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“Why are you giving . . . ?” Knud’s words trailed off, and his head snapped up. “Rhiannon was the girl at the house those years ago.”
Leif avoided his eyes. “It is time that it was returned to her.”
“How long have you known she was the one from that night?”
“The moment I saw her at the market.”
“And you brought the box with you this time in case you saw her? Did you know she would be here?”
Leif shook his head. “I had thought she was on Ongullsey and had not yet devised a way of delivering it.”
“Of course you had not,” Knud muttered.
Leif smiled. “It will be well, Knud. If she does not come, she will have her mother’s jewelry box and we are none the worse for trying. If she does come, I will ask her for information on the noblemen and royalty. Mayhap she knows something that will steer us the correct way.”
“And what if she comes accompanied by Cadwgan or Hywel or two dozen castle guards?”
“Then I leave without speaking to her,” Leif said.
“If they do not kill you first.”
“I shall be careful. They will not come upon me unawares.”
“No, they shall not,” Knud said grimly. “For I shall be watching their route.”
“You will be at the inn,” Leif reminded him.
With complete disregard for Leif’s last comment, Knud started for the door. “Give the sack to Elis’s son. I shall go for our horses. There is sure to be another tree that can conceal an observer somewhere near the river, but I would be glad of a few extra minutes to choose my perch this time.”
Leif’s heart lightened a fraction. “You have my thanks, Knud.”
His friend paused, his hand on the door handle. “Be warned,” he said. “My services as lookout come with a price. When this latest adventure is behind us, I shall require your assistance in acquiring one very fine goblet.”
“It shall be done,” Leif said with a grin.
Chapter 25
Rhiannon awoke to sunlight bathing her room. She blinked, the stinging beneath her eyelids bringing instant remembrance. She had cried herself to sleep. Tossing aside the blanket, she shifted to a sitting position on the bed and studied the pattern of light on the floor. If the angle of the shadows was any indication, she had slept into the late afternoon.
For a moment, she wondered that no one had come looking for her. The thought was quickly followed by the realization that Gwenllian was likely keeping to her chamber after the emotional toll Anarawd’s burial had taken upon her. Concern for her daughter would eliminate any thought of Rhiannon from the queen’s mind. The only other person in the castle who would truly care about Rhiannon’s heartache was Heledd, and she would be hard at work until late this evening.
Crossing to a small table, Rhiannon picked up her comb and ran it through her long hair. When she had tamed her tresses into some semblance of submission, she twisted her hair into a long plait and tied it off with a short ribbon. Bending over the wash basin, she splashed her face with cool water and patted it dry with a rag. Mayhap, if she were very fortunate, the puffiness she felt around her eyes would subside before she needed to make an appearance at the evening meal.
A knock sounded at the door. Rhiannon started. She had no desire to see anyone, but if it was Gwenllian, it would not do to turn her away. “Who is it?”
“Hefin, Miss Rhiannon. I bear a delivery for you.”
Hefin? With a delivery? Rhiannon struggled to gather her scattered thoughts. What could Hywel’s young page possibly have for her?
Curiosity overcame hesitation. “Come in.”
The door opened, and Hefin stepped across the threshold, carrying a sack. “Good day, Miss Rhiannon,” he said with a bow. “This was left at the castle gate for you. One of the guards called me over when I was in the outer courtyard and told me to see that you received it.”
Mystified, Rhiannon reached for the sack. “Did the guard give you the sender’s name?”
“No, miss. All’s he said was, ‘Within the hour at the river.’”
Rhiannon’s pulse quickened, her fingers tightening around the sack.
