fine young man,’ said Odo, coming to stand next to her and smiling fondly. ‘Cole is fortunate to have him as a chaplain.’
‘Yes,’ said Gwenllian noncommittally.
Later that evening, as the sun began to dip and the shadows lengthen, Iefan arrived at the castle to say that the cattle rustlers had been spotted a mile south. Cole prepared
to ride out at once, and Gwenllian was alarmed when Avenel and Fitzmartin offered to go with him.
‘Symon, no! They are suspects for garrotting Miles, and may dispatch you once they have you away from witnesses.’
Cole waved her concerns away. ‘I
want
them to come, to see for themselves how difficult it is to trap these thieves. Besides, it is a good opportunity to question them about
Miles. Who knows? Perhaps they will confess to his murder as we sit around a campfire.’
Gwenllian gulped her horror, before he grinned to show he was jesting. It was not funny, and she was angry with him for making light of such matters. Others also thought he was reckless to
include the sheriff and his henchman in the party.
‘Please,’ said Odo quietly, while Hilde nodded at his side. ‘I know Avenel saved your life today, but it was an instinctive reaction, and I am sure he is cursing himself now.
He has changed since you came home. While you were away, he was loud and brash; now he is quiet, watchful and brooding.’
‘As if he is planning something,’ elaborated Hilde. ‘And Fitzmartin is a beast. He punched his squire this morning for no reason. Odo and I are sure something evil is
afoot.’
‘I agree,’ said Kediour uneasily. ‘Do not forget what they are accused of – desecrating churches and holding parishioners to ransom. These are not gentle
crimes.’
But Cole remained resolute, and Gwenllian could do nothing but watch as he rode away, Avenel and Fitzmartin far too close behind him for her liking. Cousin Philip stood next to her, and she
happened to glance at him as he was exchanging a meaningful nod with someone. When she saw it was Odo she was bemused, but then news came that there was bloody flux in the nearby village of
Abergwili, and her attention was taken in sending aid.
For the next three days, she had little time for worrying, as she struggled to run the castle, quell trouble at the shrine and be a mother to her children. Whenever she could, she continued her
enquiries into Miles’s murder, but despite questioning as many people as would talk to her, she came no closer to learning the identity of the killer. Rupe persisted in his claim that Cole
was responsible, although few believed him, most preferring to blame the two ‘monks’.
Stunned by the violence that his well-intentioned entreaties had caused, Kediour kept to his priory. Gwenllian visited him on the evening of the fourth day after the trouble, to beg more
medicine for Abergwili. While she was in the priory, he voiced his continuing fear that Carmarthen was being led down a spiritually dangerous path.
‘Rupe has turned Beornwyn into a very profitable business,’ he said unhappily. ‘He has sold countless flasks of “holy” water, and now he claims she appears to him
regularly in dreams, along with “poor murdered” Gunbald.’
‘I know,’ said Gwenllian. ‘But he is too greedy, and people resent the money he is making from them. Most have abandoned him already, and he has only a few devoted followers
left. The cult will soon fizzle out completely.’
‘I hope you are right,’ said Kediour worriedly. ‘I hate to see people misled where matters of faith are concerned. It pains me to hear him slandering Symon, too.’
It pained Gwenllian as well, but there was nothing she could do about it, especially while Cole was away. She longed for him to return, and hoped he would not be gone three weeks, like the last
time. To take her mind off her worries, she reviewed what she had learned about Miles’s murder.
The deputy had gone to Rupe’s wood to investigate the underground
‘Yes,’ said Gwenllian noncommittally.
Later that evening, as the sun began to dip and the shadows lengthen, Iefan arrived at the castle to say that the cattle rustlers had been spotted a mile south. Cole prepared
to ride out at once, and Gwenllian was alarmed when Avenel and Fitzmartin offered to go with him.
‘Symon, no! They are suspects for garrotting Miles, and may dispatch you once they have you away from witnesses.’
Cole waved her concerns away. ‘I
want
them to come, to see for themselves how difficult it is to trap these thieves. Besides, it is a good opportunity to question them about
Miles. Who knows? Perhaps they will confess to his murder as we sit around a campfire.’
Gwenllian gulped her horror, before he grinned to show he was jesting. It was not funny, and she was angry with him for making light of such matters. Others also thought he was reckless to
include the sheriff and his henchman in the party.
‘Please,’ said Odo quietly, while Hilde nodded at his side. ‘I know Avenel saved your life today, but it was an instinctive reaction, and I am sure he is cursing himself now.
He has changed since you came home. While you were away, he was loud and brash; now he is quiet, watchful and brooding.’
‘As if he is planning something,’ elaborated Hilde. ‘And Fitzmartin is a beast. He punched his squire this morning for no reason. Odo and I are sure something evil is
afoot.’
‘I agree,’ said Kediour uneasily. ‘Do not forget what they are accused of – desecrating churches and holding parishioners to ransom. These are not gentle
crimes.’
But Cole remained resolute, and Gwenllian could do nothing but watch as he rode away, Avenel and Fitzmartin far too close behind him for her liking. Cousin Philip stood next to her, and she
happened to glance at him as he was exchanging a meaningful nod with someone. When she saw it was Odo she was bemused, but then news came that there was bloody flux in the nearby village of
Abergwili, and her attention was taken in sending aid.
For the next three days, she had little time for worrying, as she struggled to run the castle, quell trouble at the shrine and be a mother to her children. Whenever she could, she continued her
enquiries into Miles’s murder, but despite questioning as many people as would talk to her, she came no closer to learning the identity of the killer. Rupe persisted in his claim that Cole
was responsible, although few believed him, most preferring to blame the two ‘monks’.
Stunned by the violence that his well-intentioned entreaties had caused, Kediour kept to his priory. Gwenllian visited him on the evening of the fourth day after the trouble, to beg more
medicine for Abergwili. While she was in the priory, he voiced his continuing fear that Carmarthen was being led down a spiritually dangerous path.
‘Rupe has turned Beornwyn into a very profitable business,’ he said unhappily. ‘He has sold countless flasks of “holy” water, and now he claims she appears to him
regularly in dreams, along with “poor murdered” Gunbald.’
‘I know,’ said Gwenllian. ‘But he is too greedy, and people resent the money he is making from them. Most have abandoned him already, and he has only a few devoted followers
left. The cult will soon fizzle out completely.’
‘I hope you are right,’ said Kediour worriedly. ‘I hate to see people misled where matters of faith are concerned. It pains me to hear him slandering Symon, too.’
It pained Gwenllian as well, but there was nothing she could do about it, especially while Cole was away. She longed for him to return, and hoped he would not be gone three weeks, like the last
time. To take her mind off her worries, she reviewed what she had learned about Miles’s murder.
The deputy had gone to Rupe’s wood to investigate the underground
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