Page 31 of Everything But the Earl
“No, but if Lords doesn’t take up the bill, it won’t become a law.”
Hugh nodded. “All right. I’ll try. But please, for the love of all that is holy, do not get caught. I’d prefer it if neither of you hanged.”
“If Lark ever speaks to me again, I promise, I will be the soul of discretion.”
Chapter Eight
Owen’s Aunt Morfuddturned out to be a complete delight.
She was preoccupied by the maintenance work at Caernarfon Castle, but she was happy to speak about anything Welsh. The first night they all dined together, Morfudd taught Grace a few Welsh words. “I always start withdraig,” she’d explained. “Say it with me.”
Grace repeated the word. “What does it mean?”
“Dragon,” said Morfudd with a wink.
The next day, Morfudd escorted Owen and Grace on a tour of the castle, which was far less charming than Grace had hoped. One heard the wordcastleand pictured something grand, but Caernarfon was mostly a broad brick facade with few windows. Inside, there wasn’t much to see. There were many empty rooms, and parts of the castle that were inaccessible because walls had caved in and the rooms were too damaged.
“What I’d like,” Morfudd explained, “would be to turn this into a museum of Welsh history. But for now, I’d settle for using some of the empty rooms to show exhibits about the history of the castle. The first English Prince of Wales was born here, you know, and we have never forgiven Edward I for the dishonor.”
“The English Prince of Wales feels like a contradiction,” said Grace.
“The Welsh people could not abide by a Prince of Wales who spoke English.Cymru rydd!But Edward I insisted his son be dubbedPrince of Wales, and since he was a baby, he did not speak English, because he did not speak anything, and we let him get away with it. And so Llewellyn the Last was the last Welsh Prince of Wales. Unless you count Owain Glyndwr.”
“I do,” said Owen. “Cymru rydd!” He turned to Grace. “That means ‘Free Wales.’”
“Although, to be clear to your English bride, we are not so revolutionary as to advocate for Welsh independence,” said Morfudd. “At least not out loud.”
“I see,” said Grace, appreciating Morfudd’s attitude.
“We do still speak Welsh to keep the language alive, and we have a few of our own old habits and traditions, although we are of course also part of England as well. A bit of a duality, especially now that Owen here has taken his father’s seat in Parliament. In theEnglishParliament.”
“Yes, well. King Charles I bestowed the title upon our family, so I suppose we do owe the government something,” said Owen. “I am, in fact, the tenth Earl of Caernarfon.”
“That is remarkable,” said Grace.
“I suppose it is.”
“Come,” said Morfudd, bustling along. “Let me show you the rest of this pile of bricks.”
Two days later, Owen brought Grace to the cottage he’d bought on the coast, although “cottage” felt too humble a word for it. The house was small compared to Car Newydd, but it still had several rooms.
“I have not had time to furnish it much,” Owen explained as he showed her around the property. “I’m not even entirely sure why I thought I should buy it. But it’s lovely, isn’t it?”
And it was. Large windows on the northern exposure of the house looked out at the Irish Sea, which was the house’s main feature. Inside, Owen hadn’t done much except put a bed in one of the bedrooms anda table and chairs in one of the sitting rooms.
“I think in the summer, this will be a wonderful place to be,” Owen said.
“I agree,” Grace said, already imagining what she could do with the space. She even walked into the garden behind the house, which was overgrown but quite large. She could put a kiln here. She could put her potter’s wheel in the room at the back of the house, and add shelves to accommodate her supplies, and…
Yes. She wanted to make art right here, so close to the water she could smell it.
She didn’t say anything to Owen, but she figured he’d tell her what he said whenever she asked a question about changing something, which was to give her his full permission.
It was a little bit annoying, how nice he was being. She almost wished he would stop her.
Because the truth was, she was enjoying his company immensely, and she knew that he wanted her to have her way because he wouldn’t be here much. And the thought of that made her sad.
“I do love the water,” Owen said as they stepped outside to look at the sea. “I find it calms me.”
