouse.Armed men also had needs, beyond their brands and bows, and theaddition of some hundreds to a garrison meant a supply trainfollowing.

Among the smaller group now gathered about the prince Cadfaelnoted Cuhelyn, by the look of him fresh from his bed, if not fromsleep, for he had thrown on his clothes in haste, he who was wontto appear rather elegantly presented. And there was Hywel, alertand quiet at his father’s side. And Gwion, attentive andstill, standing a little apart, as Cadfael had first seen him, asthough he held himself always aloof from the concerns of Owain andGwynedd, however honorably he acknowledged them. And Canon Meirionand Canon Morgant, for once drawn together in contemplating acrisis which had nothing to do with Heledd, and held no directthreat against either of them. They were onlookers, too, notparticipators. Their business was to get the reluctant bride safelyto Bangor and her bridegroom’s arms, and there were no Danishships as near as Bangor, nor likely to be. Heledd had been safelydisposed of for the night with the princess’s women, and nodoubt was gossiping excitedly with them now over what might wellseem to her an almost welcome diversion.

“So this,” said Owain into the comparative silencethat waited on his decree, “is the dire consequence Bledri apRhys had in mind. He knew, none so well, what my brother hadplanned. He gave me fair warning. Well, let him wait his turn, wehave other work to do before morning. If he’s secure in hisbed, he’ll keep.”

The chosen couriers to his vassal princes were reappearingcloaked for the night ride, and up from the stables the grooms cameleading the horses saddled and ready for them. The leader camealmost at a trot, led by the head groom, and the man was in somemeasured excitement, poured out in a breath before ever he came toa halt.

“My lord, there’s a horse gone from the stables, andharness and gear with him! We checked again, wanting to provide youthe best for the morning. A good, young roan, no white on him, andsaddle-cloth, saddle, bridle and all belonging to him.”

“And the horse he rode here—Bledri ap Rhys? His ownhorse that he brought to Saint Asaph with him?” Hyweldemanded sharply. “A deep grey, dappled lighter down hisflanks? Is he still there?”

“I know the one, my lord. No match for this roan. Stilljaded from yesterday. He’s still there. Whoever the thiefwas, he knew how to choose.”

“And meant good speed!” said Hywel, burning.“He’s gone, surely. He’s gone to join Cadwaladrand his Irish Danes at Abermenai. How the devil did he ever get outof the gates? And with a horse!”

“Go, some of you, and question the watch,” Owainordered, but without any great concern, and without turning to seewho ran to do his bidding. The guards on all the gates of hismaenol were men he could trust, as witness the fact that not one ofthem had come running here from his post, however acute thecuriosity he might be feeling about the audible turmoil continuingout of his sight. Only here at the main gate, where the messengerfrom Bangor had entered, had any man stirred from his duty, andthen only the officer of the guard. “There’s no way oflocking a man in,” reflected Owain philosophically, “ifhe has his vigor and is determined to get out. Any wall ever builtcan be climbed, for a high enough cause. And he is to the lastdegree my brother’s man.” He turned again to the tiredmessenger. “In the dark a wise traveler would keep to theroads. Did you meet with any man riding west as you rode east hereto us?”

“No, my lord, never a one. Not since I crossed the Cegin,and those were men of our own, known to me, and in nohurry.”

“He’ll be far out of reach now, but let’s atleast start Einion off on his tracks with my writ. Who knows? Ahorse can fall lame, ridden hard in the dark, a man can lose hisway in lands not his own. We may halt him yet,” said Owain,and turned to meet the steward who had run to see how watch waskept on the postern gates of the llys. “Well?”

“No man challenged, no man passed. They know him now bysight, stranger though he may be. However he broke loose, it wasnot by the gates.”

“I never thought it,” the prince agreed sombrely.“They never yet kept any but a thorough watch. Well, send outthe couriers, Hywel, and then come to me within, to my privatechamber. Cuhelyn, come with us.” He looked round briefly ashis messengers mounted. “Gwion, this is no fault nor concernof yours. Go to your bed. And keep your parole in mind still. Ortake it back,” he added drily, “and bide under lock andkey while we’re absent.”

“I have given it,” said Gwion haughtily, “Ishall keep it.”

“And I accepted it,” said the prince, relenting,“and trust to it. There, go, what is there for you to dohere?”

