how I was tricked into siding with you against the Ffreinc. Until I repent of my folly, I am to remain locked in this room.”
“We’ll have you out of there soon enough,” said Bran. He glanced across to the shuttered window of the kitchen. “Give me a moment and I’ll come through there. Is there likely to be anyone awake in the kitchen?”
“Bran, no—wait,” said Mérian. “Listen to me—I’ve been thinking. I should stay here a little longer.”
“But, you just said—”
“I know, but I think I can persuade Garran to send men to aid us.”
“Tuck tried to ask him already. He asked to see you, too, and Garran refused. He wouldn’t hear anything we had to say.”
“You talked to him? When?”
“Today. Tuck came up, but Garran had him thrown out of the caer. It’s no use; your brother will not go against Baron Neufmarché in any case.”
“He has good reason,” Mérian said. “He’s married to the baron’s daughter.”
“What?”
“Lady Sybil Neufmarché—they were wed in the spring.” She explained about her father’s death and funeral, and the match the baron had proposed. “They are living here—Lady Agnes and Sybil, I mean.”
Bran dropped lightly to the ground. “They won’t let you go. And no matter what you say, you’ll never persuade them to join us.” He gestured behind him. “Scarlet, Tuck, come here.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Free you.”
“Please, Bran, not like this. If I stay here I might yet be able to convince them to join us. If I leave now, it will enrage them—and then you will have Garran and his men against you, too. We cannot risk making enemies of those who should be our friends.”
“Come with me, Mérian. I need you.”
“Bran, I pray you, think what this means.”
Bran paused and looked up at her. “I remember once, not so long ago, when I stood where I’m standing now and asked you to come with me,” he said. “Do you remember?”
“I remember,” she said.
“You refused to come with me then too.”
“Oh, Bran.” Her voice became plaintive. “This is not like that. I will come—as soon as I can. Until then, I will work to bring Garran around to our side. I can do this; you’ll see.”
Bran started away, fading into the night-shadowed darkness.
“It is for the best,” Mérian insisted. “You will see.”
“Farewell, Mérian.” Bran called over his shoulder. “Come,” he said to Scarlet and Tuck, “we are finished. There is nothing for us here.”
CHAPTER 27
Saint Martin’s
The small steading lay amidst fields of barley in a narrow crook of a finger of the Vale of Elfael north of Saint Martin’s—not the largest holding in Elfael, nor the closest to the caer, but one that Gysburne had marked before as a prosperous place and well worth keeping an eye on. Captain Aloin, commander of the knights that had been sent to help the abbot and sheriff maintain order in the cantref, surveyed the quiet farm from the back of his horse.
“Are you certain this is the place?” asked the captain, casting his gaze right and left for any sign of trouble. “It seems peaceful enough.”
“The calm can be misleading,” replied Marshal Gysburne. “These Welsh are sly devils every one. You must be prepared to fight for your life at any moment.”
The sheriff and abbot had determined to begin retaliation for the most recent predations of King Raven and his thieving flock. The sack of the Welsh farms and confiscation of all supplies, stock, and provisions would serve as a warning to the folk of the cantref—especially those who benefited from the thievery. To this end, a large body of knights—fully half of the entire force, accompanied by men-at- arms and four empty hay wains—had been dispatched to the holding with orders to strip it of all possessions and kill anyone bold enough to resist.
“And when we’ve finished here?” Captain Aloin asked.
“We continue on to the next farm, and the next, until the wagons are full. Or until King Raven and his foul flock appear.”
“How do you know he will come?” asked Captain Aloin as he and Gysburne rode out from the caer, each at the head of a company of soldiers.
“He will appear, without a doubt,” replied Marshal Guy. “If not today, then tomorrow. Attacking one of his beloved settlements raises his ire—killing a few Cymry is sure to bring him out of hiding.”
“If that is so,” surmised Aloin. “Then why have you not done this before? Why have you waited so long and put up with his thievery and treasons all