He headed down to that chamber, to see if he was correct about the rest of it. He already knew what he would find, however. If Nesta had planned Dylan’s escape, she had also arranged to have Genith leave with him.

The only question was whether Nesta herself was also fleeing to the hidden stronghold of Llygad ap Madoc’s rebels.

Nesta’s mind worked hard.

She thought about the events of the last days, and how accommodating Marcus had been about Dylan. She considered the good luck of having Sir Leonard as an escort. He was not the most clever man, which had been very convenient. Mostly, however, she kept seeing the expression on Marcus’s face this morning as he gazed up at her window.

By the time afternoon brought a light, wet snow, she concluded that her plan had worked far too smoothly. She suspected that Marcus had let it unfold. There could only be one reason why.

He planned to follow them and find her father’s men.

She studied the ground beneath their horses’ hooves. The late fall rains had left it soft. Glancing back, she had no trouble detecting the impressions that would lead Marcus right to them. Worse, if the ground froze their tracks would be preserved for days.

She told Dylan to head toward the side of the valley in which they rode. Once they reached the first rise of the land, she stopped her horse.

“I think that we need to separate. Dylan, you will take Genith to my father’s men. Go over the hills. It will be slower, but safer. I will continue along this vale, and make it appear as if all our horses did so.”

She pulled a large fur provided by Iolo off her saddle and handed it to them. “You will need this more than me, as I do not feel the cold much. Dylan, tie it so it falls behind your mule and sweeps the ground. Maybe it will smooth the snow enough to obscure your tracks. Genith, reach in your sack and give me your blue veil, the one you wore the first night at Anglesmore.”

Dylan tied the fur to his saddle. “And you, my lady? How will you find us?”

“I will eventually go to Bala. Tell Carwyn Hir to wait seven days, and then send a man there to guide me the rest of the way. You, however, must bring Genith immediately to Carwyn.”

The sudden change in plans distressed Genith. “You said we would stay together.”

“I had hoped to, but I think Marcus will follow sooner than I expected. I cannot risk that.”

She reached for Genith’s hand, and wished that she could take the time to reassure her. She had pictured their next leave-taking in many ways, and secretly dreaded it, but she had never intended it to be like this, hurried and precipitous, with the bulk of two horses separating them.