What, indeed, Cadfael thought wryly, except grudge us all thefreedom he has denied himself? And the instant thought came, thatBledri ap Rhys, that fiery advocate so forward to excuse his lordand threaten in his name, had given no parole, and had, almostcertainly, had very private and urgent conference with Gwion in thechapel of the llys only a matter of hours ago, and was now away torejoin Cadwaladr at Abermenai, with much knowledge of Owain’smovements and forces and defences. Gwion had never promisedanything except not to escape. Within the walls he might move atwill, perhaps his freedom extended even to the tref that layoutside the gate. For that he had pledged his own consent todetention. No one had promised as much for Bledri ap Rhys. AndGwion had made no pretence of his steely loyalty to Cadwaladr.Could he be blamed as recreant if he had helped his unexpected allyto break out and return to his prince? A nice point! Knowing, ifonly at second hand from Cuhelyn, Gwion’s stubborn andferocious loyalty, he might well have warned his captors over andover of the limits he set on his parole, and the fervor with whichhe would seize any opportunity of serving the master he soobstinately loved, even at this remove.

Gwion had turned, slowly and hesitantly, to accept hisdismissal, but then halted, stood with bent head and irresolutestep, and in a moment gathered himself abruptly, and strode awayinstead towards the chapel; from the open door the faint red sparkdrew him like a lodestone. And what had Gwion to pray for now? Asuccessful landing for Cadwaladr’s Danish mercenaries, and arapid and bloodless accommodation between brothers rather than adisastrous war? Or some repair to his own peace of mind? Fiercelyupright, he might consider even his loyalty a sin where someunavoidable infringement of his oath was concerned. A complicatedmind, sensitive to any self-reproach, however venial the sin.

Cuhelyn, who perhaps understood him best, and most resembledhim, had watched him go with a thoughtful frown, and even taken acouple of impulsive steps to follow him before thinking better ofthe notion, and turning back to Owain’s side. Prince andcaptains and counselors mounted the steps to the great hall and theprivate apartments, and vanished purposefully within. Cuhelynfollowed without another glance behind, and Cadfael and Mark, and afew hovering servants and retainers, were left in an almost emptyward, and the silence came down after clamour, and the darkstillness after a turmoil of movement. Everything was known andunderstood, everything was in hand, and would be dealt withcompetently.

“And there is no part in it for us,” Brother Marksaid quietly at Cadfael’s shoulder.

“None, except to saddle up tomorrow and ride on toBangor.”

“Yes, that I must,” Mark agreed. There was a curiousnote of unease and regret in his voice, as if he found it almost adereliction of his humanity to remove himself at this crisis inpursuit of his own errand, and leave all things here confounded andincomplete. “I wonder, Cadfael… The watch on thegates, all the gates, were they thought enough? Do you suppose awatch was set on the man himself, even here within, or was itenough that the walls held him? No man stood guard over the door ofhis lodging, or followed him from hall to his bed?”

“From the chapel to his bed,” Cadfael amended,“if any man had that charge. No, Mark, we watched him go.There was no one treading on his heels.” He looked across theward, to the alley into which Bledri had vanished when he came fromthe chapel. “Are we not taking too much for granted, all ofus? The prince has more urgent matters on his hands, true, butshould not someone confirm what we have all leaped tobelieve?”

Gwion emerged slowly and silently from the open doorway of thechapel, drawing the door to after him, so that the tiny gleam ofred vanished. He came somewhat wearily across the ward, seeminglyunaware of the two who stood motionless and mute in the shadows,until Cadfael stepped forward to intercept him, mildly seekinginformation from one who might be expected to be able to supply it:“A moment! Do you know in which of the many lodgings herethis Bledri ap Rhys slept overnight?” And as the young manhalted abruptly, turning on him a startled and wary face: “Isaw you greet him yesterday when we rode in, I thought you mightknow. You must have been glad to have some talk with an oldacquaintance while he was here.”

