Footsteps in Time (13 page)

Their third morning in
Dolwyddelan, Goronwy strode into the hall, a messenger at his side.
“He’s coming,” Gorowny said. Nobody had to ask who ‘he’ was. “He
has reached Llansanffraid, hampered only slightly by the weather,
but has not attempted to force the Conwy, as it continues to snow
even along the coast. He’s halted the majority of his men, but sent
his laborers along the path he intends to follow south, clearing
the forest and rousting the common folk in his path.”

“
Total war,” David said,
from his seat on the dais.

“
What’s that, my lord?”
Math said from his position by the fire.

“
Edward seeks to destroy
not only our army, but to completely subjugate our people by
terrorizing the countryside, hoping to drive men away from their
allegiance to Father.”

“
It won’t work,” Father
said. “It only emboldens us.” He paced in front of the dais.
“Edward understands neither me nor my people. We have held on to
what is ours since November, and we will not give it up. Not
without a fight.”

Struck by Father’s
emotion, David threw out the ending of the speech that Patrick
Henry had given at the start of the American Revolution and which
David had memorized for school. Translated into Welsh, it sounded
even more poetic, and his voice rang a bit louder than he intended
as he recited the words: “
Is life so dear,
or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and
slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may
take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me
death
!”

Math gazed at David, his
eyes bright but Father clenched his fist and banged it on the
table. “Yes. That is it exactly. If I cannot have one, I will take
the other.” He strode down the hall to the front door and flung it
open. “We will watch them.” Father turned back to his men. “And
when Edward comes, we will be ready.”

Chapter Nine

Anna

A
nna took a deep breath and knocked on Gwenllian’s door. Before
she could knock a second time, Mari, Gwenllian’s nanny, whipped the
door open. Her color was high. Beyond, Heledd suckled the baby, but
it looked like she was squeezing her so tightly it was a wonder
that Gwenllian wasn’t crying. Anna had walked in on a
fight.

Mari sneered at the sight
of her, but at the last second she seemed to remember who Anna was
and, if possible, got even redder. She curtsied. “Excuse me, my
lady. I’m clearly not wanted here!” Mari brushed past Anna into the
hall.

Anna turned to watch her go and then
looked back at Heledd.

“
I’m sorry, my lady,”
Heledd said. “We’ve had a difficult day and, I confess, we missed
your help with Gwenllian. The only time she didn’t cry was when she
nursed, and Mari believes I should not nurse her as much as I do.
She says it spoils her. She says she won’t return until I apologize
for disagreeing with her.”

Anna wasn’t really listening to
Heledd. She was thinking about how to get the baby and her nurse
out of the castle at midnight, when Anna caught the last of
Heledd’s words.

“
She said she wouldn’t
return?” Anna didn’t think the nanny to a princess of Wales could
choose to abdicate her responsibilities like that. “Surely
not.”

Heledd shrugged. “That’s what she
said. I say good riddance. I’m tired of her constant arguments and
complaining.”

“
Tired enough to bring the
baby on an adventure with me?” Anna said.

“
What did you say?” Heledd
was probably thinking that Anna had mangled her Welsh
again.

Anna closed the door,
pulled up a stool up next to Heledd, and sat down. “I need you to
listen to me and try to keep an open mind. I wasn’t able to take
the baby this afternoon because I was riding in the forest. Hywel
was with me and we encountered two English soldiers.”

Heledd gasped. “What!” To
her the English were the equivalent of the bogeyman. Although she
was wet-nurse to a princess, she was very inexperienced in the
world. Her baby’s father hadn’t married her, and her baby had died
two days before Gwenllian’s mother, which is why Heledd had become
the baby’s wet-nurse.

“
Listen!” Anna said. “Hywel
and I followed them to their camp and I overheard a conversation
between two soldiers. They plan to capture the castle through
treachery, and take the princess away to a prison in
England.”

Heledd held the baby closer, already
panicked.

