The Renegade Merchant Read Online Free

side.
The refuse was left in the alleys.
    At this hour, nobody was going in or out of
the tavern, but Gareth made sure they weren’t directly underneath
an upper story window. He looked down at her and spoke in an
undertone, though there wasn’t anybody close enough to
overhear.
    “Don’t worry about him. What John’s men
think of him is of no concern. The sheriff appointed him, and
whether or not John feels confident in his authority, I am
comfortable with John and his men handling the official
investigation, which I truly don’t want any part of. I can provide
support if he needs me. As it is, Hywel will have my head for
calling as much attention to myself as I already have.”
    “You haven’t done anything!” Gwen said.
“This isn’t your fault at all. You could hardly let a pool of blood
go uninvestigated, and King Owain wouldn’t thank you for refusing
to help the Deputy Sheriff of Shrewsbury when he asks. King Owain’s
alliance with Earl Robert has been long established, but Shrewsbury
belongs to King Stephen, and his relationship with Gwynedd is new.
What we do here could go a long way towards engendering real good
will.”
    Gareth made a maybe motion with his
head. “I can’t see how this rises to the importance of saving the
life of Prince Henry, as we did in Newcastle-under-Lyme, but you’re
not wrong—especially since Gwynedd has all but failed to keep up
its end of the bargain in regards to the Earl of
Chester.”
    “With Rhun’s death—”
    Gareth made a dismissive motion with one
hand. “You don’t have to defend Prince Hywel to me. The treaty with
Chester was the right thing to do at the time, just as renewing
hostilities against Mold Castle is the right thing to do now. King
Stephen might even thank us for attacking Mold, given that Ranulf
decided to march his men to Lincoln while the king is otherwise
occupied. Prince Hywel wouldn’t object to any of that.”
    “Then what will he object to?”
    “If Cadwaladr is in the
area, and I involve myself in this investigation to the point of
asking questions among the people of Shrewsbury, and Cadwaladr
hears of it, he’s going to think I’m here for him. It may have been
mere courtesy that prompted me to introduce myself to the sheriff
in the first place, and as the captain of Prince Hywel’s teulu , it would have been
rude of me not to make myself known to him upon my arrival, but
unfortunately, it also means that Hywel’s hope that no rumor of my
presence would reach Cadwaladr’s ears died the moment I had set
foot inside the town.”
    Gwen sighed, nodding her understanding. King
Owain had specifically ordered that they not pursue Cadwaladr,
which is what it now looked like they were in Shrewsbury to do.
    To say that King Owain had been capricious
in the last few months was a gross understatement. One of his most
puzzling decrees involved the pursuit—or lack thereof—of his
brother. Hywel and Cynan had successfully ejected Cadwaladr’s
retinue from Meirionnydd, but instead of sending Cadwaladr’s people
to England—to wherever it was that Cadwaladr had gone to
ground—King Owain had sent them to Aberffraw, which had been the
lesser of Cadwaladr’s two seats. Thus, through the administration
of Cadwaladr’s wife, Alice, for all intents and purposes, Cadwaladr
retained his lands in Anglesey.
    Hywel couldn’t understand it. Nobody could
understand it. King Owain had been consumed by Rhun’s death to such
a degree that he had no thought for anything else, not even
revenge, retribution—or justice. In desperation, Hywel had resolved
to shore up his own position on the chance that his father lost his
mind completely and chose to reject him as his heir or asked
Cadwaladr to return to his side.
    Consequently, Hywel had brought his next
three oldest brothers, Cynan, Madoc, and Cadell, into his inner
circle. He’d also sent word to his foster father, Cadifor, that he
was needed. Cadifor had come at Hywel’s call, bringing with him