For some reason the protracted interval of silence was moreeloquent than what was finally said in reply. It would have beennatural enough to answer at once: “Why do you want to know?What does it matter now?” seeing that lodging must be empty,if the man who had slept there had fled in the night. The pausemade it plain that Gwion knew well enough who had walked in uponhim in the chapel, and was well aware that they must have seenBledri departing. He had time to think before he spoke, and what hesaid was: “I was glad, to set eyes on a man of myown tribe. I have been here hostage more than half a year. Theywill have told you as much. The steward had given him one of thelodgings against the north wall. I can show you. But whatdifference does it make now? He’s gone. Others may blamehim,” he said haughtily, “but not I. If I had beenfree, I would have done as he did. I never made secret of where myfealty lay. And lies still!”

“God forbid anyone should condemn a man for keepingfaith,” agreed Cadfael equably. “Did Bledri have hischamber to himself?”

“He did.” Gwion hoisted his shoulders, shrugging offan interest it seemed he did not understand, but accepted asmeaning something to these wandering Benedictines if it meantnothing to him. “There was none sharing it with him, toprevent his going, if that is what you mean.”

“I was wondering, rather,” said Cadfaeldeprecatingly, “whether we are not assuming too much, justbecause a horse is missing. If his lodging was in a remote cornerof the wards, with many a wall between, may he not have sleptthrough this whole uproar, and be still snoring in all innocence?Since he lay alone, there was no one to wake him, if he proved sosound a sleeper.”

Gwion stood staring, eye to eye with him, his thick dark browsraised. “Well, true enough, but for the horn call a man withenough drink in him might have slept through it all. I doubt it,but if you feel the need to see for yourself… It’s noton my way, but I’ll show you.” And without more wordshe set off into the passage between the rear of the great hall andthe long timber range of the storehouse and armory. They followedhis brisk figure, shadowy in the dimness, through towards the longline of buildings in the shelter of the outer wall.

“The third door was his.” It stood just ajar, nogleam of light showing in the crack. “Go in, Brothers, andsee for yourselves. But by the look of it you’ll find himgone, and all his gear with him.”

The range of small rooms was built in beneath the watch-platformalong the outer wall, and shadowed deeply by its overhang. Cadfaelhad seen only one stairway to the platform, broad and easy ofaccess but in full view of the main gate. Moreover, it would not beeasy to descend on the outer side, unless with a long rope, for thefighting gallery projected outward from the wall, and there was aditch below. Cadfael set a hand to the door and pushed it open upondarkness. His eyes, by this time accustomed to the night and suchlight as the clear but moonless sky provided, were at once blindagain. There was no movement, and no sound within. He set the doorwide, and advanced a step or two into the small chamber.

“We should have brought a torch,” said Mark, at hisshoulder.

No need for that, it seemed, to show that the room was empty oflife. But Gwion, tolerant of these exigent visitors, offered fromthe threshold: “The brazier will be burning in theguardhouse. I’ll bring a light.”

Cadfael had made another step within, and all but stumbled ashis foot tangled soundlessly with some shifting fold of softmaterial, as though a rumpled brychan had been swept from bed tofloor. He stooped and felt forward into the rough weave of cloth,and found something of firmer texture within it. A fistful ofsleeve rose to his grip, the warmth and odor of wool stirred on theair, and an articulated weight dangled and swung as he lifted it,solid within the cloth. He let it rest back again gently, and feltdown the length of it to a thick hem, and beyond that, the smooth,lax touch of human flesh, cooling but not yet cold. A sleeveindeed, and an arm within it, and a large, sinewy hand at the endof the arm.

“Do that,” he said over his shoulder. “Bring alight. We are going to need all the light we can get.”

“What is it?” asked Mark, intent and still behindhim.

“A dead man, by all the signs. A few hours dead. Andunless he has grappled with someone who stood in the way of hisflight, and left him here to tell the tale, who can this be butBledri ap Rhys?”

Gwion came running with a torch, and set it in thesconce on the wall, meant only to hold a small lantern. In suchconfined rooms a torch would never normally be permitted, but thiswas crisis. The sparse contents of the chamber sprang sharplyoutlined from the dark, a rumpled bench bed against the rear wall,the brychans spilled over and dangling to the floor, the impressionof a long body still discernible indenting the cover of the strawmattress. On a shelf beside the bed-head, convenient to theguest’s hand, a small saucer-lamp stood. Not quenched, for ithad burned out and left only a smear of oil and the charred wick.Beneath the shelf, half-unfolded, lay a leather saddle-roll, anddropped carelessly upon it a man’s cotte and chausses andshirt, and the rolled cloak he had not needed on the journey. Andin the corner his riding-boots, one overturned and displaced, as ifa foot had kicked it aside.

