"Why, indeed? The lass spoke not three words at dinner, fled ere the tables could be cleared away, and now you keep to the hall like a man in search of sanctuary. But you have not quarrelednot you."

"I did not say that. I said I was not angry with Joanna. Well ... I admit I did lose my temper this afternoon. I should not have, but I do keep forgetting how very young she is. It is for that reason that I've kept to the hall, my way of making amends. You see, Joanna did not realize there is no lady chamber here at Dolwyddelan. She took one look at our bed, and her face took on all the colors of sunset. So ... I thought to give her time to get to sleep first.

. . my good deed for the day!"

"She's nigh on fifteen, is she not?" Ednyved asked, his voice noncommittal.

"But she still has the emotions of a child, Ednyved, is not yet ready to be a wife."

"You know her better than I. But there are women who shrink from the marriage bed, from a man's touch. Are you sure that your Joanna is not one such?"

"As to that, I cannot be sure till I bed her. But I think not, think she merely needs time."

Ednyved looked at the other man, startled by a sudden surge of223 It was obvious it had not even occurred to Llewelyn that Joanna etljpty might not find him to her liking Just as it had not occurred to jyJs to worry whether Catnn would want him, would share his sudden assion Ednyved reclaimed the cup of mead, wondenng what it would L like to be so free of self-doubt With only one woman had he felt it, ^th his first wife Tangwystl, daughter of Lord Llyvvarch of Bran, he and Llewelyn had often joked about it, the confusion that resulted from their women sharing a Christian name In the early yars of trlelr marriage, she'd come quite eagerly to his bed But then the pregnancies began Six sons she'd given him in less than nine years, had died giving birth to their last-born Four years ago he'd married Gwenlhan, heiress of Dyffryn Clwyd, daughter of Lord Rhys, Prince of South Wales It was a brilliant match, but a loveless marriage Most of the time he did not feel the lack But there were nights, like this one, when he remembered the gentle, dark-eyed Tangwystl, felt the dull throb of an old grief "So what mean you to do, Llewelyn wait for Joanna to grow up7"

"Why not7 If a wife is not worth taking some trouble with, who is7 Besides, I like the lass, would rather she be content that not " Llewelyn half rose, beckoned to a cupbearer "Nor is my forbearance all that unselfish What man would choose an indifferent bedmate over an ardent one7 If Joanna needs time to reach womanhood, I'm wiumg to give her that time It's not as if I need her now to warm my bec}/ after all " Llewelyn smiled at that, thinking of Cnstyn "Indeed, I'd say not," Ednyved agreed, so emphatically that Llewelyn knew he, too, was thinking of Cnstyn DAWN light was spilling through the open shutters For a confused moment, Joanna did not remember where she wasnot ui^til she saw Llewelyn lying next to her in the bed At that, she remembered all too well She'd lam awake for hours, waiting for Llewelyn, desperately trying to decide what she could say to him But when he'd finally come to bed, her courage had failed her again, and as on that night at Rhuddlan Castle, she'd taken refuge in feigned sleep Llewelyn was sprawled on his back, even in sleep, he sought space Me was only partially covered with the sheet, and Joanna saw now what e d meant when he'd spoken of his "share of hurts " A knotted, faded scar seared the skin across his nbcage, another, more recent, zigzagged frm armpit to collarbone Reaching for the sheet, she took care in tucking it about him He acl a third scar, almost invisible, a faint white mark just under his right y row, she'd never noticed it before Her eyes lingered upon his face,222 traced the sleep-softened curve of his mouth. Was it so much to ha asked for?

A husband she could respect, a marriage of mutual affectj0 ? She could have been well content with that. But this . . . she could tak no joy now in what she was feeling for the man asleep beside her All her life, she'd had a horror of making a fool of herself; what could corn of this passionate yearning except hurt? And humiliation. Again sh reached out; her fingers stopped just short of Llewelyn's cheek. In her innocence, she'd once thought the worst that could befall a woman was to find herself wed to a husband she did not want.

But what of the vvife wed to a man who did not want her?

17.

ABER, NORTH WALES.

