Fires of Winter - Viking 1

by Johanna Lindsey

  "Give her to me," Hugh broke in. "I would know what to do with the vixen."

  "You would break her spirit as well as her will," Anselm remarked to his oldest son. "A woman with spirit is worth having, and must be tamed gently, not broken. Ah, Garrick, if that one ever gave you her loyalty, there would be none like it."

  "You speak from experience?" Garrick asked, casting his mother a tender glance.

  "I do," Anselm chuckled, "though I know I do not deserve the loyalty I have gained. Go find your answers, son. The women are out back."

  When Garrick left the hall, Anselm shook his head and commented to Hugh, "Your brother seemed deeply troubled."

  "Would that I had his troubles." Hugh grinned, but Anselm could find no humor in the situation.

  Cordelia quickly answered the forceful knock on the door before the noise woke the other women, who were sleeping. She assumed it was Hugh at the door, for she was expecting him. He had not come round to see her for the last few days. That Viking's amorous ways she had become well acquainted with in her short time here. She knew what he expected of her—resistance at every turn—and she played this new role easily. She could not afford for the Viking to lose interest in her, not if her plans were to be fulfilled.

  Hugh Haardrad must believe himself to be the father of the child she suspected she was carrying. She would give him a son, and so assure her own future. Hugh's weak-kneed wife was thought to be barren; so Cordelia had learned from Heloise, who said he had no bastards as yet either. Mayhaps one day she might even gain marriage from her deception. She knew the child could not be Hugh's, but she would swear it was, and his own mother would concur, for Cordelia had purposely complained bitterly to the older woman of the trials of the ocean voyage, how the cramps of her monthly time had made it worse. Yea, she had wisely thought ahead. At least she would not have such a hard time of it here.

  She was careful not to look overly anxious when she opened the door. It was not Hugh who stood there in the cold, but his brother Garrick. She had seen this one before on occasion, when he came to visit his father, and she had been entranced by his handsomeness. He was a striking man, much more so than Hugh. Still, Hugh would be head of the clan one day, with power and wealth, and so she preferred him.

  "You are Brenna's sister?" Garrick asked her. At her slow nod he continued gruffly, "Then I would have a word with you, mistress. Will you walk with me?"

  Cordelia hugged her arms and shivered as the chill wind ruffled her coarse skirt. "I will get a wrap."

  "Nay," he replied. Shaking off the heavy fur cloak he wore, he wrapped it over her shoulders. "I am impatient."

  She bit her lip as she walked with him away from the house she shared with the other female slaves. She was a bit fearful that this tall Viking wanted her and was taking her away from the others to have his pleasure. Though she would indeed relish the experience, it would not suit her plans. No one but Hugh had bedded her since she first arrived and he put his claim on her.

  "I have a problem, mistress," Garrick said as they walked slowly about the settlement. "I seek your help if you can give it." He went on to explain about Brenna's attitude and her stubborn refusal to serve him, ending with their last confrontation this morning. "I would know if she will prove stubborn on this also. Does she value her life so little?"

  Cordelia wanted to laugh, but she dared not. So Brenna was acting true to form, just as Cordelia knew she would. The Viking showed real concern, which Brenna certainly didn't deserve. Mayhaps there was a way to further her own revenge, Cordelia thought maliciously.

  " 'Tis typical of Brenna," Cordelia answered. "But she would never do anything to risk her life," she added firmly.

  "Yet she fought against my father when he attacked your home. She risked her life then."

  "Brenna never really believed real harm would come to her that day," Cordelia explained with a convincing expression. "She assumed you Vikings would not kill a woman. As for Brenna's stubbornness, 'tis only a ruse to see how much she can gain. She feels that menial labor is beneath her, and in truth, she is lazy and would be happy if she need not lift a finger to do anything. All her life she has had servants to wait on her."

  "She did work in my stable," Garrick argued. "She says 'tis only women's work she will not do."

  "Did you see her do the work?" Cordelia asked. "Or did she coax someone else to do it for her? Nay, 'twas the same at home. Brenna expected everyone to serve her, even her family, while she spent all of her time diverting herself with the village men, tempting them away from their wives."

