Warriors of Ethandun Read Online Free PDF Page B

to her mother had been a battlefield it was much cleaner and less bloody than the one she and Dan had fled: probably not much quieter, though. Bryn, the boy they had so grievously betrayed, had turned out well in spite of their dereliction of duty and care. He was brave and honourable, loyal and honest. He had not blamed them but had learned to forgive. She could turn out well too; it was up to her.
    Of course she did not tell her mother all that. Her mother had no doubts at all; Ursula’s father had betrayed them and he would forever be in the wrong. His sin seemed trivial compared to Ursula’s own. She had looked into the face of a corpse and known herself responsible for someone’s death, for many deaths. She wanted to tell hermother that in any hierarchy of evil in the world her father’s was not the worst. She didn’t, of course. She couldn’t; it wouldn’t have been fair. Instead she tried to be the girl that she’d been before. Somehow that worked.
    â€˜Oh Ursula, isn’t this sweet? I love young girls in pink. You will look so cute in this. We must have it.’
    Ursula opened her mouth and then shut it again. Did it matter that she would rather not wear a pink miniskirt with glitter detail? Her mother was as excited as she had ever seen her.
    â€˜Does it come in a different colour?’
    â€˜No, no, no. I always think blondes look good in pink, and look at this scarf with the hearts on it. It would look so nice with that and a pretty top. Oh, and look – it’s in the sale! Ursula, it’s perfect!’
    The shop assistant, a nice-looking man in his early twenties, smiled at Ursula. He at least did not think she was twelve. She did not smile back. She had seen that look he wore before – on the faces of too many men who’d followed her to their deaths. She ignored his smile, gritted strong teeth and agreed to the pink skirt. There were worse things than being inappropriately dressed.

Chapter Six
    Dan was relieved to find that he’d been right about the charges – they had to be dropped once Ursula denied that he’d hurt her. He had wanted to go and see her but the lawyer his father had engaged had strongly advised him to stay away. The police did not believe Ursula’s story. They were still obsessing about their clothes. They appeared to believe that Dan and Ursula had been having some secret relationship, that he’d attacked her in a jealous rage. It made no particular sense, but then the truth made no sense at all.
    Ursula came back to school surprisingly quickly. She looked stunning and one glance in her direction told Dan that she’d lost none of her strength. He didn’t know how he knew, but he knew. His schoolmates clustered round her like wasps round a jam jar and Ursula did nothing to discourage them. The one exchange he’d had with her had not been very satisfactory. He sought her out the first day that she was back. She was briefly alone by the lockers.
    â€˜Are you all right?’ He spoke to her in the language ofthe Combrogi, the language that had become theirs. She smiled at him and he wanted to fall at her feet, but that wouldn’t do at all.
    â€˜I’m good. Taliesin came and finished the job of the doctors. I’m good as new. Thanks for saving me, Dan. I owe you my life.’
    He shrugged as if it were nothing, as if it had cost him nothing. He would have paid even more to have kept her safe. He did not want to say that, though. He didn’t want to burden her with that. He kept his voice non-committal. He spoke to her casually, as if she wasn’t … everything.
    â€˜What did Taliesin say?’
    â€˜Oh, what you might expect – that I should go with him back to Macsen’s world, that I would be appreciated there.’
    Dan knew that was true enough. King Macsen had been more than a little in love with her and would have liked her magical bloodline running through his