I have known since I wrote the first line of The Good Knight that I would eventually have to write this book. Rhun, eldest son of King Owain Gwynedd, was killed at the end of 1146. In the aftermath, Cadwaladr deserted his family and his men and fled to England to find refuge at the English court—where King Owain and Hywel couldn’t reach him. Subsequently, Hywel and his brother, Cynan, marched on Merionnydd, the last of Cadwaladr’s lands on the Gwynedd mainland that King Owain had allowed him, and took them back—in much the same way that Hywel had marched on Aberystwyth three years earlier.
Up until 1146, King Owain had always forgiven his brother for his misdeeds, even to the point of overlooking murder and treason. Only a terrible act such as bringing about Rhun’s death could have prompted the king to ban Cadwaladr from Wales and send Hywel and Cynan to Merionnydd. Cadwaladr—who’d spent his life carrying out brazen and terrible deeds—had finally committed a crime so heinous that he fled Wales rather than face his brother’s wrath.
Though the loss of Rhun is grievous, the story of Gareth and Gwen—and Prince Hywel—continues.
March 1147. Determined to escape the gloom that has descended on Aber, Gareth and Gwen travel to Shrewsbury in an attempt to find answers about Rhun’s death, about the whereabouts and plans of Prince Cadwaladr, and about Gwen’s family ties to England.
But when John Fletcher, now Deputy Sheriff of Shrewsbury, asks Gareth to help him investigate a pool of blood for which he has no body. Gareth can’t refuse. And when the investigation points to a conspiracy involving some of the leading citizens of Shrewsbury, Gwynedd’s foremost investigators go looking for answers—and find that trouble isn’t far behind.
The Renegade Merchant is the seventh Gareth & Gwen Medieval Mystery and is available at all retailers.