Wulfgar

by Wulfgar (NCP)(Lit)

  Startled, Alinor glanced at Jean-Pierre. "My marriage to Wulfgar is legally binding," she retorted. "It can not be annulled, whatever you may think."

  Jean-Pierre shrugged. "I must arrange to make you a widow. I’ve no objection to doing so—Of course that entails laying my hands upon that sniveling coward you wed."

  Alinor flushed. "My husband is no coward—nor a fool, as you thought. Meet him in single combat as he has asked—without your army at your back," she said tightly.

  Jean-Pierre uttered an unconvincing laugh, but a flush of annoyance mounted his cheeks. "I am no fool either. I went to meet him before." He shrugged. "He slipped up behind the men who had accompanied me to the meeting and attacked. That is not the actions of a man of courage and honor."

  Alinor glared at him. "He did not fall into your trap, you mean! If he has ever been a fool at all it was in believing you to be a man of honor."

  Jean-Pierre’s eyes narrowed. "And yet, you have taken a lover already and not wed to him even a full year."

  Alinor felt the blood rush from her cheeks. She looked down at her hands. "It was a moment of foolish pride," she said slowly. "I was angry that he paid me no mind and thought to make him jealous. I did not intend that it go so far."

  "I will make certain that I give you my undivided attention," Jean-Pierre murmured as he leaned close.

  Alinor leaned away, eyeing him distastefully. "Hilda says the disease can not be cured."

  "And yet you seem healthy enough to me."

  Before Alinor could think of a suitable retort, Jean-Pierre’s face contorted, as if a pain had lanced through him. His gaze went instantly to his trencher. Abruptly, he stood up, looking around the hall. Alinor glanced around fearfully, as well, noticing at last that the hall was rapidly emptying, that some had fallen to the floor, writhing in agony. Clutching one hand to her stomach and the other to her mouth, Alinor rose abruptly. "I do not feel at all well," she announced in a voice muffled by her hand.

  "Poison!" Jean-Pierre rasped. "We have been poisoned."

  Turning away, he put his finger down his throat and promptly began puking. Alinor thought for several moments that she would lose the little she had eaten, but the opportunity she had been awaiting had arrived. Giving Jean-Pierre a shove, she rushed past him. Hilda appeared in the doorway leading to the kitchens and grasped her arm, hurrying her toward the great oaken doors that fronted the manor. Before they had made their way halfway down the hall, a battering came at the doors, causing them to shudder. Again and again, something battered at the door. Abruptly flew open.

  Men on horseback dropped the log they had used as a battering ram and charged into the hall, upending tables and benches, trampling the men who were rolling around on the floor. Alinor’s heart leapt. "Wulfgar!"

  His head jerked in her direction. He forced his horse through the melee, leaning low, one arm outstretched. Alinor ran to him, holding her arms up to him. Scooping her up, he settled her on the saddle before him. Alinor wrapped her arms around his waist, clinging tightly to him, bunching herself into a tight ball to allow him room to fight, for, despite their illness, Jean-Pierre’s men had begun to rally, grabbing their weapons and racing to defend the manor.

  Wulfgar’s glance went to Jean-Pierre, his eyes narrowing. After a moment, he uttered an oath and turned away, fighting his way free of the great hall. They rode hard until they reached the tree line, but, once there, Wulfgar signaled for the men to halt. Urging his horse alongside Thomas, he grasped Alinor’s arms, breaking her grip.

  "What are you doing?" Alinor gasped. "We must hurry."

  Wulfgar caught her jaw, kissing her briefly. "Take her, Thomas. If I am not there by the time you are ready to leave, take her to her father."

  "No!" Alinor cried. "Come with me! Please, Wulfgar!"

  "I must end this now. I can not let him live when he has dared to touch you."

  Alinor clutched his arm. "He did not! I swear he did not!"

  Wulfgar’s lips crooked up at one corner. "Aye, not in that way, I know. Hilda told me of your clever ruse. But I will take no more chances with your life. While he lives, he will always be a threat."

  Despite her efforts to cling to him, he handed her to Thomas, who gripped her tightly. "Yes," she said a little desperately, "but not here! Not now! You are out numbered. If you care for me at all, please do not make me a widow!"

