Maelgwn cleared his throat and spoke in his deep, rumbling voice. "All of you have heard the tale of my wife's disappearance this past winter. As you can see, thanks to the Goddess, she has been restored to me. I called you here to join in celebrating my queen's return." He paused for a moment, then again spoke in a challenging tone. "If any of you have doubts about the events of this winter or Rhiannon's fitness to stand at my side, speak now, for I will never raise the matter before you again."
Rhiannon's heart lurched as a tall man whose auburn hair was going gray stepped forward.
"Is this another trick of the clever Dragon? Did you conjure her up out of the mist with the aid of the Goddess, Maelgwn? I think not."
Rhiannon held her breath. This man was Maelgwn's enemy, Rhodderi, she was certain of it. He meant to make his stand here, before all of Maelgwn's allies. He would use her to make her husband look the fool, to weaken Maelgwn's influence over the other Cymry chieftains. She had to say something in her husband's defense.
Before she could gather her thoughts and speak, another voice broke in sharply. The man's rough wolf-skin cloak marked him as being from one of the mountain tribes, and his weathered, toothless visage suggested he was as ancient as the peaks of Eryri themselves.
"Your words are disrespectful, Rhodderi. Maelgwn has met with us in good faith. We owe him a chance to explain. I would hear the full story ere I judge."
Although the old warrior's words were reasonable, they aroused Rhiannon's apprehension even more. What could Maelgwn possibly say? The truth was too strange and incredible to satisfy these hardened men. She glanced at Maelgwn and saw him frown. He, too, realized that the facts as they knew them would not be accepted here. Before she could lose her nerve, Rhiannon stood. "I would like to speak," she said.
There were startled looks among the men, and the pressure of Maelgwn's hand on her shoulder was hard and swift. Rhiannon shook her head at his warning and continued. "It is my place to explain, for I am the cause of this... this confusion."
'"Tis not your fault, Rhiannon," Maelgwn murmured, leaning toward her.
She turned to him, begging him with her eyes. I must do this, Maelgwn, she said silently. I must.
He nodded. Rhiannon turned back to the others. Her hands trembled; her heart thundered in her chest. She had never spoken before a group of men before. If she had attempted such a thing with Ferdic's council, she would have been laughed at and sent away. And these men were not Brigante warriors indulging a princess they had known from babyhood; they were grim, suspicious men. Some of them already seemed to hate her.
She took a deep breath to steady her voice. "It all began some weeks ago, slightly before the snow moon. I quarreled with my husband, and when we could not reconcile, I left the fortress. I went down to the beach to be alone. While I was there, I weakened and grew insensible from the cold. I collapsed and would have died there, except a kind fisherman found me and took me to his home." She paused for a breath, surprised at how self-assured and calm she sounded. "He and his wife revived me and cared for me. I meant to return to Maelgwn, truly I did. But I was afraid he was still angry at me. I put off returning until the days stretched into weeks."
She paused and looked around at the solemn faces of the men. They were listening at least, and she could sense some of them were sympathetic to her tale.
"I should not have grieved my husband so," she continued. "It was wrong to worry him. But I was sore afraid. It took me a long time to convince myself that I dared let my husband know I lived. By then, Maelgwn had heard I was living with the fisherfolk. He came looking for me. He found me, and we were... reconciled."
No one spoke for a moment, then Maelgwn's cavalry chief, Gareth, cleared his throat loudly. "There you have it. No witchcraft or magic, merely an errant wife who defied her husband and was afraid she would be punished for it. I say Maelgwn should beat her soundly, then take her back." He cast a sly glance at the king. "Of course, knowing Maelgwn, I doubt beating is what he has in mind."
There were murmurs and slight smiles among the group, but Rhiannon sensed that the confrontation was far from over.
"Lady Rhiannon's story is incomplete." A startlingly handsome young chieftain spoke up. From his glossy dark hair and piercing gray eyes, Rhiannon guessed he was Arwystyl, one of Maelgwn's coastal allies. She remembered Gwenaseth describing his striking looks. "What of the strange rumors we have heard this winter? Lady Rhiannon calls the conflict with her husband a quarrel, but surely it must have been more than that. It was reported that Maelgwn stabbed his wife before she left the fortress. Few men draw their knife upon their wives." Arwystyl glanced at Rhiannon suspiciously, then searched Maelgwn's face with a steady gaze. "I would like to know what Lady Rhiannon did to make you want to murder her."
