The Good Knight (A Gareth and Gwen Medieval Mystery)

then?”
    “That’s your problem,” Cristina said. “Owain would be most upset if he knew that I’d been in Cadell’s rooms.”
    That was certainly true.
    “Especially after finding the dead body yesterday,” Cristina said. “I can have no part in your investigation.”
    Gwen bit her lip and studied the other woman. “And what were you doing in his rooms?” At this point, Gwen didn’t see that she had anything to lose by asking. Her impertinence was slight in comparison to what Cristina had done.
    Gwen thought she might have the upper hand for a moment, but Cristina laughed and waved a hand, brushing off her indiscretion as if it was nothing. “I don’t know why I’m telling you this at all. It would be far easier to keep this to myself … but the truth is, I was snooping.”
    “Snooping?”
    “Snooping,” she said. “You’re not the only one who finds pleasure in the art. First you and that young knight, Gareth, and then later Hywel, hunted all over Aber for information about Anarawd’s death. Everyone saw you. But I doubted any of you had the wherewithal to venture into Cadell’s rooms.”
    “With all the barons and nobles here for the wedding, most of Aber was closed to Gareth and me,” Gwen said. “Many turned their noses up at Hywel’s request for entry as well, for all that King Owain encouraged the barons to cooperate.”
    “That’s what I thought,” Cristina said, “so I decided to look for you. I found the seal the other night, during Anarawd’s funeral feast. Since Gwalchmai’s singing entertained everyone so well, I knew all the barons would be in attendance and for once I wouldn’t be missed. The barracks and sleeping quarters were open to me.”
    “And was it you who sent the guards away?” Gwen said.
    Cristina gazed at Gwen blankly. “Guards?”
    Gwen bit her lip. “Never mind.”
    “Cadell styles himself a warrior,” Cristina said. “It suits him to sleep in one of the few private rooms on the third floor of the barracks.”
    Gwen nodded and tightened her grip on the box. Remarkably, Cristina appeared to have done them a favor. “Did you have a reason to look in his rooms particularly?”
    Cristina’s faced flushed. At first Gwen thought it was in embarrassment, but Cristina’s next words told her differently. “He is a close confidant of Prince Cadwaladr, who objects to my relationship with Owain. Both of them have spoken to the King of their concern that he might grow too attached to me.”
    Nothing more needed to be said, did there? Woe to the man who got on the wrong side of Cristina. “You must realize that there’s a problem with what you’ve done,” Gwen said.
    “And what is that?”
    “The real villain might not be Cadell. The killer could have put the seal in Cadell’s rooms to implicate him, knowing that if we found it there, we’d accuse Cadell of wrong-doing.”
    Now it was Cristina’s turn to gape at Gwen. “I hadn’t thought of that. It does complicate matters.”
    Gwen glanced down at the box. “At least we know what happened to it. It wasn’t on Anarawd’s body or among his possessions when we found him, and if Gareth’s milk-brother was telling the truth, the Danes set the second ambush specifically to look for it again themselves.”
    “That’s why I brought it to you.” Cristina gave Gwen a self-satisfied smile.
    “But … if all the Danish mercenaries are dead, then how did the seal get here?” Gwen said. “Someone must have brought it to Aber—someone who took part in the first ambush but not the second.”
    “There’s someone else we need fear?” Cristina said. “This is all so much more complicated than I initially thought.”
    Their conversation had felt natural up until then, but these last words from Cristina brought Gwen up short. In a flash, Cristina had reverted to the girlish consort Owain Gwynedd courted, not the competent, somewhat hard-edged woman Gwen thought her to be—and with whom Gwen had been speaking just now. Something here wasn’t right.
    Still, Gwen didn’t say anything more, merely turned to the bench on which she’d left her clothes and slipped the seal into her scrip. She was glad to have it, even if the rest of Cristina’s story didn’t make as much sense as Gwen would like.
    “I’ll keep it safe; I promise,” Gwen said.
    “Thank you,” Cristina said. “I’m glad I could help. I’ll send a maid to assist you in dressing.”
    Cristina slipped out the door and Gwen stared