Darkspell - Katharine Kerr [90]
“Is the tieryn leaving soon for her summer residence?” Nevyn asked.
“She is,” the page said. “In just two days’ time we’ll start for Cannobaen. Her grace is in the great hall right now.”
Lovyan was sitting at the honor table with a scribe. Although they seemed to be discussing important matters, she dismissed him as soon as she saw Nevyn and sat the old man down at her right hand. Straightaway he told her all the news he had of Rhodry, because he knew that her heart ached to hear that her son was safe.
“And, finally, I scried them out last night,” he finished up. “They’re in the Auddglyn, looking for a hire. I must say Jill knows how to squeeze a copper hard enough to polish it. They seem to have plenty of coin left from the winter.”
“That gladdens my heart, but ah, ye gods, the summer’s just begun, and there’s my poor little lad, selling his sword on the roads.”
“Oh, come now, Lovva. You must admit that the ‘poor little lad’ happens to be one of the very best swordsmen in the kingdom.”
“Bad luck happens to even the finest warriors.”
“True spoken, and for all my fine words to you, I worry myself.”
“I know that, and here, of course, I forgot you wouldn’t know yet! I’m troubled about Rhodry’s exile for more than his sake these days. Nevyn, the most truly appalling thing’s happened. Do you remember Donilla, the wife Rhys put aside for being barren?”
“Quite well.”
“Well, her new husband was absolutely besotted with her, and he’s been courting her as if she were a young lass. Apparently he’s been quite successful, because she’s with child.”
“Oh, by every god! Has Rhys heard the news yet?”
“He has. I rode to Aberwyn myself to tell him, thinking it would be best if he heard it from me. He did not take it well.”
“No doubt. You know, I can even find it in my heart to feel sorry for Rhys. The gossip must be spreading like wildfire.”
“He’s become the laughingstock of every lord in Eldidd. My heart absolutely aches for his poor little wife. They treat her like a prize mare! Here, people actually have been making bets on whether she’ll conceive, and I take it the odds against are very high. Ah, ye gods, how cruel men can be!”
“Just so. But I see what you mean about Rhodry. He’s the last Maelwaedd heir for Aberwyn. We’ve got to get him back.”
“With Rhys in this temper? You haven’t seen him. He walks around in a fury all day long, and not a soul dares to mention the very word ‘baby’ in front of him. He’ll never recall Rhodry now. Besides, there are too many ambitious men to feed his hatred for his brother, in the hope that if Rhys dies childless, their clan will have a chance at the gwerbretrhyn.”
“That has the disgusting ring of truth.”
“Of course. I’ll wager that the scheming and jockeying among the Council of Electors has already begun.” She gave him a faint, self-mocking smile. “I’ve already started my own scheming. When we go to Cannobaen, I’m going to take Rhodry’s bastard daughter out of fosterage and keep her with me. Little Rhodda will be a pawn in this struggle, and I want to supervise her training myself. After all, the man who marries Rhodry’s heir, bastard or not, will have a small claim to push before the council.”
“By the Goddess Herself, I have to admire you. Most women would still be tearing their hair over their son’s exile, but you’re scheming fourteen years in advance.”
“Most women have never held the power I do, not even the women of my rank.”
For several minutes they sat in a troubled silence. Lovyan looked so weary and miserable that Nevyn surmised she was thinking about the bitter truth: Rhodry was no true Maelwaedd at all. Yet it was crucial that men think he was. Although Nevyn couldn’t read the future clearly, of course, he was certain that Rhodry was meant to rule in western