The Uninvited Guest (10 page)

Taran left the stables. His drawn look and
aged bearing were becoming permanent.

“
That was cruel to send him
to your father,” Gwen said. “Taran must realize that he and
Cadwaladr are running neck and neck in our suspicions.”

Hywel’s lips twitched. “Taran could have let
the boy go. Who else had more to gain from his disappearance?”

“
Other than the real
killer?” Gwen said.

“
What if the boy murdered
Enid?” Hywel said.

“
I know that the boy tried
to murder your father, my lord,” Gwen said, “but really, he seemed
quite harmless once you subdued him. Why would he fail to kill your
father and then take the time to murder Enid
inside the castle,
when freedom was
only a few yards away?”

“
Perhaps she helped him to
escape from the cell and then he wanted to cover his tracks,” Hywel
said.

“
So he killed her? And then
stashed her body in the linen closet?” Gareth said.

“
When you put it like that,
it does seem unlikely,” Hywel said.

“
At the very least, he
would have dumped her body right here,” Gareth said. “How Lord
Goronwy comes into it, I can’t imagine.”

“
What if Goronwy paid the
assassin to attack the king?” Gwen said.

“
Why would he do that on
the eve of his daughter’s wedding to that very same king?” Hywel
said.

Gareth smirked. “After the wedding would be
something else entirely.”

“
We need to trace Enid’s
movements last night,” Hywel said.

“
Did
you
see Enid last night, my lord?”
Gwen said.

Hywel rubbed his hand along
his chin. “I already told you
no, I
didn’t
. If you must know, I was with
someone else last night. For the whole night.”

“
She will account for you?”
Gareth said.

Gwen’s attention flashed to Gareth. He’d
spoken so reasonably of Hywel back in the linen closet, but out of
nowhere, his tone had turned just this side of hostile.

Hywel’s eyes flicked to Gareth and then back
to Gwen. “Gareth knows?”

“
Yes,” Gwen
said.

Hywel cleared his throat.
“Gwen, you get to work. We have a castle full of people to
question. Time you got started.” Hywel jerked his head in the
direction of the
ad hoc
opening. “Gareth and I have other business to
discuss.”

Chapter Eight

H
ywel didn’t say anything more until he and Gareth reached an
isolated corner of the kitchen garden. Then he stopped and turned
to face Gareth. “So … you know about Anarawd?”

“
Yes.” Gareth looked
directly back at his prince. Earlier, when they’d been in the cell,
Hywel’s mention of his alibi for Enid’s murder had brought an
unexpected rage upon Gareth. It had risen so quickly, he’d choked
on it. He’d told Gwen to swallow her anger and mistrust of Hywel if
they were to continue working for him, but he found in that moment
that he couldn’t do it.

“
And? I can tell by your
tone that you are angry,” Hywel said. “I cannot blame you for
that.”

Sweet
Mary
. As quickly as it had come over him,
Gareth’s temper faded. He ran a hand through his hair and looked
down at his boots, trying to think of what to say. Then he
straightened his shoulders, resolving to air his grievances and
settle this one way or another. “Why didn’t you tell me yourself?
How could you feel that you owed Gwen an explanation, but not one
to me?”

“
Ach
. You have it wrong.” Now it was Hywel’s turn to look away,
not as sure of himself as he’d first seemed. “I’d given Gwen the
knife, so she knew what I’d done without me telling her directly.
And then … weeks passed before I saw you. With the fighting and the
rebuilding of the castle at Aberystwyth, it was an easy
conversation to put off. I couldn’t settle upon the right way to
tell you, and as the months wore on—”

“
It never got any easier.”
Gareth finished the sentence for him. “Gwen and I are to be wed.
Did you think she would say nothing to me?”

“
Of course not.” Hywel
paused. “I
am
sorry.”

“
Sorry you didn’t keep it
to yourself?”

Hywel coughed a laugh. “I
will not apologize for …” Hywel glanced around and lowered his
voice. Even in an isolated corner of the garden, he feared to
implicate himself if someone other than Gareth should overhear him,
“… what I did to Anarawd. To say I regretted it would be another
lie. I
am
sorry I
misled you.”

