The Uninvited Guest (4 page)

“
What?” The failed assassin
struggled to sit up but couldn’t manage it on his own. After
watching him try to shift himself without success, Gareth helped
him, half dragging, half-carrying him to rest with his back to the
rough planks of the wall.

Hywel’s hands were on his hips again.
“You’re telling us you don’t know who you are?”

The boy gazed around the small room.
“N-n-no. I can’t remember! What happened to me?”

Gareth was disgusted. “You took a hard
fall.”

“
I did?” The youth put a
hand to the back of his head and came away with blood.

Hywel crouched in front of
the boy. At the sight of Hywel’s intense face, the boy dug his
heels into the dirt floor, scrabbling and pressing his back to the
wall. “Wh-what’s going on?” He looked away, presenting his cheek to
Hywel.
Pathetic.

“
That’s what we’re trying
to get out of you,” Hywel said. “You entered the hall just now with
a knife and tried to stab the king with it. You don’t
remember?”

“
N-n-no, my lord! Please
tell me this is a jest! It can’t be true!”

“
I don’t believe this.”
Gareth kicked at a clump of dirty straw at his feet.

Hywel gazed at the boy for a count of three
and then straightened. The boy’s eyes remained wide and he breathed
rapidly, as if in a panic. Of course, if Gareth had been caught
with a knife in the act of trying to murder the King of Gwynedd,
he’d be panicking too.

Hywel backed off and turned to Gareth,
lowering his voice as he spoke. “It could be true. We’ve seen it
before in men who have taken a fall.”

“
It could, but it’s mighty
convenient—for him and for the one who paid him to kill the king,
if he was indeed paid.” Gareth surveyed the boy, who put his hand
to the back of his head again, feeling under his hair. “Men have
landed harder and fallen farther with fewer ill
effects.”

“
And some have died,” Hywel
said.

“
Who are you?” the boy’s
voice trembled and he pointed towards Gareth with a wavering
finger.

Gareth glowered at him. “Someone you should
be very afraid of.”

“
Let’s try this another
way.” Hywel’s eyes glinted.

Gareth understood what Hywel wanted without
needing him to articulate it. He smirked at his prince and then
stepped up to the youth, grasped him by his shirt, and hauled him
to his feet. He pushed him against the planks of the wall and shook
him once.

“
Who is your lord? Who paid
you to kill Owain Gwynedd?”

“
I d-d-don’t know what
you’re talking about!”

Gareth thrust him against
the wall again. The back of the boy’s head snapped into the wood.
His eyes rolled. Given that he was already bleeding in that spot,
it had to have hurt. The boy was so convincing, Gareth began to
wonder if he wasn’t faking ignorance. He
had
fallen hard.

Hywel crowded close, getting right in
Gareth’s face. “Let him go! Can’t you see he’s hurt!”

Gareth glared at Hywel, and then released
the boy, who dropped to the floor like a child’s doll, legs and
arms splayed.

“
Listen to reason, my
lord!” Gareth said. “Have you gone as soft in your head as in your
heart? Your father could have died!”

“
But he didn’t, and this
boy, here, obviously isn’t the mastermind behind the plot.” Hywel
crouched beside the boy again. “Someone will tend to your wounds
shortly. Can’t you remember anything? Anything at all about why you
brought a knife to my father’s hall?”

“
Prince Hywel—” Gareth
managed a good growl and Hywel’s lips twitched. At that point,
Gareth figured he’d better shut up or they’d both give the game
away.

“
I will see to this, Sir
Gareth.” Hywel pointed to the doorway. “Stand over there.” He
turned back to the boy. “Now. Tell me what you do
remember.”

The youth licked his lips, glanced from
Hywel to Gareth, who continued to glower at him. The boy cowered
against the wall until Hywel shifted to block Gareth from his view.
“I-I-I remember coming into the castle with many other people. It
was mid-morning, I think.”

Gareth glanced at Taran, who was standing
with his arms folded across his chest a few paces from the boy. He
nodded. “That’s right.”

