Dragon of the Island (38 page)

The people were talking again, but Aurora
saw Sewan and some of the other women nod their heads as if
confirming her story. It seemed that they would give her a
chance.

Elwyn called for silence and then spoke
again: “Perhaps it does not matter why the message was sent. The
important thing is that Maelgwn is very likely no more than a few
days away now. We must begin to prepare for war, and we must be
quick about it. Maelgwn has left me in charge, and I will direct
the preparations. I would like the oldest male of each family to
report to me now, and we will begin to make plans.”

The crowd began to disperse at Elwyn’s
words, as women ran to tell others and the men grouped uneasily

around Elwyn. Aurora stood nearby, uncertain
what she should do. She started at a touch on her arm.

“Gwenaseth!”

“Aurora, you were wonderful,” Gwenaseth said
with a fond smile. “You acted just like a queen.”

Aurora smiled back uneasily. “Then you are
not angry? You do not believe Esylt?”

“Of course not.” Gwenaseth lowered her pale
eyelashes in thought a moment, and then looked up at Aurora
again.

“I know that Elwyn is infatuated with you,
but he loves me. Even if he could have you, he would not be happy.
I know that / can make him happy.”

“Oh, Gwenaseth.” Aurora reached out to touch
Gwenaseth’s freckled cheek gently, and there were tears in her
eyes. “How did you ever come to be so wise?”

Gwenaseth laughed. “Now you sound just like
my father!”

Aurora and Elwyn met later in the tower
room.

“I wanted to report to you, my lady,” Elwyn
said formally as he entered.

Aurora nodded.

“I think we are ready—or as near ready as we
can be. Now there is nothing else to do, but wait for Maelgwn to
get here.”

“And if he doesn’t come?”

Elwyn shifted on his feet restlessly. “I
have sent couriers to Abelgirth, Maelgrith and our other allies.
I’m sure they will send men as soon as they can, but the timing is
critical. Their men are scattered in the fields for harvest and in
fishing boats along the coast—it may be a week before they can
assemble an army and get them here.”

“How long before Gwyrtheyrn and my father
arrive?”

Elwyn shrugged. “If they left shortly after
the messenger arrived here... they could be here by tomorrow. But I
don’t think they will,” Elwyn added hastily. “I think they are
confident that Maelgwn is still a long ways away, and they have
plenty of time. I don’t think they have left Viroconium yet.”

“Have you sent out scouts to find out for
sure what Gwyrtheyrn is doing?”

“Aye, they went out this morning.”

“Good,” Aurora said softly. “You have done
well, Elwyn. Maelgwn would be proud of you.”

“Thank you.”

Aurora stood up, and began to pace. “Now
that I am sure everything is taken care of here, I can leave
without worrying.”

“Leave!” Elwyn gaped at Aurora in surprise.
“Where are you going?”

“I’ve made up my mind—I’m going to see my
father.”

“But why? It’s too late. He has already
joined forces with Gwyrtheyrn.”

“No, it’s not too late—I don’t believe
that!” Aurora stopped her pacing and stood quietly before Elwyn.
“This alliance with Gwyrtheyrn—it does not seem like something my
father would do at all. I’m sure he was tricked into it... or else
forced.”

“But why does that matter?” Elwyn asked
impatiently. “It’s too late now. He has chosen the side he will
fight on.”

Aurora looked at Elwyn, her blue eyes bright
with anguish. “If I could talk to him, Elwyn, I know I could make
him see his mistake. I might even be able to convince him to fight
with
us instead of
against
us!”

Elwyn shook his head. “It’s too dangerous,
Aurora. I can’t let you go and risk your life. Maelgwn would never
forgive me.”

“How can you stop me?” Aurora asked
defiantly. “Will you lock me in this room as Maelgwn did?”

“Oh, Aurora,” Elwyn pleaded. “Please don’t
do this. I’m sworn to protect you.”

Aurora’s eyes flashed. “And I am absolving
you of that oath! I will go... I
must
go.”

“Then I will go with you,” Elwyn said
suddenly. “Even if Maelgwn does not get back in time, Abelgirth
will be here by tomorrow, and he can direct what army we will have.
I will stay with you and protect you. That is the least I can
do.”

“No, Elwyn!” Aurora cried, aghast. “What
will everyone say? Already the people whisper that you are too
loyal to me. I suspect that Gwenaseth is the only one who is sure
you have not bedded me already! If you go with me, Esylt will make
sure that Maelgwn thinks the worst.”