Gareth placed his hands on his hips and
gazed into the distance. The summer vines were brown, brittle now
and barely clinging to the garden wall. Most of the work of
preparing the soil for next summer had been done, with all but a
few winter herbs harvested.

“
It makes it difficult to
trust you, my lord,” Gareth said. “Just now, in regards to the mark
on Enid’s palm, Gwen and I discussed keeping the information from
you. Perhaps we needed a clue that you didn’t know about to ensure
that we remained one step ahead of you, if you killed
her.”

“
So why did you show it to
me?”

“
We have to trust you,”
Gareth said. “And pray that you don’t abuse our trust
again.”

Hywel put a hand to Gareth’s shoulder. “In
the matter of Anarawd’s death, the whole truth did not come out,
but justice was done nonetheless. What I did has no bearing on
Cadwaladr’s guilt.”

When Gareth didn’t respond, he added, “Do
you accept that?”

Gareth filled his lungs and then let the air
out. “As far as Cadwaladr is concerned. Yes. I accept it.” He went
over Hywel’s explanation in his mind, relieved that Hywel hadn’t
asked for his forgiveness, because he didn’t know if he could have
given it. Or if it was his to give. Gareth had known from the first
that Hywel had a devious and intelligent mind, and one that didn’t
suffer fools gladly. But in performing this deed, and covering it
up, Hywel skated very close to Cadwaladr’s rationalizations of his
own deceits. Such behavior worried Gareth. And probably would
continue to do so.

“
I owe you,” Hywel said.
“You and Gwen.”

Gareth chewed on the inside of his lip. It
wasn’t a bad thing to have his lord in his debt, but this wasn’t
one that necessarily could be repaid. “You are my liege lord,”
Gareth said. “I will not betray you.”

Hywel eased out a breath.
So—he’d been worried.
Am I doing the right
thing, letting Hywel slip away free?
Yet
Gareth couldn’t imagine marching up to King Owain and informing him
of what his son had done. Truly, that would be
impossible.

Hywel rubbed his hands to warm them. “Today,
we have a new problem.”

“
We do,” Gareth said. “Tell
me now if you had anything to do with Enid’s death or the attack on
your father—anything at all.”

Hywel’s gaze was steady on Gareth’s face. “I
had nothing to do with this assassin and I haven’t spoken to Enid
for two years. She meant nothing to m—”

“
Hywel ap Owain!” A woman
in her forties with a breast like the prow of a Viking ship burst
through the archway from the courtyard, sailed across the kitchen
garden, and beached herself in front of Hywel.

“
Lady Jane—”

“
Don’t
Lady Jane
me!” Her accent indicated a
Norman upbringing but her Welsh was perfect. “It is
your
fault that my
daughter is dead!” Jane choked on the last word. She put her
handkerchief to her mouth and sobbed in great heaving
breaths.

Hywel glanced at Gareth, a little wide-eyed,
but Gareth stepped back, palms out. He had no idea what was going
on. “Lady Jane, how can you say that?” Hywel mustered some sympathy
and patted Jane on the shoulder.

Jane’s head came up, back to angry. “You
sniveling bastard! I watched your sneaking ways when you were in
diapers and you haven’t changed. Just the other day, Enid let me
know that it was because of you that she changed her mind about
coming to the wedding. It was only at the last moment that she
joined our party.”

Hywel’s mouth dropped open.
“None of what you say is true.” Which wasn’t entirely accurate,
since Hywel
was
a
bastard. “I had nothing to do with Enid coming to Aber. Nothing at
all.”

Jane shook her finger in Hywel’s face.
“Don’t be impertinent!”

“
Aunt Jane,” Hywel said,
all reasonable, now that his initial surprise had passed, “Enid’s
death was not my fault.”

Gareth decided that resolving his
disagreement with Hywel meant that Hywel was still his liege lord
and it was his duty to step in and save Hywel if he could. “Why
wasn’t Enid coming to the wedding in the first place? She was
Cristina’s cousin and companion.”

“
Was!”
Jane sobbed through her handkerchief. “My little girl
…”

Hywel and Gareth glanced at each other, both
wishing they could be anywhere else but where they were. Gareth was
a hair’s-breadth from turning tail and running.