September 1206 J.HE air was cool and crisp. Like cider, Joanna thought; it carried a snap. A fleet of rain-swollen clouds sailed across the sun, casting sudden shadows upon the sand. Even the sea seemed to lose color, to take on the chilled grey of darkest December. Joanna shivered, pulled her mantle closer. And then the sun broke through again, resurrecting all the glories of an afternoon in early autumn.

The unexpected resurgence of warmth and light took Joanna by surprise. It was almost, she acknowledged wryly, as if she wanted leaden skies and biting winds, wanted a world that mirrored her mood. Snapping her fingers for Sugar, she walked closer to the water's edge. Yr Afon Fenai, the Welsh called it, the narrow strait that cut off the island of Mon from the mainland. It was, Llewelyn had told her, a deceptively dangerous stretch of water, for the currents ran very swift, forming sudden eddies and undertows; and where the tides came together, a lethal whirlpool, Pwll Ceris, had taken more than a few men to a death by drowning. Llewelyn had palaces on Mon, at Aberffraw and Rhosyr. But she'd yet to see them; like so much of his life, that, too, was closed to her.the tide 213.

. -jece of driftwood lay at her feet. On impulse she knelt, patted nd smooth, and scrawled her name in the path of the incoming ^ Beneath it she wrote LLEWELYN, and then watched as the waves bed their names away. A dim memory stirred, took on substance. *va ^ she passed the time on another birthday, ten years past, lying in heather before Middleham Castle and laboriously tracing CLEMENCE ' d JOANNA in the dirt.

Birthdays had never been joyous occasions for her. Beneath the surcelebration lurked a lingering unease, a vague foreboding that she uld neither identify nor yet ignore. She wondered suddenly if her ,ersion might not be rooted in that long-ago Yorkshire birthday. How ivid it still was: her desperate desire to please her mother, her futile 'earning for a dog, the water stains upon her skirt, that closed bedchamber door. Two days later her mother was dead, leaving her with on]y the memory of a tear-splotched, swollen face, ghostly white in the moonlight.

Getting to her feet, Joanna tossed the stick out to sea, began to brush the sand from her mantle. Foolish to dwell upon a birthday ten years gone, to prod and prick at old hurts until they bled. Of all she least liked about herself, her weakness for self-pity must, for certes, lead the list. Nor was she going to squander what remained of this, her fifteenth birthday, in feeling sorry for herself. If truth be told, she was to blame, too. Why had she not told Llewelyn plain out that her birthday fell in mid-September? He would surely have marked the day in some way, might even have taken her with him to Cricieth Castle. But no, she'd had to be clever, had to test him, making just one deliberately casual mention over a fortnight ago. Had her words even registered with him? Or was it that he had not thought her birthday important enough to remember?

How right she'd been to be afraid, that night at Dolwyddelan Castle. She did not want to love Llewelyn. But she did not know how to stop. He had only to appear, and all others ceased to exist for her. So far she'd managed to cling to the shreds of her pride, but how long ere she well and truly singed her wings? She was so ... so obvious, after all. Peking him out on the slightest pretext, contriving reed-thin excuses to **ep him in her companyonly to freeze as soon as their eyes met, to md herself flustered, hopelessly tongue-tied.

Joanna did not know ^ ch she feared more, that he should now think her an utter fool, or a' he had not even noticed her peculiar behavior. She did know that e u have given anything in her power to have him with her this day, at she missed him as she'd never missed anyone in all her life before. Alerted by Sugar's barking, Joanna turned, saw her husband's two ngest daughters standing a short distance away, watching her with214 grave, wary eyes. Joanna started to speak, stopped; that road led tv, where.

Instead she knelt and, using a shell as a shovel, began to SCOQ up handfuls of damp sand. Within moments she had a castle motte ready to receive the keep.

She dug in silence, as if utterly intent up0' her handiwork, not looking up until a small voice said, "Is that a Welsh or an English castle?"

Marared and Gwenllian were now close enough to touch. Joanna felt much the same pleasure she would have had a wild bird suddenly alighted upon her hand.

