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what they felt was a suitably sheltered spot, they dismounted. The wood was utterly silent, for there were no insect sounds and the birds that had not flown south were mostly in the fields. It was cold, too, and Rhiannon, the men, and the horses were all tired. The men loosened the horses' girths and put out a little grain for them to eat. Rhiannon shared out what food she had and let Math out of his basket for a while. She was not yet frightenedexcept about what her father and Simon would say. They would have been furious enough if she had reached the safety of their camp before the attack. If she missed them . . . |
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She put aside the thought, though her worries were not lessened when Math voluntarily got back into his basket and sat there. However, there was nothing more she could do, so she wrapped herself in her cloak and determinedly closed her eyes. She had been even more of a fool than usual, but it was too late to worry. They could not have gone far astray. When the battle began, they would be able to orient themselves on the sound and make for the camp where the servants and other noncombatants would wait. |
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The sun was just above the horizon when faint bird calls reached Rhiannon's guards. It might be only crows that had discovered a dead animal, but Twm promptly set out to see. Sion looked at his mistress's daughter, who was sleeping soundly, and decided not to wake her yet. When Twm came back would be soon enough. But then Sion heard what might be horses, and Twm had not returned. He had begun to tighten the girths of the mounts when Twm burst through the trees. |
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"A hundred or more," he gasped, "and they are ranging the wood, beating for game." |
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Shaken awake, Rhiannon was half-dazed. They mounted and rode southwest as quickly as possible. It was the only direction they could go. The river was northwest, and they did not know whether it |
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