‘Here.’
Without looking up, Svend shifted aside to let her take over and she brushed past him warily, careful not to make contact as she slid an arm under his and around Cille’s narrow shoulders. She was uncomfortably aware of his proximity, of the heat radiating from his broad chest, reminding her that less than an hour before, she’d thrown herself against it in an abandoned murderous frenzy. Wanton or murderess—which would he think was worse?
And why should she care?
He moved around the bed, apparently oblivious to her discomfort, and crouched down on one knee, bringing his face level to Cille’s.
‘My lady, in the name of King William, I promise that no harm will come to you or your child.’
Even through the heavy cloak Aediva could feel some of the tension ease from Cille’s trembling shoulders. She gaped at him in amazement. The unexpectedly gentle, reassuring tone of his voice, so utterly at odds with his warrior-like appearance, was having a similar effect on her own tattered nerves. How could this man, their enemy, be inspiring such confidence?
He glanced up suddenly, then away again, as if he hadn’t seen her, and her anger reasserted itself. He might be helping them now, but if it hadn’t been for this Norman’s arrival, Cille would still be safely awaiting her baby. Offering his protection was the very least he could do!
Cille groaned and Eadgyth stooped to feel her swollen stomach, nodding with satisfaction. ‘It’s time.’
Svend nodded and strode briskly to the doorway, pausing briefly on the threshold. His broad shoulders filled the space easily.
‘If you need anything, one of my men will be waiting outside.’
Then he was gone, leaving Aediva staring at a swinging curtain, emotions in turmoil. Of course she was glad that he’d gone, and yet his presence had been inexplicably reassuring—as if Cille had been safe when he was close by. Typical of a Norman to inflict himself upon them and then leave...
‘Are you going to help me or not?’
Eadgyth’s shrill voice interrupted her thoughts.
‘Fetch some water, girl!’
She leapt to her feet, smitten with guilt at neglecting Cille, if only for a moment. Her distraction was his fault too.
Never again, she promised herself.
Svend du Danemark wouldn’t distract her again. Not ever.
* * *
Aediva stumbled out into the courtyard, gulping mouthfuls of air like water. After the stultifying atmosphere of the birthing chamber it was a relief to be out in the open.
It was twilight. But on what day? An eternity seemed to have passed since she’d last felt the cool breeze on her skin.
She leaned back against the timbered wall and looked up at the first scattered sprinkling of stars, letting the tension ease from her tired limbs. It was over. Cille had a son, a tiny red bundle with powerful lungs that had already made more noise than his mother had in her whole life.
She smiled, recalling the blissful look on Cille’s face as she’d cradled her newborn baby to her breast, so happy even after so much pain. Cille had defied their worst fears, her small body proving stronger than they’d dared to imagine. Aediva had known that childbirth was dangerous, but she hadn’t realised it could be so brutal.
Tears welled in her eyes. Was that how it had been for their own mother? Had she suffered so much?
‘Lady Cille?’
She jumped, dismayed to be caught at such a vulnerable moment. She didn’t normally let down her defences so easily, but her emotions were still raw and the stress of the day had made her careless.
She hadn’t heard him approach, but Svend was already standing beside her, barely an arm’s length away, pale eyes glinting like twin crystals in the near darkness. He must have shaved, because his stubble was gone and his jutting cheekbones were even more prominent in his tanned face, his blond hair slicked back as if he’d just finished bathing. She’d never seen a man without a beard before. His skin looked smooth, the strong line of his jaw soft and almost strokeable. She found herself wanting to reach out and touch it. Instead she scowled deliberately.
‘Forgive me.’ He bowed stiffly. ‘I didn’t mean to startle you. Is there news?’
‘What do you care?’
She tossed her hair and stared into the distance, reluctant to meet his gaze until she had her tumultuous emotions under control. After his too intimate assessment of her in the birthing chamber, he’d barely glanced in her direction, but now his scrutiny was back—too close, too penetrating. Why did he have to stare at her again now, when she wanted to be alone? How long had he been watching her?
She thought she heard a sigh, but when she looked back his expression was blank, impenetrable.
‘You should eat,’ he said finally.
For a moment she thought of refusing, but the very idea of food made her ravenous. A curl of smoke twisted up from a chimney in one of the abandoned cottages, accompanied by a strong smell of cooking, and she felt her stomach tighten with hunger.
Svend gestured towards it and then stepped aside, letting her precede him across the courtyard. It was another thoughtful gesture, but she refused to acknowledge it. Now that the crisis was over, her nerves felt stretched to breaking point. She felt utterly drained and exposed. Why was it proving so hard to pull herself back together?
She looked around, trying to clear her befuddled head, and experienced a vague sense of surprise. She’d assumed that the Normans would take over the Thane’s hall, but they were scattered throughout the village, billeted in the recently vacated dwellings. Damn them, why were they being so reasonable? She didn’t want to feel indebted.
Not looking where she was going, she tripped and stumbled headlong into the cottage, a foot catching in her tunic and dragging her down. At once a strong hand gripped her elbow, but she shied away, hitting the ground with a thud, preferring to sprawl in the dirt than accept any further help. If he did one more honourable thing she would scream.
