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The letter was waiting for him when he went to take his leave of his lord, and Simon flushed a little when he took it. It was large and official-looking, sealed with the seal of Gwynedd. It must be a formal proposal, he thought. He thanked Llewelyn passionately, and his lord looked at him with considerable amusement, but he only gave him leave to go without extraneous comment. |
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They went as far as Powys castle that night and slept soft and dry, for there was peaceat that momentbetween its lord and Prince Llewelyn. The next day, Simon sent Siorl with most of the men to Krogen. Echtor and four others continued north and west with him. They camped on the shore of Llyn Tegid that night and then crept over the mountains, mostly leading their horses rather than riding them, to arrive at Angharad's Hall in time for dinner. Kicva did not seem surprised to see them, and Simon guessed they had been watched and their progress reported for many miles. |
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For the first time since he left Rhiannon at Aber, Simon's confidence was shaken. He had expected her to drop out of the hills any time since noon of that day, but she had not. And now she was not even present to greet him in her mother's house, where she had told him he would be welcome. However, his sinking heart was lifted by Kicva's smile. |
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''I have a letter for you from Prince Llewelyn," Simon said after greeting her, but his eyes asked, Where is Rhiannon? |
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Kicva took the letter and looked at the broad seal, which marked it as an official communication rather than as a friendly note. Then her eyes flicked to her loom, where a heavy roll of fabric lay beneath the portion on which she was still working. It was good, she thought, that she had not hesitated in her task. And then she had mercy on poor Simon, who was shifting from foot to foot with the impatience of a small child |
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