And between the bed and the doorway, sprawled on his back atCadfael’s feet, arms and legs flung wide, head proppedagainst the timber wall, as though a great blow had lifted andhurled him backwards, Bledri ap Rhys lay with eyes half-open, andlips drawn back from his large, even teeth in a contorted grin. Theskirts of his gown billowed about him in disorder, the breast hadfallen open wide as he fell, and beneath it he was naked. In theflickering of the torch it was hard to tell whether the darkenedblotch on his left jaw and cheek was shadow or bruise, but therewas no mistaking the gash over his heart, and the blood that hadflowed from it down into the folds of cloth under his side. Thedagger that had inflicted the wound had been as quickly withdrawn,and drawn out the life after it.

Cadfael went down on his knees beside the body, and gentlyturned back the breast of the woollen gown to reveal the wound moreclearly to the quivering light. Gwion, behind him in the doorwayand hesitant to enter, drew deep breath, and let it out in a gustysob that caused the flame to flicker wildly, and what seemed aliving shudder passed over the dead face.

“Be easy,” said Cadfael tolerantly, and leaned toclose the half-open eyes. “For he is easy enough now. Well Iknow, he was of your allegiance. And I am sorry!”

Mark stood quiet and still, staring down in undismayedcompassion. “I wonder had he wife and children,” hesaid at last. Cadfael marked the first focus of one fledglingpriest’s concern, and approved it. Christ’s firstinstinct might have been much the same. Not: “Unshriven, andin peril!” not even: “When did he last confess and findabsolution?” but: “Who will care for his littleones?”

“Both!” said Gwion, very low. “Wife andchildren he has. I know. I will deal.”

“The prince will give you leave freely,” saidCadfael. He rose from his knees, a little stiffly. “We mustgo, all, and tell him what has befallen. We are within his writ andguests in his house, all, not least this man, and this is murder.Take the torch, Gwion, and go before, and I will close thedoor.”

Gwion obeyed this alien voice without question, though it had noauthority over him but what he gave of his own free will. On thethreshold he stumbled, for all he was holding the light. Mark tookhis arm until he had his balance again, and as courteously releasedhim as soon as his step was secure. Gwion said no word, made noacknowledgement, as Mark needed none. He went before like a herald,torch in hand, straight to the steps of the great hall, and litthem steadily within.

“We were all in error, my lord,” saidCadfael, “in supposing that Bledri ap Rhys had fled yourhospitality. He did not go far, nor did he need a horse for thejourney, though it is the longest a man can undertake. He is lyingdead in the lodging where your steward housed him. From all we seethere, he never intended flight. I will not say he had slept. Buthe had certainly lain in his bed, and certainly put on his gownover his nakedness when he rose from it, to encounter whoever itmay have been who walked in upon his rest. These two with me herehave seen what I have seen, and will bear it out.”

“It is so,” said Brother Mark.

“It is so,” said Gwion.

Round Owain’s council table in his private apartment,austerely furnished, the silence lasted long, every man among hiscaptains frozen into stillness, waiting for the prince’sreaction. Hywel, standing at his father’s shoulder, in theact of laying a parchment before him, had halted with the leafhalf-unrolled in his hands, his eyes wide and intent uponCadfael’s face.

Owain said consideringly, rather digesting than questioning thenews thus suddenly laid before him: “Dead. Well!” Andin a moment more: “And how did this man die?”

“By a dagger in the heart,” said Cadfael withcertainty.

“From before? Face to face?”

“We have left him as we found him, my lord. Your ownphysician may see him just as we saw him. As I think,” saidCadfael, “he was struck a great blow that hurled him backagainst the wall, so that he fell stunned. Certainly whoever struckhim down faced him, this was confrontation, no assault from behind.And no weapon, not then. Someone lashed out with a fist, in greatanger. But then he was stabbed as he lay. His blood has run downand gathered in the folds of his gown under his left side. Therewas no movement. He was out of his senses when he was stabbed. Bysomeone!”

“The same someone?” wondered Owain.

“Who can tell? It is probable. It is not certain. But Idoubt he would have lain helpless more than a matter ofmoments.”