Svend stared down at her for a long moment, his expression set hard as tempered steel as she glared defiantly back, ignoring the pain in her hands and knees where she’d grazed them, daring him to help her up.
‘As you wish,’ he commented icily, striding to the central fireplace and ladling out a bowl of steaming broth. ‘Will you deign to eat Norman food or would you prefer dirt?’
Aediva struggled to her feet, abandoning the last shreds of her dignity as she snatched up the bowl and drained the contents in a few short gulps. The warmth coiled through her limbs, giving her strength, but she still couldn’t bring herself to thank him.
Instead she licked her lips, savouring the last taste of broth, delaying the moment when she’d have to face him again. The fire flickered and crackled between them, casting eerie shadows along the walls and filling her nostrils with woodsmoke. She looked around the room and felt a shiver of unease. Aside from a few cracked earthenware pots and a straw mattress it was completely empty, when just this morning it had been a home.
She could sense his eyes on her, but when she finally looked up they were hooded.
‘It’s a boy,’ she said finally. ‘Eadgyth says he’s a reasonable size.’
‘That’s a good sign.’
‘She said so too.’
She hesitated, loath to tell him any more, but somehow it seemed ungrateful not to.
‘My sister’s asleep, and her breathing’s steady.’
Aediva, she told herself. She should say Aediva. But she couldn’t trust herself with the lie. Not yet—not when he was standing so close.
‘I’m glad of it.’
‘And the babe is called Leofric after h... My husband.’
She bit her lip, mortified that she’d almost given herself away. But this Norman’s proximity was unsettling. It distracted her. The cottage seemed too small with hi
m in it, as if the walls were closing in on her. Or was he too big? She hadn’t noticed how tall he was before. The top of her head barely grazed his shoulder. Not to mention his chest. If both she and Cille stood together behind him no one would guess they were there.
Suddenly she wished she were back in the birthing chamber, back in the open air—anywhere but there.
She gave him a searching glance but he seemed not to have noticed her slip. Still, it would be too easy to give herself away. Perhaps it was time to tell him the truth, to admit who she was and that she’d been pretending to be her own sister. After all, he’d been unexpectedly kind to Cille. If she admitted the truth now he might let the lie pass, but the longer she deceived him the worse it would surely be. He didn’t look like a man who’d take kindly to being deceived. He would be angry...furious, even.
But at least he couldn’t blame Cille...
No, she decided, she wouldn’t tell him the truth just yet. She’d bear the brunt of his anger when it came, but it was too soon for Cille to be burdened with questions. Eadgyth had said she’d recover, but she was still weak. And she needed time with her baby. Whatever this warrior wanted could wait.
She peered at him from under her lashes, but his expression was closed, revealing nothing of the thoughts underneath. What did he want? Whatever it was, he looked like a man accustomed to getting his own way.
Well, that didn’t mean she would give it. And before she said anything—before she simply turned her sister over to him—she ought to find out what it was...
* * *
Svend stayed silent, unwilling to intrude upon her grief. The mention of her husband seemed to have upset her and he knew better than to offer sympathy.
What the hell had he been thinking, trying to offer solace at all? She’d looked so upset outside the hall that he’d assumed the worst, had felt drawn to comfort her despite himself. Why? What did it matter to him if she was upset? Women cried every day—their reasons for doing so were none of his concern. The world was a hard place, and the sooner everyone learned that, the better. No one had comforted him when he’d been forced to leave his home and family. So why did the sight of this woman crying bother him so much?
He frowned, trying to unravel the skein of his own tangled emotions. It was this place. He hadn’t noticed it at first, but something about it felt strangely familiar, stirring memories he’d thought long since forgotten. He’d seen villages enough since his arrival in England, but this one felt different. This one might have been his village in Danemark, one of these houses his home. The woman in the bed might have been one of his sisters, Agnethe or Helvig—young girls when he’d left them, probably mothers themselves by now. The feeling had been so striking that he’d felt bound to help her.
As for Lady Cille... Nothing about her was sisterly at all. Quite the opposite. So why was he still trying to comfort her?
He watched her out of the corner of his eye, studying her silhouette in the firelight, her slender figure still obvious and enticing despite her tattered tunic. Her waist was so small that his hands would probably meet if he wrapped them around it—which he realised he wanted to, and badly. He wanted to slide them down the slender curve of her hips, over her thighs, up and under her tunic, between her legs...
A surge of desire coursed through him. Was that all his concern meant, then? That he was attracted to her? The idea was...surprising. He was no stranger to women, nor was he easily swayed by feminine charms. And she was nothing at all like the kind of woman he was usually drawn to. She was too small, too delicate-looking—as if a strong wind might carry her away. A tender reed with a temper too big for her body.
Clearly he’d been in the company of men for too long. He desired a woman, that was all, and in the meanwhile he had no time to soothe tender feelings—especially those of a prisoner who’d just tried to kill him.
