He glanced down at John's coffin, and his mouth twisted in a bitter smile.

John had been no easy foe to defeat, and as a ghost he was even more formidable, defying all attempts at exorcism. In death he was causing as much pain and turmoil as ever he had in his accursed lifetime. Joanna was not his only victim. Gruffydd, too, was one, Gruffydd who could not outrun his memories of English prisons.

THE talk in Worcester was all of the coming crusade to capture the Egyptian city of Damietta. Both in England and in France, an impressive roster of wellborn barons had taken the cross, among them Robert Fitz Walter, Saer de Quincy and his eldest son, John's illegitimate son Oliver Fitz Royeven Hugh de Lusignan. But the plans of one crusader in particular interested Llewelyn, and he deliberately set about encountering the Earl of Chester alone on the east walkway of the priory cloisters.

They greeted each other with the wary regard that men reserve for adversaries worthy of respect. Llewelyn at once came to the point. "I hear you mean to join the crusade. Is that true?"

Chester nodded. "I took the cross with King John, received a dispensation until the French were defeated. Now that the realm is at peace, I can fulfill my vow."

"Tell me," Llewelyn said with a faint smile, "have you no qualms about leaving your holdings in Cheshire? With you in the Holy Land, men might see your manors and estates as fruit ripe for the picking.'

Chester thought Llewelyn's jest a rather dubious one, but he made a polite attempt to reply in kind, saying wryly, "It is good of you to be so concerned on my behalf. Of course, if you truly want to ease my mind/ you can always offer a truce for the length of my absence."

As he expected, Llewelyn laughed and shook his head. But then^ said, "Actually, what I had in mind was not a truce, but an alliance.

Chester stopped dead in the walkway. "Are you serious?"

"Very// have "We've been enemies for most of our lives. Yet now, when yu nT 529.

Qpportumty to raid into Cheshire with impunity, you are offering to make peace? Why?"

"I'll not deny that your absence would enable me to seize an advantage But lf would be short-lived You're right, we have been enemies, but by geography, not by choice We each wield a great deal of power If we joined together, how much greater that power might be, great enough to protect our common interests, to give us a formidable say in the King's council "

"Yes," Chester said slowly, "it would indeed "

Although he was sure he already knew the answer, Llewelyn took care to observe the formalities, asking, "Well7 What do you think7"

"I think," Chester said, "that we ought to talk "

GRUFFYDD was utterly wretched at Worcester The suffocating sensations of confinement had come back to haunt his sleep He awoke in an English bed, craving Senena's warmth, dreading the daylight hours when he must mingle with men he despised, speak their alien tongue, watch as his father humbled himself before John's son As he crossed from sun into shadow, he paused, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the loss of light He was not sure what drew him so often to the priory church, but on three different occasions he'd found himself standing before the High Altar, before the tomb of the English King It gave him a curious kind of comfort to touch the cold marble of John's coffin Once he'd even spat onto it, knowing the gesture was childish and not caring in the least But as he moved now into the choir, he came to an abrupt halt, for he was not alone Two young boys were standing by John's coffin, a lone wall sconce spilling light onto their bowed heads, one bright as flame, the other black as jet His brother Davydd and the boy King Having offered a prayer, Henry carefully crossed himself, then reached out, ran his hand over the smooth surface of the tomb Davydd, to, started to touch the coffin, but so tentatively that Henry said encouragingly, "Go ahead Papa would not mind You're his grandson, you have the right "

At that, Davydd drew back My grandfather, he thought, and it did "ot seem real to him, not at all "Do you miss him7" he asked, and Hei*y nodded I did not see him all that often, but I always knew I would sooner ater Now, when I think that I'll never, never get to see him again, Betimes it it scares me "

Uavydd gave Henry a look of sharp pity "You must miss your er/ too Why did she go7" He did not mean to be rude, but he520 found Isabella's mysterious departure very disturbing; it made him wonder if his own mother might not one day go back to England, leave him as Isabelle had left Henry.

"I do not know," Henry admitted. "She" His head came up "Davydd," he whispered, "someone is watching us. Over there, see?"

Davydd peered into the shadows. "It's my brother," he said, but the sudden tautness in his voice and stance communicated to Henry an inexplicable sense of unease.

"Let's go," he urged, tugging at Davydd's sleeve.

Davydd wanted to go, too, but he did not want Gruffydd to think he was running away. He circled around to the far side of the coffin. "Do you like your brothers, Henry?"

Henry smiled at the silliness of the question. "Of course I do. I like Richard and Oliver best, and I love my little brother Dickon; he's nine, like you."

"We Welsh have a saying about brothers," Davydd said, so loudly that Henry flinched. "Gwell ceiniog na brawd."

"What does that mean?"

"Better a penny than a brother."

"I do not understand."

"Gruffydd does."

"Not so loud," Henry cautioned, "lest he hear you. I do not like being watched. Think you that we can slip out without him seeing us?"

"No," Davydd said, but then he sighed. "It's all right. He's gone."

One of the monks was moving sedately up the cloister walkway, toward the south door of the church. He stumbled backward as Gruffydd burst through the doorway, his box of candles spilling onto the cloister tiles. Gruffydd did not offer assistance; he'd not even noticed the man. He continued rapidly up the walkway, not pausing until he neared the Chapter House. At this time of day it would be empty/ would be a good place to be alone. He was reaching for the latch as the door swung open and his father and the Earl of Chester emerged onto the walkway.

Llewelyn had often deplored his eldest son's sense of timing, but never more than now. "Were you looking for me, Gruffydd?"

Gruffydd shook his head. They'd been laughing together; he even thought he'd heard his father call Chester by his Christian name, call him Ranulf as if he were a friend, a comrade-in-arms.

"You know my son, of course, Ranulf," Llewelyn said, an Gruffydd stiffened. Ranulf. So he'd not imagined it. Ranulf.

"Indeed. I was present at Dover Castle the day he defied King J I've never forgotten it, for that was one of the most courageous a I've ever seen." In Chester's considered opinion, it was also one is a* of*6r 527.

jjiost foolhardy, and he might have said that to Llewelyn But h (-jj-uffyddhe knew instinctively that this was one young man ^t. never learned to laugh at himself .

"You might as well be the first to know," he said, and smiled . lord father and I have pledged to forget past differences, to act as t from this day forth " He heard Llewelyn's indrawn breath, and krv '