  Wulfgar leaned toward her, touching her cheek briefly. "I care for you with all my heart, Alinor. This is why I must protect you—with my last breath, if necessary."

  Alinor wasn’t even aware that she was crying until she felt the dampness drip from her jaw. Twisting around, she looked up at the grim faced man who held her. "Leave me and go back."

  "I can not," he said tightly. "My lord bade me to take care of his lady."

  "But … he is outnumbered! There’s no need for three men to accompany me when he has greater need of you than I have!"

  He said nothing for several moments. Finally, he looked down at her coldly. "Six men died defending you because you were so willful that you left the keep—and would not have a whole troop accompany you—Lord Wulfgar would more likely lob the head from my shoulders than welcome me if I abandoned you to go to his aid—though I will tell you truly, I would far rather die by his side than live, knowing I left him for your sake."

  Alinor was effectively silenced. In truth, she could think of nothing to say in her defense. What could she say, after all? She had not intended that they die? She had not expected that there would be danger? It was true, and yet hardly an excuse when it had cost the men their lives.

  Much, if not all, that had happened since she had been betrothed to Jean-Pierre had been because of her, and yet she could not think what she might have done differently—knew that it had been out of her hands even before she had known of Wulfgar. She found, though, that it made her feel no better, no less guilty, no less saddened, to realize that it would have happened no matter what she had done.

  * * * *

  A sense of exhilaration and purpose filled Wulfgar as he rode once more toward the place that had once been his, the place that his grandfather had built in his time. He did not think of that, however. His entire being was focused upon the men riding toward him, more specifically the one who led them.

  The two groups clashed with the clang of steel, the growling bellows of men and the scream of horses midway between the forest and the manor. Despite the ruse Hilda had used to even the odds, Wulfgar’s men were outnumbered almost three to one. Wulfgar felt the battle madness descend upon him as he waded through the writhing throng of battling men and horses, hacking and thrusting at anyone who crossed his path, focused upon reaching Jean-Pierre.

  Abruptly, the melee seemed to part, leaving the opening Wulfgar had waited for. He charged forward with a roar, swinging his great sword at Jean-Pierre’s head. He met steel instead of the satisfying crunch of bone and flesh as Jean-Pierre brought his own sword up to parry the blow. Their swords scraped together until the hilts met, throwing off sparks. For several moments, the two men swayed, each trying to overcome the other by strength alone.

  It was no contest, for Wulfgar was by far the strongest of the two. Jean-Pierre fell from his horse, rolled, trying to come to his feet. Wulfgar leapt from his own saddle, swinging even as Jean-Pierre managed to right himself. Again Jean-Pierre blocked a blow that would have cleaved his head from his shoulders. Their blades locked, held. With gritted teeth, they swayed, shoving against one another. Finally, Wulfgar gave Jean-Pierre a heave that sent him stumbling backward.

  Again, they advanced upon each other, Wulfgar bringing his blade down again and again, hacking away at Jean-Pierre’s strength and confidence as each blow sent a jarring pain through his arm.

  "Quarter!" Jean-Pierre finally managed between gritted teeth.

  "No quarter!" Wulfgar growled. "You gave none to Alinor."

  Jean-Pierre lurched toward Wulfgar in a lightening strike, slicing through the leather armor that cov
ered his thigh, cutting deeply, but he found no advantage. The move exposed his left side completely and Wulfgar did not hesitate. With a roar of triumph, he brought his blade down, severing Jean-Pierre’s head from his shoulders. It hit the ground, rolling, a grimace of surprise etched on his features.

  Breathing heavily, Wulfgar turned to survey the battle waging around him. His men, he saw, were holding their own, but even as he raced to take his horse and mount once more, he saw more men pouring from the half finished walls surrounding the manor.

  "Finish it and be quick about it!" he yelled to his men, falling upon the soldier nearest him and cleaving him almost in half, then whirling toward the next, his focus now on winning free of the men that had first met them before they were joined by reinforcements.

  Winning free at last, Wulfgar spurred his horse into a gallop, hurrying to join Alinor and the men he’d sent to escort her home.

