He swore loud and long before tossing it back into the trunk. ‘My second favourite sword, but my first is not here.’
‘Then, as I’ve said before, whoever hit you will have the missing sword or know where it is.’
‘I suspect you’re right. I keep trying to place the voice...the one that called me a tyrant just before I was hit from behind.’
Cynehild frowned. ‘Can you remember yet if it was male or female?’
‘That still continues to elude me.’ He paused. ‘Could a woman have hit me hard enough to break my skull? Would a woman even be tall enough?’
‘Toka is tall for a woman, and she has taken an instant dislike to me, that is clear.’
‘My sister-in-law was always prickly. She was several years older than Ranka and liked to boss her about. Toka’s poisonous words about my lack of ability to provide for my family dripped into our marriage and eventually Ranka became exactly like her.’
‘It seems odd that she should be here if she feels so strongly against you.’
‘I’d never refuse my cousin’s wife a home.’
Cynehild stilled. She had to be so careful here. If she accused the wrong person everything could go wrong. But she had no real idea why Alff was at the cottage, interrogating her men.
‘Do you think Alff had something to do with the attack?’
Kal tapped his sword against his leg. His brow furrowed as if he was trying to think. Cynehild waited, despite the temptation to fill the silence with noise.
‘We will know soon enough.’ He looked away. ‘Alff will bring your men here. He won’t risk leaving them—particularly as they will demand to see me.’
‘You’re sure he won’t kill them?’
‘The Alff I remember from Ribe is overly cautious. He dislikes making a move unless he’s certain that everything will go well for him. Your men will remain alive.’
She noticed he didn’t say they would remain free from injury. Brother Palni’s warning about becoming entangled in Deniscan affairs thundered in her mind. But it was far too late for regrets. She had to go forward and do her best to keep her men, herself and Kal alive, until Brother Palni returned with Moir’s men.
‘You remain in grave danger,’ she said, instead of confessing her growing fears.
‘Tell me something else.’
He picked up one of the tafl counters from the board and tossed it in the air. He caught it once, tried a second time and this time dropped it. He swore softly.
‘You will get better every day, Kal.’
‘I need to be better now. I need to be ready. Whoever did this to me remains out there, poised to strike again.’ He shook his head. ‘Alff will return very soon. What if he does challenge me? What if I fail to defeat him?’
Cynehild plucked the counter from the rushes and put it in his palm. ‘Toss it again. Keep your eye on the counter. Practise. We will make use of the time before Alff arrives.’
He tried again, missed and cursed.
Without making a sound, Cynehild retrieved the piece and gently threw it to him. This time he caught it. They played the game of catch several more times. His reactions were slow, but improving.
‘Thank you for agreeing to stay with me. You will be safest in this chamber rather than in private quarters of your own...until the bulk of your men arrive.’
‘How else could I play a game of catch the counter with you? By far the best use for tafl pieces, if you want my opinion.’
He caught the counter and tossed it into the air, sending it spinning. ‘You would be a natural if someone taught you the intricacies of the game rather than chiding you for making mistakes like your husband did.’
‘How did you guess?’ Cynehild wrinkled her nose.
All those irritations and slights from Leofwine kept coming back to her—the little things she’d sworn she would forget. She had loved him, but he had wanted a very specific sort of wife. Once she had found it easy to be that sort, but now she’d tasted independence and the freedom of making her own decisions. She had to wonder what Leofwine would have made of her...
‘Playing with a woman can be stimulating. My late wife and I used to play.’ He gave a crooked smile. ‘She had honed her skills against her sister and was very hard to beat. But I found a way which was pleasurable for both of us, no matter who won.’
Cynehild carefully rearranged the counters. A way which was pleasurable for both of us, no matter who won. Making love, she had no doubt. She ran her tongue over her lips. Leofwine would never have suggested that sort of thing. It might have been fun with Kal... It might still be fun with Kal, whispered a small piece of her.
Was there any harm in indulging in a little fun? No one would ever know or guess. When Brother Palni returned she would go back to being the sensible widow instead of a woman who played tafl with...with her lover.
But she still had a task to complete. How could she have him as a lover if she intended on taking the hoard of gold?
‘What sort of plan do you have for when Alff returns?’ she asked, to direct the conversation away from potentially fraught topics.
‘It will evolve in good time.’ He held out Leofwine’s sword. ‘You keep this.’
Cynehild grabbed it. The solid weight reminded her of her duty to get that gold for her son’s future. She rapidly put it down at the foot of the bed. ‘You think I need to be armed?’
He let out a long breath. ‘Is there something bothering you? Out with it, Cyn. Let me know the worst. Confide in me.’
Confide in him? About the true nature of her task? Ask him for advice on what to do about Wulfgar’s training? She knew she should. She opened her mouth, but the words stuck in her throat.
‘What is it that you want? Truly?’ he whispered, before she could confess.
The words twined themselves about her insides. What she wanted was not to have to do her duty. What she wanted was to feel cherished and not to have this promise to Leofwine hanging over her head. Was that wrong of her?
The bed appeared to be growing larger with each breath she took. She stepped backwards. As if sensing her thoughts, he walked over to it and started rearranging the furs.