The boy turned his head as if seeing Taran
for the first time. “I spoke with someone about serving the king.
He gave me a piece of warm bread with butter before I started work
… was I hired to work in the kitchens?”

Taran stepped closer. “Yes, you were. I
hired you. Do you remember my face?”

“
It is you! I do remember
you!” The boy’s eyes widened. “You were the one who ordered me to
kill the king!”

Taran’s mouth fell open. “What? That’s
ridiculous!”

“
No! No! It was
you!”

Hywel swung around, gazed at Taran for six
heartbeats and then stood. He waved a hand at Taran and Gareth,
indicating that they should follow him, and marched from the room.
“I’ll be back.” He kicked the door closed behind him.

“
Make a note of what he
says,” Gareth said to one of the guards, a friend named Alun. “But
don’t believe it.”

Alun nodded. “Yes, my lord.” The other guard
nodded nervously.

“
And don’t tell anyone what
has passed here tonight,” Gareth said. “Either Prince Hywel or I
will return before your relief and speak to both of
you.”

Hywel locked the door behind him and
pocketed the key. “No one goes inside without my permission, is
that clear?”

“
What about food and
water?” Alun said. “And his head wound—”

“
Not for anything!” Hywel
said. “Not unless I am there to witness it!”

Another nod and two
yes, my lords
. Hywel waved
again at Gareth and Taran. “Come.”

They came, with Taran hurrying to come
abreast with Hywel. “I had nothing to do with this. King Owain has
been my friend—”

“
He has been your friend. I
am willing to believe the boy is lying—about this and the fact that
he can’t remember anything. I’m not going to throw you into a cell,
as my father did to Gareth last summer, not on the word of that
boy.” Hywel stopped and grabbed Taran’s arm. “If you know more than
you’re telling, however, speak now. I can give you the benefit of
the doubt because you have been a friend, but I will get to the
bottom of this. You know that.”

“
I do, my lord.” Taran
swallowed hard. “I swear to you, the boy lies.”

Gareth fell in behind them. Taran had
sweated enough for all four men, and that meant he was nervous.
Maybe he didn’t hire the boy to kill the king … but was that the
whole truth? And what about Prince Hywel? Gareth couldn’t get the
idea out of his head that Taran wasn’t the only one who knew more
than he was telling.

Chapter Four

G
walchmai began to sing within moments of Gareth leaving the
hall. King Owain was attempting to distract his guests from what
had happened, not that anyone was likely to forget that someone had
just tried to murder him. To Gwalchmai’s credit, his glorious
soprano quieted the crowd, if only for the time he took to sing his
song. They’d get back to speculation and gossip soon enough. King
Owain had to know it.

As Gwen edged her way through the press of
people, she glanced towards the high table. King Owain must have
been waiting for her to look at him because his eyes were already
upon her. He lifted one finger—just a casual gesture but one that
Gwen recognized—and after a moment’s hesitation (because she was
having trouble encompassing the fact that the king wanted to speak
to her), she changed direction.

When she reached the dais, he waved her
around the table and then scooted back his seat to sit
catty-corner, one elbow resting on the arm of the chair and a
finger to his lips. Gwen came to a halt within two feet of him.
King Owain intimidated her and she found her hands worrying at each
other underneath her apron. She stilled them and then clasped them
behind her back. Lord Tomos sat at the king’s right hand, in the
seat Rhun had occupied during the feast. The young prince had left
the high table to mingle with the guests. Rhun’s smile and good
cheer made him welcome everywhere and would help to soothe King
Owain’s guests.

“
Tell me what you saw,
Gwen,” King Owain said.

Gwen swallowed, finding her mouth dry. The
gold links in the chain around King Owain’s neck glinted in the
torchlight and she focused on them instead of on his eyes. It made
it easier to keep her voice level. “The boy arrived in the doorway
to the kitchen as you were toasting Lady Cristina. He put down his
tray and stood next to me. I thought nothing of it or him at the
time.”

“
At what point did you see
the knife?”

“
As he drew it,” Gwen said.
“And then I was so surprised, it was as if my feet were frozen to
the floor. I am so sorry that I didn’t stop him before he reached
you.”

