Dark and Bright: The Sons of Rhodri, #2

By Anna Markland

Refined Norman noblewoman forced to wed barbaric Welshman!
Rhys ap Rhodri is not a warrior, unlike his father. He believes in negotiation and diplomacy as a better means of curbing Norman influence in Wales. When his rebellious twin brothers are captured and sentenced to be hanged by the Earl of Warwick, Rhys arranges a betrothal that will save his brothers and secure him a wife. 
Annalise de Vymont is the orphaned daughter of an impoverished and disgraced Norman baron. She has always dreamed of marrying a handsome chivalrous knight--not a Welsh barbarian set to drag her off to his isolated castle. 
To Rhys ap Rhodri she is a means to an end, a business transaction he's been obliged to enter into for the sake of his brothers and the need to produce heirs.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Anna Markland
• Release date: Sep 16, 2018
• ISBN: 9781536568264

Book preview

DARK AND BRIGHT

Sons of Rhodri~Book II

by

Anna Markland

Copyright ©Anna Markland 2012

Cover Art by Kate Sterling

And all that's best of dark and bright

Meet in her aspect and her eyes

~Lord Byron

For Nancy

~my daughter and my biggest fan

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the author.

All fictional characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author and all incidents are pure invention

©Anna Markland 2012

Great for all lovers of historical romance and anyone who enjoys authentic historical fiction.

Helen Scott Taylor, author of Unbreak My Heart

I love books that allow you to catch up with characters that you've fallen in love with several years down the road. You really get to see how everything turned out.

Meg@ABookishAffair

Obviously Ms. Markland put a lot of effort into the research and we gain the benefit of her work with a clear look at diplomacy medieval style. I felt so sorry for the poor girl, just given away in marriage and not a thing she could do about it. Dorothy St. James, author of Lady Iona’s Rebellion.

A note to my readers...

This is the second book in a series entitled Sons of Rhodri. These stories grew out of The Montbryce Legacy Series. If you have read the Legacy books you will already be familiar with many of the characters in this book. If not, you will enjoy meeting them for the first time. This is the story of Rhys, eldest son of Rhodri and Rhonwen (Defiant Passion).

I hope you come to love my characters as much as I do!

NEGOTIATIONS

Warwick Castle, England, 1106

Rhys ap Rhodri was not a warrior.

Not that he lacked courage. As a youth, he had accompanied his father, the legendary patriot Rhodri ap Owain, on forays against Norman holdings, both in England and against the expanding Norman presence in Wales itself. But his passion was not for rebellion. He would leave that to his father and brothers. His longing for Welsh independence from foreign control was no less than theirs, but he was his mother’s son and had inherited Rhonwen’s love of peace. He believed that diplomacy and the making of strategic alliances was more likely to achieve what they all sought.

Gradually, his reputation as a peacemaker grew in the contentious Marches between England and Wales. Certainly, the Norman Earls of Ellesmere, father and now son, recognized his talents. The first earl had favored negotiation over confrontation and Rhys felt he’d earned the powerful Ram de Montbryce’s respect.

When Rhys’s sister expressed a desire to marry Baudoin de Montbryce, now Second Earl of Ellesmere, Rhys foresaw the power it would bring his family. He encouraged Carys’s marriage, unlike his younger twin brothers.

Dire news had recently been brought to Wales that Rhun and Rhydderch were prisoners of a Norman earl. Granted Lordship of Gower in South Wales by royal decree, Henry Beaumont, Earl of Warwick, was building a castle at Abertawe. The redheaded twins were caught interfering with the construction. Condemned for rebellion, they were to be hanged at Warwick Castle in a few days.

His parents were beyond distraught. The loss of two sons loomed as a devastating blow. However, Rhys saw an opportunity in this disaster to build another alliance. His father was aging. As his eldest son, Rhys would become prince of the commote of Powwydd on his father’s death. He would have to marry and provide heirs.

Having learned long ago the importance of contacts in high places, he had recently been made aware that the Earl of Warwick had become guardian of his late sister’s daughter. Annalise de Vymont was of marriageable age and the earl would thus be expected to provide her dowry, since his brother-by-marriage had died penniless several months before.

Rhys had no desire to marry. He enjoyed his bachelor life. He was more than familiar with the story of his parents’ meeting and falling in love at first sight, and of Baudoin and Carys’s passion for each other, but doubted the same would happen for him. Better to spend his life working towards the freedom of Wales through his efforts as a diplomat than to be distracted by a wife.

However, duty demanded he marry. He resolved to make the earl an offer for his niece. She would give him sons and he would provide a secure home for her in the llys at Powwydd.

He despatched messengers to Warwick to request a meeting, but set off before receiving a reply. The earl no doubt expected him to come. They had negotiated before.

The journey gave him a chance to refine his plan of attack. If things went well, Rhun and Rhydderch would be set free, and Rhys would be a married man.

As the imposing castle came in sight, perched atop a sandstone bluff around which the River Avon swept in a gradual curve, he thought about the arrogance of William the Conqueror who had demolished four houses belonging to the Abbot of Coventry to build it.

They camped overnight within sight of the castle so Rhys could arrive the following morning dressed in his finest clothes, as befitted his status. He chose the bright red woollen tunic that came down to his shins. His mother always said red became him and it was his father’s favorite color. The slits in the sides revealed a black undertunic. His knee-length hose were also black, tied with embroidered ribbon, a gift from Carys. He wore them for luck. His tasseled boots were of the softest leather. He hoped his appearance would emphasize the seriousness of his overtures. He felt comfortable, but it would not be a good idea