"I do not know yet," she said thoughtfully "What do you think it should be?"

"Welsh," Marared said, coming closer still, and when Joanna offered her the clam shell, she took it without hesitation. With four small hands to help, the castle was not long in taking on impressive dimensions: an inner and outer bailey, a thick curtain wall, a lopsided gatehouse that Gwenllian insisted she alone should build. Joanna deferred to their decisions, let them place the towers where they would. Nor did she try to draw them out in conversation, as she had in the past. And within the hour she had her reward.

Marared had settled back on her haunches to inspect their creation. She drew so sharp a breath that Joanna at once looked up, saw on the child's face an expression of sudden dismay. Turning, she saw Gruffydd moving toward them. He stopped abruptly, all but stumbled over his dog. Since Adda's reprimand on the day of her arrival, he'd not let his hostility blaze forth again. But it smoldered in his eyes, showed now in the rigidness of his stance, the set of his shoulders.

Always before, he had only to appear for his sisters to shun Joanna as if she were a leper. But Gwenllian and Marared so far showed no sign of flight, and Joanna took heart. "If we dig a moat," she suggested, "we can fill it with sea water," and saw at once that she'd said just the right thing.

From time to time, Marared cast nervous glances over her shoulder, but she stayed put; Gwenllian seemed to have forgotten Gruffydd altogether, so absorbed was she in deepening the moat. At last it was ready to be filled, and the little girls grabbed their clamshells, ran toward the water, Joanna following. She allowed herself one look back at Gruffydd. He was still standing some yards away, watching.

"Should you like to help us?" Joanna asked, knowing she did but waste her breath. When he did not reply, she turned back toward the water. It was then that she heard Gwenllian cry out. Joanna spun around in time to see Gruffydd's alaunt hound smash into the castle Within seconds the big dog had wreaked utter havoc, flattened wall8 and towers, sprayed sand in all directions.

Grabbing for the driftwood/225 ssed it playfully up into the air, caught it deftly again, and earned it heu^phantly back to his young master tfl Gvvenlhan had begun to sob Marared flung down her clamshell as were something suddenly shameful Joanna did not move, watched ' Gruffydd whistled to his dog, slowly sauntered away She was as 3 ery as she'd ever been in her life, and it helped not at all to remind h rself that he was only a child She saw nothing childlike in what he d done, it was both deliberate and malicious, not to mention clever u0w to prove, after all, that he had not simply misjudged his throw7 She could not, of course, as he'd well known "We can rebuild the castle, Gwenlhan," she said, as evenly as her nger would allow But their fragile camaraderie had collapsed with the sand castle Gwenlhan sniffed, shook her head Marared was already edging away Joanna made no move to keep them It would, she knew, have served for naught But as she stared down at the wreckage of their rapprochement, her rage hardened into resolve She would not let that wretched boy win For four months now, she had been seeking to gam his fnendship No more Let him hate her, she no longer cared But she would not give up on his sisters Today she had made the first breach in their defenses If a direct assault would not work, mayhap infiltration would Walking up the slope to Aber, she paused to watch as a small flock of bleating ewes and lambs were herded into a pen Shearing had already been done early in the summer, today the clipping would be confined to the greasy wool at each ewe's neck and udder This wool, Joanna knew, would be washed in cold water and then boiled As the grease rose to the surface, it would be skimmed off the water, reheated, and then strained through linen Once it was cool, vegetable oil and scent would be added, the resulting concoction being a highly effective ointment Joanna was rather pleased that she now knew something of the process In fact, she'd learned much in these months in Wales, had watched with interest as goatskins were stretched taut on square frames, scraped with strickle knives, the first step m the making of parchment, watched as hides were soaked in lime vats to remove hair, Preparatory to tanning, as mutton fat was boiled with wood ash and caustic soda to make soft soap, and whitethorn bark was soaked in water, boiled, and left to thicken into ink At her father's court, such activities were done behind the scenes, at Llewelyn's court, Joanna und herself closer to nature, living a less insulated life, much like the Vast majority of her father's subjects216 She watched until the sheep were penned, then moved indecis 'IVi one waiuncu uiiiii uic succp wtic pcmieu, uicu uujvcu niaecisiv 1 away. She did not want to return to her chambers, was in no mood t put up with Blanche's carping. She hesitated, and then remembered what Llewelyn had told her, that there was an impressive cataract at th end of the glen. It was, he said, a sight well worth the seeing, for th River Coch cascaded over a hundred feet down a sheer cliff.

