Betrothed to the Enemy Viking

by Michelle Styles

  ‘On your father’s shade?’ Kal held out the knife Cyn had discovered. ‘I believe this once belonged to him?’

  Haddr eyed it as if he was eyeing a writhing snake and Kal knew his hunch was correct. Haddr was Toka’s stepson—the one who had disappeared.

  ‘Where did you find that?’

  ‘Did Luba tell you where the treasure was hidden after you married her daughter? Is that why you pushed for the marriage?’ Kal asked, rather than answering Haddr’s question.

  Haddr might have hit him on the head, but he did not have the wit to plan something like this. That left two people who could have done so—either Toka or Luba.

  Haddr straightened. ‘What sort of stories has that Mercian woman been telling you?’

  ‘Toka never seems to have much time for you. Not now and certainly not when you were a boy.’ Kal concentrated, remembering what Ranka had once said. ‘You were another woman’s child and she resented caring for you. She hadn’t realised that your father had had a child or she’d never have married him.’

  ‘You lie. She did care about me. She reminded me of that when she arrived here. She promised me riches and power after you and Alff—’ Haddr stopped, belatedly realising he’d said too much.

  ‘And your persistent quest for Leofwine’s treasure? Was that Toka’s doing?’

  ‘It is why I had to marry my ugly sow of a wife. Toka confided that there were riches for the right man, if I could get my wife to show me where they were. Only she and her mother claimed not to know.’

  Kal set his jaw. Cyn had gone to the charcoal burner’s hut, not to Luba’s cottage. She was safe. But he had to eliminate Haddr from the game before Toka tried to use him yet again.

  ‘Shall we battle here and now, or are you looking to hit me over the head from behind again?’

  Haddr’s face went dark red. ‘You were supposed to die. Toka—’

  ‘It wasn’t my time—and thank you for confirming what I already thought. But Toka lied to you. She was never going to share anything with you.’

  Haddr drew his sword. ‘I will fight you. Here. Now. If you are not a coward.’

  ‘Good.’ Kal watched the younger man intently.

  ‘You are not as good as they say.’ Haddr rushed towards him, his sword raised.

  Kal pivoted and allowed him to go past without engaging him. ‘We haven’t sorted terms yet.’

  ‘No terms. You and I to the death.’

  Haddr charged again. This time Kal was ready and shoulder-charged Haddr’s outstretched arm. The momentum sent his sword spinning in the air.

  Haddr stood completely still.

  ‘You never did like to pay attention in training, did you? You should have agreed to terms when you had the chance.’ Kal leant down and picked up the sword. ‘Shall we fight properly now?’

  ‘Icebeard... That is to say...’

  ‘I never sought your death. I hoped you’d be content with the honours I bestowed on you. You had a wife, lands and a place in my felag, but that clearly wasn’t enough.’

  Haddr rushed at him again, going low and seeking to knock him off balance, but he mistimed his run and managed to connect with his own sword, which went into his stomach. He fell, bleeding from his mouth.

  ‘Look after my child,’ he murmured with his last breath.

  Kal bent down and closed the man’s eyes. ‘Aye. I will ensure that happens.’

  He shouldered the body and headed back towards the hall.

  One down. The most dangerous ones still to go.

  * * *

  Cynehild concentrated on the smoke rising from Luba’s cottage and tried to ignore the immense ache in her chest. Before meeting Kal, she’d worried that her heart had been buried with Leofwine, but now she knew it remained a living and beating thing. While a part of her would always love Leofwine for giving her Wulfgar, her whole heart loved Kal.

  She wished she’d been brave enough to tell him that before she’d left him in the woods. What if she never had a chance to tell him? What if she was wrong about who was behind this and he was walking into a trap?

  ‘My lady.’

  Luba hurried out before Cynehild reached the door. Her shawl flapped in the breeze and covered half her face.

  ‘I didn’t expect you here. Not at all, since you are at the hall. All is well because Lord Icebeard has returned. I heard tell about the fine feast to celebrate your betrothal. I would have come, but—’

  ‘Alff has died.’ Cynehild knew she was stretching the truth slightly, but she wanted to see Luba’s reaction.

  Luba’s face paled to the colour of fine linen which had been left out in the sun far too long. ‘Alff has died? Who told you? When did that happen?’

  ‘Haddr. He came searching for us. He was quite upset about the development.’