  " 'Tis a different Brenna you describe, not the one I know who shuns men."

  " 'Tis only what she wants you to believe," Cordelia said slyly. "Nay, the real Brenna is a tease with a whore's heart. She knows she is comely and would have every man she knows fall for her charms. She even coveted my own husband, who was smitten by her also."

  "But she was a virgin!"

  Cordelia smiled. "Is she still?" She saw his dark scowl, yet this did not stop her from adding, "If you want her only for yourself, Viking, then you had best keep a watchful eye on her, for she would never be content with just one man. I know my sister well."

  "I did not say I want her for myself, mistress," he said brusquely.

  Garrick left his father's house feeling more disgruntled and confused than when he came. Cordelia's words did not sit well with him and he returned home in a dark mood.

  A few minutes later Garrick stood before the door to his chambers. He hesitated a moment, wondering again what he would find inside. He held a tray of food awkwardly with one hand and threw open the bolt with the other, then went inside. Dog came to his feet immediately, his tail wagging. "Go on, Dog," Garrick said, "your food is below." He waited until the shepherd trotted from the room, then closed the door with his foot. Only a single candle burned on the mantel, but in the dim light he could see the room was in order. Surprised, he searched further until he found Brenna sitting on a chair staring into the fire. He set the tray down, then went over to her. He looked at her, wondering anew if what her sister said was true. Was Brenna just playing a game with him? Why should her sister lie?

  "Why did you take so long?" Brenna asked. "I am famished."

  He wondered bitterly if she had only put the room to rights after hunger had gnawed at her belly for a while. "Aye, 'tis late," he replied. He built up the fire, then stood up and waited for the tirade to begin. When it did not come immediately, Garrick eyed her speculatively and moved toward the table to join her, finally feeling his own hunger. Brenna was deep in thought as she ate, a frown creasing her brow.

  "You were detained, then?" she finally asked.

  "Nay, I simply forgot that you would be waiting on my return," he answered rather sharply.

  Then suddenly she laughed, causing Garrick no small amount of confusion. "Good. I am glad that you can forget me so easily, Viking."

  "Why so?"

  "Why not?" she countered, a smile on her lips. "You think I want myself bandied about in your thoughts? Nay, for I know not the direction of your thinking. Whether 'tis good or bad, I do not wish to weigh on your mind."

  He grunted. "You have odd ways of proving that, mistress, what with your behavior thus far."

  "So I have been on your mind?" she asked innocently, humor in her voice. "I am sorry, Garrick. I suppose I will have to change my ways, then."

  He put down his food and looked at her hard. "What game are you playing, wench?"

  "No game."

  "Am I to understand you will serve me now?" he questioned, bewildered by this sudden change.

  "Aye, is it not what you wished? I bend to your will, Garrick. How does it feel, to win this victory?"

  He felt the loser for some reason, but he would not tell her that. "I am glad you finally came to your senses."

  "Did you give me a choice, Garrick?" she replied, a slight note of bitterness in her voice now.

  He watched her as she continued eating, her eyes averted from h
is. Still he could not fathom this change. After such stony resistance, after the way she would have defiantly faced a beating, he would have expected her to endure at least a few days without nourishment before finally giving in. Was it really just a test all along, as her sister had said, to see how much she could gain?

  "Your chamber is in order, Garrick," Brenna said, breaking into his thoughts. "And your robe is repaired." She pushed her empty platter away and stood up. "If you have no further need of me this night, have I your permission to return to the women's quarters?"

  He hesitated before answering, his clear aqua eyes riveted to hers. "Nay."

  "Oh? What is there needs be done, then?"

  "There is naught to do, mistress, but you will not stay with the others any more. From now on you will sleep in the room Yarmille uses when I am gone. 'Tis across from the sewing room."

  "Why?" she demanded curtly, her eyes darkening to a stony gray, her hands on her hips.

