It was midmorning two days later and they were making ready to leave for Wales. She had never seen Rhys so tense before.
Is he always like this before he sets out on the road?
With Deri having traveled on to Ruthin Castle the previous day in order to announce his future marriage, she didn’t have the opportunity to ask Rhys’s cousin as to his odd behavior.
“Yes, I think I have everything. Polly kindly packed us a basket with various things to pick and peck while on the road. It’s in the travel coach,” she replied.
Rhys started for the front door, then turned when it was clear Wister hadn’t followed.
He may well be wanting to wait until they were in Carno to talk further, but she wasn’t going to delay having this conversation. “Why are you in such a rush to leave? It will only take us a few hours to reach Crossgates. Or are you not a good traveler?” she asked.
“I am perfectly fine in a coach. I have decided that we are to make for Newtown today, which is a good deal farther on than Crossgates. I want your first view of Carno Castle to be in the early hours of the morning, which staying at Newtown will allow. That’s, of course, if the snow is not too far on the ground. It’s always a bit touch and go this close to Christmas.”
She scowled. What possible difference could there be in seeing a castle in the hour after dawn or in the middle of the day? “You Welsh do have some odd habits,” she replied.
Rhys took a hold of Wister’s arm and led her toward the door. He held it open for her, stealing a quick kiss on her cheek as she stepped through.
“Aros nes I chi wel hud Cymru,” he said.
“What does that mean?”
“Wait until tomorrow, then you will understand.”
The magic of Wales. As she took in the view of the heavy morning fog swirling around the top of the old keep of Carno Castle, Wister finally understood what Rhys’s words meant. It truly was a magical place. She could just imagine what the old castle would have looked like when it was still fully intact.
Now all that remained was the gatehouse and the snow-dusted ruins.
Rhys had gone into the nearby Carno village to let the local villagers know that he was back, and to organize some supplies for them. Wister meanwhile delighted in wandering about the castle grounds.
In the center of what had obviously been the main bailey was now a space carpeted with green grass, topped with a thin layer of overnight snow. High stone walls rose up on three sides. The remains of the old wooden beams which at one time had supported two levels of floors could also be seen. “I wonder what happened here?” she mused.
“A furious fire, followed by a spot of slighting by some Parliamentarian soldiers.”
She smiled as Rhys came to stand beside her. His footsteps had been silent across the soft white of the lawn.
“My forebears picked the wrong side during the English Civil War. In 1644, Newtown fell to Cromwell’s forces. The Morgan family were on the Royalist side, so Carno Castle suffered. They burnt it and then took to it with heavy canons to make certain it wouldn’t be rebuilt,” he said.
Rhys’s words were delivered matter-of-factly, but Wister caught the hint of pain in them. The war had seen his family’s home of some four hundred years destroyed, lost forever.
He offered her his hand. “Come. Let me show you the rest of the site, then we can go to the gatehouse and have something to eat.”
Carno Castle itself was not large, but it still dwarfed everything in the surrounding area. At the back of the keep there was a small, narrow set of steps. Wister and Rhys climbed up them and then stopped at what she surmised had once been the entrance to the first floor of the main building.
“We cannot go any higher, but this at least affords you a view of Carno valley,” said Rhys.
Below them stretched out a low land, nestled under snow clouds. It had been snowing lightly since they arrived, but Wister was pleasantly surprised to discover Carno was not cold. The wind was barely above a slight breeze.
“It’s a speckled wonder of green and white from up here,” she said.
Rhys came to stand behind her. Wister lay her head back against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her waist. They had only made the first step from being friends to possibly something else over the past few days, but already she was comfortable in his embrace.
“All of Wales is green—though they do say that Carno is a hundred shades of verdant emerald. You should see it in the Spring. Legend has it that Saint Patrick picked up a piece of Ireland and gifted it to Saint David on this side of the Irish Sea, and that is where Carno began.”
She chortled softly. “I think you might have just made that story up.”
He gasped in feigned outrage. “Are you saying we Welsh are tellers of tall tales?”
Wister turned in Rhys’s arms and grinned up at him. “Not exactly. I just think you are trying to impress me, Baron Carno.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Am I succeeding?”
She paused for a moment, suddenly unsure of herself. There were many things she wanted to tell him, but the fear of uncertainty over her future with Rhys held her back. What was she to say?
Her bravery faltered. A change in subject the only way out. “Why did you bring me to Wales?” she asked.
The frown on his face immediately told her that Rhys didn’t like her answering his question with a different one.
Hold fast now, Wister. Don’t let your foolish heart allow you to make a fateful decision that you later come to regret. Rhys has to be prepared to give you everything. Settle for nothing less than what you deserve.
He loosened his hold and she took a step back. “Wister, I brought you here because I have two major life-changing decisions to make, both of which require your opinion. The first being, what am I to do with Carno Castle? Do I sell Kington House and put all my money into restoring some of the ruins here, which means remaining in Wales? Or do I give up my ancestral home and try to make the other estate pay?”
She could understand why Rhys was torn. The decision was a difficult one. “I don’t know if I can give you an answer to that question. Well at least not right now.”
Rhys met her gaze and held it. “Wister, please. Take a walk around the grounds. Look at the place. You have been running Kington House for over a year, so you have a good idea as to how much things cost. I value your opinion highly and would like to know what you think.”
She considered his request. It was a difficult decision and she could appreciate why he would wish for a second opinion. “Alright, I will do some sums and then give you my considered thoughts. But I will also take into account your family’s heritage and ties to this place as part of my recommendations. This is Morgan land and your bloodline will forever be bound to Carno Castle.”
After leading her back down to ground level, Rhys left Wister in the castle grounds while he went to check on arrangements at the gatehouse. He had given her a tough challenge, but she felt more than up to the task.
Wister took a deep breath as Rhys disappeared out of the main part of the castle ruins, leaving only his footprints in the snow. Alone with her thoughts, she pondered the conundrum he had set for her. Carno Castle was Rhys’s spiritual home, but it was also a shattered ruin. Moving to Kington House would mean him leaving Wales and setting up in England. Not a small ask.