  Luba’s face became stern. ‘If anyone knows, it would be Haddr. He’d hear about it from that witch first.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Alff wasn’t supposed to die.’ Luba straightened up and tucked the shawl tighter about her body. ‘But I vow I didn’t have anything to do with it.’

  The sweat started to pool in the back of Cynehild’s neck.

  Alff had been poisoned.

  Haddr was at the centre of everything.

  Excuses kept being found for him. Kal must have had another reason for marrying him off besides wanting to keep the villagers sweet. If he was married, what couldn’t he do?

  Cynehild peered around Luba. As she had recalled, a pair of antlers sat in the corner. Not proof of anything, but Luba seemed jumpy and out of sorts.

  ‘No one said you did.’

  ‘Why are you here, my lady? Shouldn’t you be with the Jaarl, seeing to his head wound, rather than imparting gossip to me?’

  ‘Is there something wrong with your face, Luba? Why are you hiding it?’

  Luba pushed the shawl further over her face. ‘You ought to go now, Lady Cynehild. You’ve outstayed your welcome.’

  ‘Show me your face first, Luba.’

  Luba slowly and defiantly lowered her shawl. A purple bruise shone on her cheekbone.

  ‘Who gave it to you? Your new son-in-law?’

  ‘None of your business, Lady Cynehild. Leave everything to take its course. You should never have returned.’

  ‘What happened to you wanting me to stay and marry Kal?’

  ‘That was before.’ Luba stuck out her chin. ‘Before I knew the truth. About what he’d done and why he’d done it. What he’d taken and what he wanted from us.’

  What he’d done. What Haddr had done. Haddr must have been the one to hit Kal, and somehow Luba had discovered something Haddr had taken. The antlers? Cynehild frowned. Not those—Luba could not know about them. It had to be the crossbow.

  ‘Where did you find the crossbow, Luba? In the grain store, perhaps? Where had Haddr hidden it? I presume you found it after Kal and I went to the hall?’

  Luba resembled a trout, opening and closing her mouth rapidly, with no sound emerging. ‘How do you know I found a crossbow?’

  ‘It wasn’t hard to work it out, Luba.’

  ‘I’d wondered why my daughter had recently become so insistent about going into the barn without me.’ Luba tucked her head into her neck. ‘Since she became pregnant, she’s refused to go in there because she’s frightened of the rats. Rats! I ask you. I followed her and confronted her as she was trying to move it. Haddr told her that he’d found it when he’d chased some outlaws away, but he was worried that someone would jump to the wrong conclusion.’

  ‘Kal was hunting with a crossbow when he was hit. He had just picked up two magnificent antlers. I expect they are the ones in that corner...being stored until Haddr needs them.’

  ‘I’ve no idea where he found them.’

  ‘Does your daughter know?’


  ‘Keep my daughter out of this—I beg you, my lady. She is pregnant. She carries his child. She didn’t mean to be bad. She just couldn’t keep her mouth shut about the gold that your Leofwine had buried in the church.’

  Didn’t mean to be bad. A cold shiver went down her back. Luba was speaking about something else entirely now.

  ‘What has Haddr been doing, Luba?’

  Luba wet her lips. ‘It wasn’t supposed to be like this, you see... I thought he would be good for the family. I agree with Jaarl Icebeard—they are here to stay now. We all have to get on together.’

  ‘Haddr is Toka’s stepson, isn’t he?’ Cynehild asked with sudden insight. That was why Kal had recognised the knife. And Kal knew. That was why he’d sent her away.

  The woman blinked rapidly. ‘Yes, he is.’

  Cynehild put a hand to her face. Kal had gone with Haddr. Her lover was in extreme danger.

  ‘I’m sorry, Luba, but you are going to have to come with me.’

  ‘With you where?’

  ‘To the hall.’

  * * *

  When Kal arrived back at the hall, his entire body ached from carrying Haddr’s corpse. Once he was in the yard, he allowed the body to slide from his shoulder.

  The scene in front of him swam and then righted itself. He couldn’t be seeing double, but there were far too many retainers and horses in the yard. Toka stood there, pouring ale into horns, greeting them as if nothing was amiss. Alff was there as well—pale, but standing upright.

  His heart sank when he spotted a figure in monk’s robes.

  ‘Icebeard, you are here at last. Where is Lady Cynehild?’ Brother Palni asked. ‘And who is that? Who have you murdered?’

  ‘Toka!’ Kal called, ignoring the monk. ‘Your stepson attacked me, but sadly he lost the battle.’

