Gwenhwyfar_ The White Spirit - Mercedes Lackey [3]
Rhianu pursed her lips, then seemed to resign herself. “Well, her name is Gwenhwyfar, like your own daughter, and the name suits her, for she is very like to all of you, as fair as a Saxon and slender as a reed. She was not our first choice, but Arthur came to the aid of her father, Leodegrance, saw her firing arrows from the walls, with her fine gown kilted up and fire in her eye.” She shrugged. “He was smitten, and she is of the right bloodline and of our teaching. But—”
Eleri raised an eyebrow. “But?”
“She is her father’s only child. We question whether his blood grows thin. The Good Goddess knows Uther’s line—”
Eleri looked speculative. “Hmm. One child only, Arthur himself—”
“And never a by-blow by leman or lover, and it took the Merlin’s magic to quicken Arthur in Ygraine’s womb.” Eleri nodded. “Still, at least now Arthur has found a woman he wants, and all else is suitable. Passion has a magic all its own, and the rites themselves should ensure that there is at least one child.”
Rhianu coughed. “We intend to make certain of that,” she said, and significant glances were shared among the women.
“That is chancy, meddling in those matters,” Eleri murmured softly. “Have a care that your enterprise does not miscarry.”
Gwen shivered at that moment, as an icy finger traced itself along her spine.
“Has anyone troubled to scry the results?” Eleri continued, as Gwen shivered again.
“There will be a son born to Arthur, within the proper season,” Rhianu replied, with confidence. “At least one.”
“Sons!” said the king, cheerfully, coming up behind his wife. “Oh, sons are all very well, but a king’s wealth is in his daughters! A son may run off and pledge his service to another man in another crown, but a daughter remembers what is due her sire—what is that old saw, my sweet?” He set both hands on Eleri’s shoulders, and she reached up to squeeze one with affection.
“ ‘A son is a son ’till he takes a wife, but a daughter’s a daughter for all of her life,’ ” Eleri responded, tilting her head back to look at him and being rewarded with a kiss.
“There, you see?” the king beamed at their visitor. “And there is my wealth. Fair daughters, strong and comely, and I know they will remember their duty to land and sire. If the High King wants loyal allies, let him have daughters to cement those bonds. If he wants magic to safeguard his kingdom, let him have daughters to spin him spells and speak for him to the gods. And if he is very lucky, he will also have a daughter that is a warrior-woman, for they make the most loyal shield-bearers.”
Gwen noticed at that moment, that the queen looked as if she were harboring a pleasant secret.
But she said nothing, only again squeezed the king’s hand, and the king chuckled and went back to his men.
“But what of Anna Morgause?” Eleri asked after a moment. “If there is anything about her you should be warning us against, it is your duty to make it plain.”
The visitor grimaced with distaste, then looked pointedly down at Gwen and her sisters. Gwen sighed. If she had been just a little off to the side, there was a chance that the visitor would not have noticed her. That happened a lot. Then she tried concentrating very, very hard on not being noticed. Sometimes that worked—more and more as she got the knack of it. But not tonight,
Much to Gwen’s dismay, her mother took the hint.
“Off with you,” she said in a quiet voice that nevertheless brooked no argument. “Time for bed.” The girls didn’t even try to dissuade their mother, they just picked up whatever they had been sitting on and trudged off to the private rooms behind the dais.
This was a grand, grand castle indeed. Behind the dais, through a wooden door, was a set of two small rooms where the royal family and their immediate servants slept, away from the tumble of bodies in the Great Hall. A pair of rushlights, one left burning in each room, lit the way just enough that the girls didn’t stumble over anything.
The first room was theirs; it was smaller than the second, and it had just enough space for the big