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Shock filled his deep-blue eyes, then he blinked it away, and keeping his voice low, he responded in Welsh. “I would wish the same for you, my lady.” He paused. “You understand?”

She nodded, and finally, he smiled.

“Farewell, Lady Catrin.”

The Welsh guests slipped out of the great hall, and Catrin returned to her place at the head table. Her father raised a questioning eyebrow as she quietly resumed her seat, but the duke did not remain silent.

“What was that about?”

Catrin refused to be provoked. “I was saying farewell to a friend.”

“A Welshwoman?” Disdain dripped off his tongue.

“Yes,” she said. “And a good woman.” She would listen to no more of his contempt. Rising to her feet again, Catrin offered the duke and her father a hasty curtsy. “If you will forgive me, my head has begun to ache, and I feel the need to return to my chamber.”

A look of concern crossed her father’s face, but the duke simply nodded.

“I shall watch for you tomorrow morn, my lady.”

“Of course, Your Grace.”

Then Catrin turned and left the great hall without looking back.

Chapter 10

The Duke of Bedford was standing beside a handsome brown stallion outside the stable doors when Catrin and Beti crossed the inner ward the next morning. He was elegantly dressed in dark-green hose and a matching doublet topped with a fur-lined cloak clasped at his shoulders by a silver-and-emerald pin. As Catrin approached, his small dark eyes assessed her slowly from head to toe.

“You look well today, Lady Catrin,” he said.

Catrin suppressed a shudder. The way the duke was regarding her made her want to exchange the blue silk gown she was wearing for her oldest and most worn piece of clothing.

“As do you, Your Grace,” she said. Nodding to the stablemaster, who was hovering near the door, she added, “Would you be good enough to bring out our mounts, Aldwin?”

“Right away, my lady.”

Moments later, Aldwin reappeared, leading out her black stallion and the white mare Beti was wont to ride. Seren eyed the duke, then tossed his head and backed up skittishly. Catrin ignored the duke’s stunned expression and stepped forward, placing a calming hand on Seren’s shoulder. Whispering to him in Welsh, she waited until he was still, then she allowed Aldwin to help her mount. By the time she was in the saddle, the duke’s countenance had changed, and he was studying Seren with the same calculating, covetous look he’d given Catrin seconds before.

“I am impressed, my lady.”

Not sure whether he was referring to Seren or her ability to control her horse, Catrin chose to ignore the duke’s comment. “Where should you like to ride, Your Grace?”

“Perhaps there would be something of interest in town or at the harbor,” he said.

There would certainly be much to see if they arrived at the harbor while the ferry was at dock, but that might also be the worst possible place to take the Duke of Bedford. If her intuition was right, and the Tudor brothers were sailing to join Owain Glyndwr’s men today, they would be arriving to catch the ferry within the next couple of hours. She glanced at the sun. If they hurried, they might have time to visit the harbor and be gone before any outgoing passengers arrived.

“Very well.” Catrin urged Seren forward. “Let us begin.”

She rode beside the duke, with Beti a few feet behind. The sun alternately appeared and disappeared as clouds scudded across the sky, and it wasn’t long before they reached the cobbled street that marked the beginning of town. A row of gray stone shops and houses led down to the harbor, the buildings forming a protective barrier against the blustery wind. Across the street, a boy was holding a young girl’s hand, guiding her toward the bakery.

“Good day, Lady Catrin,” he called in Welsh, bobbing up and down in repeatedly unsuccessful attempts at a bow.

It was the boy who had helped with the horses when she’d visited the cobbler. “Good day to you, my young helper.”

“Ewan, my lady. My name’s Ewan. And this is my little sister, Mari.”

Mari was holding a bent dandelion in one hand. She gazed at Catrin with wide eyes and popped her free thumb into her mouth. Ewan yanked it out, and Mari gave a squawk of consternation. Suppressing a smile, Catrin dipped her head. “Good day, Ewan and Mari.”

Ewan grinned, and after another series of bobs, he began towing a confused Mari toward the bakery again.