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holdings. My
brother is his Captain.”
    She thought on that a
moment. “And your brother’s name?”
    “Rod.”
    “Is that where you are
taking me?” she asked softly. “Are we going to Bronllys?”
    Rhys finished his bread
before answering. “I do not know yet. De Lohr is to plan our next move.”
    Elizabeau didn’t say
anything. Finished with her cheese, she simply sat and gazed into the fire. 
Even though she’d had a few hours of sleep and a meal, she wasn’t feeling very
well and her throat was beginning to hurt.  She suspected she had caught a
chill as a result of being soaked to the skin for hours on end, but she hoped
it would pass. At the moment, she was warm and well fed, so hopefully it would
heal whatever illness that was attempting to take root.  She had enough to
worry about without the threat of contracting a deadly illness.
    Robinson burst back into
the inn, bellowing the barkeep to pack some food for his journey. On his heels
came Christopher de Lohr and a host of powerful knights, flooding into the
tavern with their mail and weapons. Startled, Robinson moved out of their way
and allowed them to pass.  When more knights followed on the heels of the first
group, the merchant vanished back into the kitchens as a safety precaution.
Many knights, in close proximity, were never a good thing.
    De Lohr’s hawk-sharp
eyes found Rhys immediately. “Rhys,” he greeted, crossing the floor towards
him. “Everything is well, I take it?”
    Rhys nodded. “Indeed, my
lord,” he greeted David as the man walked past him, heading for the fire, but
continued to speak with Christopher. “We’ve seen no hardships since our arrival
here. The lady is rested and fed.”
    De Lohr’s sky blue eyes
moved over Elizabeau, inspecting her from head to toe. He was surprised to see
her looking rested and quite beautiful. “Where did you find the clothing?” he
asked Rhys.
    “We were fortunate
enough to happen across a traveling merchant,” Rhys lowered his voice. “The man
believes me to be an obscenely wealthy baron and has asked the lady and me to
join him in his travel to the Marches. It might be the perfect disguise for our
movements.”
    “That is something we
must discuss.”
    Christopher pulled off a
gauntlet and reached up to remove his helm. He had very blond hair, longer,
which he ran his fingers through to slick back against his skull. Coupled with
his neatly trimmed blond beard, it rather gave him the appearance of a lion. He
had, in fact, been called the Lion’s Claw when he served as Richard the Lion
Heart’s Champion.  His blond-maned appearance gave credence to that moniker.
    Rhys resumed his seat as
Christopher and David sat opposite. Elizabeau watched curiously as the brothers
de Lohr settled themselves, removing helms and gauntlets but keeping their
weapons close at hand. She could see the family resemblance, though Christopher
was quite a bit larger than his younger brother. David, however, had the
biggest hands Elizabeau had ever seen on a man his size.  As she studied the
pair, the earl spoke quietly.
    “De Burgh has decided
that the lady will be much safer someplace incognito,” he said in a low voice.
“Our first instinct was to take her to one of de Burgh’s holdings, such as
White or Grosmont Castle.  But those who know we have her will look to the
castles first.”
    “The castles will
provide protection, my lord,” Rhys said quietly.  “John can lay siege to either
for as long as he wishes and she will remain protected.”
    “True,” de Lohr
conceded. “But if John lays siege for any length of time, we will never be able
to safety remove her to rendezvous with the Prince Conrad.”
    “Conrad?”
    De Lohr nodded. “Conrad
Ebhardt von Brunswick, Prince of Alsace and the next king of England,” he said
as if he wasn’t particularly excited about it, simply resigned. “His father is
Fredrick II, King of Naples & Sicily, Duke of Swabia, and brother to Otto
IV of