“
They can’t! I won’t let
them!”

“
I won’t let them either,
Heledd, but there’s only so much we can do. A traitor inside the
castle is going to allow them to take the castle without a fight.
Hywel and I have a plan to escape with Gwenllian before the English
come. We need you to come too. Will you do that?”

Heledd’s breaths came in
gasps. “Leave Castell y Bere? And go where?”

“
To Prince Llywelyn at
Dolwyddelan,” Anna said. “We need to keep Gwenllian safe and at the
same time, warn the prince about the English.”

Heledd looked down at the
floor, chewing on her lower lip as she thought. Anna held her
breath, hoping she’d agree but didn’t pressure her. She simply sat
and waited.

At last Heledd looked up and nodded.
She hunched her shoulders, as if already oppressed by cold and
fear. “What do you want me to do?”

* * * * *

Shortly after midnight,
Heledd and Anna, with baby Gwenllian in her arms, traversed the
back stairway, tiptoed through the kitchens, and walked into the
frosty night. The sky was full of stars, but the moon hadn’t yet
risen. Starlight glinted off patches of snow in the courtyard.
Without the prince, his attendants, and soldiers, only a skeleton
staff remained at the castle, and most of them were
asleep.

Anna led Heledd to the stables, behind
which was hidden the postern gate. Hywel, as promised, was ready
with warm blankets and provisions for their journey. Heledd carried
a few possessions and all four were as bundled as comfort allowed.
They were traveling light in an effort to put as much distance as
possible between them and Castell y Bere before the English
came.

They wanted to reach Hywel’s hut
before morning when a general alarm might be raised. Though it made
Anna feel guilty, she’d lied to Gwladys, telling her that she was
going riding early in the morning. Thus, it could be quite late
tomorrow before anyone noticed their absence, especially if the
English did come at dawn and put the castle into an uproar. They
should have at least eight hours. Surely they could travel ten
miles in that time?

Hywel had the foresight to
wrap Madoc’s hooves with cloths. The horse made only a muffled
clopping sound as Hywel led him out of the back of the stables
along the path that descended to the postern gate. Anna lifted the
latch and the door opened easily. She raised her eyebrows at Hywel,
who grinned. He’d oiled the hinges. The trio filed through the
doorway and Anna pulled the gate closed. The latch clicked, and
they stood silent, outside of Castell y Bere, gazing west at the
valley below.

Hywel put a hand on Anna’s arm. “Do
you see the shadow?”

Anna strained to see but couldn’t make
anything out.

Hywel watched for another
ten seconds. “Perhaps it’s the English. We should
hurry.”

Heledd and Anna followed Hywel and
Madoc northeast along the outer castle wall until Hywel reached a
large bush, through which he and the horse disappeared.

“
Hywel?” Anna called, as
softly as she could. “Where are you?”

“
Here!” He popped his head
out from the bush, which turned out to be two bushes that Hywel had
pushed between. He held the branches apart for Anna and Heledd to
walk between them, and Anna found herself at the start of a narrow,
well-worn trail that led down the side of the hill from the
castle.

“
The lads and I take this
path when we go to the swimming hole in the summer,” Hywel said,
satisfaction in his voice. “It’s safer for us now. And
quicker.”

The terrain away from the castle was
very rocky, but grassy paths wound between the boulders and
outcroppings, and Hywel led them down to the valley floor as surely
as if it were daylight.

“
You’ve done this before
in the dark, haven’t you?” Anna said.

“
Of course,” he said. “Not
often in winter, with the ground so snowy and slippery, but my
friends and I often slip away late when our duties are done and
come to bed after midnight.”

“
And the guards?” Anna
said, for Castell y Bere usually had the full complement of men in
residence.

“
They either don’t know or
turn a blind eye.” Hywel shrugged. “They were young once too and
they remember how it was.”