Owain spread his hands upon the table before him, pushing asidethe parchments scattered there. “You are saying that Bledriap Rhys has been murdered. Under my roof. In my charge, however hemay have come there, friend or enemy, to all intent he was a guestin my house. This I will not abide.” He looked beyondCadfael, at Gwion’s sombre face. “You need not fearthat I will value my honest enemy’s life at less than any manof my own,” he said in generous reassurance.

“My lord,” said Gwion, very low, “that I neverdoubted.”

“If I must go after other matters now,” said Owain,“yet he shall have justice, if by any means I can ensure it.Who last saw the man, living?”

“I saw him leave the chapel, late,” said Cadfael,“and cross towards his own lodging. So did Brother Mark, whowas with me. Beyond that I cannot say.”

“At that time,” said Gwion, his voice a littlehoarse with constraint, “I was in the chapel. I talked withhim. I was glad to see a face I knew. But when he left I did notfollow.”

“Enquiry shall be made,” said Owain, “of allthe servants of the house, who would be the last wakeful about themaenol. See to it, Hywel. If any had occasion to pass there, andsaw either Bledri ap Rhys, or any man going or coming late abouthis door, bring the witness here. We muster at first light, but wehave yet a few hours before dawn. If this thing can be resolvedbefore I go to deal with my brother and his Danes, so much thebetter.”

Hywel departed on the word, laying his leaf of vellum down onthe table, and plucking a couple of men out of the council to speedthe search. There was to be no rest that night for the menservants,stewards and maids of Owain’s court, none for the members ofhis bodyguard, or the young men who followed him in arms. Bledri apRhys had come to Saint Asaph intending mischief, threateningmischief, and the cost had fallen on his own head, but the echoeswould spread outward like ripples from a stone flung into a pool,and scarify the lives of all here until murder was paid for.

“The dagger that was used,” said Owain, returning tohis quest like a hawk stooping. “It was not left in thewound?”

“It was not. Nor have I examined the wound so closely thatI dare guess what manner of blade it had. Your own men, my lord,will be able to hazard that as well as I. Better,” saidCadfael, “since even daggers change with years, and I am longout of the practice of arms.”

“And the bed, you say, had been slept in. At least lainin. And the man had made no preparation for riding, and left nosign he ever intended flight. It was not so vital a matter that Ishould set a man to watch him through the night. But there is yetanother mystery here,” said the prince. “For if he didnot make away with one of our horses, who did? There is no questionbut the beast is gone.”

It was a point that Cadfael, in his preoccupation withBledri’s death, had not even considered. Somewhere at theback of his mind he had felt the nagging and elusive misgiving thatsomething else would have to be investigated before the night wasover, but in the brief instants when he ventured to turn andattempt to see it clearly, it had vanished from the corner of hiseye. Suddenly confronted with the puzzle that had eluded him, heforesaw a lengthy and careful numbering of every soul in the maenolto find the one, the only one, lost without trace. Someone elsewould have to undertake that, for there could be no delay in theprince’s dawn departure.

“It is in your hands, my lord,” he said, “asare we all.”

Owain flattened a large and shapely hand upon the table beforehim. “My course is set, and cannot be changed untilCadwaladr’s Dublin Danes are sent back to their own land withclipped ears, if it comes to that. And you, Brothers, have your ownway to go, in less haste than my way, but not to be delayed,either. Your bishop is entitled to as strict service as princesexpect. Let us by all means consider, in what time we have left,which among us may have done murder. Then, if it must be leftbehind for another time, yet it shall not be forgotten. Come,I’ll see for myself how this ill matter looks, and thenwe’ll have the dead cared for, and see due reparation made tohis kin. He was no man of mine, but he did me no wrong, and suchright as I may I’ll do to him.”

They rejoined the gathering in the council chamberthe better part of an hour later. By then the body of Bledri apRhys was decently bestowed in the chapel, in the charge of theprince’s chaplain, and there was no more to be learned fromthe sparse furnishings of the room where he had died. No weaponremained to speak, even the flow of his blood was meagre, and leftsmall trace behind, the stab wound being neat, narrow and precise.It is not difficult to make a clean and exact job of stabbing tothe heart a man already laid senseless to your hand. Bledri couldscarcely have felt death remove him from the world.

