Harlequin Historical September 2014 - Bundle 2 of 2: Lord Havelock's ListSaved by the Viking WarriorThe Pirate Hunter

by Annie Burrows

  Cwenneth shook her head as a shiver ran down her spine. Now that she thought about it, the hall seemed devoid of its usual life. ‘He will have that wrong. My stepson has a limp. He is no warrior. Kitchen boys the world over like to sound important.’

  ‘Did he say where?’ Thrand asked.

  Hilde shook her head. ‘He wasn’t sure. A long way from here. The kichen boy’s brother went as well.’

  ‘We need to go to the coast by the quickest way.’ Thrand picked Aud up. ‘Once we are in Jorvik, I will let Halfdan know. Your brother may be massing an army.’

  Cwenneth swallowed hard. She had to think logically. They only had the kitchen boy’s boast to Hilde. Her stepson could be anywhere. The Scots could be massing in the north and then there was Mercia to the west. ‘Thrand...it will have nothing to do with us. My stepson would never lift a finger to save me. He believes I cursed his family.’

  ‘I won’t leave my king blind. If there are problems in Bernicia, he needs to be aware of them.’

  ‘And Iceland?’

  His warm hand curled about hers. ‘I’m giving the king information. We will still go to Iceland. War is in my past.’

  Cwenneth nodded, choosing to give the appearance of believing him. ‘Iceland before autumn.’

  Chapter Thirteen

  The spring rain pelted down incessantly, soaking and chilling them to the bone. Cwenneth tightened the shawl that the farmer’s wife had insisted on giving about her shoulders. They had made good progress after leaving Aefirth’s crypt without anyone challenging them.

  Without prompting, Thrand had set Aud on Myrkr while Cwenneth and Hilde walked beside him to keep the load light on the cart. Hilde kept up a steady stream of chatter which helped keep her mind from the niggling worry of which war her stepson had gone off to fight. It would not be anything to do with the rumour Hagal had spread. The one thing she knew for certain was that her stepson would never lift a finger to save her.

  ‘You have become awfully quiet, Cwen,’ Thrand remarked, lifting a tired Hilde up alongside Aud. ‘Do you wish to ride as well? Or should we find shelter?’

  Cwenneth’s heart turned over. For the thousandth time since they had left the farmhouse she warned her heart not to care or have hope. But her heart had long ago stopped listening to her and it frightened her. She could so easily lose him. And the last thing she wanted was a war between the Norsemen and the Bernicians.

  The needle sting of hail attacked Cwenneth.

  ‘We should find shelter. Aud is being very brave, but hail hurts.’

  ‘You must know of somewhere which will take travellers in and not ask too many questions. The children need a hot meal and to thaw out in front of a warm fire.’ His brows drew together. ‘Like you, I know we are near to Lingwold.’

  ‘There is no point in trying the hall or any of the monasteries or inns. They are sure to inform my brother.’ Cwenneth wrapped her arms about her waist. ‘The last thing I want is my brother chasing after me, thinking I’ve been kidnapped as Hagal claimed. Time enough to send a message when we are in Jorvik.’

  She took a step and her boot slipped slightly in the pile of hailstones. Thrand put his hand under her elbow, holding her upright. She met his midnight-blue eyes and saw the concern and something more which was instantly masked.

  ‘Are your boots losing their grip?’ Thrand asked. ‘Go slower and watch where you put your feet. How would we cope if something happened to you?’

  ‘They will last. They are good...’ Cwenneth’s voice trailed away as her shoulders suddenly became much lighter. There was a place they could stay! Safe with no fear of Edward or Hagal knocking at the door.

  ‘There is somewhere we can stay.’ Cwenneth fought to keep the excitement from her voice. ‘Someone who would keep our presence a secret until her dying breath.’

  ‘Are you sure of that? Gold and fear can be mighty big inducements. Do you know of any abandoned huts around here? Ones that a shepherd might use?’

  ‘You remember Dain—the boy who had these boots before me. His mother lives near here. On her own. She won’t ask too many questions. She was my nurse, my second mother before my marriage and she has no great love for my brother. She rightly blames him for failing to find Dain a place amongst his men. I would like to return the boots.’ Cwenneth winced at the sight of the mud-splattered boots. ‘Or at least pay for them. She deserves to know her son died bravely.’

