Medieval Romantic Legends by Kathryn le Veque & Emma Prince & Elizabeth Rose & Sarah Woodbury

Author:Kathryn le Veque & Emma Prince & Elizabeth Rose & Sarah Woodbury [Veque, Kathryn le & Prince, Emma & Rose, Elizabeth & Woodbury, Sarah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Anthology, Historical, Collection, Romance
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing
Published: 2015-10-14T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

27 November 537 AD

“You’re the last person I’d have expected to see here, Myrddin,” Gareth said. “When was the last time you darkened the door of a church?”

Myrddin half-turned to look at Gareth, who continued smirking. Myrddin opted not to mention to Gareth that he set foot in a church every night in his dreams, on the way to dying.

They were standing at the rear of the packed Church of St. Deiniol to honor the date of the church’s dedication. They might be in the middle of a war and all of Wales might be under interdict, but Arthur ap Uther lived a pious life. It was a holy day, and all of Garth Celyn had turned out to celebrate it.

It had been an amusing scene, in fact, when the king had arrived at the church. Neither Brother Rhys, who ran the church, nor Brother Llywelyn, who led the adjacent monastery, had been prepared for the crowd that had ridden the three miles from Garth Celyn and descended on Bangor on a Friday afternoon in order to celebrate the service before sunset.

“What is this? What is this?” Rhys had run around the sanctuary in a panic, unable to waylay either the king or Anian, who’d accompanied him. Because Rhys then refused to hold the service, Anian himself had ordered the candles on the altar lit.

Now, they were two hours into the service and Myrddin was tired of standing. But as was increasingly the case, he wasn’t going anywhere without Nell. He lifted his chin, indicating to Gareth where she stood with bowed head, Huw beside her. A few feet beyond stood Cai. He’d found religion, apparently, and no longer left King Arthur’s side. If that wasn’t irritating enough, Arthur had reminded the company a dozen times these last three days how brilliantly Cai had fought. To Myrddin’s mind, it was as if he was spitting into the wind, daring the fates to disagree with him.

“I see,” Gareth said. “Do you trust your son to see her safely back to Garth Celyn?”

“Of course.” Myrddin looked at Gareth more closely. “Why?”

“All may not be as it seems.”

Myrddin snorted under his breath. He could only agree with that assessment. He despised standing in the same room with so many traitors. While Rhys had disappeared, refusing to countenance the use of the church under these circumstances, Brother Llywelyn had stayed, hovering on the margins of the crowd as if to prevent someone from stealing the candlesticks. It was insulting.

“Tell your son you’ll be staying behind,” Gareth said.

Myrddin nodded. “Yes, my lord.”

Eventually, the service ended, at which point Myrddin caught Huw’s eye as he approached with Nell on his arm. “I have a task to do. I’ll see you back at the castle.”

“That will be fine,” Nell said. “One of the villagers from Bangor tells me her niece is laboring with some difficulty. Huw can see me there and then home when it’s over.”

Huw nodded, obliging as always, although his eyes on his father were intent.