It was in his mind to try to make me take the lands again, and I had hard work to make him believe that I was in earnest when I said that I did not want them.

And at the end I made him happy by telling him that the king would let me go to Eastdean with him before long, so that we could see to things together.
"Well," he said, "this is all very pleasant for me, and it is common saying that you will be some sort of prince in West Wales before long; but I shall ever feel that my family owes yours more than I can repay." After that he was a little uneasy with me for a time, but it soon wore off, and we used to talk of our ride to Eastdean often enough.
And then happened a thing that set me back into trouble about Owen again.

I had had many messages from him, as may be supposed, and in all of them he said that there was no sign of danger, or even of plotting against him.
One of my men brought me a written message one evening.

A thrall had left it at the gate for me.

And when I asked from whom it came I had the same answer that was given me when that other writing warned me not to sleep in the moonlight, for it was said to come from a priest whom I knew.
So when I glanced at the writing I was not surprised to see that it was the same, though the sight of it gave me a cold shudder.
Somewhat the same also was the form in which the message ran: "To Oswald, son of Owen .-- It is not good to take wine from the hand of a Briton." Now, I had some reason to believe that Mara had written the first note, as she seemed the only possible person to warn us of the plots of her kin, and that was a very plain warning to Owen rather than to myself, as it seemed.