The Unlikely Spy by Sarah Woodbury Read Free Book Online

interventions implemented by either Cadwaladr or Hywel—or the
sisters’ order—had managed to turn the tide, and the last nun had
died last Christmas feast. With Hywel’s permission, the monks had
taken over the lands the convent had controlled, including the mill
and pond on the Rheidol River.
    “Oh, I know,” Gwen said. “I wish I could do
something for her other than hold the basin and look after
Gruffydd. At least we have her eating on a regular schedule now.
I’m hoping that the worst of her sickness will soon be over.”
    “Speaking of Gruffydd, where’s Tangwen?”
Gareth said, trying to make the question sound casual. He would not
want to imply, even obliquely, that she’d mislaid their
daughter.
    Gwen smiled. “She fell asleep moments before
Prior Rhys arrived.” Gwen checked the position of the sun in the
sky. “I would hope she might still be asleep, but you know
Tangwen.”
    Gareth did. He adored their daughter, but
she had never been an easy sleeper and fought it at every turn, as
if by sleeping she might miss something important. If her desire to
stay awake left her cheerful instead of petulant, they could have
let her be. As it was, some days Gareth might pace in circles with
Tangwen for an hour to get her to sleep, only to have her wake the
moment he laid her on her pallet.
    The first time he’d seen Mari set Gruffydd
on the bed and tuck a blanket around him, Gareth had laughed at the
absurdity of her expectation that the boy would close his eyes and
fall asleep on his own. But then he had. If Gareth hadn’t seen it
with his own eyes he wouldn’t have believed it possible.
    And sure enough, as they turned in to pass
through the monastery gatehouse, Elspeth was just coming out of the
guesthouse with Tangwen on her hip. The daughter of Gareth’s
steward, Elspeth was buxom and blonde, and if she wasn’t currently
living in a monastery, she would have had men circling her
constantly to court her. Her father hoped that a year or two as
Tangwen’s nanny, under Gwen’s sober influence, might steady her and
prepare her for adult life. Gareth didn’t have much hope of that
and might have picked out a man for her to marry already if he
didn’t selfishly want her to continue as Tangwen’s nanny for a
little while longer at least.
    Elspeth set the child down, and Tangwen
dashed across the courtyard towards Gwen, who moved forward to
intercept her. With a mop of curly brown hair and brown eyes,
Tangwen was the most beautiful little girl in Wales. She was also
only eighteen months old, and Gareth was glad when Gwen scooped her
up before she reached the cart. She was a little young to be
introduced to her first murdered man.
    Tangwen waved to him over her mother’s
shoulder, and Gareth called to her from across the courtyard.
“ Cariad, Papa has work to do. I will find you later.”
    That seemed to mollify Tangwen, though
sending up a wail of frustration would have been equally usual for
her. As it was, she had no choice but to go with her mother, who
carried her around the corner of the guesthouse a moment later.
    Sion, the gatekeeper, had come out of the
gatehouse to see who’d entered, and Prior Rhys hustled forward to
meet the hosteler, who’d poked his head out of the chapter house.
He’d probably been watching for guests to come through the
gatehouse, not for a cart with a body in it. Several carts already
parked in the courtyard implied that even more travelers had
arrived for the festival. Gareth had no idea where they were going
to put them all, but no matter the press of people, presumably the
chapel would remain free of guests.
    He had been hoping to take Tangwen to see
some of the performances this afternoon, and Prince Hywel himself
would perform tomorrow night. The whole event would conclude the
day after that with performances by the finalists and the
presentation of awards and prizes.
    The festival was taking place in and around
a large pavilion in the field below the castle. A