"I do not. The Welsh court moves about no less frequently than John's.

Llewelyn has palaces at Aber, at Aberffraw on the isle of Mon, at Caer yn Arfon, has palaces and hunting lodges scattered throughout the Eryri Mountains."

"Well, then, how shall we find him?"132 "We will not. He'll find us," Stephen said, and withdrew from hi saddle pouch a brightly painted silk banner: quartered lions passant, red on gold.

"Llewelyn's arms. What better way to make known that we seek him?"

"Clever," Baldwin said grudgingly. "But to what avail? I'm damned if I know why I let you talk me into this. We'll find no welcome at his court, Stephen.

How can we? Just last month he did sign a truce with King John, did agree to do homage to John as his overlord, and, jn return, was recognized as ruler of Gwynedd. Why should he risk angering John by aiding men branded as rebels?"

Stephen laughed. "You do not understand the Welsh, Baldwin. You share all the common misconceptions about Llewelyn's people. Ask any lord at John's court to describe the Welsh character, and what is he like to say? That the Welsh are impulsive, quick-tempered, easily stirred by passion. That may well be true.

But it is also true that in matters of statecraft, no people in Christendom are as pragmatic as the Welsh princes. They have to be, with England more than twenty times the size of Wales. Since the reign of Owain Fawr, their princes have sworn allegiance to the English kings, because they were shrewd enough to see they had no choice. The Welsh are realists, Baldwin, and an oath of allegiance is cheaper than blood as the price of sovereignty. Do not ever think, though, that Llewelyn sees himself as a vassal of John's. He does not."

Stephen grinned. "The great weakness of the Welsh has always been their penchant for fighting amongst themselves, a weakness our kings have been quick to exploit. But Llewelyn has a rare gift for fishing in troubled waters. John may well find"

"I'd as soon you spared me a lesson in Welsh history," Baldwin interrupted impatiently. "All that does concern me at the moment is whether we're likely to find refuge at Llewelyn's court. And you've yet to convince me that we will."

Now it was Stephen who showed impatience. "We always knew it might come to this, Baldwin. When Fulk Fitz Warin rose up in rebellion against John, and we decided we could not do otherwise than support him as our kinsman and liege lord, we had no illusions about the risks, or the likely outcome. Tell me, would you rather seek exile in France?"

"No," Baldwin conceded. "I ought not to be taking out my foul temper on you, Little Brother. As you say, better Llewelyn than PhilipHow long has it been since you saw him last?"

"Three or four years, I think," Stephen said, and Baldwin let out an explosive oath.

"Blood of Christ! You expect him to incur John's wrath for a man he has not even seen in years?"133 Stephen was unperturbed "The Welsh make bad enemies, better , your trouble, Baldwin, is that you have so little faith'" "My trouble is that I have a price upon my head, and an mgrate of a ther set upon laying claim to my inheritance," Baldwin said sourly "What else would you expect from Walter7"

"Better than this Did I not persuade Fulk to give him a place in his usehold7 And when he came to me, claiming he'd had his horse and or stolen, did I not lend him the money for another mount and hauberk7"

"And I thought you were mad to do it, I still do As the eldest, you never knew him, Baldwin, not as Will and I did "

"What else could I do, Stephen7 He's still blood km "

"If he were drowning, I'd throw him an anchor," Stephen said flatly, and Baldwin gave his brother a surprised, speculative look "You truly mean that, do you not7 I did not realize" He stiffened suddenly, and then said softly, "Stephen, to your left "

"I know I think we're about to be welcomed into Wales "

There was a flash of movement through the trees, a lance thudded into the path a few feet ahead, quivered like a snake coiled to strike They both drew rein, waited A man emerged from the woods, came to a wary halt Stephen tilted his lance up so that Llewelyn's banner caught the breeze "Tangnefedd, ' he said loudly '

Rydu i Stephen de Hodnet, cyfaill o Llewelyn ab lorwerth, o Tywysog Gwynedd "

There was a silence, other men were now coming out of the shadows Stephen ventured a few more sentences in halting Welsh, then turned to Baldwin, smiling "Did I not tell you7 These are Llewelyn's men, will take us to him I told them that I am his fnend, that he will want to see me "

"You hope," Baldwin said THEY were traveling south, through a well-wooded river valley Stephen was carrying on a disjointed conversation with their guides, partly in his rudimentary Welsh and partly in their fragmented French, and from time to time he'd translate for Baldwin's benefit "We have to ford the River Conwy up ahead, and then veer west "

"Did you, by any chance, think to ask where we're going7" "Dolwyddelan Castle " Anticipating Baldwin, Stephen grinned, said with exaggerated precision, "Dole-with-eflan I'd hoped Llewelyn would be at Aber or Aberffraw, wanted you to see the Welsh court But iJolwyddelan should be of interest, too, it's one of the few Welsh-built castles, belonged to Llewelyn's father lorwerth "234 135.

That did interest Baldwin. So, too, did the countryside once th were across the River Conwy. It was far more mountainous now; on a! sides the sky was silhouetted by snow-capped crags. Baldwin was in, pressed in spite of himself, forbore to mock as Stephen shared tK knowledge gleaned from their guides.

