The stallion is as impatient as his master, she thought mulishly, sending Garrick a dark look. Oh, if only she could curse this warrior before he wreaked havoc on Tower Wenlock. If only, with a few words and a quick spell, she could banish him back behind the portcullis of Castle Abergwynn!
Garrick muttered final commands to Sir Randolph, climbed into his saddle, and hauled Morgana up in front of him. Again his body was cupped around hers, his massive chest pressed hard against her back, his arms strong around her, his hands gripping the reins.
He yanked hard and turned the steed, then headed back to the road leading to Tower Wenlock. Morgana closed her mind to the feel and scent of him. Her heart was thudding in fear, and her stomach was tied in painful knots as the horse picked his way along the mist-shrouded road.
Saints in heaven, what would her father say?
Chapter Four
“M’lord, there are visitors!” Geoffrey’s voice was muffled by the thick door.
A loud noise — harsh pounding — startled Daffyd from a pleasant sleep. Instinctively he reached for his sword, kept hidden beneath the straw of his mattress.
“Visitors?” he repeated, feeling his wife stir beside him. She found her clothes as Daffyd slipped his tunic over his head and yanked on his hose.
“I will see who—” Meredydd murmured.
“Nay, wife,” he said irritably as he opened the door and slipped into the hall where the sentry stood holding a torch. Daffyd, in a foul mood, frowned angrily. “Tell the visitor he must wait until morning.”
“’Tis the baron himself, sir. Garrick of Abergwynn.”
Daffyd froze. “The lord?”
“Aye, sir. He has with him Mistress Morgana.”
“Morgana?” Daffyd repeated, the cobwebs clearing from his mind. “But she is asleep in her room.”
“Nay, she is with the baron and none too happy about it.”
Daffyd’s rage boiled up from within him as he realized that Morgana had disobeyed him. Lord, but she was stubborn and prideful! “She was not in the castle tonight?” he demanded, his incredulity mixed with fury.
The sentry shifted uncomfortably, the flames from his torch casting restless orange shadows against the walls. Obviously the man did not want to speak ill of Morgana.
“Out with it,” Daffyd thundered, “or you will be punished as well as she!”
Reluctantly the guard said, “The mistress let herself outside by climbing down a rope that was hung over the castle walls.”
Daffyd swore angrily, and his mood grew foul. “If this be so, she will be punished! Give the baron entrance and tell Morgana, if it is really she, to wait for me. And bring me that rope!” Taking a candle from the hallway sconce, he stormed down the long corridor to his daughter’s room and threw open the door.
Glyn was scurrying across the rushes to her bed. No doubt she had been eavesdropping. Morgana’s bed was empty; her wolf dog paced beneath the window. “By all that is holy, what is wrong with that girl?” he roared, then glared at his younger daughter. “What know you of this?” he demanded suspiciously as he swept one hand toward the empty bed.
In the flickering candlelight, Glyn trembled. “I know nothing, Father.”
“Nay?” he countered. “Yet you are awake and can see very clearly that Morgana is not here.” His voice grew low and shook. “Mayhap, daughter, you should think again.”
Glyn licked her lips. “She promised to curse me should I tell you.”
“I shall punish you if you don’t. I promise you, daughter, my punishment will be much more severe than any of Morgana’s spells!”
The damned wolf growled.
Glyn cowered all the more. Finally, eyes round, she whispered, “Morgana … she went off to cast her spells again.” Glyn crossed herself speedily. “She swore to cast an evil spell against me should I betray her.”
“And you believed her?”
“Morgana is … is not sound, father. Her mind—”
“Ah! She fools even you, though you have grown up with the sprite! ’Tis Enit’s fault. I should never have let my mother tell me of the old ways!” Disgust flared his nostrils. “Stay in your bed until morning. Elsewise you’ll get the same punishment as she.”