A lock of hair fell over his forehead. Her palm itched to smooth it. But she knew the action would be just an excuse so that she could ‘accidentally’ tumble into his arms.
‘Your cousin will be returning soon. Hopefully my men haven’t suffered too badly. I need to be thinking about that, rather than where I am to sleep.’
He straightened the pillows. ‘This bed is yours, not mine, while you are here. It’s up to you if you invite me in or not. But I will be here in this chamber with you. Then my cousin, or whoever is behind this villainy, will not be able to use you to get to me.’
‘What?’
‘I can’t risk someone trying to strike at me through you. You are under my personal protection. I want to assure you that nothing will happen between us unless you desire it.’
She hugged her arms about her waist to stop herself from launching at him and hugging him tight. ‘Once Brother Palni returns—’
‘You will go. So you refuse to start anything with me which cannot be permanent. I know. My memory is hazy about the time just before my injury, but it remains perfect about afterwards.’ He tilted his head. ‘Have you considered that nothing is permanent? We never know what might happen. Sometimes we all need a warm body in the night.’
Cynehild gulped hard. A warm body in the night. Instantly forgettable. That was all she’d be to him if she gave in to the increasing curl of heat in her belly.
She began to pace the room. ‘This is the first time I have been back here since we fled. So many memories of little things I’d forgotten... When Leofwine died I swore I wouldn’t—But look at me, going on about my memories when yours remain missing.’
‘I’d hope those memories br
ing you happiness, but you are far too restless for that.’
After her second circuit of the room, he put his hand on her shoulder and she immediately leaned against his reassuring bulk. A violent shivering overtook her and she knew her legs were about to give way. She turned into his chest. He stroked her head until the shivering stopped.
‘If being here failed to affect you there would be something wrong. I understand. Remember, I lost my wife.’
She forced her gaze to remain at the point where his tunic gaped open. ‘You are kind—not at all what I expected from a Danish warlord...particularly one with a reputation like yours.’
His brow instantly lowered. ‘Let’s hope nobody else has noticed the change in me. I like being kind, but until my enemy is vanquished I must appear to be the same man as I ever was.’
A reminder, if she needed it, that Kal’s actions now might not be the way he’d used to behave. Brother Palni’s warnings rang in her mind again. She was attracted to this Kal, but would she have been attracted to Icebeard?
‘I’m sure no one will mention it. But I for one like how you are now.’
His mouth grazed her forehead. It would be easy to sink into the kiss, but also it would be wrong.
She leant back against his arms. ‘Let’s return to the hall now that you have your own sword,’ she said in an overly bright voice—the one she always used when she wanted Wulfgar to do something. ‘You can pretend to be giving me a tour, but you can use the time to familiarise yourself with the ground in case it comes to a fight.’
His arms released her abruptly. ‘Your wisdom is something to be cherished. It shows why you will make a formidable opponent when we do play tafl. You think several moves ahead.’
‘I didn’t promise to play,’ she said to the rushes. ‘You twist my words.’
He put a finger under her chin and raised it. ‘You didn’t have to. And we will play like a man and a woman play—for pleasure.’
Despite all her promises to the contrary, she could feel herself drowning in his eyes. Her mouth ached.
She tentatively wet it. ‘I...’
‘Know that I want you, Cyn.’ He brushed his lips against hers, stepped away and watched her with hooded eyes.
Cynehild kept her body still. She bowed her head and fussed with rearranging the pleats of her gown, hating it that a large piece of her heart wanted his easy words to be true. ‘I will bear that in mind, but concentrate.’
‘My first encounter with Alff will be on my terms,’ he said.
On his terms. She knew what leadership challenges could be like amongst the men of the North, and it was not beyond reasoning that whoever had done this to Kal had anticipated that there would be a fight if he reappeared, and wanted to keep him off balance.
‘He won’t wish to fight you straight away, will he?’
‘If he wanted that he would have challenged me directly, instead of hitting me on the head and leaving me to die.’ His brows knitted. ‘I want Alff to be innocent, Cyn. He was my best friend once.’
‘We will find the culprit. I have faith.’ Cynehild forced a smile.
‘I am pleased somebody does.’
His easy words made her whole body seem lighter. The moment of desire between them had passed. She knew what to expect, and that was why she wouldn’t be taking him up on his offer of a lesson in anything—most of all pleasure.
Chapter Eleven
The sound of horses’ hooves rang out in the yard as they were halfway through their tour of the hall and its surrounding buildings. The conversation had been deliberately light in case anyone overheard them.
Throughout the tour Toka had been conspicuous by her absence, but Cynehild suspected that she was lurking somewhere—a bit like a spider. She knew she should not judge people on first impressions, but there had been something about the woman and the way she had done her hair which had made Cynehild instinctively distrust her. She wished she’d asked Luba about Toka when she’d had the chance, instead of getting the gossip on various people she’d known long ago.
‘Are you ready?’ she murmured to Kal, while pretending to be pointing out the barns.
Kal’s lips were a thin white line and he didn’t answer her. Silently she prayed that he would be able to withstand this ordeal until Brother Palni arrived. The monk had to be no more than a day or two away—three at most. She would keep Kal alive until then.
