Footsteps in Time (11 page)

“
Don’t worry, Anna.” He
spoke in English in case others were near enough to overhear.
“Father isn’t going to put me in the front lines the first day on
the job. This week we’ve talked more about the future of Wales. He
says that Wales exists now under a sentence of death. Each day he
lives is a reprieve of sorts, and he’s determined to live until he
sees me grown. Unlike his father or grandfather, he has no other
son. I won’t fight unless I have to.”

He squeezed her hand and
let go. Back straight and eyes forward to where Prince Llywelyn
waited near the castle gate, David brought his horse through the
ranks of cavalry, which parted respectfully. When he reached the
head of the lines of troops, he approached his father and bowed his
head. Prince Llywelyn smiled, more with his eyes than with his
mouth, but his face looked as bright and excited as David’s. He
reached out to David and they clasped forearms as they’d done that
first morning when he and Anna had arrived. With that, a huge cheer
went up from the men and women in the courtyard.

Anna’s lips trembled and
she put a hand to her mouth as the tears began to fall. She pulled
up her hood to hide her face.

Gwladys tugged it back
down. “He’ll want to see your face as he leaves. You must smile and
wave at him. From this distance, he cannot see your tears and you
must pretend they’re not there.”

Without replying, Anna held up a hand
as Gwladys had suggested and was glad of her advice, because just
then David turned for one last look. Anna smiled and waved and he
raised his own hand in salute.

Then he was
gone.

Anna watched until the entire company
had ridden away. Then she turned to Gwladys, put her head on her
shoulder, and wept. Gwladys held her and patted her back until she
quieted.

Anna took a deep breath.
“I’m sorry, Gwladys. I don’t know why I’m so upset.”

“
Are you afraid for his
life?” she said. “Surely you know he’ll be well
protected.”

“
It’s not
that.” Anna realized she
wasn’t
crying out of fear for David or even for herself.
She was crying because what she’d witnessed was one of the most
magical things she’d ever seen, or thought to see. David had found
his father, and Prince Llywelyn his son, to the acknowledgment of
all, and with this the world was a completely different
place.

Gwladys set off towards the great
hall, but when Anna held back, turned with a questioning look. Anna
shook her head. She couldn’t go back inside, back to her embroidery
and her baby tending.

“
I’m going for a ride,” she
said.

“
Are you sure?” Gwladys
said. “It’s very cold today.”

“
I’m sure.” Anna turned
and headed towards the stables.

“
You won’t go alone?”
Gwladys called after her.

“
I’ll take a groom with
me,” Anna said over her shoulder. “There’s no need to worry. I’m
only going for a ride, not into battle!”

Anna gave a little wave,
and Gwladys went inside. Anna reached the stables and passed many
empty stalls before she found her horse. She looked around for
someone to take with her, but all her usual companions had left
with the cavalry. The only person available was Hywel, the boy
they’d met that first day in Prince Llywelyn’s camp. Anna called
him to her. He looked like he’d grown two inches in the last month,
just like David.

“
Would you be free to ride
with me today?” Anna said.

“
Yes, my lady!” he said. “I
would be honored.”

As he saddled the horses, Anna
reflected that he seemed as infected by the excitement of the day
as everyone else. It was a good thing she was going out so she
couldn’t dampen anyone else’s good mood.

As they rode from the
castle, the wind was brisk, but as always, the scenery was
spectacular and Anna’s spirits rose. The mountains loomed above
them in all their splendor and she resolved to ride every morning,
regardless of the cold.
David will be fine.
Wales will win out. All will be well.

For the next two days, Anna
rode with Hywel and tried not to be gloomy. On the third day, they
were headed home, leading their horses through the trees instead of
riding because the branches were heavy with snow and lower to the
ground. Anna probably could have ridden Madoc under them because
both she and her mount were short, but Hywel’s horse wasn’t as
gentle as hers and had a habit of trying to brush Hywel off. The
warriors had left this particular creature behind because of that
habit, and they’d regretted bringing him multiple times already.
They hurried now because they’d left for their ride late, well
after noon, and it would soon be dark.

All thoughts of time vanished,
however, as they ducked under some particularly low branches. A
shout of laughter followed by the words, “You are a fine fool!”
came through the trees.

Anna froze. She couldn’t believe it.
It was English—a weird sort of English with unfamiliar vowels,
which would probably be written something like ‘Yow ar a fyn fole’
by the medieval-obsessed people Mom hung out with, but
understandable to Anna, nonetheless.

They waited, hardly daring to breathe
and praying that the men weren’t coming their way. More laughter
and murmurs were followed by the sound of men relieving themselves
in the bushes—a most distinctive sound and, sad to say, one Anna
had grown accustomed to hearing over the last weeks.

After another minute the feet tramped
away, moving to the east. Hywel leaned towards Anna. “We must
return to the castle!”

Anna thought for a second, and then
shook her head. “Here,” she said, handing him Madoc’s reins. “Stay
here! I must follow those men.”

“
My lady, no!” Hywel said,
shocked. “You cannot! They’re English!”

“
Yes, Hywel, I know,” Anna
said, “but before we go home I must find out how many there are,
where they’re camping, and perhaps even what they’re up to. By the
time we find someone to help us, they may have hidden themselves in
the woods and it’ll be too late.”

Anna took a step in the direction the
men had gone but Hywel reached out and grasped her arm. “My lady!”
he said, even more anxious than before. “I can’t allow it. I’ll go.
You return to the castle and raise the alarm.”

“
You don’t speak English,
Hywel.” Anna was trying to remain patient, though she was worried
that the men might disappear before she’d worked this out with
Hywel. “I do.” Then she saw his fear and his sincerity and thought
better of her plan.