“He was not a man to be greatly loved, I fancy,”Owain said as they crossed once more to the hall. “Many heremust have resented him, for he came arrogantly enough. It mighttake no more than a quarrelsome encounter, after that, to make aman lash out on impulse. But to kill? Would any man of mine take itso far, when I had made him my guest?”

“It would need a very angry man,” Cadfael owned,“to go so far in your despite. But it takes only an instantto strike, and less than an instant to forget all caution. He hadmade himself a number of enemies, even in the short time we allrode together.” Names were to be suppressed at all cost, buthe was thinking of the blackly murderous glare of Canon Meirion,beholding Bledri’s familiarity with his daughter, and theconsequent threat to a career the good canon had no intention ofrisking.

“An open quarrel would be no mystery,” said Owain.“That I could have resolved. Even if it came to a death, ablood price would have paid it, the blame would not have been allone way. He did provoke hatred. But to follow him to his bedchamberand hale him out of his bed? It is a very differentmatter.”

They passed through the hall and entered the council chamber.Every eye turned upon them as they came in. Mark and Gwion hadwaited with the rest. They stood close together, silent, as thoughthe very fact of discovering a death together had linked them in acontinuing fellowship that set them apart from the captains roundthe council table. Hywel was back before his father, and hadbrought with him one of the kitchen servants, a shaggy dark boy alittle puffy with sleep, but bright-eyed again with revivingwakefulness now that he knew of a sudden death, and had something,however small, to impart concerning it.

“My lord,” said Hywel, “Meurig here is thelatest I could find to pass by the lodgings where Bledri ap Rhyswas housed. He will tell you what he saw. He has not yet told it,we waited for you.”

The boy spoke up boldly enough. It seemed to Cadfael that he wasnot altogether convinced of the importance of what he had to say,though it pleased him well enough to be here declaring it. Itssignificance he was content to leave to the Princes.

“My lord, it was past midnight before I finished my work,and went through the passage there to my bed. There was no oneabout then, I was among the last. I did not see a soul until I cameby the third door in that range, where they tell me now this Bledriap Rhys was lodged. There was a man standing in the doorway,looking into the room, with the latch in his hand. When he heard mecoming he closed the door, and went away along thealley.”

“In haste?” asked Owain sharply. “Furtively?In the dark he could well slip away unrecognized.”

“No, my lord, no such matter. Simply, he drew the door to,and walked away. I thought nothing of it. And he took no care notto be seen. He said a goodnight to me as he went. As though he hadbeen seeing a guest safe to his bed—one none too steady onhis feet, or too sure of his way, it might be.”

“And you answered him?”

“Surely, my lord.”

“Now name him,” said Owain, “for I think youknew him well enough to call him by name then.”

“My lord, I did. Every man in your court of Aber has gotto know him and value him by now, though he came as a stranger whenfirst the lord Hywel brought him from Deheubarth. It wasCuhelyn.”

A sharp, indrawn breath hissed round the table.All heads turned, and all eyes fixed upon Cuhelyn, who satapparently unmoved at finding himself suddenly the centre of markedand loaded attention. His thick dark brows had risen in mildsurprise, even a trace of amusement.

“That is true,” he said simply. “That I couldhave told you, but for all I knew or know now there could have beenothers there after me. As certainly there was one. The last to seehim, living, no question. But that was not I.”

“Yet you offered us no word of this,” the princepointed out quietly. “Why not?”

“True, I did none too well there. It came a little tooclose home for comfort,” said Cuhelyn. “I opened mymouth once to say it, and shut it again with nothing said. Forsober truth is that I did have the man’s death in mind, andfor all I never touched him nor went in to him, when BrotherCadfael told us he lay dead, I felt the finger of guilt cold on myneck. But for solitude, and chance, and this lad coming along whenmost he was needed, yes, I might have been Bledri’s murderer.But I am not, thanks be to God!”

“Why did you go there, and at that hour?” askedOwain, giving no sign whether he believed or disbelieved.

“I went there to confront him. To kill him in singlecombat. Why at that hour? Because the hatred had taken hours tocome to the boil within me, and only then had I reached the lengthof killing. Also, I think, because I wished to make it clear pastdoubt that no other man was drawn into my quarrel, and no othercould be accused even of knowing what I did.” Cuhelyn’slevel voice remained quiet and composed still, but his face hadtightened until pale lines stood clear over the cheekbones andround the lean, strong angle of his jaw.