Jane got herself more under control and
transferred her gaze to Gareth. She seemed to like what she saw
well enough to answer him. “Enid was not a good horsewoman and the
journey from Flintshire is a long one.” Jane sighed. “But as she
introduced King Owain and Cristina to each other, it seemed only
fitting that she should be a witness to their wedding.”

“
Wait … wait …” Hywel said.
“Enid introduced Cristina to my father?”

“
Why yes.” Jane turned back
to the prince. “We had hopes that Owain might choose Enid for his
bride after Gladwys died, but it was not to be.”

This was startling news. It was a known fact
that you couldn’t keep a secret at Aber, but that was clearly wrong
in this instance. “Did Enid …” Gareth paused in mid-sentence,
trying to find a diplomatic way to ask the question, “… resent King
Owain’s relationship with Cristina?”

Jane waved her handkerchief. “Of course not.
Their parting was amicable and Enid was looking to marry a
landowner who lived near Shrewsbury. Much better for her, we all
agreed.”

Hywel clasped both hands to his lips and
looked at Jane over the top of them. “So, how is Enid’s death my
fault?”

Jane slapped Hywel’s upper arm. It might
have been playful if the force of the blow hadn’t rocked him
backwards. “She said you had asked her to come to Aber, especially.
That it wouldn’t be right if she didn’t, and that King Owain would
be giving her a gift to express his gratitude for introducing him
to Cristina. I thought nothing of your plea since I shared your
opinion.”

“
It seems incredible that
she would say such a thing since I haven’t spoken to her in over
two years,” Hywel said.

Jane opened her mouth, closed it, and then
opened it again. “Th-th-that can’t be true.”

“
It is true.” Hywel
gestured to Gareth. “We have been discussing the many ways that
lies can disrupt an investigation, but I assure you, I am not
lying. And I know of no gift my father intended to give to
Enid.”

Hywel gazed directly into Jane’s eyes as he
spoke. He could lie very well when he wanted to, but his face
showed no deception and Gareth believed him. Besides, what could be
Hywel’s motive for killing Enid? Gareth already knew the worst of
him (hopefully), and Enid couldn’t possibly have heard of it. Not
if Hywel hadn’t told her.

Seeking to murder his own father was another
matter, but again, what would Hywel gain from such a move? It was
Rhun to whom the people of Wales would turn first and the notion
that Rhun was involved in something treacherous should have been a
nonstarter before the idea could fully form. Hywel might be a
duplicitous bastard, but he knew as well as anyone that at only
twenty-three, he was not ready to rule Wales the way his father
did. Were King Owain to die now, the other barons would tear the
country apart between them. Hywel would be lucky to hold onto
Ceredigion.

“
Why would Enid lie?” Jane
said.

Jane’s question snapped Gareth back to the
garden. “I’m sorry to ask this, Lady Jane,” Gareth said, “but did
Enid lie … often?”

Jane pressed her lips together and looked
away. Gareth had touched a nerve. From what her expression gave
away, Jane didn’t even have to answer, though she eventually did.
“Enid was a bit wild. But so loving, so kind to everyone. It was
just that sometimes the truth got in the way of the stories in her
head.”

Hywel held out his elbow to Jane. “Let me
escort you to the solar, Lady Jane. Afterwards, I’ll send a servant
to you with a cup of wine. I promise that we will find the man who
killed your daughter.”

Jane took Hywel’s arm with one hand and
patted him with the other. “You always were a nice boy. I shouldn’t
have called you a bastard.”

“
I am one,” Hywel said,
gently. “I was not offended.” As he walked away, however, he looked
over Jane’s head to Gareth and mouthed the words
my office
.

Gareth nodded. But before he could meet
Hywel there, Gareth needed to collect Gwen. After a quick survey of
the stables, hall, and kitchen, he found her in one of the
pantries, huddled among the cheeses with her brother, Gwalchmai.
She looked up as he poked his nose through the curtain that
provided the only door. It was a relief to see her smile at him.
Every other person he’d encountered while searching for Gwen had
greeted him with wary looks. Nobody had been glad to see him
coming. Nobody wanted to answer his questions.