  He would have far preferred to lead the soldiers away from her, but he doubted they’d fall for the ruse and, without him and his men, she was virtually unguarded.

  * * * *

  They had been riding for perhaps an hour when the thunder of approaching riders reached them. Thomas glanced at the man beside him. "Wulfgar, you think?"

  The man glanced over his shoulder. The moon had risen, but it was still far too dark to see more than a few yards in any direction. "I think I’m not of a mind to wait here and find out."

  They had not gone far before they realized that they could not outrun whoever it was, friend or foe, who was thundering down upon them. Thomas slowed, looking around for cover. With relief, Alinor heard Wulfgar call out to them.

  With an audible sigh of thankfulness, Thomas dragged on the reins, pulling his horse to a halt. Within moments, Wulfgar and his men rode into view. They skidded to a halt when they came abreast of Alinor’s party. "Half the garrison is behind is," Wulfgar said breathlessly reaching for Alinor and pulling her onto the front of his horse once more.

  "Are you hurt?" Alinor gasped, tightening her arms around his waist.

  "Not as badly as I will be if they catch up to us," he said shortly. "How far, do you think, Thomas?"

  Thomas shook his head. "A good hour and a half, maybe two. We’ll be lucky to make it in that in the dark."

  "We’ll not make it at all if we don’t ride hard," Wulfgar said grimly. He spared a look down at Alinor. "Are you up to it, love?"

  Alinor nodded. "Yes. Let us go."

  They rode, endlessly it seemed to Alinor. Behind them, dimly, they heard the sounds of pursuit, but Alinor found very quickly that she could focus upon nothing but the fact that her babe had chosen this night, of all nights, to fight his way into the world.

  Chapter Eighteen

  The pain rapidly became intolerable. Try though she might, Alinor found she could not be still. Every position she chose only seemed to make her hurt worse. Gritting her teeth against it, she prayed it was no more than the jolting of the horse that was causing her such pain. She knew it could not be time for the babe. If she had it now, it would not survive even if she did… and it seemed unlikely that she would. They could not stop, however, or all were doomed. Finally, she reached a point where she was so enveloped in pain that she ceased to be aware of anything else.

  "What ails you, Alinor?" Wulfgar demanded.

  "Nothing," Alinor said breathlessly.

  "It is not nothing," Wulfgar growled. "What is it?"

  Alinor gasped, clutching her belly as a particularly hard contraction hit her.

  Wulfgar paled, a look of pure terror washing over his features as he placed his hand on her belly, feeling it grow rock hard beneath his palm. "Jesus Christ! You can not!--Not now!"

  "No. I will be fine when I can get off this horse," she assured him a little breathlessly.

  Wulfgar glanced helplessly at Thomas, who had pulled alongside them when he saw Wulfgar slow his steed. "She is having the babe."

  "Now?" Thomas demanded. "Christ! I have never seen a woman who was not more trouble than she was worth!"

  Wulfgar glared at him. "You speak of my wife?" he growled threateningly.

  Thomas glanced at him in alarm. "Nay, my lord! But—we are not even a dozen all together, and most are wounded! We can not hope to hold that hoard off that pursues us!"

  "I know of a cave in the cliffs not far ahead," one of the men near enough to hear them volunteered.

  "A cave!" Wulfgar roared furiously.

  The man looked taken aback, but shrugged. "I only thought it might be better than trying to birth her babe in a rocking boat—assuming we reach the beach."

  Wulfgar considered it for only a moment. "You will show me. Loose the horses, take the boat and row out into the water. With any luck they will think they have lost us and turn back."

  Alinor clutched at Wulfgar. "Nay. Let us go with them. It is too soon for the babe. Likely the pains will cease if I could but lie still for a bit."

  Wulfgar shook his head. "Mayhap they will, but not in a boat. You will be jounced as much or more if we get you into the boat. We will go to the cave and rest a bit. When you are feeling better, we will signal for them to come back for us."

  Alinor found she simply didn’t have the strength to argue and she had ceased to care about anything beyond the hope of escaping her pain. She said nothing more, trying only to close her mind to the blinding pain. It was the with the greatest relief that she heard the sound of pounding waves not long afterward and knew they were nearing the beach—though she had never thought to be glad to hear that sound.

