When she awoke the following morning, Merin ap Owen had gone from the bedchamber. Elf arose and dressed. She walked into the dayroom of the apartment and tried the door into the hallway, but discovered it was locked. Still, a fire burned in the fireplace, and a tray with a carafe of liquid, a small fresh loaf of bread, an apple, and a honeycomb was set upon the table. She wondered if Isleen had poisoned the food and drink, but then decided she was being foolish. She could hear sounds in the tower apartment above her indicating that Isleen was still there. Besides, Isleen would not have a key to her prison.
Elf sat down and ate, prudently leaving half the food for later. When she had finished, she made up the bed in the lord’s chamber and her own little pallet, for lack of anything else to do. She next gazed out the window for a time. Gwynfr was set atop a craggy hillock. Below she could see a village. The hills about them were alive with autumn color. The day was gray and rainy. She had only just sat down by the fire when she heard the key in the lock, and leapt up.
Merin ap Owen came through the door. "Ah, you are awake, my lady Eleanore," he said. "Sit down, and we will speak on the matter that concerns us. Namely, your ransom."
Elf seated herself again. "My husband is in Normandy," she said. "You picked a rather bad time to kidnap me, my lord." He was a handsome man, she thought, but for that terrible thin scar running down the left side of his face. "There is no one at Ashlin who can pay you any ransom you are going to demand. No one has the authority."
"You speak as if you do not know when your husband will return."
"I do not know," Elf told him frankly.
"Why did he go to Normandy?"
"He did not confide in me, my lord, although it may have had something to do with his mother, who lives there with her second husband," Elf replied as naturally as if it were the purest truth.
"Or perhaps he went to make his peace with Duke Henry, for I hear the English king is ill," Merin ap Owen observed.
"Mayhap, but my husband has always been loyal to King Stephen, my lord. It was the king who arranged our marriage to reward Ranulf for his dedication and fealty."
"The why does not matter," Merin ap Owen observed. "If I must keep you for a time, I will, my lady Eleanore, but to be frank, I had not anticipated it," he told her. "The lady Isleen is a dangerous enemy to have, as you know. While I realize her grievance against you lacks substance, she nonetheless believes her cause is just and seeks her revenge."
"She is a stupid creature with the wit of a flea," Elf said irritably. "She kills my brother, then blames me because I will not allow myself to be killed by her so she may have my family’s lands! I once thought I had great patience, but Isleen de Warenne would try the patience of all the saints and angels in God’s heaven!"
He laughed aloud, suddenly realizing that he liked this young woman. Isleen had sneered at her goodness, and the truth was that Merin ap Owen could never remember having met a good woman. He was beginning to suspect that Eleanore de Montfort might really be one. "Isleen is indeed stupid," he agreed, "but do not underestimate her, my lady, for while a dullard and simpleton in most ways, she has incredible guile, which is what makes her a treacherous foe."
"It was her idea to kidnap me?"
His dark head nodded in the affirmative. "Frankly, my lady Eleanore, I would have been content to steal all your sheep and cattle, but as Isleen pointed out, I would gain but half their value as everyone knows that what I sell, I have stolen. By stealing you, I force your husband to sell the livestock himself, and gain twice what I would otherwise."
"She has put you to a great deal of trouble, Merin ap Owen," Elf said. "If you had taken the sheep and the cattle, you would now have your reward. Instead you must wait for my husband to return from Normandy, and while we wait, you must keep me safe from your whore. I wonder if you are up to such a task, my lord. It would seem for a stupid woman, Isleen has outmaneuvered us both."
He laughed again. "You are not at all as Isleen described you to me, lady."
"From the time I was five years old until the day I returned home to nurse my dying brother, I never saw Dickon or his wife, but once, shortly after they were wed. Within a convent you are protected from the realities of the world. It is a simple matter to cultivate holiness in a place where there is little temptation, Merin ap Owen. I probably seemed an innocent ninny to Isleen. She bases her impression of me on that brief acquaintance we shared. While I still surely possess a certain amount of naiveté, I am not quite the sweet and simple girl Isleen thinks I am. If she attempts me any harm, I will defend myself with every means at my disposal. The only thing I cannot prevent her from doing is poisoning me. You had best be certain that she does not, else you lose your ransom, my lord Merin."
He nodded, impressed by her astuteness. By the rood, she was a lovely woman! "I will keep you safe," he promised her.
"I believe that you will," Elf replied softly. Then she said, "Must I remain here, my lord, all the time?"
"Nay," he told her. "You are welcome in the hall, lady."
"I cannot simply sit and do nothing," Elf said. "If you have a tapestry frame, I could begin a tapestry; or if you have clothing that needs mending, I will do it for you. I dislike being idle, you will understand, my lord. If you have someone who could gather certain herbs and plants for me, I will make poultices, teas, and salves for your infirmary. Who cares for your sick and wounded?"
"There is no one," he said.
"No one?" She was surprised.
"This is a place of men, my lady Eleanore. Until I brought Isleen here, there were no women. We have relied upon ourselves for healing when it was necessary."
"Have you no wife?" She was curious as to why, but then considering the place, perhaps it was not surprising.
"I have no wife," he answered. For some reason he did not want to tell her he had had two, and neither could abide him.
"Perhaps there is one among your men whom I could teach my arts of healing. That way," Elf explained, "when I am gone back to Ashlin, you will have someone with the knowledge to cure. If an epidemic ever struck here, or in your village below, it could wipe everyone out, my lord Merin. That would be a great tragedy."
She spoke to him as if she were merely visiting as his guest. She was not judgmental of him, and it actually made Merin ap Owen uncomfortable. She should not be kind to him or offer to aid him, he thought. He was her kidnapper, not her host! Yet there was such a pure sweetness about her that he could not for the life of him be anything but pleased. "I will seek among my men for the proper person," he told her. "In the meantime I will choose someone trustworthy to escort you outside to seek what you need. I cannot give you a female companion. Arwydd belongs to Isleen body and soul. If you trusted her before, lady, do not do so now. She is back in Isleen’s power and will do whatever is asked of her. I will warn her, however, not to obey her mistress’s directives to harm you. Isleen must be constantly reminded that I am master here at Gwynfr. Come now." He arose and offered her his hand. "I will escort you into the hall, my lady Eleanore."
They descended the stairs and, entering the hall, found it empty but for a single servant.
"Gwyll," the lord of Gwynfr said. "The lady Eleanore is in your charge from now on. You are responsible for seeing no harm | comes to her. Only I will give you orders regarding her. No one else, and particularly not the lady Isleen, may do so. I will not send my orders by anyone else. I will come to you face-to-face when necessary"
“I understand, my lord," Gwyll replied.