“I don’t care,” Elwyn said stubbornly. “I
can’t let you undertake such a journey unprotected. If you insist
you have to go, then I insist I must go with you.”

Aurora sighed. “I’m going to get ready to
leave now. Have Gwenaseth come to me. If she agrees to let you go,
then I will take you.”

“Well, the fortress still stands,” Balyn
said as Maelgwn’s army reached the overlook above Caer Eryri and
saw the stone towers gleaming in the waning sunlight.

“What do you mean by that?” Evrawc asked
irritably. “We haven’t been gone that long.”

“Perhaps now that we are nearly home, it’s
time to discuss what we do mean.” Maelgwn’s voice was low and
controlled, but his face was grim with tension.

“Is something going on?” asked Evrawc
angrily. “Everyone is talking in riddles!”

Maelgwn pulled his stallion to a halt. Balyn
and his other officers stopped, too. Maelgwn motioned the rest of
the army to keep riding toward home, and then he dismounted and
gestured to his men to do the same.

“Perhaps it is best if we settle this here,
before we are within Caer Eryri’s walls,” Maelgwn said
ominously.

“Settle what?” Evrawc asked with a glowering
frown.

“I say we should get him safely within the
fortress before we confront him,” Balyn argued. The big man’s usual
sardonic smile was gone and his face looked deadly serious.

Maelgwn shook his head at Balyn. “A man has
a right to face his accusers, and once we’re home, there will be no
way to talk of this without the whole fortress knowing that
something is wrong.”

“What is going on?” Evrawc asked in
aggravation. “You have all been behaving very strangely since that
messenger came. What was in that message anyway? I can’t believe we
left Manau Gotodin so abruptly without good reason.”

“Aye, there was a good reason,” Balyn said,
his eyes never leaving Evrawc’s face. “Aurora sent word that she
had heard a rumor that her father had joined forces with Gwyrtheyrn
and was planning to invade Gwynedd.”

“A rumor? Is that what this is all about?”
Evrawc looked at Maelgwn doubtfully. “I can see why we had to
return Caer Eryri, but that still doesn’t explain why you are all
acting so strangely.”

“The rumor, Evrawc,” Maelgwn said softly.
“The rumor came from your wife.”

“Wydian?” Evrawc looked thoroughly startled.
“I can’t imagine why she should talk about such things. Normally
she has no interest in men’s affairs.”

Evrawc looked around at the dozen eyes
watching him and laughed a short, mirthless laugh. “I see—you think
that my wife might have learned of this ‘rumor’ from
me
.”
His mouth twisted into a cockeyed smile. “Let me assure you, if I
told ,my wife that the sky was blue, she would be sure to tell the
world that it was yellow. No rumor that my wife is spreading could
come from me. We speak seldom enough, and when we do, she only
contradicts me,
not
repeats me!”

Maelgwn sighed. “I believe you.” He turned
to face the other men. “We all know that Evrawc and his wife are
not... shall we say, on good terms. Truly there is no reason to
think that anything she says might come from him.”

“That does not solve our problem,” Balyn
said uneasily. “There is a spy at Caer Eryri.”

Maelgwn looked across the valley. The light
was fading now, and the fortress was a drab dull gray again.

“Let’s go home. If the rumor is true, then
we are needed there. And whatever we find at Caer Eryri—we will
have to deal with it soon enough.”

Abelgirth met Maelgwn at the gate.

“Seldom have I been so glad to see you,
Maelgwn,” Abelgirth said with a smile. “I was not looking forward
to facing Gwyrtheyrn’s army by myself.”

“It’s true? When do they march?”

Abelgirth shook his head. “We really don’t
know. Your man in Viroconium left there four days ago, and they had
not set out yet. Perhaps since they think you are still in Manau
Gotodin, they have grown overconfident and are taking their
time.”

“Good. I don’t want their army anywhere near
Caer Eryri when we meet in battle.”

“You plan to march to meet them then?”

“Aye. We’ll set out first thing in the
morning, after my men have rested. With luck we can keep them to
the lowlands and fight them there.”

Maelgwn looked around, as though he had just
remembered something.

“Where is Aurora? I thought she would be
here to greet me.”

“Ah, perhaps you should talk to my daughter
about Aurora,” Abelgirth suggested. “I don’t understand it myself
at all.”