  His brows raised questioningly, and there was a hint of mockery in his voice when he replied. "I thought you would bend to my will, mistress. Did you speak falsely?"

  He could see her back stiffen, and her eyes sparkled with fury, but her voice was surprisingly calm when she answered. "As you wish."

  Then she left the room with cool dignity, leaving him to wonder at his reasons for wanting her near at hand.

  Chapter 20

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  BRENNA entered the cooking area tired and blurry-eyed, for she had slept little during the night. Janie was busy at the table, cutting up a hind of beef for a stew. The young woman looked exceptionally lovely in a clean gray shift, her coppery hair tied back neatly at the base of her neck. She looked serene and fresh, which made Brenna feel even more tired. Dog perked up when he saw her and left his perch by the roasting pit. He came and nudged her hand until she petted him. Then, his tail wagging, the big animal returned to its resting place.

  "Good morn," Brenna said finally, to get Janie's attention.

  "Oh, Brenna!" Janie exclaimed as Brenna joined her at the table. "God's mercy, we have been so worried about you. When the master locked you up, we did not know what to think. And we dared not ask him why, for he has been in such a mean mood of late."

  " 'Twas only that my working with Erin did not agree with Garrick. Nor my long rides," she added. "He would have me work here instead. 'Twas my own fault that he kept me confined to his chamber, because I refused to do as he wanted."

  "But you have agreed now," Janie stated. "Master Garrick said this morn that you would help us henceforth."

  "Yea, I will."

  "You do not sound pleased," Janie replied. "There is really not that much to do, Brenna."

  " 'Tis not the work I am against, Janie, but that Garrick would have me serve him as a slave when I was prepared to serve him as a wife. This is what galls me, that I must bend to him without the benefit of marriage."

  "Pretend he is not the one you would have married," Janie suggested.

  Brenna grinned. "I doubt that would help very much." She ladled herself a bowlful of oatmeal from a small pot over the fire and returned to the table. "You said there is not much to do. Why then were you so tired all the time when I first came here?"

  Janie made a grim face. "That was when Yarmille was here all the time, as she is whenever Garrick is away. She owns no slaves herself, and so takes delight in her authority over us. She is also a woman who cannot abide idle hands. She would have us clean a room that is already spotless, just to keep us busy at all times. 'Tis fortunate she only comes once or twice a week when Garrick is home."

  "Does Garrick know what a hard taskmaster she is?" Brenna asked.

  "Nay, but 'twould bode ill to tell him. In a sense, Yarmille is family. Her bastard son is Garrick's half-brother."

  "I see."

  "She is also the only one around who has no family or farm to tend, so Master Garrick needs her. Others have a wife to leave in charge of their household when they are away—Garrick has Yarmille."

  "So he would think twice before he would reprimand her for her severity."

  "Yea, I would imagine so."

  "But that is terrible!" Brenna said in outrage. "He really should be advised of the situation."

  " 'Tis not so bad, Brenna. He is home more than he is away. Except for last winter, of course. That should not happen again, however. Besides, he does not demand much of us when he is here, only that he be served according to his needs, and that when he has guests, they be treated with respect."

  "And their every wish granted," Brenna added in obvious disgust.

  Janie smiled. "Ah, these Vikings do like their pleasure."

  "Lusty bastards is what they are!" Brenna spat, her gray eyes sparkling with contempt. "A servant I will be, but not in that respect. He can starve me if he will, but I will not be his whore!"

  "Is that what he did?"

  "Nay, but he threatened to," Brenna admitted. "He plays the game most foully."

  "Mayhaps you need not worry," Janie offered. "When guests come, you can hide as you did before. They come to our quarters looking for us, but you could stay in the sewing room again."

  "I will not be going back to the quarters," Brenna replied. She still did not understand why. "Garrick has bid me stay in Yarmille's room."

  Janie grinned. "Mayhaps you really have no cause to worry. It seems Garrick would keep you for himself."

  "Nay, if that were so, I would have had a hard time this last week in his chamber, but I did not. He has no interest in me that way."

  "He has not taken you yet?" Janie asked in surprise.

