“I called you for other reasons. I trust your restraint, and your control of your men. I do not want this to end in a bloodbath.”

“You may have no say in that if this grows. Edward will not lose Wales, even if it means burning it to the ground to keep it. He cannot afford to. The solution in Scotland was hardly a victory. He cannot have ongoing trouble on two borders, nor have men whispering that he is weak like his father and is losing everything that his grandfather gained.”

Marcus listened as he and Addis shared some ale during a brief pause on their ride. Around them his men also took their rest. They had ridden hard for hours to reach the northwestern edge of his lands, to investigate reports that some of Carwyn’s men had ravaged an English manor and attacked a convoy of merchants.

The evidence of raids had been plentiful, but once again the thieves had disappeared. Addis had joined the troop even though his own arrival had occurred just before their departure. He still wore the armor that had clad him when he rode through Anglesmore’s gate.

Marcus weighed his old warden’s words, not surprised that they matched his own conclusions. Everything that Marcus knew about warfare and governance, and much that he had learned about men, he had learned from Addis. He could not have had a better teacher. Addis was a great warrior, and under his tutelage Marcus had quickly made up for the crucial years of missed training. Through Addis’s example he had also learned to be a different kind of lord from what most men would have taught.

Addis downed more ale and frowned. He appeared fit and young, especially if one saw him as Marcus did now, from the good side. The other, the side with the scar, displayed the marks of experience that gave him the wisdom that Marcus respected.

“I can think of three border lords who might be tempted, but only if the prize was Wales itself, with himself as king,” Addis said. “The autonomy of the Lords Marcher has always bred ambition for more. No English king has ever truly controlled them.”

“You speak of me and my father.”

“Your grandfather was given Anglesmore late. Your family has lived here for generations, but only recently has the power been yours. The fealty is stronger then, as your father proved. It is different for the families that have held their lands since the Conqueror set them up as little kings. They see themselves as sovereign in ways the new lords never will.”

They remounted their steeds and moved forward. “Somewhere in the mountains an army is forming, Addis. I do not think it is very large yet, but there have been some deaths for which the English lords will want to extract a harsh revenge.”

“If you called me and my men, you must be planning a campaign.”