Maelgwn made no response, and Rhiannon felt her own throat close up. She doubted these men would understand the truth of who her mother was.
"Perhaps Maelgwn is afraid to tell us the nature of the quarrel." Rhodderi broke the silence with a voice thick with malevolence. "Perhaps he thinks we would not like to know the reason he attacked his wife."
Everyone turned wary eyes toward Rhoderri, and Rhiannon's blood went chill. What did this man know that made him smile in such a mocking, self-assured way?
Rhodderi licked his lips slowly, looking exactly like a hungry wolf preparing to feast. "The truth is, Maelgwn stabbed his wife because he finally discovered who she was." His smile broadened. "Tell me, Maelgwn, which repels you most—the fact that Rhiannon is your niece as well as your wife, or that she is Esylt's daughter?"
Rhodderi's words struck like a stone thrown into a still pool. The ripples fanned outward as the implications struck one man after another. Faces went pale and shocked. Some made the ancient sign against evil; others, like Balyn, crossed themselves. Only Maelgwn retained control. He put his hand upon Rhiannon's shoulder, his touch firm and insistent. Although she could not see him, she guessed his gaze met each man in the room, warning them, commanding their silence without a word.
"What Rhodderi says is true," he announced in a calm, even voice. "I have since reconciled myself to the facts of Rhiannon's birth. I intend to keep her as my wife anyway. That is the end of it."
Cynan, a southern chieftain whom Rhiannon recalled visiting Degannwy in the fall, responded in an equally reasonable tone. "With all due respect, Maelgwn, this is a serious thing Rhodderi has brought before us. If Rhiannon is Esylt's daughter..." He shook his head. "It seems very close to incest."
"Still, there is a tradition for it." Old Caw, the overlord of the rich island of Mona, spoke up. Rhiannon vaguely remembered his craggy face and thick mane of white hair from the night of her wedding feast. He was an old ally of Maelgwn's, a man who had backed her husband since the early days of his kingship. "It has long been a practice to mingle royal blood with royal blood," Caw noted. "We knew Ferdic and Maelgwn were kin of sorts when the wedding was contracted, and that seemed only to enhance the alliance. As long as they are not father and daughter, or brother and sister, I have no worries about the closeness of their kinship."
"The blood de between the two is not as close as you think," the old chieftain garbed in wolfskins announced suddenly. "Few men know this, but Esylt was only a half-sister to Maelgwn."
"What?" Maelgwn's gasp of surprise was echoed by murmurs from the other men. Everyone stared at the old high-lander, waiting for him to explain. He grinned toothlessly. "It was before your time, all you young ones. Only Caw and I..." He gestured to the white-haired chieftain. "We're the only ones old enough to remember. You see, Queen Rhiannon—that is, not this Rhiannon, but the one that would have been her grandmother—the queen hated her husband. While he lived, she did not dare plot against him, but neither was she faithful. Maelgwn's sister, Esylt, was sired by a man other than Cadwallon."
"A convenient lie," Rhodderi sneered. "How could anyone know who bedded whom so many years ago? Old Drun is making this up, trying to save Maelgwn from disgrace."
<
br /> Drun bristled, his mouth working as he sought to control his anger. "Damn fool! I was fighting beside Cadwallon when you were only a babe at your mother's teat! There is no one living to back me in this, but at one time it was well known among Cadwallon's men that his queen strayed from his bed." His voice softened, and his eyes went distant at the memory. "In truth, I heard of Esylt's parentage from her real father. The man didn't brag of it either; he told me because he was disgusted with himself for betraying his king. 'All this guilt,' he said, 'And all I have to show for it is a bad-tempered, haughty lass.' He was disappointed that his seed had begot a female while Cadwallon had sired five lusty sons off the same woman."
The room was silent for a moment, then Cynan spoke, his voice as cool and temperate as ever. "I would like to believe your story. But considering the strong resemblance between Maelgwn and Esylt, it's hard to imagine they had different fathers."