"They say snow is sometim^ found all summer long upon the highest peaks. The steepest is that on to the south, Yr Wyddfa. And over to your right is Moel Siabod, whic), all but overshadows Dolwyddelan."

"Little wonder the Welsh are so hard to dislodge," Baldwin said and shook his head. "Their whole wretched country is a fortress of sorts!"

They reached Dolwyddelan Castle at dusk. It appeared without warning, seemed to spring suddenly from the rough-hewn rocks overlooking the River Lledr.

Baldwin, appraising it from habit, with an eye to assault, saw at once that it would be no easy prize for the taking. On the south, the ground fell away sharply, and deep ditches had been cut into the rock to the west and east. But what impressed Baldwin was the high curtain wall. Most castles were enclosed by timber palisades, but Dolwyddelan was encircled by stone.

Stephen, too, was regarding the curtain wall with surprise. "When last I was here, that was a wooden enclosure."

"He's doing right well for himself if he could undertake an expense like that," Baldwin said thoughtfully, and Stephen frowned.

"He's not just another Marcher border lord, Baldwin. He's Prince of Gwynedd.

Power is power, be it Welsh or Norman; you'd best bear that in mind."

Passing through a gateway in the north wall, they dismounted in the bailey.

Baldwin's eyes catalogued the wooden buildings clustered along the walls, focused upon the two-story rectangular keep, its entrance protected by a wooden forebuilding. He noted with satisfaction that the stairs leading up into the forebuilding were of stone; a miscalculation for certes. But as he reached the top, he abruptly revised his opinion of the keep's defenses. A wide pit lay between the stairs and the door of the keep, a gap that could be spanned only by drawbridge.

"Clever," he murmured to Stephen. But his brother was already hastening across the drawbridge, utterly sure of his welcome within. Following more slowly, Baldwin discovered that the entire first floor of the keep contained one large chamber. By the hearth, his brother was kneeling. As Baldwin watched, Llewelyn raised Stephen to his feet, and the two men then embraced. Stephen turned, gave Baldwin a smile shot through with triumph.

his N leaned back in the window seat, only half listening to his l , conversation with Llewelyn. He was more interested in his BAL /s conversation with Llewelyn. He was more interested in his kf undings than in Stephen's boyhood reminiscences, and he glanced 5^ -,i- C-~*r^r ^iirioiic prpc Thpv wprp in T IpiA/plvn'c hpHrhamflpr1 a with frankly curious eyes. They were in Llewelyn's bedchamber; a kf undings than in Stephen's boyhood reminiscences, and he glanced SUfr t with frankly curious eyes. They were in Llewelyn's bedchamber; a curtained bed stood at the far end of the room. The furnishings killed Baldwin, in that they were so familiar: rushes for the floor, a 5 tie table, coffers, even a privy chamber tucked away into the thick- of the southeast wall. He could, Baldwin mused in surprise, quite jlv have been in the bedchamber of any Norman lord.

He did not realize how nakedly his thoughts showed upon his face ntil Llewelyn looked at him, said, "Did you think to find us living in caves?"

Although said with a smile, it carried a sting nonetheless, and Baldwin flushed. He was honest enough, however, to acknowledge he'd been fairly caught, and he summoned up a smile of his own. "To tell you true, my lord, I knew naught of how the Welsh do live."

"We have our own ways, but we are not too proud to learn from others."Llewelyn grinned, gestured toward the bed. "Take yon feather bed. That is one Norman custom I'm quite willing to adopt for Wales."

"Papa even sleeps on a pillow," a voice said, right at Baldwin's elbow, and he jumped, turned to find himself under the unblinking scrutiny of a small boy.

He looked to be about five, an unusually handsome youngster with dark red hair, wide-set green eyes, and a rather remarkable assurance for his years, volunteering now without waiting to be asked, "I'm Gruffydd ap Llewelyn."

Llewelyn laughed. "My son Gruffydd, who does delight in giving away all my guilty secrets!"

Gruffydd thrived upon attention, and he moved closer to Baldwin, confiding, "Papa has two pillows. But he lets my mama use one."

Baldwin was not comfortable with children. "Does he indeed?" he said lamely.

Adding, since the boy was obviously cherished, "You speak French very well, lad."

"I know," Gruffydd said. "Are you English? Do you know what Papa says of the English? He says, 'Poor Wales, so far from Heaven, so dose to England!'"

"Gruffydd!" Llewelyn frowned, sought without success to look disapproving.

"Where are your manners, lad?"

Not in the least amused, Baldwin managed a thin smile. Stephen, who was amused, diplomatically piloted the conversation toward safer waters, saying swiftly, "How is your lady? She's not here with you, I take it?"

"No, she's at Aberffraw. Her babe is due next month . . . our136 fourth." A man now leaned over Llewelyn's chair, murmured a f^ words, and he rose.

"Alun will escort you to the great hall, where our cooks have set out a meal for you. I'll join you directly I put this hellion to bed." Gruffyd