Shaking her head at all she had to
learn about castle life in Wales, Anna hugged Gwenllian closer to
her in the sling she’d fashioned from a long strip of cloth.
Gwenllian may have been a fussy baby during the day, but she slept
at night, and for that the entire castle was grateful. She slept
now, her little head resting on Anna’s chest where she could hear
her heart beat. Anna was warm enough at present and she hoped that
Gwenllian was too.

They’d left the castle
through a western door, and the path they’d taken wound to the
north. Upon reaching the valley floor, Hywel headed towards the
main road. Somewhere ahead Cadair Idris dominated the landscape.
They looked back up the hill and saw the castle silhouetted against
the stars. In truth, it should be impregnable. All it took to
defeat a castle was a traitor within the walls.

They walked, silent and alert, hoping
the shadows Hywel had seen from the top were anything but English
soldiers on their way to take the castle. Anna had never walked
more than five miles at one time, and double that, on snow-covered
ground, in a dress, was aggravating and difficult. Hywel appeared
confident and she’d long since decided to trust him completely, but
he couldn’t shorten the distance they had to travel.

They stopped only twice that night:
once, when Hywel boosted Heledd onto Madoc’s back because she was
falling asleep on her feet, and a second time when Gwenllian woke
with a little cry and needed Heledd to nurse her. Thankfully, this
kept the baby happy and she went back to sleep without further
fuss.

In the end, they made less
than two miles an hour, for the sky was beginning to lighten as
Hywel’s hut came into view. He left the women in a stand of trees
and went forward alone to determine if it was empty. All five of
them, including Madoc, crowded into the hut. They were too
exhausted to miss the fire Hywel feared to light and, except for
Madoc, they threw themselves onto the hard-packed floor. Using the
hood of her cloak as a pillow, Anna slept for the first time in
over twenty-four hours.

But she didn’t sleep long because
Gwenllian was ready to be awake. She sat up and began demanding
attention. Mutely, Heledd handed her to Anna and lay back down. She
was asleep instantly and as Anna looked from her to Hywel, she
sighed. Both her friends were no less tired than she was, and there
was no reason for all of them to be awake. Holding Gwenllian on her
hip, Anna rummaged through Hywel’s packs, still on Madoc’s back,
for food.

Hywel had done himself proud. He’d
procured bread, dried meat, and even, bless his heart, three
apples. They were spotty and pitted, and never would have passed
muster in a modern grocery store, but they looked good in
thirteenth century Wales. Anna took out some bread and one of the
apples, and carried them and Gwenllian to a spot on the floor of
the hut. Anna sat Gwenllian on her cloak and gave her a hard crust
of bread to chew on. She gummed it while Anna ate an apple. Seeing
that Gwenllian was temporarily happy, Anna closed her eyes and
leaned her head against the wall. It was cold. Anna found she
couldn’t care.

Somehow the day passed. The
hut was situated more than a mile from the main road. Hywel
believed that anyone who wasn’t looking for it wouldn’t find it. In
this, he was right, and the companions spent the day uneventfully.
Eventually, darkness fell again, though at that time of year it
would have been just past four o’clock. Anna woke both Hywel and
Heledd, only to find that Heledd was feverish. Hywel and Anna
looked at each other in dismay.

“
Don’t worry,” Heledd
herself said. “I’m well enough to keep going. I’ll ride with
Gwenllian on Madoc.”

Neither Hywel nor Anna said anything,
but Anna spirits fell further. Hywel helped Heledd onto the horse,
and this time she carried Gwenllian too. The baby was awake, and
Anna hoped she’d be happy to ride where the motion might lull her
to an early bed time. They set out into the snow.

After they’d gone two or three miles,
Heledd spoke. “I feel a bit better!” she said. “I can walk now, if
you like.”

“
No!” Hywel and Anna said
together.

“
You’re still sick,” Anna
said. “Please stay on Madoc.”

“
All right,” Heledd said.
“But it’s boring just sitting and riding, and Gwenllian is
wet.”