A knock sounded on the office door, which was immediately pushed open. Gerard put down his quill and looked up.

“Gerard, do you have a moment?” Rhydian asked, poking his head through.

“Of course, come in - have a seat. Drink?”

“No, no thanks,” Rhydian sat on the offered chair, looking decidedly worried. Gerard sat down, coming round the desk to the other armchair in the corner.

“What’s wrong?”

“Well… I talked to Bloddeuwedd yesterday. About us having a family.” “What did she think?” Gerard’s office was littered with miniature toy monsters and wooden swords - Arthur was almost five and George two, and Gerard preferred to have them where he could keep an eye on their play as he worked.

“She took it well, actually - I wasn’t sure she would, but no, she says she’s in favour.”

“That’s wonderful! You’ll make such a good father, Rhydian - you’re already so good with the boys, they love you. Here, I insist we have a drink to celebrate -” Gerard got to his feet and headed over to the cabinet.

“There’s one small problem.” Rhydian’s voice was slightly strained. Gerard put the bottle back down and turned to him.

“I… as I said, we had this conversation yesterday. When I got home this afternoon, she was sat in our garden with a little girl in her arms. About George’s age, from the look of her.”

“Oh. I… see. Go on.” Gerard sat back down again, looking worried.

“She looked so damn pleased with herself. Said she ‘found’ her - when I pressed, said she was from a peasant family down in the village, that they had plenty of kids and wouldn’t even miss her, that they couldn’t afford to look after her properly anyway.” “Oh God,” Gerard said, putting his head in his hands.

“I told her we’d have to return the poor thing, of course, and she got in such a huff, said I should make up my mind about whether I wanted kids or not, that she was doing her best to please me - then when I said that that stealing children isn’t acceptable, she said that it wasn’t stealing, that we can look after the girl better so of course it’s alright for us to take her… You know, Gerard, I think I will take that drink.” Gerard silently poured two generous measures of whisky as Rhydian continued. “I sometimes forget she’s Seol Eile - she’s so much more reasonable than that bloody lot next door - and then she does something like this.”

“Yes. Oh God. What are you going to do? Did you manage to get her to give the girl back?”

“Yes, though she’s sulking like anything. ‘What we take we keep’ and all that.”

“Mmm. Sir Dafydd died last month; stumbled into a nest of redcaps by accident. His wife had died in childbirth a few months earlier - his sister is looking after the baby. Shall I…?”

Rhydian took a deep breath, and a large swallow of the whisky.

“Yes - better that than the alternative, I suppose - though I had been hoping to have the traditional nine months of preparation time.”

“Well, it will take a bit of time to arrange - if she does want to give the child up at all. But there’s no shortage of orphans in the world.”

“Unfortunately so.”

They shared a moment’s silence, both processing the situation, making and discarding plans. Rhydian put his glass down and exhaled wearily.

“I’m going to have to have a very, very long conversation with her.”