"We must go to Cythraul," Rhonwyn said as they turned west. "I want to speak to my father before we beard this Rhys ap Daffydd."
"How far are we?" Rafe asked her, and Dewi answered.
"We should be there by nightfall," he said.
"Do you know this Rhys?" Rhonwyn asked Dewi.
"Only by reputation, lady. He is an ambitious man, they say," Dewi replied, "and never your father's friend."
They rode that bright November day over the green hills of Wales, seeing no one. Finally, as the sun was setting, the ramparts of Cythraul appeared ahead of them.
"I will go ahead to be certain it is safe," Dewi said, and kicked his mount forward while Rhonwyn and Rafe drew their horses aside in a thicket to await Dewi's signal. When it came they rode quickly into the fortress. Looking about her, Rhonwyn wondered that she had been raised in such a rough place.
"Rhonwyn, welcome home!" Morgan ap Owen lifted her from her saddle. "Why have you come?"
"Is my father here yet?" she answered his question with a question. "Oth went for him some days ago."
"He hasn't come, but then neither has Oth. Come into the hall, lass. And who is this fellow who accompanies you?"
"This is my husband, Rafe de Beaulieu," she answered.
"I thought you wed Edward de Beaulieu," Morgan replied.
"I did, but then our marriage was dissolved, and I wed his cousin Rafe. Rafe's sister married Edward. That is why I am here, Morgan ap Owen. Several days ago some Welsh came over the border and kidnapped Lady Katherine, believing she was me. It obviously has something to do with my father. We have to find Kate before she is harmed, and she will be when they learn she isn't me. I needed to meet with ap Gruffydd in a location where we wouldn't be observed so I could learn from him just what is going on, old friend."
"I understand," her old mentor said. "Well, there is nothing for you to do but sit down with us in the hall until he comes."
The evening meal was served, and they sat at table with Morgan ap Owen as bread, venison, and trout were placed before them. At first the men who had raised her were shy of Rhonwyn, but gradually they realized that while her manner had softened and she was a grown woman, she was still their lass. The hall soon became noisy as they told Rafe tales of her childhood, and he joined in their uproarious laughter at her many adventures and misadventures.
"I suppose," said Lug ap Barris, "that you're no longer the fine soldier you once were. After all, you're a mam now."
"Would you like to go hand-to-hand with me, Lug?" she asked him in a deceptively innocent voice.
He saw the look in her eye and chuckled. "Nay, Rhonwyn. 'Tis obvious I am mistaken."
"And who do you think will teach my son how to use the alborium, Lug? Is there anyone in your memory who can shoot as well as I?"
"Nay, Rhonwyn," he replied.
"You taught me well," she said softly, and he flushed with pleasure that she would remember him now that she was a lady.
Brenin, the ancient wolfhound, came and lay by her side. "He is my first dog," she told Rafe as she leaned over to stroke the old animal's head.
"Tell me of the laddie," Gwilym the cook said.
"He has joined the Benedictines in Shrewsbury," Rhonwyn said, "and is at the abbey. You would have been proud of him. When he learned I had disappeared while on crusade, he came to Palestine and sought me out by doing what King Richard's minstrel, Blondell, once did. He went about entertaining with song, singing his first song always in our Welsh tongue, waiting for an answer, and when he finally received it, he helped rescue me." Then she told them of her adventures and the reason for the dissolution of her marriage to Edward.
When she had concluded her tale Morgan op Owen spoke up for them all. "The Englishman was wrong to remarry so hastily."
"He was fearful of dying without heirs," Rhonwyn said, shrugging, "and he could hardly expect I would return to him. It was a miracle, but the other miracle was that I have found real love with Rafe, my friends. I hold no bitterness any longer toward Edward, and I love his wife, Katherine. I must find her, Morgan. She is a gentle woman, and she has two sons at Haven. One is yet new and at the breast."
"We'll help you, Rhonwyn," Morgan said. "You know you can count on the men of Cythraul."
They slept that night in the hall, cuddling in her old bedspace. Rafe fondled his wife's breasts, but after a purr of pleasure, she warned him off. "We cannot," she told him.
"Why not?" he murmured in her ear, licking softly at it.
"Would you embarrass the men who raised me by letting them hear the sounds of our passion, Rafe?"
In response he took her hand and placed it on his manhood, which was now rock hard. "You will owe me greatly for this enforced abstinence, lady," he told her, and then kissed her mouth sweetly.
"I always meet my debts, my lord," she responded with a smile.
In the late afternoon of the following day Llywelyn ap Gruffydd appeared in the company of Oth. "How is my grandson?" he asked.
"Thriving, and with your chin, my lord," she told him.
The prince turned and looked at Rafe sharply. "Is this the one they married you to after Edward de Beaulieu betrayed you?"
"Aye, and I love him, so there is no harm done," Rhonwyn quickly replied. "Rafe, come and give your hand in friendship to my sire."
Rafe held out his hand to Llywelyn ap Gruffydd. "My lord."
The prince grasped the hand and said, "If she is happy, then I will accept you, Rafe de Beaulieu. You look a better man than Edward."
"I am," Rafe replied without a moment's hesitation.
Ap Gruffydd stared hard at him a moment, and then he burst out laughing. "By the rood, Rhonwyn, here indeed is your match, and I thank God for it, for certainly I have done little enough for you, daughter."
"You are a great man, Tad, and have great things to do," she answered him with a small smile.
"Your mam always said that to me," he said, a cloud briefly flitting over his features.
"I know," Rhonwyn responded.
"Wine, my lord?" Gwilym was at his side with a large goblet.
"Aye," the prince said, taking it and gulping down a swallow. "Come, daughter, and let us sit by the fire while you tell me what it is you desire of me. I will grant it if it is in my power."
They sat, and she explained the unfortunate situation to him as he drank his wine and listened closely. When she had finished, he spoke.
"It will be Rhys ap Daffydd without a doubt who holds the lady Katherine hostage. He is a weasel of a man and a coward to boot. Long ago I caught him in a treacherous plot with the English. Few would have anything to do with him after I exposed him. You were just a wee lass then, Rhonwyn. He always said he would have his revenge upon me for it. Now he seeks to take advantage of my dispute with King Edward."
"I think he means to kill you," Rhonwyn said quietly.
"Aye, that would be his way. Then he would gain more favor with his English masters, and Wales would fall to them. I will not have it! We cannot, of course, storm Aberforth, for he might kill the lady Katherine. Yet we still might make him believe I am coming to the aid of my daughter without endangering her."
"First we must be certain Kate is there," Rhonwyn said. "Let us send Oth into Aberforth as your messenger with a date for your meeting with Rhys. Oth will insist upon seeing the hostage so he may return to you and tell you your daughter is being well cared for at Aberforth. Then Rafe, Dewi, and I shall enter the stronghold disguised as wandering entertainers. Such people are always welcome, and I have had experience enough as I worked my way back from Palestine with Glynn. Once inside Aberforth we shall rescue Kate."
"How?" the prince demanded.
"I shall kill Rhys," Rhonwyn said quietly.
"How?" the prince asked as quietly.
"With my alborium, Tad. I can do it, never fear," Rhonwyn told him. "This man has taken Kate from her family and means you harm. I have no qualms about killing him."