Drun shrugged. "They both took after Rhiannon. In fact, of all the babes Rhiannon bore, only Maelgrith favored the king. Just as well, too. Cadwallon was an ugly bastard, while the queen..." He bestowed a toothless leer upon Rhiannon. "She was well nigh as fair as her granddaughter."
For a time, no one spoke. It seemed as if everyone felt they had learned too much too fast. One astounding disclosure led immediately to another.
"Enough of this." Gareth interrupted the silence impatiently. "The king and his wife are not horses. It's unseemly for us to debate their bloodlines as if they were no more than breeding stock."
"Well, I, for one, am not satisfied!" Rhodderi thundered. "Whether or not Esylt and Maelgwn shared a father, the fact is, Esylt was a wicked, treacherous woman, and Rhiannon is her daughter. How do we know that Esylt's evil will not be passed on to Maelgwn's heirs?"
There were murmurs around the room, and Rhiannon felt a new weight of grief. She had known Esylt was reviled among Maelgwn's people; she had not guessed the extent of the Cymry's hatred for her mother.
Maelgwn sighed wearily. "I have agonized on this very thing ever since I discovered the truth. If Rhiannon bears me a child, will we unleash the curse, the ungodly lust for power that tore my family apart and nearly destroyed Gwynedd?" He sighed again, and the sadness of his face made Rhiannon want to weep. "I can't help but think that evil is not a thing carried in the blood, but something learned," he continued. "Esylt was evil, aye, but she learned it. My mother taught her to scheme and plot from the time she was a little girl."
His glance met Rhiannon's, and she saw the determination there. His gaze moved slowly around the room, his eyes meeting each man's in turn. "This I vow—if any of my sons by Rhiannon ever appears to have inherited my sister's evil, I will see to it that he gains no share of my kingdom."
Rhiannon's heart twisted in her chest at Maelgwn's words. For her sake, Maelgwn was ready to repudiate his son's heritage. For a man like Maelgwn, whose very soul was one with his kingdom, it was an incomparable expression of love. Yet, even as she recognized Maelgwn's sacrifice, the thought of what he promised worried her. His son would be her son, and she was not sure she was willing to barter away her unborn child's future so easily.
Maelgwn's words were accepted with nods and quiet sounds of agreement. Only Rhodderi appeared unpacified. His jaw clenched with anger, and when he spoke, his voice was harsh. "Once again, Maelgwn's fine words, his dedication to Gwynedd, have won you over. But you are fools, all of you. Maelgwn is a weak king, a man ruled by his cock and his heart rather than his mind and sword arm. I will not swear my allegiance to such as him!"
They all watched in silence as Rhodderi stalked out, followed by three young men. Rhiannon guessed that they were his sons.
Caw spoke. "Well, that's no surprise. Rhodderi's always been a troublemaker. I'm amazed he's been loyal this long."
"Aye, you are right," Cynan said. "He will honor no king but himself."
"The rest of you...?" Maelgwn asked. "You are satisfied? You will keep your agreements with me?"
"Aye." "Aye." "Aye." "And aye for me as well." The other Cymry chieftains nodded in turn to Maelgwn, reaffirming their loyalty. Rhiannon breathed a sigh of relief. She had not destroyed the allegiance of the other Cymry princes to Maelgwn. For now, Gwynedd was safe.
Drun gathered his wolfskin around his shoulders and sent another leer in Rhiannon's direction. "It's time we made ourselves scarce until the feasting. We must let Maelgwn and his wife reconcile properly."
Maelgwn stopped the old chieftain with a raised hand. "Stay, Drun. Please. There are questions only you can answer. You and Balyn." He gave his first officer a hard look. "I would speak with you both alone."
Some of the men looked surprised, but Rhiannon was not. Too many secrets had been casually revealed this day. Maelgwn would want to know who had betrayed the secret of her parentage, as well as the truth of his own mother's indiscretions.
Maelgwn's eyes met hers. She went to him and leaned her face against his chest. It did not seem fair he must endure these new trials. She would do anything to spare him, but it was not possible. The truth must be brought out into the open.
"I will wait for you," she whispered. He nodded, his eyes bright with love, and she left him.
"Balyn swears he told no one about you and Esylt," Maelgwn said wearily. "I'm inclined to believe him."
Rhiannon nodded. She found it difficult to think of Balyn betraying Maelgwn. They had been together so long, and Balyn was not the sort for secrets and intrigue.