Hywel said softly, filling and easing the pause: “Aone-armed man against a seasoned warrior with two?”

Cuhelyn looked down indifferently at the silver circlet thatsecured the linen cover over the stump of his left arm. “Onearm or two, the end would have been the same. But when I opened hisdoor, there he lay fast asleep. I heard his breathing, long andplacid. Is it fair dealing to startle a man out of his sleep andchallenge him to the death? And while I stood there in the doorway,Meurig here came along. And I drew the door closed again, and wentaway, and left Bledri sleeping.

“Not that I gave up my purpose,” he said, rearinghis head fiercely. “Had he been living when the morning came,my lord, I meant to challenge him openly of his mortal offence, andcall him to battle for his life. And if you gave me countenance, tokill him.”

Owain was staring upon him steadily, and visibly probing themind that fashioned this bitter speech and gave it such passionateforce. With unshaken calm he said: “So far as is known to me,the man had done me no grave offence.”

“Not to you, my lord, beyond his arrogance. But to me, theworst possible. He made one among the eight that set upon us fromambush, and killed my prince at my side. When Anarawd was murdered,and this hand was lopped, Bledri ap Rhys was there in arms. Untilhe came into the bishop’s hall I did not know his name. Hisface I have never forgotten. Nor never could have forgotten, untilI had got Anarawd’s price out of him in blood. But someoneelse has done that for me. And I am free of him.”

“Say to me again,” Owain commanded, when Cuhelyn hadmade an end of this declaration, “that you left the manliving, and have no guilt in his death.”

“I did so leave him. I never touched him, his death is noguilt of mine. If you bid me, I will swear it on thealtar.”

“For this while,” said the prince gravely, “Iam forced to leave this matter unresolved until I come back fromAbermenai with a more urgent matter settled and done. But I stillneed to know who did the thing you did not do, for not all herehave your true quarrel against Bledri ap Rhys. And as I for my parttake your word, there may be many who still doubt you. If you giveyour word to return with me, and abide what further may be foundout, till all are satisfied, then come with me. I need you as I mayneed every good man.”

“As God sees me,” said Cuhelyn. “I will notleave you, for any reason, until you bid me go. And the happier, ifyou never do so bid me.”

The last and most unexpected word of a night ofthe unexpected lay with Owain’s steward, who entered thecouncil chamber just as the prince was rising to dismiss hisofficers, sufficiently briefed for the dawn departure. Provisionwas already made for the rites due to the dead. Gwion would remainat Aber, according to his oath, and had pledged his services tosend word to Bledri’s wife in Ceredigion, and conduct suchnecessary duties for the dead man as she demanded. A melancholyduty, but better from a man of the same allegiance. The morningmuster was planned with precision, and order given for the properprovision due to the bishop of Lichfield’s envoy on his wayto Bangor, while the prince’s force pursued the more directroad to Carnarvon, the old road that had linked the great forts bywhich an alien people had kept their footing in Wales, long ago.Latin names still clung to the places they had inhabited, thoughonly priests and scholars used them now; the Welsh knew them byother names. It was all prepared, to the last detail. Except thatsomehow the missing horse had been lost yet again, slipping throughthe cracks between greater concerns into limbo. Until Goronwy abEinion came in with the result of a long and devious enquiry intothe total household within the llys.

“My lord, the lord Hywel set me a puzzle, to find the oneperson who should be here, and is not. Our own household ofretainers and servants I thought well to leave aside, why shouldany among them take to his heels? My lord, the princess’swaiting woman knows the roll of her maids perfectly, and any guestswho are women are her charge. There is one girl who came in yourtrain yesterday, my lord, who is gone from the place allotted toher. She came here with her father, a canon of Saint Asaph, and asecond canon of that diocese travelled with them. We have notdisturbed the father as yet. I waited for your word. But there isno question, the young woman is gone. No one has seen her since thegates were closed.”

“God’s wounds!” swore Owain, between laughterand exasperation. “It was true what they told me! The darklass that would not be a nun in England—God keep her, whyshould she, a black Welshwoman as ever was!—and said yes toIeuan ab Ifor as a blessed relief by comparison—do you tellme she has stolen a horse and made off into the night before theguard shut us in? The devil!” he said, snapping his fingers.“What is the child’s name?”

“Her name is Heledd,” said Brother Cadfael.

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