It proved to be a very pleasant walk. On her left rose the heights of Maes y Gaer, on her right thickly wooded hills. As the path wound upward, she could look back and glimpse the sea. She'd been walking for about half an hour when she saw a glimmer of light through the trees. She quickened her step, some fifteen minutes later came to a sudden halt. Llewelyn had been right; Rhaeadr Fawr was well worth the walk. It had none of the wild, surging power of Rhaeadr Ewynol, but there was a stark elegance nonetheless in that narrow ribbon of white water. The stream was wider here, so clear she could count the mossy rocks lining the river bed, and wherever she looked she saw wildflowers: golden rockroses, purple bell heather, snowy blackthorn blossoms, marsh marigold, others she could not name.

Joanna had turned aside to gather honeysuckle when she saw the man standing at the base of the falls. He turned a startled face toward her, then began to climb nimbly up the rocks. By the time he reached her, Joanna had recognized him as her husband's friend, and she said with a smile, "Lord Rhys, you did take me aback! I'd not expected to see another soul here but a stray sheep or two."

Rhys was frowning. "Madame, you should not be wandering about on your own.

What if you'd slipped, fallen upon the rocks? May I escort you back to Aber?"

It was phrased as a question, but given as a command. Joanna bridled a bit, but curiosity won out, and she fell docilely in step beside him. She knew this man hardly at all, had spoken to him so rarely that for a long time she'd thought he knew no French. He put a hand firmly on her elbow, but made no attempt at small talk, seemed to be one of those rare individuals not in the least disconcerted by lengthy silences. Joanna studied him covertly through her lashes. He was, she decided, surely the most handsome man she'd ever seen.

So why, then, did she find Llewelyn more attractive, why was it Llewelyn whose touch caused her pulse to race, her imagination to take fire? Mayhap because she'd never known a man who derived so much joy from life, a man so at one with his world, doing exactly what he most wanted to do, doing it very well, and taking such abiding pleasure in it all. But why seek out hurt like this?

Must her every thought be of Llewelyn, when he had nary a thought for her?217 "I understand Llewelyn does return from Cricieth in a fortnight, . Men the court moves to Mon?"

311 (oanna nodded. "He has a ... a plas at Aberffraw, does he not?"

"Aye/ but he'll go to Rhosyr. He has no liking for Aberffraw, not more." Joanna had not realized her curiosity showed so nakedly til Rhys added matter-of-factly, "The Lady Tangwystl died at Aberf, w " He did not pause for her response. "The Lady Catrin, my wife, ,. j ~ve birth just a month ago, was stricken after with the milk fever. She is better now, God be thanked, but she's not yet able to travel. She . very eager, though, to meet you, and I would ask a favor of you." He stopped, turned to face her, and Joanna realized he had not been making idle conversation, after all.

"When the court moves to Rhosyr, would you come to my manor at Tregarnedd? It would mean much to my Catrin, Madame, in truth it would."

Joanna could find in herself no enthusiasm for meeting the Lady Catrin, not after making the acquaintance of Ednyved's wife. But she could think of no graceful way to decline, and she said, "Yes, of course."

They walked the rest of the way in silence. As they approached the gateway, they saw Blanche pacing back and forth distractedly. She gave a glad cry at sight of Joanna, ran to meet her.

"Madame, thank God you've come! Sir Hugh Corbet has just ridden in, is awaiting you in the great hall!"

"Oh, sweet Lady Mary!" Joanna tried to collect her thoughts, tried to remember all she must do for an honored guest. Give orders for a special meal, one of several courses, ask Llywarch to sing for Hugh. See that a chamber was prepared for his stay, that his men were bedded down, too. What else? Jesu, what of a bath?

