his mouth sought the honied sweetness of her. His skilled tongue began to stroke expertly at the sensitive coral- pink flesh. Beneath him she began to writhe and whimper with the familiar sound of pure pleasure. He felt his own desire beginning to rise as she cried softly, 'Madoc! Oh, Madoc, my love!' with a building urgency he also recognized.
When he had brought her twice to a full and shuddering release by means of his tongue, he mounted her, filling her full with his throbbing passion; riding her furiously until they had both attained mutual pleasure a third and final time. Then rolling off of her, Madoc gathered Wynne into his strong arms.
It had begun to rain outside, and Wynne lay happily within the security of his embrace, listening to the sound of it against the tentlike top of the wagon, thinking her mixed thoughts. Tomorrow night they would leave for Cai. They would reach it in several days' time. Arvel, her precious son!
The rain had stopped by mid-morning of the following day, but it had grown colder. Enid sought among the storage chests and found clothing that had belonged to Wynne several years earlier, before she had gone to Raven's Rock. Together she and Mair stayed up practically the entire night altering the garments, that Wynne would have warm clothing for the trip.
'They are not the elegant garments you are used to wearing at Raven's Rock,' her grandmother apologized, 'but they are clean and warm and will keep the wind and rain out.'
Wynne thanked Enid lovingly and said, 'I have not worn elegant garments for some years now, Grandmother. I am certainly not ashamed of my old clothes.' Her fingers stroked at the soft wool fabric of her tunic dress. Both it and her under tunic, which was lined in rabbit's fur, were dark green in color and matched the heavy green mantle which was edged in wolf's fur. Wynne fastened the mantle shut with a pretty brooch of silver, a single piece of green agate in its center.
'Megan will be bringing Wynne's richer garments to Cai, that she may face my brother at her grandest,' Madoc told Enid.
Averel was already in her cot sleeping when they finally departed Gwernach. The little girl fully understood that her mother would be leaving her for a time, but did not object as she was assured that Mair would be there with her. Hugging Wynne and placing a noisy kiss upon her mother's cheek, she had toddled from the hall that evening garbed in a little white chemise, her hand tucked securely in Mair's. Then suddenly she pulled away from Mair and, racing back across the hall, threw herself at Madoc.
He lifted her up into his lap and gently inquired, 'What is it, Averel?'
'Aye, bunny, I'm your da,' Madoc replied, and looking over the little one's head, he almost wept at the look of gratitude in Wynne's beautiful green eyes.
'Da come back?' Averel asked.
'Aye, Da is coming back,' he reassured her.
Averel wrapped her arms about his neck and hugged him with all her childish strength. Then climbing down from the prince's lap, she ran back to Mair, and together they left the hall.
'Thank you,' Wynne said simply to her husband.
'Do not shame me any further,' he answered her low. 'Did not the Saxon, Eadwine Aethelhard, who was her father, take my son to his heart without question? In my pride I have been slow to act, but in the presence of our families I say now that I take Averel Aethelhardsdatter for my own true daughter. I will dower her, and never will I treat her with any less love or respect than I will treat my own natural-born children.'
A quarter-moon lighted their way as they rode forth from Gwernach. Enid watched as they went, the six horses outlined darkly atop the hill. Dewi had insisted upon going, and there was nothing that either Wynne or Enid could do to dissuade him.
'He's fourteen and 'tis past time he had battle experience,' Rhys agreed. 'How do you expect him to defend Gwernach from attack, if it should ever be attacked, if he has no battle experience?'
'He also has no heir,' Wynne protested.
“ 'Tis unlikely there'll be a fight,' Rhys said in an attempt to calm her fears. 'Brys does not engender great loyalty among his men. 'Twill be a wee skirmish if anything at all, and we'll put the lad safely in the rear that he might observe and learn,' the lord of St. Bride's soothed his sister-in-law, but he winked broadly at Dewi, who grinned back, delighted with the conspiracy.
When dawn came they camped in a secluded cave by a stream, taking turns at standing watch and keeping the little fire within their rocky shelter low that it not be seen by its smoke. Dewi trapped a hare in early afternoon and, after skinning it, broiled it. It was tough and gamy, but tasty. The weather remained clear as they began their ride that night.
'We're fortunate,' Rhys growled. 'I thought that rain the other night signaled the beginning of a wet spell. Nothing is worse than riding in the rain, unless it is riding in the snow.'
'Where will we meet our army?' Wynne asked him.
'They will secrete themselves in the woods near Cai and await us. They must be careful that they are not discovered. Surprise is the key element to our victory,' Rhys explained. 'When a foe is surprised, he is less likely to act with either intelligence or instinct. In most cases he will react with fear, which is a breeding ground for ill- judgment.'
'Rhys is a brilliant tactician,' Nesta said proudly.
The lord of St. Bride's grinned, quite pleased by his beloved wife's appraisal of his abilities. 'When you go into the castle, Wynne,' he continued on, 'you need have no fear. We will secure the drawbridge area immediately, and you will offer amnesty to any men-at-arms within the castle.'
'If we are surprising Brys,' Wynne asked, 'why can we not secure the entire castle at once? You seem so certain that there will be little resistance.'
'That is true,' Rhys replied, 'but we do not know where your son is, Wynne. Though we may secure the castle, there is no guarantee that we can capture Brys of Cai himself in a first assault. Without Brys in our hands, the boy could indeed be in danger. Better we stick to our original plan. Believe me, no one will be more surprised than the master of Cai to have you walk into his hall, proudly regal, and demanding that your son be returned to you.' He chuckled. 'Ahhh, Jesu, I wish I could see it!'
Wynne rode silently now, remembering the last time she had faced down Brys of Cai. This time, however, she would have an army at her back. This time she was fighting for possession of her son. This time she was wiser than she had been four years ago. Brys would not defeat her this time.
Another dawn, another bright day. They camped in a wooded thicket, unable to have a fire this time because, despite the density of the wood, they were in the open. Smoke from a campfire could easily give them away. Resigned, they ate cold barley cakes which were enhanced by thick slices of Gwernach's Gold, sweet, crisp apples, and drank a rich wine that warmed them before sleeping. Today Nesta and Wynne would take the first watch. The women insisted upon doing their part.
'Madoc tells me you have two sons,' Wynne said to her sister-in-law. 'Tell me about them. Do they favor you or Rhys?'
'Trystan, the younger, is Rhys reborn. He is a noisy, brawling child,' Nesta told her. 'As for Daffyd, he seems to be a mixture of us both, although he has my auburn hair. He's clever like Rhys, but more thoughtful. St. Bride's will not suffer when he comes into his inheritance. I shall give Pendragon to Trystan, however, for he would chafe beneath his elder brother's rule. But tell me of your Arvel.'
Wynne smiled. 'His father's image,' she said. 'He is a quiet lad, always watching and listening. He and Daffyd will be good companions for each other.'
'Madoc was like that as a little boy, I remember our mother saying. He was so totally different from Brys, who was mercurial in temperament. Madoc thinks before he acts. Brys simply acts and considers not the consequences,' Nesta told Wynne.
'That is what frightens me,' Wynne said. 'That Brys will act. For what purpose can he possibly want my