“Understand? Understand what?”

“Well,” Abelgirth began hesitantly. “It
seems she has gone to talk to her father.” He nodded at Maelgwn’s
blank, dumbfounded expression. “Aye, I thought it very strange,
too. First she sends a message to you to warn you of the invasion,
and then she runs off to warn her father. But Gwenaseth assures me
that it is not like that—she says Aurora has gone to convince her
father not to fight you. I suppose we ought to believe Gwenaseth’s
version though. If she trusts Aurora enough to send Elwyn with her,
perhaps we should give your wife the benefit of the doubt.”

Maelgwn gaped openly. “Elwyn, too! Of all
the foolish, irresponsible things. This is utter madness! They will
be captured—Gwyrtheyrn will show no mercy. Or worse yet, he will
use them as hostages against me.”

Abelgirth shook his head sadly. “I agree
with you. It is madness. Still, you have to admire the girl’s
spirit. It seems she means to try and save you both—both the men
that she loves.”

Maelgwn looked uncomfortable. “I don’t know
about her love for me. I can’t help wondering if she is not more
concerned with saving Viroconium and the people she cares for there
rather than me.”

“Well, she certainly didn’t have to warn
you, did she?” Abelgirth asked pointedly. “Don’t belittle your
wife’s courage,” he added. “It’s a quality that not many woman
have... nor men either.”

“Loyalty is not a quality many have either,”
Maelgwn said with a sigh. “You must excuse me, Abelgirth. I will
meet with you later to talk about our strategy for the battle, but
right now I must have some answers for the questions that are
troubling me.”

Maelgwn left Abelgirth and headed for
Esylt’s chambers. It was late, and she was already dressed for bed
when she let him in. She wore a long loose white gown and her dark
hair fell gracefully around her shoulders.

Esylt spoke lightly. “So, brother, you have
come home to defend us.”

Maelgwn scrutinized his sister’s face
critically. “You don’t seem surprised that Gwyrtheyrn and
Constantine have joined forces.”

“Should I be surprised?”

“Don’t play games with me, Esylt. I need the
truth this time—how long have there been rumors of this war?”

“Rumors? There have been rumors since you
left Viroconium that you were too easy on Constantine. Is it any
wonder that the conniving, sneaky weakling has gone behind your
back?”

Maelgwn crossed the room rapidly and grabbed
a handful of Esylt’s hair, drawing it tight in his fingers until
she winced in pain.

“I will have the truth, Esylt, not more of
your taunts. When did you first hear of Constantine’s alliance with
Gwyrtheyrn?”

Esylt’s eyes were as bright and deadly as
two blue flames, but she answered him matter-of-factly. “Like
everyone else, I first learned of Constantine’s treachery two days
ago, when word came from Viroconium.”

“Are you sure?” Maelgwn hissed, pulling his
sister’s hair more tightly.

“Aye, I am sure! Would you like me to make
up a lie so you will stop hurting me?”

Maelgwn released his sister, pushing her
away in disgust. He turned to look about the room distractedly.
“It’s strange that Aurora would hear of this rumor, and you—who
usually have ears as sharp as a fox’s—would not.”

Esylt shrugged. “You know I don’t listen to
women’s gossip—whose baby has colic and whose husband lost at
gaming—I can’t be bothered with their simple-minded babble.”

“You can’t tell me that Evrawc’s wife and
the rest of the women know more of what is happening in Viroconium
than you!”

“All right,” Esylt said calmly. “I won’t
tell you that. Perhaps I heard this ‘rumor’ as you call it. What
does it matter? Why should I pay attention to it? Don’t you think
it’s odd that Aurora heard the same things as all the other women,
and somehow she
knew
that the rumor was true. If I were
looking for a spy at Caer Eryri, I would look no further than your
own bed!”

“That’s absurd. Why would Aurora send a
message to warn me to come home if she were in contact with someone
from Viroconium regarding her father’s plans?”

Esylt shrugged. “Perhaps she felt guilty,
perhaps she was too cowardly to betray you completely. And now it
seems she has gone to talk to her father—it is rather a coincidence
isn’t it?”

Maelgwn shook his head. “I don’t believe it.
Aurora may well be trying to stop this war in her own foolish way,
but she didn’t spread this story of Constantine’s disloyalty.
Wydian was the one who spoke of it, and she is no friend of
Aurora’s.”