‘Shoulder to shoulder,’ she whispered.
He put a steadying hand on the small of her back. It took all her self-control not to lean into it. Her body drank in reassurance from his touch.
‘I would not have it any other way.’
The horses came into view. Behind lurched her covered cart. Cynehild stifled a gasp. Her men were trussed up and slung across the backs of the lead horses. A burly man with a faint yellowish tinge to his skin walked beside them. When they entered the yard, he pushed at her men’s bodies so that they lay in the dirt, kicking one to ensure he didn’t rise.
Her men lived—but barely.
Cynehild clenched her fists, aware of her own powerlessness and how alone she actually was.
‘Toka! Toka! Where have you hidden yourself, woman!’
‘What are you doing, cousin?’ Kal boomed out. ‘Why call for your wife before you greet your liege lord?’
He took a step forward, putting his bulk between her and the man, and Cynehild knew she wasn’t alone.
The man who must be his cousin stared at him, slack-jawed. All the colour drained from his face.
‘Kal? You are here?’
‘Are you going to answer me properly, cousin?’ Kal boomed out again. ‘What are you doing, abusing those men? What crime have they committed? Release them.’
‘Cousin? Is it really you?’
‘When last I looked this was my hall and you were my cousin and sworn liegeman—Alff, son of Alfuir.’ Kal opened his arms and started forward. He appeared every inch the warrior lord. ‘Have I altered that much in the short time I’ve been away?’
‘Husband! Your cousin is here!’
Toka ran into the yard. Her crown of braids was now slightly lopsided, with one braid hanging down, and her gown bore smears of dirt, as if she’d been trying to take a shortcut through woods. Her chest heaved as if she’d been running.
Her smile shone with false brilliance. ‘Isn’t it wonderful?’
‘You have returned, my liege...’
Alff’s hard gaze flickered over Cynehild, making her feel like something which had been scraped from the bottom of a shoe.
‘With a woman, no less.’
‘With his wife-to-be, husband,’ Toka said.
* * *
Kal drew on all his training and focused on breathing steadily rather than answering either Alff or Toka straight away. He had to wait for mistakes and errors rather than jump to conclusions. Who precisely was his enemy?
‘Did you think I’d been left for dead somewhere?’ he asked, when he was certain of his temper. ‘Surely you knew it would take a lot to kill a man who stood his ground.’
Alff blinked rapidly. ‘You know me, Icebeard...ever faithful to you.’
‘That’s good to hear. And it is good to see you up and looking so healthy after your recent illness.’
Again, that rapid wetting of Alff’s lips which Kal distrusted. And both his skin and the whites of his eyes had a distinct yellowness to them which surprised him.
‘I’ve been seriously ill. Ask my wife. I only rose from my sickbed because you went missing. Someone had to take charge. We have been frantic.’ He inclined his head. ‘But you have been merely dallying with a pretty woman. How like you, cousin, to forget others.’
Kal ignored the jibe and gestured towards the prisoners. ‘I asked you to release those men. I’m unaccustomed to having to ask twice.’
‘They are outlaw
s—they were up to no good and have refused to answer our questions. That cart is full of women’s clothes.’
‘They serve my betrothed. Release them now.’ Kal snapped his fingers.
The men accompanying Alff did not move.
‘I expect my orders to be obeyed or there will be consequences, Alff. Are you and your men prepared for those?’
A low murmuring arose from the crowd. Several of the men, including Gautr the Dane from earlier, started forward, but Kal held up his hand, stopping them. If Alff wanted a fight then it would be on his terms—not Alff’s.
‘Husband, please.’ Toka held out her hands. ‘Our cousin’s safe return should be a matter for rejoicing, rather than arguing.’ She gave Kal a significant look. ‘But who can blame you for acting with good intent when things have been kept hidden from you, supposedly his closest advisor?’
Kal counted to five, tightened his muscles and readied himself for Alff’s challenge. But Alff hunched his shoulders and turned his face away, conceding the point. His cousin had always been a bit of a coward.
One of Alff’s minions undid the ropes. Kal made careful note of the man and his scarred hands, as well as the others who had ridden out with his cousin. He would find reasons why they would be leaving his service in short order. Not immediately, because that might cause further rebellion, but before the next Jul and the swearing of oaths.
Cyn rushed over to her men and tried to raise them up, but failed. Her pinched face revealed that her men had been treated far worse than they’d feared.
Kal gestured towards his men. ‘Take them to the infirmary. We will demonstrate to you what true Danish hospitality is like, my lady. Your men will be made whole again.’
Cynehild dusted the dirt from her hands and curtsied, dropping suitably low. ‘Thank you, Jaarl Icebeard.’
Kal winced, despising the way the name fell from her lips.
‘What game are you playing, Icebeard?’ Alff had stalked over. His cold gaze flickered over Cynehild, taking in her generous curves. ‘When did you ever want to marry a Saxon—particularly an overly plump one? Have you bumped your head and lost all reason? Forgive me, my lady, but my cousin...’
Betrothed to the Enemy Viking Page 17