Besides, she was hiding something—he was sure of it. Just as he was certain that a pack of rabid wolves wouldn’t drag it from her. In the birthing chamber, he’d let his eyes rake her body deliberately to unsettle her, to undermine whatever premeditated answers she might have intended to give him. The fact that he’d wanted to look was simply a bonus. And she’d definitely been unsettled. The flicker of panic when he’d asked if they were sisters had been fleeting, but unmistakable.
He’d assumed that she was Lady Cille because she had answered to the name and fitted the description he’d been given exactly. But then so did the woman in the bed... Quickly, he filtered through the few details he’d been given. Lady Cille was the young widow of the ealdorman of Redbourn, hazel-haired, slight of build, kind and virtuous. But weren’t all wives described as virtuous? No one had mentioned golden eyes or a violent temper. And he found it impossible to believe that anyone could describe the woman before him without mentioning her eyes.
On the other hand, surely someone would have told him if Lady Cille had been with child!
He pushed his suspicions aside. As usual he was being too analytical, too thorough. This was no military campaign, to be examined from every angle, just a simple assignment. Find the woman and take her back to Redbourn. Whatever she was hiding was none of his concern.
‘What do you want from me, Norman?’ She spun around suddenly, interrupting his musing.
He ignored the question, absorbing her anger impassively, vaguely impressed. At least she didn’t try to inveigle him with sweet words, or try to flirt her way out of trouble, like most women of his acquaintance. He doubted this one knew how to do either. She was clearly overwrought and exhausted. But he had his own questions—ones that couldn’t wait. And besides, he had to prepare her for what lay ahead—though, judging by her temper so far, he ought to arm himself first.
‘She’s alone here, your sister?’
Her face clouded instantly. ‘Yes, apart from Eadgyth and me. I ordered our people to leave for their own safety.’
He ignored the jibe. ‘And her husband?’
She blinked, as if the question surprised her, and he raised an eyebrow. ‘She has a husband, I presume?’
‘Of course! Edmund.’
‘But he’s not here?’
‘No.’
She didn’t elaborate and his eyebrow inched higher. ‘No?’
‘He joined the rebellion.’
‘And left his wife with child?’
She shrugged. ‘I came to look after her.’
Svend stared at her incredulously. What kind of a man abandoned his pregnant wife, rebellion or no? Small wonder that Lady Cille seemed reluctant to talk about him. On the other hand, at least it explained what she was doing here—though not why she’d left Redbourn so suddenly and secretly.
‘You ask a lot of questions, Norman.’ Her expression was guarded.
‘I’m simply confused. Since the death of your husband, you’ve inherited his lands, have you not?’
‘No. Leofric had a younger brother. He’s the ealdorman now.’
‘He forfeited that position when he refused to swear fealty to the King and joined the rebels. Surely you knew that?’
‘Forfeited under Norman law. I don’t have to accept it.’
‘It would be wise if you did.’ His voice was low, but the veiled threat was unmistakable. ‘In any case, you’re now mistress of one of the largest estates in England.’
She looked less than impressed. ‘What of it?’
‘You left Redbourn in something of a hurry, my lady. It’s time for you to return home.’
She froze instantly. If he’d told her Redbourn had burnt to the ground she couldn’t have looked more horrified. ‘And if I don’t wish to go?’
‘Your people are vulnerable and afraid. As the ealdorman’s widow it’s your duty to take care of them. Or did you forget that when you ran away?’
‘I told you—I came to look after my sister.
I have a duty to her as well.’
‘And yet you ran away by yourself, without telling anyone where you were going. That doesn’t speak of a particularly clear conscience.’
‘How dare you? My reasons for leaving are none of your concern.’
‘You still have a duty to come back.’
‘Duty?’ She gave a brittle laugh. ‘Ironic for a Norman to be worried about Saxons!’
She whirled away but he caught her wrist, pulling her back again. ‘Even a Norman understands duty.’
‘Let me go!’
‘Forgive me.’ His tone was anything but apologetic. ‘But my orders come from the King. He was most displeased to hear that you’d left Redbourn.’
‘The Conqueror is at Redbourn?’
‘The King,’ he corrected her. ‘King William was crowned in December. But, no, he returned to Normandy in the spring. He left his half-brother Bishop Odo in charge, along with his cousin William FitzOsbern. He’s the one waiting for you at Redbourn.’
‘The King’s cousin wants to see me?’
He nodded slowly. His fingers were still wrapped around her arm, but he felt strangely reluctant to pull them away. He’d held her wrists before... The memory of her writhing beneath him flashed through his mind, heating his blood. He could feel the quickening of her pulse against his thumb and fought the urge to caress it.
‘Why?’ She looked panicked. ‘What does he want with me?’
He wishes for you to marry again.
The answer sprang to his lips, but the obvious fear in her voice made him hesitate. With his hand gripping her arm he felt suddenly, irrationally, protective. It wasn’t his place to tell her the Earl’s plans, but she was watching him, no longer defiant but frightened, asking him a question. He felt a stirring in his chest—something he hadn’t felt in a long time—as if something were shifting inside of him. Damn it all, how could such a small woman have such a powerful effect on his senses?
‘He intends for you to marry again,’ he said softly, surprising himself.
‘Marry a Norman?’
Married to Her Enemy Page 3