Joanna came to a sudden stop. It was customary, of course, to offer a bath to any guest planning to pass the night. If the guest was of high rank, it was expected that the lady of the manor herself would assist him in bathing. To neglect so basic a courtesy would be no small insult. But Isabelle had never performed such tasks; was a Princess, too, exempt? Nor did she even know if this ancient Norman custom was followed amongst the Welsh. It would be dreadful to slight her husband's stepather. But neither did she want to embarrass Llewelyn by turning her hand to a task better left to her maids. If only she knew what was exPected of her, if only there was a woman she could ask.

Well, she must blunder through as best she could. Mayhap Hugh j^ould give her some hint as to what he expected. Why was it that, the st tee she had to act on Llewelyn's behalf, the guest must be one so lmPortant, must be her husband's kin?218 Hugh resolved her dilemma, however, in a way she'd not arttic pated. He could not pass the night, he explained regretfully, for it wa urgent that he reach Llewelyn as soon as possible.

"I fear Llewelyn is some miles to the south, in the commote of ft fionydd. He is building a seacoast castle at Cricieth, wanted to judge the progress for himself. If you are set upon departing in such haste, we will gladly provide you with an escort and fresh mounts." Trying to hide her relief, Joanna racked her brains to recall what little she knew of Welsh geography. "You could pass the night at Dolwyddelan, or at Beddgelert Priory, should you get that far."

She hesitated, for the first time seeing the fatigue already well etched into Hugh's face.

"Sir Hugh, may I ask why you are in such a rush to see my husband? Is there trouble?"

"Of a sort." He drew her toward the privacy of the window seat, said in a low voice, "Prince Gwenwynwyn of Powys has been a widower since the spring. Two days ago he was wed to my niece Margaret Corbet, my brother Robert's daughter.

I want to get to Llewelyn ere he hears of it from anyone else."

Joanna needed to hear no more; after four months as Llewelyn's wife, she had no doubts whatsoever as to what his reaction would be. "It sounds rather as if it were something of a hole-and-corner marriage," she said coolly. "Why? To keep Llewelyn from finding out beforehand?"

"Exactly." Hugh grimaced. "My brother can be a fool at times. Had I only been consulted, I'd have told him Llewelyn would be sure to take such a marriage as a personal insult. But he pays too much heed these days to my nephew torn, and torn is no great thinker. Neither he nor Rob seems to realize that times have changed. It did work well once to play off the Welsh princes, one against the other. Fifteen years ago, such a marriage would have been a shrewd maneuver.

But those days are gone. Gwenwynwyn's goodwill counts for little against Llewelyn's. I only hope they do not have to learn that to their cost."

"What will Llewelyn do?"

"For the moment, nothing. It's done and beyond changing. But he's not likely to forget, even less likely to forgive. Stupid and shortsighted, the both of them. They have yet to get it into their heads that Llewelyn is not just another Welsh prince, to be bought off or duped as their need dictates. I've told them that the day may well come when he'll hold all of Wales, but they laugh. Fools. I only do hope I'm wrong, for Llewelyn5 sake as much as ours. No English king could ever permit a Welsh prince to wield so much power; John would have no choice but to break him- '< for one, would not want" He stopped suddenly, having remembered too late to whom he was speaking.

Joanna had gone very white; her eyes suddenly seemed enormous/239 j rjc they were almost black. "Do not say that," she pleaded. "That must never happen."

Cursing himself for his clumsiness, Hugh made haste to repair the age done. "Indeed it will not, Lady Joanna," he said soothingly.

"When I am tired, my tongue tends to outrun my brain; such talk means thing- Your husband and father are more than allies of the moment; are the living link that binds them together."

Joanna nodded; color slowly began to come back into her face. Hugh gave her shoulder a reassuring pat, wondering for whom she feared, John or Llewelyn.

As eagerly as she awaited Llewelyn's return, Joanna felt some anxiety, too, remembering her father's rages, his dark, moody silences. But however violent Llewelyn's initial reaction might have been, he had his temper well in hand by the time he got back to Aber, made no mention whatsoever of his Corbet kin.