“
All right,” she said.
“We’ll go together.”

Hywel tied the horses to a
nearby tree and they set off, single file. Anna let Hywel lead, in
concession to his masculinity and the fact that he knew these woods
better than she did. He found the footprints of the two men without
any trouble and they followed them another quarter of a mile before
they saw signs of more men and horses. At the bottom of an incline,
they looked up through the trees and spotted a group of men at the
top, moving about in a purposeful way.

They crouched behind a bush and looked
at each other, not really knowing what to do.

“
We wait,” Anna
said.

Hywel nodded,
fortunately without asking Anna to explain what they were waiting
for.
A chance. A break.
They burrowed into the bush and tried to keep warm, wrapping
their cloaks close. One thing Anna had found hard to get used to in
Wales was the constant chill. Whether outside or in, unless she was
close to a fire, she was cold. Even wrapped in a cloak, with two
layers of stockings and woolen leggings under her dress, she
couldn’t defeat it.

Anna occupied herself with fruitless
speculation about what the English might be planning. Some kind of
attack on Castell y Bere seemed likely, but it seemed equally
impossible for them to have brought enough men this deep into
Gwynedd for a frontal assault.

The sun began to set. Darkness would
make their journey back to the castle more treacherous, but it
would allow them to sneak closer to the camp and perhaps learn
something about what the English were doing in Wales. Anna worried
that Gwladys would miss her soon, but had no remedy for that. After
what seemed like hours, but was probably only forty-five minutes,
it was dark enough and Hywel stirred.

“
Lady Anna, it is time,” he
said.

They crawled from the bush and Anna
followed Hywel up the hill, crouching low and moving slowly. It was
hard for Anna to keep on her feet in the slippery snow. She lost
her footing more than once, falling to her knees and silently
cursing, before struggling upwards again. Once at the top, they
found themselves on the edge of the camp but well out of the
firelight.

Hywel squatted behind a prickly bush
and gestured to Anna to stay behind him. She peered over his
shoulder at the camp which bustled with men, all wearing unadorned,
white surcoats, perhaps in an effort to blend in with their
surroundings. Anna counted forty men and an equal number of horses,
but few tents. Apparently, most of the men would spend the night on
open ground, as they had during the journey from Cilmeri with
Papa.

A small group of men
conferred around one fire. They spoke quietly, without laughter.
One of them had a big red beard and by that alone Anna would have
known he wasn’t Welsh. Three others had been waiting near a tree,
and the bearded man signaled to them to join him. As they
approached, he rose to his feet and spoke. The men nodded and then
broke away. One of them headed for the horses, and the other two
walked straight towards Anna and Hywel.

The two friends
looked at each other, trying not to panic, and shrank lower against
the bush. Fortunately, the men didn’t see them but veered towards
the trees just to their right. They stopped about fifteen feet from
where Anna and Hywel hid and when Anna realized what they were
doing, she closed her eyes in dismay.
Men
must have amazingly small bladders!
She
couldn’t block out the noise, but then didn’t want to, because the
men spoke to each other and she could hear them
clearly.

One of the men said, “So
this Rhys will give us the castle as easily as that? We can walk in
before dawn and take it?”

The other man snorted.
“These Welsh traitors will sell their own mother if the price is
right. They’re good for nothing. Their women can’t even heat a
man’s bed.”

The first man laughed. Anna was glad
Hywel couldn’t understand the words, even if there was no mistaking
the tone.

“
That Welsh princess will
be like the rest. Better that after tomorrow she spends her life
under Edward’s thumb!”

Anna swallowed a
gasp.
She couldn’t believe it. She knew
from her mom that the English
had
kidnapped Gwenllian in the old world after Papa
died. And here it was, happening right in front of
her.

The two men finished their
business. The instant they reentered the firelight, Anna backed
down the hill, tugging on Hywel’s cloak to get him to come with
her. She didn’t want to wait to find out more. Hywel caught her
urgency and slid after Anna. When they reached the bottom, they ran
hand in hand through the snow, keeping each other upright. It took
twenty minutes to find their horses in the dark forest. Hywel
untied the reins and threw Anna up on Madoc’s back. She started to
protest, but he shushed her and took Madoc’s lead. Anna lay flat
against the horse’s neck to avoid the low branches on the trail.
Hywel led them until they reached a place where both could ride
upright, and then they took the shortest road home as quickly as
they dared in the dark.

Less than an hour later the
bulk of Castell y Bere came into view and Hywel stopped. Anna
looked up at it, uncertain what needed to happen next. Hywel turned
off the main path and stopped.

“
Can you tell me now what
was said?” he said. “You think we’re in danger?”

“
One of the Englishmen said
that a traitor named Rhys will turn the castle over to the English
before dawn,” Anna said. “Do you know of whom he
speaks?”

Hywel coughed, choking on
his fear. “Rhys is the captain of the castle garrison that remains.
If he’s a traitor, then it would be a simple matter for him to let
the English in. They could even enter through the front gate! No
one would be the wiser until the castle was under English command.”
Hywel contemplated the wall in front of him. “Did they name other
traitors? Did they say anything else?”

“
I’m afraid I didn’t hear,
Hywel,” Anna said. “They said some unpleasant things about Welsh
women, but after they threatened Gwenllian’s life, I didn’t want to
stay and hear more!”

“
Gwenllian!” Hywel
said.

“
We must stop them!” Anna
said.

Hywel looked down at his
feet, then scuffed at the snow, revealing the fallen leaves
moldering underneath. “I don’t know how, Lady Anna.” He refused to
look at her, and his voice sad and regretful. “I’m only a stable
boy and I don’t know who we can trust if we can’t trust Master
Rhys.”