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Page 373
the horses, and I will be there to protect her. No one expects her to fight."
"I could bring my bow," Rhiannon suggested innocently, teasing.
"No," Simon objected. "I do not want anyone killed if it is possible to avoid it. You will get carried away and shoot too straight."
Bassett choked again. "You are insane. She will scream or start to chatter at the wrong moment, or"
"No, indeed I will not," Rhiannon protested. "My brother David has often taken me on raids"
She broke off suddenly and put her hand over her mouth. Llewelyn did not control her, but he did control David. It was true Llewelyn would not hesitate to thrust his daughter into danger if he thought it would benefit Gwynedd, but he would never expose her on a petty raid merely so that more goods and/or men could be carried away. That was not why David and Rhiannon had done it originallyhe was mischievous and she, curiousbut the mercenary motive had induced them to repeat the adventure. If Llewelyn discovered what David had done, he would be punished.
Looking at her stricken expression, Simon thought she realized that going raiding with her half-brother had been unwise. However, David was not the wisest or most scrupulous of men. He often reached for immediate profit without considering the long-term effect of his actions. Then Simon grinned self-consciously. He was not much better himself, and he was planning to make use of the effect of David's inconsiderate actions. Under the circumstances he uttered no reproof.
This, combined with his smile, convinced Rhiannon not only that Simon would not betray David to her father, which was quite true, but that he did not disapprove of her ventures, which was not true at all. It convinced Bassett, too, and unlocked the memory of Ymlladd biting and kicking at the grooms in the camp

 
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