“Would you come with me now?” he said. “We can locate the majordomo and discover how you may assist him.”
Not oblivious to the fact that Kevin was shifting the focus away from him and her flattering words, which may have been a little too heavy-handed, Juliandra rushed to find her leather shoes. The new dress was lightweight and much more functional than the elaborate confection she’d been wearing, and she moved swiftly and confidently in it. Strange as it seemed, there was also something special about it because Kevin had helped her secure it.
It had been an odd bonding moment.
While she should have been feeling depressed and doomed to have returned to her captivity at Wybren, the truth was that she wasn’t feeling sorrowful in the least. When she was looking forward to charming the man and perhaps having her father released sooner, just the opposite was happening.
Little did she realize that Kevin was charming her instead.
CHAPTER TEN
Llanwyffyn Stronghold
Home of Aeron ap Gruffudd
The home of Aeron ap Gruffudd looked more like a prison.
It had been in his family for generations, situated alongside a pristine lake that, from certain angles, looked as if the water actually touched the sky. But it was the only thing touched by Aeron that was beautiful, for the lands that had belonged to his family for hundreds of years were mostly void of anything useful, stripped by hungry animals or men looking for things to eat or burn in their hearths.
Aeron had about two hundred men who lived in or around Llanwyffyn, men who served him, but he didn’t supply them with anything more than lands to live on. They had to supply everything else.
Megsy had never been to Llanwyffyn, but she’d heard tale of it. It was an odd place, as if the lands around it were darker, somehow. Other than the lake, everything seemed gloomier, like a land that had been drained of anything caring or lovely, the sentiment burned out of it long ago.
These were Megsy’s thoughts as she stood in the hall of Llanwyffyn. If the lands were devoid of life, the interior of Llanwyffyn’s keep was like being thrown into the middle of a nightmare. The floor leaned and was pocked with holes in places, packs of snarling dogs roamed the chamber, and an unnaturally large fire blazed in a pit in the middle of it. Smoke filled the chamber because the holes in the roof where it was supposed to escape were blocked with bird droppings.
But none of it seemed to bother Aeron. He was a tall man with stringy black hair and a patch over his right eye, lost in a fight in his youth. The two sergeants that had accompanied Megsy from The Neath were the ones to deliver the news to Aeron that the object of his affection and her father were now prisoners of the new English Lord of Wybren Castle.
Aeron wasn’t usually one to show any interest in most things around him, but when it came to Juliandra ferch Gethin, he was quite interested. He and a few of his men listened to the sergeants speak of Juliandra’s captivity, and Gethin’s capture, with growing outrage. By the time the sergeants were finished, Aeron was on his feet.
“How long ago did this happen?” he demanded.
“Less than a week,” the first sergeant answered. “They’re both captive at Wybren. Can you help us, great lord?”
Aeron’s nostrils flared. “Damn,” he rumbled. “I knew something like this was going to happen, something terrible. I told that English knight that he is not welcome here, but he dismissed me. I have even sent word to my cousin about him, asking for help, but now I cannot wait for that help. The Saesneg has pushed my hand because he has taken what belongs to me. This will not stand.”
Megsy was growing increasingly fearful as she listened to Aeron rant. “She went to pay the toll for her father,” she said, trying not to weep. “He took her for payment instead!”
She blew her nose into her apron as Aeron scowled. “Foolish wench,” he said. “She should have never gone alone. Of course the Saesneg is going to demand that she stay. He has probably already taken that which belongs to me!”
He meant her innocence. The sergeants from The Neath passed glances, confident that they’d worked Aeron into enough of a frenzy that he would do something about the situation. Where Aeron was concerned, it often took very little prompting for him to fly into a rage, especially where Juliandra was involved.
His jealousy would consume him like nothing else.
“I can give you about twenty men, my lord,” the first sergeant said. “I wish it could be more.”
But Aeron waved him off. “Keep your men,” he said. “I have my own. I can raise more.”
One of Aeron’s men, a cousin, in fact, spoke from behind him. “What do you have in mind?”
Aeron turned to look at the son of his father’s brother, a man he had been raised with. “We should have never let the Saesneg take possession of Wybren, Adan,” he said. “We should have done something the very day the knight took possession, but Glynn would not help me. Do you recall? He was reluctant. But I do not need him.”
Adan eyed his cousin with an expression that suggested years of living in fear of the man, but he’d long learned to be calm with Aeron or nothing would be accomplished. Aeron could shout louder and angrier than anyone, so Adan kept his composure as much as he was able.
He looked to the men from The Neath.
“Go outside and wait for us,” he instructed. “We will speak on this matter and decide what is to be done.”
The sergeants nodded and headed out, dragging Megsy along. She didn’t want to go, more interested in what Aeron would be saying because it pertained to Juliandra. But they dragged her through the door and once they were out of earshot, Adan turned to his cousin.
“You already sent word to Phylip about this,” he said. “You must wait for him to answer. He knows more about the Saesneg than you do.”
But Aeron shook his head. “I have waited,” he said. “And see what has happened? Now the bastard has Juliandra and something must be done.”
Adan took a deep breath. “Are you suggesting what I think you are suggesting?” he said. “You plan to attack Wybren without help from Phylip?”
Aeron looked at his cousin, a man he considered wise but also cowardly. Adan wasn’t fond of battle.
“We should have done it at the start, before the Saesneg gained a foothold,” he said. “I should have insisted Glynn give me his men, but I did not. I was a fool. Now they have Juliandra, sullying the woman before I had a chance to do it.”
Adan could see the unreasonable rage building and he knew he had to make his case before the blind fury took over.
“Listen to me,” he said. “You may be able to raise hundreds to attack Wybren, or mayhap not. Glynn did not give you his men for a good reason – too many of the warlords know what attacking a Marcher castle will do to them. It will bring all of the Saesneg Marcher lords down around us and we cannot fight them all.”
Aeron didn’t want to admit that he was right. “Then what?” he said sarcastically. “We do nothing, Adan? You know that I cannot sit aside while that bastard takes that which belongs to me.”
Adan shook his head. “You must wait for Phylip to respond,” he said. “You will need his support.”
“I do not need his support.”