  When he said nothing, she added, ‘The children need shelter from the rain. Somewhere warm where they can dry off in front of a fire. They are far too wet and cold. If one of them gets sick, we’ll be forced to delay our journey. And we want to get to Jorvik as soon as possible.’

  ‘I am aware of that. The question is where.’

  ‘I would trust my life to Martha.’ Cwenneth paused. ‘And I would trust the children’s lives to her as well.’

  ‘If you are sure...’

  ‘Very sure. She is my oldest friend.’ She put her hand on Thrand’s sleeve and felt the comfort of his muscular arm. ‘When I was a young girl, she used to hide my misdeeds from my family and most particularly my brother. I would not be standing here if she had told. Edward did threaten bodily harm on more than one occasion.’

  ‘What did you do? I find it hard to credit you were ever naughty. Or behaved foolishly.’

  ‘Once I arranged it so an old bird’s nest fell on Edward’s head and showered him with spider’s webs. Edward had been overly proud of his new ermine cloak. It was ruined beyond repair. And despite Edward offering a reward, Martha kept my secret.’

  ‘This is another matter entirely, Cwen.’

  ‘You did not hear the threats my brother uttered. Or the rewards he offered. I know which side Martha would choose.’ Cwenneth concentrated on brushing the hail from Hilde’s cloak. ‘The children need to have some shelter and hot food, and the area around Lingwold is too built up to risk a fire.’

  She waited in silence as Aud began to softly cry as the hail pelted down again, pricking like a thousand needles.

  ‘I trust your judgement on people,’ Thrand said, pulling her hood more firmly on her head. ‘You took a chance on me, but keep silent about my name unless absolutely necessary.’

  Cwenneth threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, drinking from his mouth. ‘You won’t regret it.’

  His arms came about her and pulled her close. ‘I plan on making you pay later.’

  * * *

  ‘Who goes there on a day like today?’ an elderly voice asked in answer to Cwenneth’s knock. ‘I swear it became black as midnight at noon. Does it mean the devil is out on his rounds?’

  Cwenneth gave a quick glance at Thrand. She motioned for him to be quiet. If Martha heard a Norseman’s voice, she might bolt the door and lock it. The bone-chilling hail and sleet had only increased in the time it had taken to get to the farm.

  ‘Travellers in need of shelter.’ Cwenneth hated how her stomach knotted. ‘Martha, please open the door and allow us to come in.’

  The door creaked open and an eye peered out. ‘Lady Cwenneth? By all that is holy, what are you doing here? Do ghosts walk abroad today? Is that why it is so dark out?’

  Cwenneth winced. She hadn’t realised her voice was that recognisable. ‘The very same, but I am no ghost or apparition. I am real. Touch my hand. There are children, Martha. It is bucketing down. May we come in? Please, for the sake of my mother’s friendship with you.’

  Martha’s eyes narrowed and she ignored Cwenneth’s outstretched hand. ‘We heard you’d been kidnapped. Owen the Plough even went so far as to predict that you were dead. No lady could withstand what happened to you.’

  ‘Owen the Plough always did love to make dire predictions. I’ve brought Dain’s boots back. You can see the mark he made on the back.’ Cwenneth lifted up her gown to displ
ay the mud-splattered boots. ‘You were right. They are excellent boots. Open the door properly and look.’

  The door was flung wide open and the elderly woman rushed out. She clasped Cwenneth to her breast before leading them back into the small hut where a fire roared. The smell of warm stew and freshly baked bread perfumed the air. Aud and Hilde instantly went to the fire and started to warm their hands, rather than begging for a taste as she would have done at their age. In the firelight, Cwenneth could see the colour in their cheeks coming back. She breathed easier. Coming here and begging for shelter had been the right thing to do.

  ‘You must tell me all your adventures and how you managed to be here with two children and this...warrior. After you have had something to eat. Those children are too thin by half.’ The old woman put out a trembling hand and touched Cwenneth’s cheek. ‘You are real. You are alive. Did my...?’

  Cwenneth shook her head slowly, hating the eager look which had come on to the woman’s face.

