Aberffraw, Ynys Dryyll, North Wales, 852-854 AD
Aberffraw, Ynys Dryyll, North Wales, 852-854 ADKing Rhodri stared balefully at the table while Alun and Cadfael exchanged surreptitious glances. Alun had misjudged the monarch’s mood, believing that his victory at Dinerth would guarantee him a warm reception. Today, Rhodri was not in the usual jovial humour he adopted when he had his friends to himself. However, the king always preferred to discuss matters with them privately before summoning his Council.
Rhodri’s marriage was widely considered a providential one. His queen, Angharad, was a level-headed, pleasant woman whom the Gwynedd lords approved of as a restraining influence on their impetuous king. Alun suspected that a much-needed voice of reality, maybe from her, had penetrated the