"How could Rhodderi possibly have known the truth? Surely he couldn't have guessed."
Rhiannon reached up to smooth the worry lines from her husband's brow. They were in their bedchamber, having left the feasting as soon as it was possible to do so politely. After their own private reunion on the cliffs, the merrymaking in the great hall seemed anticlimactic. The main surprise was that Arianhrodd had come to the feasting. After greeting Rhiannon with a warm hug, she teased Maelgwn about his remaining obligation to the Goddess. It made Rhiannon feel good to see her former protector and know the priestess believed Rhiannon's true place was beside her husband.
It was also a relief to converse with someone who did not have endless questions to ask her. Rhiannon had explained her rescue by Ceinwen to a dozen women, as well as an anxious Elwyn. He would be departing in the morning to bring Gwenaseth and their boys back to Degannwy. It seemed Elwyn's wife, for all her complaining, sorely missed overseeing Maelgwn's fortress. Rhiannon was very pleased at the thought of having Gwenaseth at her side again. Part of her understanding with Maelgwn was that she would not be forced to supervise the operations of Degannwy. She would be free to ply her needle and cast her pots—when she was not seeing to her husband's needs.
Rhiannon moved her hand down to stroke Maelgwn's broad chest. Despite her soothing touch, Maelgwn's troubled look remained.
"Rhodderi was asking odd questions when I saw him last winter," he said. "I wonder if he knew even then. But how could he? How could anyone chance upon such an ironic twist of circumstance without some sort of hint?" Maelgwn's eyes rested on Rhiannon's features appraisingly. "You do bear a vague resemblance to my mother. It's a matter of your small size and the delicate cast of your features. Nothing that a man who has only seen the other Rhiannon once or twice in his life could ever guess."
"If it troubles you so much, why don't you ask Rhodderi how he knew the truth?"
Maelgwn's expression contorted with disgust. "He'd only taunt me and refuse to say." He patted Rhiannon's cheek. "Don't you understand, cariad? If Rhodderi knows such secrets about us, it means there's a spy at Degannwy."
"One of the servants?"
"What of Taffee? Do you mistrust her?"
"Nay, for all her impertinence, Taffee is too impressed with her role as my body servant to betray me. Did you see her greet me? She's always said such bold, rude things; I never thought she'd cry with pleasure to have me back."
"You hold yourself too cheap, Rhian. It wasn't only Rhun and Taffee who wept with joy to see you again. I swear
, there was hardly a woman in the hall whose eyes weren't misty."
"They were all envying me the look on your face, my love." Rhiannon rolled over to press herself against Maelgwn's outstretched body. "It's not every husband who dares defy the Church and half his allies to welcome back his errant wife."
Maelgwn grinned like a boy, the worry lines on his face vanishing. "Who cares what they think? So, they believe I am ruled by my cock and my heart. What man isn't, if he be honest?"
"Are you sure your talk of my powers wasn't merely cheap flattery?" Rhiannon purred. She moved her fingers down her lover's body and entwined them in the drawstring to his trousers. "I vow I mean to test my hold over you— tonight and every night."
"Mmmmmm." Maelgwn mumbled against her hair. "Tempt me then, cariad. I vow I shall fail each and every time."
Sometime later they lay naked and content. Maelgwn reached out to idly pat Rhiannon's narrow belly. "If I haven't planted a babe yet, it's not for want of trying."
"I'm curious, Maelgwn. When I miscarried, you said you didn't care if I ever bore you a child. What changed your mind?"
Maelgwn shrugged. "Perhaps after coming so close to losing you, I'm satisfied the Goddess doesn't plan to take you from me in childbed. I never had the chance to know Rhun when he was small. I have a deep need to discover what fatherhood is like from the beginning. I can scarce imagine what it feels like," he added wistfully. "To have a mother and father who love each other and their children as well."
"Does the news of your mother's unfaithfulness grieve you?"
"I'd be a fool to let it. I knew exactly what my mother was, before I was Rhun's age."
Rhiannon touched his cheek softly. Despite Maelgwn's harsh words, she was sure Drun's revelation had hurt her husband. "I love you enough to make up for a dozen mothers," she assured him. "Truly, I do."
Chapter 31
Dragon's Dream Page 33