  ‘Slain before they had a chance to draw their swords. Betrayal of the most cowardly sort. Cold-blooded murder,’ Thrand said in a low voice, ‘or otherwise your son would have acquitted himself well.’

  Cwenneth rapidly explained what had happened and how Thrand had rescued her. However, she was very careful not to give Thrand a name as she knew how people in Lingwold felt about him.

  ‘I would be dead if not for him.’ Cwenneth squeezed Martha’s hand as the old woman wiped away a tear. ‘Surely you can see the folly in saying it is worse than death to be rescued by a Norseman when the only reason why I am alive and breathing is him and his sword arm.’

  The woman’s eyes narrowed. ‘And he is? You are avoiding the question, my lady. What is this man’s name? He must have a name.’

  Cwenneth swallowed hard. Lying was out of the question, but there was no telling how Martha would react when she knew, particularly after Thrand had been blamed for the torching of the farms. ‘Does it matter who he is? He saved my life and travels with me. We will only be staying the one night.’

  Martha tapped her foot on the floor. ‘I think it does if I am going to welcome him under my roof. And I want his real name, my lady. I know how you try to cozen people.’

  ‘Thrand Ammundson,’ Thrand answered, stepping forward and holding out his hand. ‘Thrand the Destroyer in flesh and blood and at your service. I’m grateful you have taken my family in.’

  ‘Then the rumours are true. You did kidnap my lady and seduce her.’

  Martha backed up. In another breath she’d run. Cwenneth readied herself to usher the children out. They could get a good few miles on them before Martha had the chance to raise the alarm.

  Thrand lowered his hand on Martha’s shoulder, keeping her from moving. ‘Lady Cwenneth stays with me voluntarily. Initially she wanted to see justice served, but she stays now for the sake of these two children.’

  The woman blanched. ‘But they said it was all the Destroyer’s work. Your bridegroom swore it on a bible.’

  ‘We’ve been duped for the last few years. And my so-called bridegroom is a pagan. Christian oaths have no meaning to him.’ Cwenneth pressed her fingers together. ‘I was there. I know who killed your son and who rescued me. And while I don’t know who torched those farms, I do know it wasn’t Thrand. And I am prepared to swear that oath on any bible.’

  Martha sank down on to the bench. ‘But they said...your brother said... I’m only a widow who has lost her only son and whose daughter won’t speak to her.’

  Cwenneth knelt before Martha, gathering the older woman’s cold hands within hers. ‘Edward must never know I was here. We only stopped because of the children and the weather. We needed shelter. I will let him know where I am when I reach Jorvik and the children are safe, but right now they need me.’

  ‘My old lady, your mother, would bar me from heaven if she knew I’d refused to shelter her only daughter. Or had betrayed her. Your brother is much altered from the young man he once was.’ Martha screwed up her face and appeared to think for a long while. ‘For her sake, I will accept you under my roof, Thrand Ammundson, and keep your secret.’

  ‘We accept with gratitude,’ Cwenneth said quickly before Thrand exploded. ‘We will be gone by morning.’

  ‘Where are you going?’ Martha asked.

  ‘We head to Jorvik and then to Iceland,’ Thrand replied, a muscle jumping in his jaw. ‘Lady Cwenneth is coming with me to look after the children. It is the safest place for her.’

  ‘Iceland! Have you been bewitched, my lady? It is the end of the earth. Surely your brother will protect you...from Hagal the Red.’

  ‘He failed to before.’ Cwenneth could hear the warning note in Thrand’s voice. ‘If he had heeded the warning signs, your son might be alive today. But instead he allowed himself to be blinded by a legend.’

  ‘This is a bad business,’ Martha said, shaking her head.

  ‘Why is it a bad business?’ Cwenneth asked.

  ‘So many men dead. Your brother is baying for blood, my lady. He is raising an army to rid this land of Thrand the Destroyer for ever. He wants to free you.’

  ‘How did he learn about my kidnapping?’ Cwenneth asked. ‘It puzzles me how the news travelled so fast. It took weeks for me to travel there. The roads are nearly impassable with the spring rain. We’ve had great trouble today with the cart.’