  It took precious minutes to locate the cave, but they discovered it at last and Wulfgar carried her inside, laying her carefully on the cold stone floor. "Attend your lady," Thomas said. "I will keep watch at the entrance."

  Wulfgar shook his head. "You have done enough, old friend. Far more than many a man would. Go with the others."

  Thomas’ jaw set stubbornly. "I have never questioned any order you gave me, Lord Wulfgar, but I will not leave you and your lady alone."

  Wulfgar studied him a long moment and finally nodded. Turning away from the cave entrance, he made his way carefully through the dark interior, kneeling when he saw Alinor’s dim outline. She was curled into a tight ball. Pulling his cloak from his shoulders, he spread it on the floor of the cave and lifted Alinor onto it, wrapping it around her. "Better, love?"

  Alinor groaned in spite of all she could do. "Yes," she lied.

  "Quiet!" Thomas whispered harshly. "They are almost upon us."

  Time lost all meaning to Alinor after that. She was vaguely aware of movements around her, whispered conversations, but she had ceased to exist. Her belly was on fire with pain and she could find no relief from it. In the beginning, there had been some respite, no more than a few minutes, but even that would have been welcome after a time, for she had none at all.

  She became aware at one point that there was light in the cave and glanced around to discover a small fire had been built near where she lay. "They will see the light. You must put it out."

  "They have gone—satisfied that they chased us into the sea. You are safe, love."

  Alinor clutched Wulfgar’s hand when he would have moved away. "I am so sorry."

  Wulfgar frowned. "For what?"

  "Everything … for being so much trouble."

  Wulfgar stroked her cheek soothingly. "You are no trouble to me."

  It was kind of him to say so, though she knew it was a lie, but the pain consumed her again and she forgot everything else. She began to wonder after a while how much time had passed.

  "Where is Hilda?" she asked fretfully.

  "She escaped into the woods. Do not worry about her. She has gone to live with her son. She will be fine."

  "Jean-Pierre knows. He will kill her."

  "Jean-Pierre is dead and no longer a threat to anyone," Wulfgar said harshly.

  "You have avenged her then?"

  "What?"

  "Freda. You have found peace?"

  Wulfg
ar said nothing for so long that she began to wonder if she had only thought, and not said, the words. "Aye. When I found you."

  Alinor frowned, but she wasn’t certain what he meant by that, for he had had no peace since he had found her.

  "How long have we been here? Are they not coming back for us?"

  Wulfgar glanced at Thomas. "They have returned. We will leave as soon as you are better."

  "Am I dying?"

  "Nay!" Wulfgar said harshly. "Do not talk of such! It has only been a little while. It only seems long because you are in pain."

  Despair filled Alinor. "Not long? Wulfgar, I do not think I can endure this if it is to take much longer."

  Wulfgar looked at Thomas and nodded toward the mouth of the cave. Rising, he followed him. "What think you?"

  Thomas shook his head. "I’ve helped a mare with her foal, and a sow with her piglets, but I’ve no notion of birthing a babe. We should look for a woman to help her."

  "Look where?" Wulfgar said sharply. "Likely if we could find one it would be too late to be of use to her."

  "My mother told me it took her three days to birth me," one of the men outside volunteered.

  Wulfgar glanced at the man. It was Kavan, the man who’d told them of the cave. "I have doubt that Alinor can last two more. She is nigh exhausted now."

  The man shrugged. "There’s never any telling how long these things will take. When my mother birthed her last, that took no more than a matter of hours."

  Everyone, including Wulfgar, looked him over curiously. "You have knowledge of this? First hand?"

  He blushed. "I’ve no sisters. My mother needed someone to help and none of the others could stomach it."

  Wulfgar grasped the man by his tunic and hauled him to his feet. "You will help Alinor, then."

  Startled, Kavan flicked an uncomfortable glance at him. "I am willing enough, my lord, but if there is ought wrong, I do not have the skills to help her."

  "You’ve more knowledge than the rest of us. At least have a look. If you think it will wait a while, mayhap it would be best to try to get her across the channel and find a woman to help her."