A Dishonorable Knight(23)
"Where is my horse?" she asked.
Gareth continued loading Isrid as he said, "It would never make it over the mountains we'll soon be crossing. Besides, we'll travel faster if we're all mounted."
"That still doesn't explain where my horse is."
"I traded her for this one," he jerked his chin toward the large horse on which Cynan and Bryant were mounted.
"How dare you! That animal was given to me by Queen Anne just before she died, you oaf. King Richard will hear of this, I can assure you!"
Gareth swung around. In an instant he had Elena by the arm. "I care not for the precious symbol of how prized you are by the King of England. 'Twill be a symbol of a meaningless reign before the year is out."
"Gareth!" Cynan said sharply.
Gareth glanced at his friend and flushed.
"You do mean to commit treason! You! A knight sworn to serve King Richard!"
"I am sworn to serve the crown which rules Wales and England, not the man who wears the crown."
"What is the difference?" Elena demanded.
Gareth paused. He had been struggling with the same question all night. Though he had no great fondness for Richard, and abhorred the thought of how he had obtained the crown, he had, in truth, done no harm to England. In fact, he had lifted many taxes and devised a fair and successful Council, which met once a quarter in York to keep the peace, disperse punishment, and settle disputes. Glancing from Elena's furious face to Cynan's and Bryant's wary ones, Gareth sighed. He hoped his father would be able to offer him advice on determining his loyalties.
Gareth ran his fingers through his hair and turned back to Elena. "Get on the horse. We can argue as we ride, but we are losing daylight."
"I am not going anywhere with a traitor."
"Fine. Stay here with Gruffydd and Catrin. I'm sure they'll be able to drop you at the abbey the next time they go to Llangollen for the yearly fair in six or eight months. In the meantime, I'm sure they could use you to tend the herds and help with the younger children."
Elena strode furiously to Isrid and waited to be lifted up.
"I'm so glad you decided to join us," Gareth said amiably as he took the reins and quickly mounted. When Elena continued to stare at him expectantly, Gareth leaned down and lifted her unto the saddle in front of him.
The three men waved goodbye to Gruffydd's family who had gathered around to hear the English woman argue with Gareth. With little urging, the horses broke into a spirited gallop.
"Where will you leave me?" Elena asked several minutes later.
"Despite what you may think," Gareth said, "Wales is not a Godless country. There are many abbeys and monasteries scattered throughout."
"So, where will you leave me?"
"Unfortunately," Gareth continued as if Elena had not interrupted, "Since none of us ever thought to take up the life of a holy man, we have little or no idea where the nearest abbey is."
"Couldn't you have thought to ask before we left?"
"Catrin says there is one about two days' ride south, but we cannot afford the time to ride there and back. You will simply have to enjoy our beautiful Welsh scenery until we come across one that will not delay us overlong."
"Heaven forbid you should be inconvenienced," Elena said caustically.
***
The next five days were duplicates of the one following their departure from Gruffydd and Catrin's home: they rode hard all day, stopping at night at a small village or hut where one of the men was invariably related to at least one of the occupants. As they ate, they would discuss Richard's downfalls and the merits of Richmond--the greatest of which seemed to be the former's lack of Welsh blood and the latter's abundance of it. Although Elena knew a good deal of Welsh, she did not tell Gareth and was content to let him ramble on. For some reason she could not fathom, he seemed to feel compelled to translate a carefully edited version of what they had spoken about before they went to sleep. Although she never let the three men see it, she was growing more and more disturbed by what she was learning of her sovereign.
Elena had long prided herself on her knowledge of the political games that were played at court. She knew details of Buckingham's rebellion she doubted Richard even knew, and she could recite the line of the Woodvilles--Edward IV's in-laws and a constant burr to Richard--back for two generations. But despite her time spent in court, she never knew that a majority of the churchmen who served on his governing Council were from Richard’s home in northern England and that these men had no knowledge of the workings of the rest of England. In truth, Richard placed such a greater value on the northern shires that he all but ignored the needs of the southern shires.