Joanna began to wonder if she had misjudged him; she'd been so sure he would take the marriage as a mortal affront. She had to know, at last asked him point-blank how he felt about it.

He looked at her with a faint smile. "My cousin torn has ever been one for grazing on both sides of the hedge. That is his misfortune." And Joanna saw that she had not misjudged him at all.

IT was a mild October afternoon four days after their arrival at Rhosyr.

Joanna was in no hurry to reach Tregarnedd, had covered the eight miles at a leisurely pace. She only hoped the Lady Catrin spoke some French. On the other hand, if she did not, that would be as good an excuse as any to cut the visit short. At least it was a delightful day for a ride. And she would confess to some curiosity about the woman Rhys had married, wondered if Catrin would be a mirror image of her handsome husband.

Tregarnedd was an agreeable surprise; it was much like a village, for tdnyved had a manor here, too, and, as in England, there were people who preferred to dwell, for safety's sake, in the shadow of a lord. But e real surprise waited within, a smile of welcome upon her face.

I am Lady Catherine, Madame. How good of you to come to me e this; in truth, you honor our house. I've so longed to meet you. For e hrst time in my life, I did regret that I know not how to write. Of Urse, I could have dictated a letter to our chaplain, but. . ."

Joanna stared at the other woman, astonished. It was not Cather- s appearance that so startled her, although she was not the ravishing220 beauty Joanna had been expecting. She was a buxom, pretty worna with fair, creamy skin, thick golden lashes, and hair so blonde it w almost white. It was her speech, however, that riveted Joanna's eve upon her; her French was not only fluent, it was colloquial.

"You are Norman!" Joanna blurted out, and then blushed. But Catherine merely laughed.

"Indeed. Did Rhys not tell you? Ah, that man!"

On reflection, Joanna realized there was no reason for such surprise.

Intermarriages were not that uncommon, after all; the Corbets were not the only Marcher border lords to see the advantages in a Welsh connection. It was just that Rhys, so proudly, defiantly Welsh, seemed the last man to choose a Norman wife.

As if reading her thoughts, Catherine said, "I know no people who value bloodlines as do the Welsh. But they have never balked at accepting foreign wives, for a woman takes on her husband's nationality, and any children of such a union have full rights under Welsh law. It becomes rather more complicated when a Welshwoman does wed with an alltud ... a man of foreign blood. But I expect Llewelyn has explained all this to you . . ."

Ushering Joanna into the great hall, she at once sent for wine and wafers, settled Joanna in the seat of honor by the hearth, and beckoned a nurse forward to show Joanna a small, dark-haired infant swaddled in folds of soft linen.

"My daughter Gwenifer. Rhys always does hope the girls will have my coloring, and always in vain. This is the fifth time I've been brought to childbed, and each one has hair black as sin."

Joanna laughed. She'd all but forgotten how wonderful it was just to sit and talk, to make inconsequential, easy conversation. She had, of necessity, learned to tune out the disgruntled Blanche's litany of cornplaints, and her encounters with Llewelyn were so fraught with sexual tension that she could take little pleasure in them.

"Now ... do tell me how you like Wales. Llewelyn is well? I must confess that I'm half in love with him, do not know a woman who is not, in truth! My husband may turn all female heads, but yours is the one they'd run off with if . . ." Her words trailed off, for Joanna's color had deepened, dark patches showing high on her cheekbones. Catherine realized she had trod amiss, but she was puzzled as to how. Surely the girl knew she was but joking? Unless . . .

unless she knew about Cristyn? Catherine was now the one to be embarrassed, sought hastily for safer subject matter.

"Should you like, my lady, to hold Gwenifer? You do know, I'111 sure, that you have all our heartfelt prayers that you may soon have a babe of your own. It must weary you, in truth, to have the women ever221 suring your waistline, whispering if you so much as miss a meal!

111 jt is always so with newly wedded wives, and when your husband is Our lord Prince..."

