'I did not bid you here to frighten you,' I said, rising. 'I only wanted to ask after the child.' I stepped close to her and the child reached out a hand to me, taking hold of the edge of my cloak. 'Sit, please; we will speak no more of leaving just now.' We sat down together and Enid placed Arthur between her feet. The child toddled to Pelleas and stood gazing up at him. Pelleas smiled, reached down to take his hand, and, on a sudden inspiration, thought to test the child. Allowing Arthur to hold two fingers of either hand, Pelleas slowly raised his hands, pulling Arthur off his feet to dangle above the floor. The infant liked this game and squealed to show his pleasure.
Holding him off the ground, Pelleas started to swing the boy gently from side to side – Arthur did not let go, but started to laugh. Pelleas swung him faster, and Arthur began to giggle. Faster and faster, and Arthur roared with delight. Deliberately, Pelleas pulled one of his hands free. The child held on the more tightly with his remaining hand and laughed the harder. Though we had seen him with the cats the day before, and should have been prepared, still the lad's grip surprised me. The strength in those pudgy little fingers was considerable.
At last, Pelleas lowered Arthur to the floor, to his loud protest: the babe wanted to play the game again! Kneeling before the child, I took one tiny hand in my own, opened it and looked into it as if I were gazing into a Seeing Bowl.
'That hand was made to hold a sword,' Pelleas murmured.
I gazed long into the child's wide, innocent face and merry blue eyes, then turned again to my talk with Enid.
That was all. The briefest of instants, but from that moment, Pelleas never again spoke of Arthur as 'the child', but used his proper name, or some form of it.
'I mean to discuss this with Tewdrig when he comes,' I continued, turning my attention once more to Enid. 'Meanwhile, do not worry over it. I may be mistaken. Who knows? As it is, there is no danger at present.' I offered a smile by way of reassurance. 'You may go now, Enid.'
The young woman rose, caught Arthur up, as he clung to her knees, and walked to the door. 'Enid,' I said, rising and taking a step towards her as she stood half-turned in the doorway, 'you have nothing to fear from me. I will not take Arthur from you. Nor will I allow any harm to come to either of you.'
Enid inclined her head in solemn assent, then turned and hurried away. 'I hope Tewdrig returns soon," Pelleas said. 'I think he will have something to tell us.'
'You are curious to know what happened at the council after our departure,' I replied.
'In truth, I am,' he admitted with a grin. 'But my curiosity is more than idle, Emrys.'
'Did I suggest otherwise?'
We did not have long to wait. Tewdrig arrived the next day. He was pleased to find us waiting for him, and wasted not a moment summoning his counsellors to his chambers. 'I want my advisers and I want my cup. I have ridden from one end of this island to the other and I am thirsty.' He bade me attend him and went directly to his chamber at the far end of the hall.
Meurig, who had been in Londinium with his father, ordered beer to be brought. The young man muttered, 'You would have thought his hall was afire! We have been in the saddle since before sunrise, Myrddin. I have eaten nothing from that time to this.'
Just then Tewdrig's voice sounded from behind the curtain at the end of the hall. 'Meurig! I am waiting!'
The young man sighed again, and made to hurry away. 'Pelleas will see to the beer,' I told him, sending my companion away with a glance. 'Let us attend Lord Tewdrig.'
'I tell you, Myrddin, you have stuck a sharp stick into the hive this time,' Tewdrig said when he saw me. 'Coledac was so angry he could not speak. Dunaut's face went black with bile, and Morcant – well, I thought the old snake would swell up and burst.' He laughed mirthlessly. 'What I would have given to see that!'
'I have never seen such anger that did not find release in swordblows.' Meurig kneaded the back of his neck with his hand. 'But you had vanished, Myrddin Emrys. What could they do?'
'I tell you the truth,' said Tewdrig in solemn tones, 'had you not left when you did, you would be a dead man now. I swear on Dafyd's altar, your head would be hanging above the gates of Londinium. Dunaut would have insisted.'
'Do they know where I have gone?' I asked.
Tewdrig shook his head. 'I do not see how anyone could know: I did not.'
'Then we still have time,' I replied, mostly to myself, for Pelleas appeared just then with cups and jars.
Meurig clapped his hands sharply. 'Ah, here's the beer. Good! Fill the cups, Pelleas, and do not stop filling them until I call enough!'
'Time for what?' wondered Tewdrig as the cups were passed.
'For disappearing.'
Tewdrig eyed me curiously. 'A wise plan, no doubt. Where will you go?'
'To Goddeu in Celyddon. Arthur will be safer with Custennin.'
'So,' replied Tewdrig slowly. 'You still believe the child a danger to himself.'
'What can Custennin provide that we cannot?' demanded Meurig, wiping foam from his moustache. 'Let them come. If there is any safe place in all the Island of the Mighty, it is Caer Myrddin. We can protect our own.'
'No,' I told him. 'It cannot be that way.'
'When will you go?' asked Tewdrig.
'Soon – depending upon what took place at the council,' I answered.
Tewdrig raised his cup and gazed at me in disbelief. 'Hmph!' he snorted. 'That you know as well as I!'
'I mean,' I explained, 'will they abide the challenge of the sword?'
'Well, it was difficult. You did not make it easy for us.' The chieftain drew a hand through his hair. 'But in the end it was agreed that we would meet your challenge.' Tewdrig shook his head slowly. 'Oh, you were shrewd, Myrddin. I think Dunaut and Morcant and the others believed that they would win the sword through strength alone. The fools should have known it would not be as easy as that.'
Tewdrig drank deep from his cup. When he lowered it again he laughed, saying, 'You should have seen them! They might sooner uproot high Yr Wyddfa as budge that sword. It is planted fast – and I know: I tried my own hand. Twice!'
Meurig smiled ruefully and said, 'I confess, Myrddin, I tried mine too. But had I been the giant Ricca himself, there was no removing that sword.'
'You said they would abide the test – are you certain?'
'What else can they do?' said Tewdrig. 'At first, they expected that one of them should obtain the sword and settle the thing for once and all. By the time they realized their mistake it was too late – we had all vowed to honour the decision of the sword. None of them guessed it would be so difficult, or they would not have sworn so. To back down now would be to admit defeat. Men like Dunaut would rather die than prove you right, Myrddin. So the thing stands.'
'When no one succeeded,' put in Meurig, 'Bishop Urbanus declared that the Jords should come together at the Christ Mass to try the sword again.'
Yes, that was Urbanus: eager for whatever crust the kings would toss him. Well, if it brought them back to the church, so be it. I wanted nothing more to do with them; I saw a different path stretching before me now, and I grew eager to see where it would lead.
'Will they go, do you think?' asked Pelleas.
Tewdrig shrugged. 'Who can say? It is a long time until next midwinter – much can happen. They may forget all about the sword in the stone.' He laughed sharply again. 'But, by the God who made me, Myrddin Emrys, they will not forget you!'
TWO
As it happened, we stayed with Tewdrig through that spring, and would have stayed longer had not Bleddyn ap Cynfal, of Caer Tryfan in the north, come to visit. The Lords of Rheged maintained close alliance with the Lords of Dyfed in the south for mutual protection. Tewdrig and Bleddyn were kinsmen; they visited one another often to trade and discuss matters between them.
I did not know Bleddyn, but he knew me. 'Greetings, Lord Emrys,' Bleddyn said; he paid me the compliment of touching the back of his hand to his forehead out of respect. 'I have long wanted to meet you. Indeed, I hope one day to show you the generosity of my hearth.'