Here Be Dragons - 1 by Sharon Penman (best inspirational books txt) 📕

shade as in her early youth, and owed something ^okine nS8S W1* 'emon wafer, her hair was still soft and shimmering, Joanna an unexpected and nostalgic memory of her mother

510Clemence, so many years dead, Clemence with her swirlin bright blonde hair. 8 °ud of"I might as well say this straight out, know no other w you." Isabelle leaned back against the table, as if bracing h ° ^ asked you to come to Windsor because I think of you as a siste "'. . . and I wanted to bid you farewell." r/ J°ann*"Farewell? I do not understand.""I am more than the widow of a dead King, Joanna. I am C of Angouleme in my own right, and I have decided to go home$S back to my own lands, my own people." ' ^°Joanna was stunned, at a loss for words. It did not surprise her th Isabelle should, even after seventeen years, have so little loyalty to E gland, for she did not feel truly bound to her own husband's homeland But Isabelle would never be allowed to take her children. In abandonin England, she was abandoning Henry, Dickon, Nell, and Isabella and Joanna could conceive of no circumstances, however wretched, under which she would willingly forsakeDavydd and Elen.Although she said nothing, Joanna's shock showed plainly in her face, andIsabelle frowned, said defensively, "It is for the best, Joanna. It's not as if they'll want for anything. Moreover, I have another daughter. Joannayour namesakeis seven now, and I've not seen her since she was four.""But the de Lusignans have custody of her. Will they let you see her?""I think so. Hugh is a reasonable man, after all. Why would he not agree?""Reasonable?" Joanna echoed incredulously. "Hugh de Lusignan?"Isabelle laughed. "No, I was speaking of his son, of the younger Hugh." She'd picked up a mirror, was gazing pensively at the image it reflected, at the beauty not even polished metal could distort. "No, she repeated softly, "I do not think Hugh will refuse me."

DOLBADARN, NORTH WALESFebruary 1218SITUATED on a rocky knoll eighty feet above Llyn Pattern, Dolbadarn Castle commanded the route from Caer yn Arfon to the Conwy Valley This was Joanna's first visit to Dolbadarn since Llewelyn had constructed the two-story circular keep, and she was dazzled at sight of mountains mirrored in the deep blue depths of a snow-fed lake She stood now at the window in the upper chamber, gazing out at the regal heights of Yr Wyddfa, a stark, snow-shrouded pinnacle framed against a cloudless winter sky"I wonder if I'm falling under the spell of Wales at long last Or does it seem so spectacular merely because I'm so happy7 Shall I tell you why7 Last night Ihad a letter from my brother Richard, telling me that his wife has given birth to a daughter And this morning Llewelyn gave me a gift of immeasurable valueHe has agreed to make peace with Henry, which means no more warfor a time, anywayand a chance to visit my brother's court, and most blessed mercy of all, the papal legate Guala will now restore Llewelyn to God's grace Oh, indeed7e"< that might not mean much to you, but it means everything to me1"Her audience, a small, amber-colored spaniel, yawned again, and Joanna laughed, scooped up the puppy "I know I'm silly, but I feel like lng silly this morn What shall we do now7 Go play in the snow7"castle bailey seemed carpeted in crystal, so brilliant was the j,a, ° upon the drifts of ice and snow Joanna's puppy ran in circles, ^ "8 joyously, andJoanna wished suddenly that she were not snow *' *^at s^e were sn^ young enough to make angels in the m°um ° S^m *^ S^e was d^zy/ drunk on the utter purity of the icy''T'oanna P*Z] Tr*e puppy was barking at a woman crossing the bailey wiled again, hastened to retrieve her errant pet The hood of the

512r woman's mantle shadowed her face, and Joanna did not recognize her until they were several feet apart. When she did, her exuberance vanished as if it had never been. Grabbing for the dog, she politely greeted Gruffydd's bride."Good morrow, Madame."Joanna opened her mouth, shut it again. She'd twice suggested that Senena call her by her given name; what more could she do? It annoyed her that she should find conversation so difficult with this girl; she'd thought she'd long since prevailed over the anxieties and insecurities of her own girlhood.Seeing Senena glance down at the dog, she said, "Topaz is a gift from my husband. I'd had a dog for nigh on thirteen years, did not think I wanted another when Sugar died. But Llewelyn was right, and I find Topaz a joy.""I like dogs," Senena said. Hers was a breathless, little-girl voice that made her seem even younger than seventeen. So, too, did her size; she was barely five feet tall, looked incredibly fragile and tiny when standing next to her husband. She was not a beauty, was too pale, with unfashionable freckles and thick eyebrows she refused to pluck. Her eyes were undeniably her best feature, wide-set and compelling, a dark sea-grey, but to Joanna, they were too watchful, too unrevealing.Joanna had made one or two halfhearted attempts to befriend Gruffydd's young wife, but she was not altogether sorry when Senena did not respond to her overtures. She was a quiet girl who rarely spoke in company, and Joanna had assumed she was shy. She was no longer so certain that was the case, was slowly concluding that Senena's reticence was not so much timidity as it was wariness. More and more, she reminded Joanna of a cat put down in strange surroundings, cautiously learning the lay of the land.Senena was still studying Topaz. "I prefer a larger dog, myself," she said in the colorless little voice that made it so difficult to determine whether she meant to give offense. "I think dogs should be useful, not just decorative.