Joanna came to her feet so abruptly that she knocked her wine cup to the floor. Would she never learn? This woman was even more mali- OUS than Maude de Braose and Gwenllian, for they at least had pre- nded no friendliness. But Catherine drew blood with a smile, and for that, Joanna would never forgive her. "Your jest is little to my liking,"

she said, all the more furious that her voice was not as steady as she would have wished.

"But Madame . . . what have I said? How have I offended you?" Catherine, too, was on her feet now. Her distress seemed so genuine that Joanna felt the first glimmer of doubt.

"The entire court does know. Surely your husband would have told you . . ."

"Rhys never gossips," Catherine said simply. "I do not know of what you speak, my lady, I swear I do not."

For a long moment, Joanna stared at her, and then sat down again. "If I did missay you, I am indeed sorry. You see, I thought you were mocking me.

Llewelyn and I... we do not share a bed, and there is not a soul at Aber or Rhosyr who does not know that..."

"I did not know, Madame," Catherine said, after some moments of silence. "That is not something Rhys would think to mention. It is not that unusual, after all, when the wife is quite young and her husband some years older than she."

Some of Joanna's shame gave way to gratitude. Whether Catherine believed that or not, it was kind of her to say so, and she was very much relieved when Catherine began tactfully to talk of other matters.

Joanna was never able to pinpoint the exact moment when she let her defenses down. For the first time in five months she had a sympathetic ear, and it was perhaps inevitable that she would find herself confiding in Catherine, Catherine who spoke her own tongue, who knew what it was like to be a bride in a foreign land, Catherine who offered friendship. She did not lower all of the barriers, spoke of Llewelyn in only the most conventional, cautious banalities. But she did speak of her loneliness, her homesickness, spoke of the utter isolation and the cries of wolves on the wind and a forgotten fifteenth birthday.

There was a great relief in sharing; hers were secret sores much in need of healing balm. But there was unease, too, once she realized just w much she'd revealed. Isabelle was the only confidante she'd ever . ' ar>d entrusting a secret to Isabelle was rather like toting water in a Ieve- Very thankful that her tongue had not completely run away with er< that she had not betrayed the one secret that truly mattered, Joanna223 222.

watched as Catherine bathed Gwenifer, then turned the child over t the wet nurse for suckling. She'd always nursed her own, Catherin admitted, although the Lady Gwenllian and others mocked her for u S would have suckled Gwenifer, too, had her fever not dried up her miix Catherine was emerging as more and more of an enigma to Joanna She was, by her own admission, not educated. She'd made a self. disparaging remark about marriage portions when their conversation had turned to Margaret Corbet and Gwenwynwyn, laughing and sayirw she'd brought Rhys naught but headaches.

Joanna had been distinctly taken aback; it was almost unheard of for a Norman lord to take an undowered wife. And if she was, in truth, no heiress, how in the name of Heaven had they even met, much less married?

"Catherine . . . would you think me rude if I asked how you came to marry Rhys?"

Catherine smiled. "I'd not mind in the least, Joanna. That is a story I never tire of telling. My first meeting with Rhys goes back some thirteen years, to the autumn of the year after King Richard was taken captive on his way home from the Holy Land. My father was bailiff on Lord Fitz Alan's manor of Middleton, in Shropshire. I was the youngest of six, the only girl. My mother died when I was four, and my father made rather a pet of me; so, too, did my brothers. That spring I did turn fifteen, and it was more or less understood that, come winter, I'd be wed to a neighboring knight, Sir Bernard de Nevill.

He and my father were talking of a betrothal at Martinmas, a wedding after Advent." "Were you willing, Catherine?"

"I was not offered a choice, Joanna. I felt it was my duty to do as my father bade me. And it was indeed an advantageous match. Sir Bernard held his own manor of Lord Fitz Alan; I'd be lady of the manor, with my own household and servants. And since Sir Bernard had no children b his first marriage, a son of mine might one day inherit the fief; not mam second wives could say as much. Moreover, he seemed to be a good man, a devout Christian, well thought of by all. But... he was also nigh on fifty, and balding, with breath rank enough to stop a mule in its tracks. So I'd not say I was counting the days till the marriage!" "What prevented the marriage?"