Read Online The Uninvited Guest by Sarah Woodbury - Free Book Online

under these
circumstances … And then there’s Hywel.”
    “ What about Hywel?” Gareth
said.
    “ He knew her
too.”
    “ He’s admitted it,” Gareth
said.
    “ But by admitting that he
knew her, is he admitting the easier truth, rather than a more
difficult one that he’d like to remain hidden?” Gwen
said.
    Her words made Gareth suddenly wary. “Do you
have a reason to suspect him of wrongdoing?”
    Gwen lifted one shoulder and looked away. “I
suppose it’s time to tell you, though the circumstances could
hardly be worse.” She pushed off the door. “Then again, maybe it’s
better to get all the bad news over with at once.”
    Gareth was glad his misdeeds were no longer
the topic of conversation, but her intense look worried him. “What
is it? What do you know about Hywel that you haven’t told me?”
    “ It has to do with last
summer.” Gwen grasped the lapels of Gareth’s coat, clenching the
leather tightly in her fists. Did she fear he might run away before
she’d finished?
    Gareth’s stomach sank at what might be
coming. “Are you about to tell me that you and Hywel were
lovers?”
    Gwen blinked. “What? Don’t be
ridiculous!”
    This time, Gareth wanted to punch the air in
relief. He eased out the breath he’d been holding. He could hear
anything now. The look of blank shock on Gwen’s face told him
everything he needed to know. Neither she nor Hywel had lied to him
about their relationship.
    Gwen scoffed under her breath. “No. No. That
isn’t it at all.” She shook her head like she was trying to clear
it. “When you and Hywel rescued me from the Danes, Hywel handed me
his knife so I could finish cutting through the ropes that bound
me. Do you remember?”
    “ I remember,” Gareth said,
hopelessly at sea. This wasn’t going where he’d thought it
might—feared it might—and now didn’t have a clue as to where Gwen
was leading him.
    “ The knife he gave me had a
thin blade and a notch in the edge.”
    Gareth’s jaw dropped. “Wh-what did you
say?”
    “ The knife Hywel gave me
was the one that killed Anarawd.”
    If he hadn’t been listening closely, Gareth
would have been sure he’d misheard her. “Why didn’t Hywel tell us
he found the knife?”
    “ He didn’t find it,
Gareth.” Gwen’s voice was gentle. “The knife was his all along.”
Gwen gripped Gareth’s coat tighter, knowing him so well, knowing
that he would have pulled away if she wasn’t holding on so
tight.
    “ You’re saying that Hywel
killed Anarawd?”
    “ He admitted it to
me.”
    “ But what about Cadwaladr?
He hired the Danes to kill Anarawd. We know that.”
    “ Yes, Cadwaladr was a
traitor,” Gwen said. “He ordered the ambush of King Anarawd and his
men but when the Danes failed to murder Anarawd, Hywel, who
happened to be in the area, stepped in to finish what Cadwaladr had
started.”
    “ How could he have—” Gareth
couldn’t get the words out. He almost swallowed his tongue as he
tried to force down the denial that rose into his
throat.
    “ Hywel and several of his
men tracked the original Danish party across Gwynedd. Hywel came
upon the ambush just as you did—while it was in progress. You went for help; Hywel saw Anarawd run away
and went after him.”
    “ Why?” Gareth couldn’t keep
the anguish out of his voice.
    “ I really should let him
tell you the rest,” Gwen said. “But he explained his reasons. Chief
among them was that he’d seen Anarawd murder his own father during
the fighting in Ceredigion seven years ago.”
    Gareth ran a hand across his eyes. “I find
this so hard to believe.” He loosened Gwen’s hands on his coat,
reached for the stool behind him, and sat, his head in his
hands.
    “ I’m sorry,” Gwen said. “If
there was a way I could have told you sooner, I would have. I
haven’t seen you …”
    Gareth waved a hand to dismiss her apology.
“It’s not your fault. But it explains the wary looks Hywel has
directed at me since we returned to