Page 133 of Boudicca

The babe chose that moment to flutter a kick against her father’s cheek.

His eyes met mine. They were filled with wonder. “She heard me!”

“She’ll be as wise as my mother. She has to be. She already knows her father’s voice,” I said.

He rested his cheek on my belly again and whispered more endearments to our child as my fingers combed through his soft blond hair.

It was self-indulgent that I commanded the army to wait while Maldwyn and I loved one another. I know that. But I will always remember and be grateful for that slight moment in time and how Maldwyn rested his cheek against my body, laughing whenever the babe kicked him. We talked of nothing and everything—of how life would be when we returned to Tasceni. How the royal lodge would, once again, be filled with the sounds of an infant—and how the Mother of Twenty would hover and cluck and take charge, as she had already announced that she would be remaining with her queen evenafter the Romans were only a bad memory. But mostly I will never forget how love and joy and hope filled Maldwyn’s blue eyes and how it seemed forever stretched before us, beckoning with the promise of new life and fulfilled dreams.

If only it had been in my power to make that moment last.

***

We reached the valley as the sun was high above us the next day. It was as Cartimandua had described. In this part of the Midlands the land was fertile, and many fields were cleared and the dark, fecund earth was newly planted. But it was also hilly, with creeks flowing from tree-covered slopes too steep and rocky to farm. The valley was situated green and lush between craggy, densely forested hills. There was only one easy way into the valley. It was like a mouth that opened, beckoning with the softness of the grassy stretch within. It was large—big enough to hold our warriors and the legions—and the hills that framed three sides of it were steep. The chiefs and my lead warriors and I were at the entrance to the valley when Deorwine joined us.

“Greetings, Queen Boudicca!” He bowed his head first to me. “Chiefs and warriors.” Deorwine greeted each of them, and I thought that Cartimandua had made an excellent choice in her horse master. He was intelligent and articulate. It was obvious the chiefs liked him considerably more than his queen—not that I blamed them.

“Will Queen Cartimandua join us today?” I asked.

“My queen wishes she could, but she and her guard have traveled down Watling Street to meet Paulinus and assure him you have, indeed, been lured into his trap,” said Deorwine with a grin. “But it is my honor to show you the details. Come, let me begin by guiding you to where your caravans should make camp during the battle.”

I nodded, and as a group we followed Deorwine. I was not bothered that Cartimandua wasn’t there. Her greeting us had never been part of our plan, and I did like hearing she was continuing to follow the plot we had created in a different valley just ten days before, though at that moment it seemed as if I’d left the Eryri Mountains behind so much longer ago.

I was surprised to see that the back side of the hills that framed the valley dropped steeply down and then joined rows of hillocks crisscrossed with streams. Trees, rocks, and dense brambly underbrush ruled their slopes, and as we surveyed the area my stomach tightened. It was, indeed, a trap. Any army that was caught within the valley would not be able to easily escape—the forest was too tightly packed with ancient trees and underbrush to allow chariots to pass, even if they could traverse the steep rear slopes. A cavalry wouldn’t fare much better. A few horses could pick their way through the forest, but an entire army? Absolutely not. Foot soldiers could scramble to flee, but if well-trained bowmen stood their ground and sent arrows into the woods, most of those slow-moving soldiers would be cut down.

Yes, it was a perfect place for a trap.

“And here is where your caravans will be safe to camp.” Deorwine gestured to the slope of the western hill framing the valley. “They can hug the side of the hill here. The legion will come from Watling Street in the southeast. If the caravans are tucked into this part of the slope, the hill and valley will be between them and the Romans, and the Romans will be focused on the valley where you will wait within.” His smile was open and warm. “Some of your people might want to climb the hill so they can look down and watch the destruction of the last Romans in Britain.”

“The last Romans in Britain!” Mailcun shouted. “Those words fall on my ears like rain after drought.”

“Aye!” the chiefs agreed.

“And where is your army?” I asked Deorwine.

“Ah, well, if you climb the eastern hill and look out to the southeast, you will see Watling Street. The warriors of Tribe Brigantes are camped under cover of the forest there.” Deorwine gestured as he spoke. “There we await Queen Cartimandua’s signal.”

“She still plans to ride to the valley with the Romans?” I asked.

“Yes, of course. She and her guard. Paulinus believes he knows our queen well, so when she says she prefers to watch the battle from the northern hill, he will not be surprised. Cartimandua has convinced Paulinus that she does not wish to dirty her hands in battle.”Deorwine scoffed. “He believes her because Roman women are so weak. My queen has told him that from there”—the Brigantes horse master pointed up to the northern hill—“she will signal her warriors to close the trap on you, when in truth that signal will be the end of the legions.”

“When will the Romans arrive?” asked Leofric.

“As the mouth of the valley points to the east, Paulinus will march his legions into it tomorrow as the sun rises at his back,” said Deorwine.

Cadoc grunted. “As would I. We will hear the mighty sound of legions approaching but be unable to see all of them. It is a sound tactic.”

“As is our trap, once sprung,” Deorwine said, grinning. “Queen Cartimandua has told the Romans that you are so arrogant and sure of their defeat that you will camp within the valley.”

I nodded. “Some of the caravans will have to enter the valley so it appears as if we are actually camping there.”

“Yes,” said Deorwine.

“Not many of them, though,” said Comux. The Dobunni chief was always quick to consider the families following our army. I understood. His family was still under Rome’s thumb, waiting for this battle to be won so he could free them.

“I agree,” I said. “We need only move a few wagons into the rear of the valley, where they’ll be glimpsed by the Romans. By the time the legions are within the valley and realize the caravan has been staged, it will be too late.”

“Exactly!” said Deorwine. “And now I must return to my queen. May the gods be with you tomorrow.”