  ‘Hagal the Red arrived a few days ago, swearing vengeance for your kidnapping, but he needed your brother’s support.’

  Cwenneth froze. Hagal was at Lingwold with her brother. Play-acting. Hagal obviously expected her to make for her old home and would act the contrite bridegroom when she did arrive.

  ‘The best way to avoid a trap is to stay well clear,’ Thrand said in a quiet but firm undertone, putting a heavy hand on her shoulder. ‘There are so many reasons why we hold to our agreed course of action and the two main ones are sitting across from you right now.’

  Cwenneth pressed her hands to her eyes and tried to will the sick feeling in her stomach to go. Hagal was here! Not in Jorvik. ‘Did I say anything?’

  ‘We will be on our way tomorrow. First light,’ Thrand said, leaving no room for dissent. He went over to where the children sat and scooped Aud up. ‘Aud is sound asleep in his stew and Hilde is not far behind. After a rest they will be ready to continue on. They are good travellers for ones so small.’

  Cwenneth’s throat caught as Aud’s head lolled against Thrand’s shoulder. Thrand looked every inch the father. To think he had proclaimed that he could never look after the children. He was a natural. And he cared for them. It was the way he carried Aud as if he was worth more than all the gold in the world combined.

  She pinched the bridge of her nose. Caring for the children was one thing. Caring for her was another. She wished she could stop her heart from longing and from wanting to keep him safe.

  Martha pointed to the loft. ‘Put the children up there. It’ll be warm enough and there is plenty of space for everyone to sleep.’

  ‘I’ll do it,’ Thrand said. ‘You stay here with your friend, Cwen. It will be a long time before you see someone from your birthplace again.’

  Hilde went up the ladder first, and Thrand followed with Aud.

  ‘It is quite the family you have there, Lady Cwenneth,’ Martha said when the noise from the loft had died down a little.

  Cwenneth laced her hand with Martha’s. ‘I’m glad you agree. I fear my brother would not. He would be beyond all reasoning, but know that I am happier than I have been in a long time. It feels right. I’m needed in a way I never was at Lingwold. Or indeed with Aefirth.’

  Martha gave a reluctant nod. ‘If you say he is a good man, I’ll believe you. And he is the right age. Aefirth was far too old for you. He treated you like a child and never allowed you to make any important decisions.’

  ‘Aef
irth was good to me,’ Cwenneth protested. ‘He sought to protect me.’

  ‘He wanted to play at being young. He should never have gone to war the last time he did. He should have stayed and looked after his estate. When he left you, he never trusted you to make the right decisions.’

  Cwenneth pressed her lips together. What Martha said had merit. She had admired Aefirth and had liked being looked after, but he had never encouraged her to think for herself in the way Thrand did. He had left advisors for her. But Aefirth had only wanted her because he felt he needed another heir, one who could be a warrior instead of a cripple, and she was an ornament to his house. ‘The woman I was loved him.’

  ‘And the woman you are now? Who do you love?’

  Was it wrong of her to keep hoping that Thrand would see her as more than the person who could help him fulfil his promise to his friend? Cwenneth fiddled with her eating knife. Now was not the time to reveal her problems with Thrand.

  ‘There is something more,’ she said instead. ‘Something you kept from me because Thrand was in the room.’

  ‘Your brother means to march to Jorvik and demand Thrand’s head. He has called for all men who hate Thrand Ammundson to flock to his banner. He means to take Jorvik if the king won’t listen. Even your stepson has come with men. You could have knocked me over with a feather when I saw his banner fluttering in the breeze the other day.’

  ‘My brother is foolish if he thinks the king will listen. And insane if he thinks he can take Jorvik. Others have tried.’ A pain developed in the back of Cwenneth’s head. How could her brother be that foolish!

  ‘Hagal has guaranteed safe passage through his lands to Jorvik in time for the Storting. He says that it will be your brother’s last chance to get rid of the menace for ever and get you back as his bride.’

  ‘Hagal wants me dead. Aefirth killed his cousin in battle. Unless my stepson is very careful, he too will end up dead.’

  ‘He has never mentioned that. And your stepson is one of the ones yelling the loudest.’ Martha tapped a finger on the side of her nose. ‘But you always did say that he wanted easy glory.’