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Page 79
men, but the younger ones, who depended for their livelihood on what they could steal in raids, were less amenable to reasons of a political nature. The hungriest of all for loot and glory were in his own court, Llewelyn knew, and the greediest and most ambitious of those hung around Rhiannon, eying each other hotly and watching lest one or another be favored. So long as they did that, held by the lure of the dower that could be expected from Llewelyn and the advantages of a blood bond with him as well as by Rhiannon's beauty, they would not form a raiding band.
Ordinarily Llewelyn preferred that the hungry young men prey on the border holdings or even raid into England than kill each other. He had good use for every fighting cock in his court. Just now, however, he would rather they kill each other over Rhiannon than that they disturb the precarious balance of politics with England. It was all the more amusing in that none of those who pursued his daughter had the least chance of success. And that brought Llewelyn back to wondering what Rhiannon thought she was doing.
By that time Rhiannon herself could not have told him. When she first came to Aber, she had expected to look around for a day or two, choose the man who appealed to her most, and couple with him. That was simple enough in theory; in practice it seemed impossible. There were attractive men in plenty, and all were sufficiently eager to please herand all were pleasing until Rhiannon brought her mind to the final stage of her plan. The truth was that she had not the slightest inclination to yield her body to any of them. The inescapable conclusion was that it was not a generalized desire that tormented her. She had not, as a heifer did, come into season. It was one single man her body craved.
While Rhiannon wrestled with the new problem this revelation produced, she continuedbecause she could think of no way abruptly to terminate them

 
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