“Ye – es, I see. And have news of Cornwall?”

“That, too. Believe me, Alex, if they do seem dangerous, we will make sure they take no news back to their master. If they were Baudouin’s men, they’ll not try.”

“I suppose not. Well, all right, Mother, of course I’ll do as you say. We’ll bring them back to you, all of us scatheless. And a pretty tame affair this promises to be!” He took her hand, and lifted it to kiss. His look of disappointment had gone, and the sparkle of eagerness was back. “But afterwards, have I your leave to ride to seek Drustan, and go with him to the High King?”

She smiled, and lifted the hand to touch his cheek. “How could I stop you? Of course. But one thing more, Alex; even if you have to send Uwain and the other man on, do not go yourself inside March’s border. Not yet. Not until we know more. Do I have your promise?”

“Well – yes, I suppose so. Yes, Mother, I promise.”

So it was left. Further than this she knew she could not, should not protect him. Though his eighteenth birthday was almost a year away, she knew as well as he did that she could not have prevented him from doing as he wished. But she was satisfied. He would keep his word, and later, when, as she had planned, he went with Drustan to Camelot, he would be secure, with a strong sword and good guidance, till he could demand Arthur’s sanction and support. She was conscious mainly of a deep relief and release. The burden she had carried through all these years, of knowledge and the dread of action, had been lifted from her. As he had said, this was the day.

She drew a deep breath. “Then go with my blessing,” she said, “and God go with you.”

12

There was no way to guess which road the Cornishmen would take, but their own way was easy enough to choose: the fastest. So they headed south-east from Craig Arian, to cross the Wye by the Roman bridge at Blestium, and then through the hills to the Severn estuary and the short crossing some way east of Venta.

Once past Blestium, a small township boasting a decent inn, the road was hilly, in places little more than a rough shepherd’s track, but the weather had been fair, so the going was dry, and they made good speed. They got no glimpse of the men they followed, and the stony track did not hold hoof-marks, but there were signs – fresh horse-droppings here and there – that riders had recently passed this way. They were barely a mile short of the Severn ferry when, light failing, they halted in a clearing by a woodcutter’s hut, to rest their horses and eat the food they carried. The hut itself was deserted, the woodcutters having gone, with the good weather, deeper into the forest, but the hut stank, so, the night being fine and dry, they preferred to sleep outside. Uwain and Brand, who both knew the road, assured Alexander that the first ferry would cross soon after daybreak, so it would not advantage them to be there before that. The hut where the ferryman slept was on the far side of the river. So the three of them ate their rations, and soon, to the comfortable sound of the horses grazing nearby, Alexander, wrapped warmly in his cloak against the night dews, fell asleep.