With no trail to follow he would have to rely on his instincts. The first thing he must do is learn where Merin ap Owen had his lair. The next step would be to ascertain if the lady Eleanore was actually being held by the bandit. If he had taken her, he would want her for ransom. What kind of a ransom? And how the hell were they supposed to pay a ransom when the lord was away? Fulk rubbed his brow. It hurt with all his cogitation, but without the lord to make these decisions, it was up to him to do so.

He groaned with frustration. He didn't even know where the lord was, or why he had truly gone, for he didn't really believe that tale the lord had told of going to Normandy to render his fealty to Duke Henry. Ashlin was no great holding. Ranulf de Glandeville could have rendered a new king his loyalty when that king came to England, and not a moment before. No offense would have been taken at all by such action. There was something else, but the lady had confided in no one, or else she herself did not know. Being such an innocent, she would accept her husband’s word in the matter. So, Fulk realized, he would not be able to send a messenger to his master telling him of what has transpired. They were on their own in this matter. Fulk rubbed his brow again. Being in charge was a very difficult thing, and he would never again envy his betters.

The autumn rains did not let up for three long days and nights. The morning of the fourth day dawned cloudy, but dry. Whatever chance they might have had of following the kidnappers' tracks was long gone, the trail having been washed away over the previous few days. Fulk prepared to go in search of Merin ap Owen’s hidey-hole, but Sim, his second in command, would not be content unless he himself went.

"You insisted upon leading the troupe to St. Frideswide's," he reminded his captain, "and look what happened in your absence. This time I will go. Besides, I am not as well-known as you are, Fulk."

"I did not insist, the lady sent me," Fulk protested.

"You could have sent me in your stead and remained at Ashlin," Sim rejoined. "You are the lord’s chosen man to defend Ashlin and the little lord. If you were lost to us, what would happen? I am at least expendable, although I assure you I intend returning home in one piece."

"It would have made no difference if I were here or not," Fulk said stubbornly. "The food, the drink, something was drugged with a sleeping potion. I would have slept as soundly as you did, Sim. Still, there is merit in your argument. I have the most experience of any here in matters of warfare and defense. When the time comes to rescue the lady, I will lead our men forth, but for now you are better suited than I to seek out Merin ap Owen and to see if it is he who holds the lady his prisoner. If he does not, I do not know where to look. All we can do is wait for a ransom demand."

"Which you could read, but I cannot!" Sim said triumphantly.

"The priest could read it for you," Fulk replied with a small smile. Sim was anxious to prove his mettle, and so he should have the opportunity. "If you think to have my place one day, Sim," he told the young man, "you will have to learn how to read and write. A man advances farther when he is educated and can be of more use to his master. A man without knowledge is but fit to work the fields or die in the first charge, lad."

"I thought you meant for Pax to have your place one day," Sim said bluntly. "Will you forsake him for me?"

"You are both my blood kin," Fulk replied, "but Pax will be the lord’s squire, and if, as I hope, he does well, he might even be knighted one day. One does not need to be of noble birth to be knighted. Only brave and freeborn. He will earn his freedom, and then, who knows."

Sim nodded, satisfied. "I had best get going," he said.

"God go with you, lad, and be careful," Fulk cautioned him. "Remember, you are not expected to rescue the lady. Only find Merin ap Owen’s place, and ascertain that the lady is in his custody. Then you must return to Ashlin, and tell me all you have learned."

"I understand," Sim said, "and I promise to be cautious." He mounted his horse, and moved out of the stable yard toward the gates.

Fulk watched him go, half regretting he had agreed to Sim’s suggestion, but more than aware that the lad was right. His experience was of more value here at Ashlin right now than on the trail in search of Lady Eleanore. He went off to find the priest to tell him of the change of. plan. Father Oswin was openly relieved to learn the captain was remaining.

"The men are not as certain of Sim as they are of you, my friend. He needs a bit more seasoning as does any young man," Father Oswin said. "You will be happy to learn I have seen the young lordling, and he is thriving with his new wet nurse. Maris is a good woman. She and Alyce will see the child is well cared for, and old Ida will watch over both of those two young women," he concluded with a chuckle.

"That is one less worry, praise God," Fulk said, relieved. "Now all I must do is wait for Sim to seek the answers we need, and then decide how to go about retrieving the lady."

"With God’s help we will succeed," the priest said firmly.

"In the meantime I worry how my lady has fared these past few days," Fulk replied. "It has been so wet."


***

Wet. She had never been so wet in all her life, even in a bath, Elf thought. Her mind was as clear as a cloudless sky on a summer’s day now, but it hadn't been at first. She had been so tired when she had gone to bed that night. Four days back? Her dreams, at least she had thought them dreams, had been a jumble of confusion. Whispers in the darkness. She was lifted up. She floated away again, only rousing slightly when she felt the cold air on her face, but it was daylight then. Arwydd brought her a warm drink, and then she slept again, and again, and again.

She realized now that her mind was fresh, that she had been carried through the rain in a litter. Where she was she hadn't the faintest idea, but she knew her captors were Welsh by their language. She also realized that Fulk had been wise in being suspicious of Arwydd. The girl had ingratiated herself into the household at Ashlin for the sole purpose of betraying them. And yet, Arwydd remained kind. Today she had spoken softly to Elf so that no one could hear her, pushing a small bag into her hand.

