The Good Knight (A Gareth and Gwen Medieval Mystery)

Deheubarth back in 1137. At least her father had died near Abergavenny, fighting against the men of Gwent, rather than by Cadwaladr’s own hand. Still, it was a stretch to think theirs was a love match.
    Gareth had left Cadwaladr’s service shortly thereafter. Alice, for her part, was not a beauty, though purportedly far more intelligent than her husband. To Gareth’s mind, that wouldn’t be difficult.
    “Come to within two hundred yards—no further—and aim to stay in the trees by the river,” Hywel said. “They’ve seen us coming but right now she doesn’t know why we’re here or how many men I’ve brought. I’m just her nephew, traveling through Ceredigion. Right now her greatest concern is how she’s going to feed us all.”
    “We could deceive her,” Gareth said. “Enter the castle and take it from the inside.”
    “We could.” Hywel gave Gareth a piercing look. “And if her garrison refuses to surrender? It will be hand to hand in the courtyard. I value my men more than that—and Cadwaladr’s for that matter—far more than he does.”
    Choosing six other men he trusted, Evan among them, Hywel led the way up the road to the castle. The path doubled back on itself twice before coming out on the flat area in front of the castle gate. The portcullis was up as they arrived, but Hywel hesitated on the threshold.
    “Please ask my aunt to come to the gate,” he said to the guards. “I have news she should hear.”
    The guards murmured among themselves and one of them ran for Alice who appeared shortly thereafter. She was in her late twenties—and heavily pregnant. Gareth blinked at that. Fighting this woman was surely not what they wanted. At the sight of her, Gareth and Hywel dismounted and walked forward to greet her.
    “Why is it that you do not come inside?” Alice spoke in French, which both Gareth and Hywel understood—though Gareth couldn’t speak it as well as his lord.
    “I am here on a less than pleasant mission, Aunt.” Hywel took her hand and bowed over it. “I would speak to your lord husband.”
    Alice looked bewildered and Hywel did not release her hand, even as she tried to tug it away without seeming to. “He’s not here, Hywel. He—” she hesitated as she looked from Hywel to Gareth, perhaps searching for some kind of reassurance, which she didn’t find in Gareth’s eyes. “He went to Aber for your sister’s wedding.”
    “He has left Aber, Aunt,” Hywel said.
    Alice shook her head. “I’ve not seen him.”
    “Then I ask you to call your son, and come with me,” Hywel said.
    Now Alice backed away—just one small step, but enough to show that she didn’t necessarily trust Hywel or his motives, even if she’d been polite up until now. “Why?”
    Hywel moved with her, still clasping her hand. “My lord father, the King, has sent me to seize these lands, including this castle. Your husband has fled to Dublin.”
    Alice’s face paled. Her control was good, however, because the expression lasted only for a heartbeat. Then she whirled on one heel, dragging Hywel with her. “Close the gate! We must defen—”
    Hywel didn’t let her finish. He grasped her around the shoulders and pulled her against him, his sword suddenly unsheathed. He pointed it at her guardsmen who’d been slow to react behind her. Perhaps they hadn’t understood French enough to grasp her conversation with Hywel. She’d screamed her orders in Welsh, however.
    Holding Alice, much as Cadwaladr had held Gwen, Hywel backed away from the gate. Unlike Cadwaladr, however, he held no knife to her throat and didn’t threaten her men with her death. “I will not hurt her but I will take her with me if you do not do as I ask. She has commanded you to defend the castle but it is your choice whether you do so or not. Do you yield? I am sent by Owain, King of Gwynedd and my father. His seal is on this action.”
    The captain of the guard, an older man named Goronwy whom Gareth knew from his days in Ceredigion, skidded to a halt just on the castle side of the wooden gates, which the guards had half-closed at Alice’s warning. They wouldn’t have wanted to drop the portcullis until she was safely back inside.
    Goronwy flicked his gaze from Alice to Hywel, and then past them to Gareth. His eyes widened. Gareth canted his head in acknowledgement of an old friendship but didn’t say anything, since Hywel had asked him not to.
    “We defend,” Goronwy said.
    “Send out the boy,” Hywel said.