King Owain coughed a laugh. “Your Gareth
very ably filled that need. For your part, you have already been of
more help to me than any young woman of my acquaintance.”

Gwen blushed. She couldn’t help it. King
Owain gestured to Lord Tomos. “My friend, this is Gwen, the young
lady who uncovered my brother’s plot last summer.”

“
To be beautiful
and
intelligent is a
blessed combination. It is no wonder you keep her close, my lord.”
Tomos took Gwen’s hand and kissed the back of it.

“
Thank you.” Gwen tried to
tug away her hand but Tomos still held it, smiling into her eyes
and making it hard for her to find anything to say. She glanced
down at her feet.

“
You’ll have to find
yourself another, as I have.” King Owain didn’t notice Gwen’s
unease and he clapped Tomos on the shoulder. “She’s taken, my
friend.”

“
Is she?” Tomos said. “When
is your wedding, my dear?”

“
G-G-Gareth and I haven’t
had a chance to speak of it since he returned from Ceredigion, my
lord.” As she said Gareth’s name, Gwen managed to retrieve her hand
from Tomos’ grasp. “Soon, we hope.”

“
How delightful.” Tomos
nodded to his king and then stood. “If I might take my leave, my
lord, I must ensure that Goronwy stays awake. We still have to
complete some preparations for your wedding. It will be one of the
finest days in Aber’s history.”

“
Yes, it will.” King Owain
laughed and snapped his fingers, indicating that the servant behind
him, who had taken Gwen’s place on the dais after the assassination
attempt, should bring him more wine. “A fine day
indeed.”

Gwen still stood before him, surprised by
his rolling laughter, but understanding it, too. The shock of his
near death experience was fading, replaced by amusement that he
lived to fight another day. He was drunk at the moment on more than
just wine.

“
Why must Lord Goronwy stay
awake?” she said. “What preparations?”

“
Nothing that concerns you,
my dear.” King Owain waved a hand dismissively. “My friends have
sworn to uphold the tradition of maintaining an honor guard outside
my room tonight.”

Gwen wondered if some of Gareth’s friends
would do the same for him when the time came. Probably. It sounded
like something Evan would gleefully organize, complete with far too
much mead for everyone to drink.

“
Tell me, Gwen,” King Owain
said, “why is it that my enemies are unable to accomplish these
heinous deeds themselves? Over and over again, they hire others.
None have the courage to meet me face-to-face.”

King Owain had to be
thinking of Cadwaladr, but Gwen thought of Hywel, who
had
faced Anarawd when he
killed him, even if nobody witnessed it and he’d caught him
unawares. “Because they’re not great men,” she said.

Owain gazed out at the crowd, which had
turned animated once Gwalchmai’s song had ended. King Owain was
allowing the servants to be freer with the drink than he might have
otherwise. Gwen’s father had his eyes fixed on the high table,
waiting for a signal as to whether he and Gwalchmai should play and
sing again.

King Owain caught his eye, nodded, and then
turned back to Gwen. “I’ll speak to Hywel. I suppose you and Gareth
should poke around at this. See what you can discover.”

“
Yes, my lord.” Gwen
curtseyed.

Owain caught her wrist before she could turn
away. “Discreetly, this time, eh? I don’t want you ending up in
Dublin again. That young lad of yours would never forgive me.”

Gwen didn’t want that either. “No, my
lord.”

Owain still hadn’t let her go. “And if my
brother is somehow involved in this, you tell me straight
away.”

Instinctively, Gwen glanced towards the fire
where she’d last seen Cadwaladr holding court. He was still there.
Even in his disgrace, sycophants and men who thought him their
friend surrounded him. Cadwaladr had no friends—only those who
served him or might serve him. Without stopping to think, she said,
“Could he have done this?” She swallowed hard. It wasn’t her place
to pose such a question to the king.

“
I don’t want this to be
his doing,” King Owain said, surprisingly frank with her. “I’m glad
I have your betrothed watching my back.”

Gwen swung her eyes back to the king’s and
was pleased to see that his were alight with good humor.