"Hide this, lady," she whispered, "and for mercy’s sake, take it to stop your milk. If my mistress learns you have a child, nothing will suit her but that the child be brought to her. You were good to me, but this is all I can do for you. We will be at Gwynfr Castle in a few hours, and after that I am her obedient servant once again."

Elf sniffed the bag. It was sage. "Have you been feeding me this in my drink?" she asked.

Arwydd nodded. "Like you, lady, I know how to heal," she said simply. "My mother taught me before she died."

"Was she really English?"

"Aye, she was, poor woman," Arwydd said. "She wasn't a captive who was enslaved, though. She ran away with my father against her family’s wishes. My English grandfather was a wool merchant, she once told me. I was told to tell you that terrible story, although my life after she died has not been a happy one. My father drank himself into the grave, and then his brother, who is a whoremonger, took me in, but only to be a servant in his whorehouse. My mistress rescued me, and so I owe her my loyalty, but, as you were good to me, I have done what I could for you. From now on, however, we are even, lady," Arwydd finished.

Elf nodded, understanding the girl’s reasoning. "Tell me just one thing, Arwydd. Who is my captor?"

"Merin ap Owen, lady" came the answer, and then Arwydd moved away from Elf.

She looked about the encampment for its leader. She spotted him immediately, a tall dark-haired man with a decided air of command. No sooner had she set eyes upon him, then he turned and pierced her with a fierce look. Elf flushed, but she did not look away.

Merin ap Owen crossed his camp to where Elf sat. "How do you feel, lady?"

"How much ransom do you want?" Elf replied quietly, then added, "As to how I feel, wet. Could you have not sought shelter during these rains, Merin ap Owen? My husband will not pay you for a corpse."

"Your husband is in Normandy, lady, and until he returns to pay me a fine ransom for you, you will remain my guest," he told her. "Be grateful I dressed you before I stole you away," he said with a leer. Then reaching down he pulled Elf to her feet. "You are well enough to ride with me today," he said brusquely. "Come!"

Elf did not bother resisting him. It would have been an exercise in futility. He brought her over to a large dappled horse and lifted her up onto the saddle, swung himself up behind her, one arm going tightly about her waist, the other gathering the reins into his big hand. The men with him, a scruffy-looking lot, were scrambling to gain their own mounts and follow after their master. Arwydd, she saw, had her own shaggy little Welsh pony to ride. The girl no longer even looked in Elf’s direction.

Elf said nothing as they rode. Merin ap Owen was quite conversational for a time. "You may not be as comfortable at Gwynfr as you are in your own home, my lady, but you will not be badly treated. And you will have my whore for company. She says she is a nobleman’s daughter, although she is such a deceptive bitch, I cannot be certain she speaks the truth to me all the time. I believe you may know her. She claims she was your sister-in-law at one time." Merin ap Owen felt his captive stiffen within his grip. "Isleen? Isleen de Warenne," he said softly, whispering the name in her ear. "Ah, then, you do know her. So the bitch did not lie to me in this instance. That is good."

Elf could not contain her anger any longer. "That creature killed my brother! She poisoned him. You had best beware, Merin ap Owen."

"Why did she kill him?"

"She was in love with her cousin, a knight, Saer de Bude. They devised a plan between them to kill Richard. Then de Bude was to violate me so I could not take my final vows. He would, of course, do the honorable thing then and marry me. After a time, I suspect, I would have been poisoned so that vile creature could have her lover and my family’s lands as well, which was what she wanted all along," Elf said angrily. "I could not believe such wickedness existed, but it did. God protected me, however, and her plans were foiled."

"How?" he asked. Having heard Isleen’s version of these events, he was eager to hear the lady Eleanore’s account, which he suspected would be closer to the truth.

"De Bude moved too quickly. He tried to force me in my herbarium. One of my serfs came to my aid. My brother was dead and buried, so I escaped back to St. Frideswide's."

"But you did not take your vows," Merin ap Owen said.

"Nay. De Bude claimed he had dishonored me before the king. I was brought from my convent. The abbess and others went with me. We were able to prove that de Bude lied. The king, however, felt that Ashlin needed me more than the convent did. He also felt I needed a strong lord to hold the land. He married me to Ranulf de Glandeville. De Bude was sent to the Count of Blois’s court, and Isleen de Warenne was to be confined for the rest of her life in a nunnery."

Merin ap Owen burst out laughing. "Isleen in a nunnery? The king obviously did not know the bitch at all."

"Nay," Elf agreed, "he did not. None of us could have conceived the evil nature of that woman. It is hard to believe. And now to learn she may be at the center of this plot to steal and ransom me! It is too much to bear! I was taught to love my neighbor, to be gentle, and to be obedient, but Isleen de Warenne destroys all my good intentions, and I want nothing more than to scratch her eyes out right now!"

Merin ap Owen laughed harder. "Wonderful," he said. "You two should provide me with a constant source of amusement this winter, my lady Eleanore. Ah, look. There is Gwynfr Castl just up ahead. May I bid you welcome to my house, lady?" He mocked her.

"Go to hell!" Elf said, for the first time in her life, swearing a wicked oath, and yet strangely she felt quite good about it.

"A bitch and a firebrand," her captor said with a deep chuckle. "This is far better than I had ever anticipated."