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Page 421
is far from our lands and we could easily go astray."
"I think I do," Rhiannon said with confidence, in complete ignorance of the fact that the old knight had described the paths taken by merchants and other travelers, not the route the army would follow. "We must go along the Wye to Clifford keep and then go south until we find the river Dore. It runs, the old man says, in a deep valley, so if we keep to the low land as we go south, we should find it without fail. There will be no danger in asking if we lose our way, either. That land is all Welsh or the Earl of Pembroke's, and the people should be friendly."
"Well, then, mistress, it is for you to say. There will be rich pickings there." Twm's eyes glittered. "You can ride with the best of us if we should need to flee."
Math nudged Rhiannon's leg, and she looked at him. "Go get his basket," she said, "and make the horses ready."
Her final talk with the old knight was less agreeable than her previous ones. Even though she did not tell the truth and only said she would follow her father to Abergavenny, he protested. First he was amused, then outraged, arguing that he did not know whether there were any suitable women for company there and that her father would not want her mingling with so many Saesones. Finally, grudgingly, he let her go, although he was by no means happy.
Everything went according to plan, which made Rhiannon forget for a while the lunacy of what she was doing. There were good roads running along the Wye, and they made excellent time, skirting south of Clifford and steering easily by the sun, which was intermittently visible near the midpoint of the sky but low to the south, as was normal for the season.
Finding the Dore was not quite as easy as Rhiannon had expected. At the point they met it, it was close to its source and little more than a stream. They wasted

 
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