And thereon I said--"
"Thanks, friend," said Ina. "The rest shall be for tomorrow. Bide
here tonight, that you may tell all at the morning."
The man made a courtly bow enough, and went back to his seat, and
then Ina bade Owen see to his lodgment, and after that the thralls
carried out the body. I went quietly and walked along the lower
tables, bidding my men see if more Welshmen were present, but
finding none, and then I found the hall steward wringing his hands,
with an ashy face, at the far end of the hall.
"Master Oswald," he said, almost weeping, "how that man came in
here I do not know. I saw him not until he rose up. None seem to
have seen him enter, but men have so shifted their places that it
seemed not strange to any near him that they had not seen him
before."
"Had you seen him you could not have turned him away," I said. "He
came as a suppliant, and the king's word is strict concerning such
at these times. Good Saxon enough he spoke, too, in the way of many
of our half Welsh border thralls. I do not think that you will be
blamed. Most likely he slipped in as the tables were cleared just
now. There was coming and going enough, and we have many strangers
here.
"Who is the yellow-haired man?"
"A chapman from the town. Some shipmaster whom the ealdorman
knows.
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