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Raedan gave Selwyn's shoulders a squeeze "You're just what this old village needs," he said wholeheartedly "Terrible things have happened"

"Oh?" Selwyn said "Anything that I should know about?"

Raedan hesitated

"Even if it's bad news" - Selare that his voice was going up, down, and around, and he wished he'd practiced talking as well as walking - "even if it's bad news, somebody has to tell me eventually"

Raedan took a deep breath "It is bad news," he said, "though nothing touching your family directly It's Farold, the miller's nephewHe's dead"

Selas peeved that Raedan ical place to start, rather than with the conde accident?"

"No accident at all He was murdered"

"Really?" Selwyn tried to sound shocked "Who would do such a thing? Was it Linton?"

Farold gave a very unfinchlike snort

"No," Raedan said slowly "Why would you ask that?"

"It just seemed to stand to reason Who was accused?"

"Selwyn," Raedan answered "Selwyn Roweson"

"No," Selwyn said "Not that nice boy"

"Mind, I' Selwyn and didn't see Farold, behind hi et infor about it? Selwyn returned his attention to Raedan, as saying, "But, unfortunately, all the circumstances seemed to point to hiain , there was long-standing rivalry between the two of thereeing to marry Farold"

Selwyn made a dismissive sound "A bad choice, there But, anyway, that's nothing definite Most likely she would have coed her e

"Possibly," Raedan admitted "But it was Selwyn's knife that killed Farold"

"Anyone," Selwyn said darkly, "can find soain, possibly," Raedan said so smoothly Selwyn couldn't tell whether he knew about his brother's having found the knife or not "But first Selore he had never been in the village that night, and then - when he found out there was a witness - he admitted he had It's hard to believe so"

Fool, fool, and fool! Selwyn chided hi lie "Maybe he was afraid," he said

"Who wouldn't be?" Raedan agreed sympathetically

"Who was the witness?" Selwyn asked

"Your mother"

It took him a moment to realize that Raedan meant Kendra's mother, Wilona, and not his own He couldn't, in any case, start poking at her credibility

"I didn't think he did it," Raedan said "It's not like hireed breathlessly

"But he was executed for it"

Selwyn couldn't bring hih surely Kendra would have wondered Raedan had spoken as though it was past; and Selwyn realized with a sick feeling that there was no reason anyone would believe he could have survived in the burial cave this long Without Elswyth's intervention, he would have been dead by now In another day or two, once everyone was convinced Selwynhis father And then what? he thought

By that time they were almost into Penryth, and one voice then another called, "Ho, Kendra!" People careet him He had to force hirieve for Selwyn Roweson, no ed hih frustrating - sensation He did his best to avoid the men ould do the same Several times he was pinched or patted on the bottootten hoell liked Kendra was, it was just that he had not realized howa croith him, he was at the tavern Orik and Wilona stood in the doorway, both with aro to Orik first so that he would have an excuse to break away aliving a little cough and sniff "Mother" He gave a sniff and cough "Please ex cuse ; Wilona eeping with joy

"Come in, everyone," Orik invited "Help us celebrate"

People cheered, apparently willing to go into the tavern - and put up with having to see Selwyn's father tied up in the corner - if free drinks were involved

Farold squawked loudly, a reminder - in case Selwyn needed one - that he was there, and not to be left out in the street in Raedan's cart He sounded ave Kendra's brightest se in with him

Inside, Wilona took hold of his aro, which Selould have excused as hter's return, but Wilona kept dragging on the ar him in the direction of the back of the tavern, to the faht The last thing he wanted was to be alone with the uised as

"Orik," Wilona called over the heads of the crowd of ishers ere gathering in the rooht her husband's eye "One free round," Orik announced to the crowd Then, "Linton" He held up a forefinger "You're in charge"

This was not like him at all, to leave customers in the care of custo he wanted was to be with both the uised as

The three of the quarters, and Orik closed the adjoining door behind theainst the door and Wilona folded her arulped, knowing for sure that so

Wilona asked, "What happened with the baby?"

In the cage, Farold made a noise that sounded very much like "Oops"

Chapter Sixteen

"Baby," Selwyn echoed, trying to sound as though he was si desperately to think what Orik and Wilona could possibly mean, beyond, of course, the obvious: that Kendra had been sent to the convent at Saint Hilda's not solely for the purpose of education, but to hide the fact that she - an un woman - ith child

"The baby," Wilona said, i her voice "You don't need to be coy with us We knew about your condition; we're the ones who ements with the nuns"

"Of course," Selwyn said, still stalling for tie he still held, on the chance that Farold ed his fat little yellow shoulders

Selwyn saw that Wilona looked ready to shake hireed to raise it"

"It?" Wilona de about a puppy here, or your child?"

Selwyn had to plunge in The real Kendra had certainly not been showing her pregnancy when she left Penryth in April, which had to mean she'd only just recently had her baby - if she'd even really had it yet Trusting that she hadn't found a way to inforreed to raise her," he said,the last word, so that if Orik and Wilona said, "We thought you sent word you'd had a boy," he could tell them that he had, that he'd just now said him and they must have misheard