Gwyndoc laughed again, but the gaiety had gone from his voice. “Adder-pit, nonsense! Caradoc will give his consent without any barbaric foolery like that! He is my friend, you must not forget. We belong to a new generation. We are enlightened people, the Catuvellauni, these days. We do not sacrifice human life like that now, remember.”
They passed within the walls. “Enlightened people,” repeated the girl. “Then what is happening to these wretches now?” and she pointed to a line of stakes set along the roadside, on the common land where no houses had been built. Tied fast to each oaken post, a man hung head downwards, his breast bared for the knife. Gwyndoc put his arm round the girl’s shoulders and turned her face towards him. “Do not look at them,” he whispered. “That always happens when