  Brenna's face reddened considerably. "Yea, but only twice," she snapped in embarrassment. "And he will surely regret it if he tries again!"

  "No doubt 'twill be awhile before he does," Janie remarked. "The man tries hard to do without women, he distrusts them so. And if you recall the reason for it, mayhaps that is why he has been in such a dark mood of late. Morna has returned."

  "Returned?"

  "Yea, a few days past. Perrin told me of it. It seems her rich husband perished of consumption. She has returned to her family a wealthy widow. It can mean only trouble."

  "Why so?"

  Janie frowned. "Perrin thinks she has it in mind to turn her attentions to Garrick again."

  Brenna's back stiffened. "And he would take her back?"

  "She was his first love and not easily forgotten. Yet in truth she hurt him badly," Janie said, then shrugged. " 'Tis my opinion he would be a fool to want her again after what she did to him. But who can say what is in a man's heart?"

  "Only the man, and most times he will not," Brenna murmured with a slightly bitter edge to her tone. She would give anything to know Garrick's thoughts.

  Janie and Brenna spent the rest of the morning and afternoon doing the wash. Brenna did the scrubbing while Janie kept water boiling from the huge vat of rain water beside the house, and then hung the clothing to dry. Brenna rubbed Garrick's clothes over the scrubbing board with a vengeance, tearing seams that she only had to repair afterward. As there were not many hours of actual daylight, the clothes did not dry with the help of the sun, but had to be thoroughly wrung out and hung in the cold wind. It was near eventide when the clothes were brought in, and it was then that Brenna saw the northern lights for the first time. She was frightened at first by the strange formless glow until Janie explained that the greenish yellow light appeared frequently in the sky. She also warned Brenna that the light took different shades, and was sometimes white. The more beautiful lights were blue, red or even violet. Brenna was enthralled, and looked forward to seeing more. This land of many mysteries, so different from her own, was another world entirely.

  It was late when Garrick finally came in for his meal. Brenna's eyes were drawn quickly to his blood-stained trousers, the crimson red standing out on the tanned deerskin, and then she peered questioningly into his face.

  "I did not know you had enemies in your own land," she said speculatively, he
r voice husky.

  " 'Tis the truth, but I met none this day," he replied, his lips turning up in a slow grin as he came closer. "I must disappoint you, wench, and tell you that the blood is not mine, but that of the doe Avery is now skinning."

  "Avery?"

  "He is another of my slaves."

  Garrick's patent reminder of her status was not lost on Brenna. Color flushed her cheeks hotly and her silver gray eyes flashed at him.

  " 'Twould appear you bungled the kill," she remarked derisively, her gaze returning to the blood stains. "Are you not aware that an arrow through the head makes a cleaner wound and a finer pelt?"

  He laughed. "First you wager you know horses better than I. Now you would instruct me on the merits of hunting. When will you cease to amaze me, Brenna?"

  She was rankled for a moment. She did not like it when he used her given name. He had only done so before in a tender moment.

  "Your meal awaits you," she said woodenly, anxious to be away from him as soon as possible. "Where will you have it?"

  "Does this mean you will serve me?" he asked, his eyes looking over her body much too boldly for her liking. "Where are the others?"

  "Mayhaps you do not know 'tis late, Viking," she retorted irritably. "The others have retired for the night."

  "And you waited patiently for me?" He was behind her now, removing his heavy fur cloak. "This change in you is truly remarkable, Brenna. I find it odd that you did not seek your bed and leave others to see to my needs. Could it be you yearn for my company?"

  "Ohh!" she gasped and sprang to her feet to face him. "You conceited jackal! I would sooner spend my time with a braying ass than with you!"

  She started to stalk from the room but his sharp command stopped her after only a step. "I did not give you leave to retire, mistress!"

  She turned furious, smoky eyes on him, but gritted her teeth and waited for him to continue. She bristled at the mocking smile that curled his lips. He was enjoying this!

  "You will serve my meal," he said in a level tone. "First you will prepare water for my bath."

  "A bath? Now?" she asked incredulously.