  Toka allowed the ale to flow onto the ground. ‘Attacked you? Impossible. You are having delusions again.’

  ‘We have company, Icebeard,’ Alff said, hooking his fingers into his belt. ‘I’ve explained about your black moods, sudden rages and loss of memory—and my fears for this woman of yours.’

  ‘Answer the question, Deniscan,’ said the monk. ‘What have you done to Lady Cynehild?’

  ‘Cyn is at the hut with her men. I sent her there for safety while I dealt with Haddr.’

  ‘My sister isn’t there.’ A slender woman stepped forward and fitted an arrow to a bow. ‘Where is she? What have you done with her? Your cousin says that you left earlier with her, and that he sent a man to inform you of our arrival. I presume the body you have just deposited is that man?’

  Kal’s mouth went dry. Cyn had to be there. He had told her to go there. She had to be safe. ‘Send someone to fetch her. Then you will see.’

  ‘You’d better pray that Lady Cynehild and her men are found alive,’ Brother Palni said.

  ‘Isn’t it funny?’ Toka remarked with a little smile playing on her lips. ‘Sometimes things seem blackest before everything turns out well. I would recommend seizing Icebeard before he is able to harm anyone else.’

  Kal raised Haddr’s sword. ‘Anyone who touches me before Lady Cynehild arrives will pay a heavy price.’

  * * *

  ‘You must slow down, my lady. I can’t travel that fast.’ Luba put her hands on her thighs and started panting. ‘I can’t go another step. I won’t go.’

  ‘Kal is in danger from your son-in-law.’ Cynehild gestured to her men. ‘Help her along, please.’

  ‘I will do it, my lady. Just allow me to catch my breath.’ The old woman evaded the men’s hands. ‘I will put things right.’

  ‘Tell me the whole truth about the treasure. Why did Haddr think marrying your daughter might lead him to it?’

  Luba shook her head. ‘You’ve been gone a long time. We thought you were never coming back. That’s when my husband decided to—’

  She stopped, but Cynehild knew what she’d been going to say. ‘Your husband dug up the gold, didn’t he? He watched Leofwine bury it.’

  ‘We had to survive somehow.’ Luba moved to sit down. ‘Lord Leofwine lost all rights to it when he left. Bad men were about. My husband became worried that we would need to hire warriors to protect these lands. He dug it up in the middle of the night and reburied it somewhere. Except he failed to tell me or my daughter where he’d hidden it before he died. I told that to Haddr and he gave me a beating. That is how I received this here bruising.’

  Cynehild closed her eyes. Brother Palni had been right after all. It would not have mattered where she’d laid that sword. All her dreams about Wulfgar getting proper training had been for nothing. Although at least she would be able to tell him that his father had tried, and that was something. She would find another way to ensure Wulfgar was properly trained.

  ‘Then it is truly lost.’

  ‘I told you—you shouldn’t have returned.’

  ‘We will discuss this later.’ Cynehild firmly grabbed the woman’s arm and propelled her forward until they reached the yard at the hall. ‘Saving Kal’s life is far more important than debating who has a right to that gold or where your late husband might have hidden it.’

  A tableau was laid out in front of her.

  Kal standing with a sword lifted in the air, Haddr dead on the ground, Toka smirking and Cynehild’s sisters, Elene and Ansithe, with avenging angel expressions on their faces.

  Ansithe, ever the mild one, had an arrow fitted to a bow and appeared to be aiming it at Kal. Moir stood next to her. Elene had her arm about Wulfgar. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of her sturdy son. Wulfgar must have grown two inches in the time they had been apart.

  Cynehild clenched her fists. Brother Palni had obviously decided that she needed to be reminded of where her duty lay and had gone to fetch both her sisters and Wulfgar too. But her family had no right to interfere. Clearly someone needed to take charge before more people were hurt.

  ‘Kal! I have Luba here. She has confessed. Toka and her stepson were behind it all.’

  ‘I know.’ Kal remained where he was standing. ‘I am just having trouble convincing other people of it. They appear to consider that you are either dead or at the very least in mortal danger.’

  ‘Put down your weapon, Ansithe,’ she told her sister. ‘No one is in any danger from Kal. It is totally unnecessary.’

  Ansithe lowered her bow and watched her sister with curious eyes. ‘That is not what Brother Palni said when he finally arrived. Seriously...that man could get lost in a farmyard.’

  Brother Palni muttered that he had only become slightly lost, and had found his way to Baelle Heale first.

  ‘You were not where you were supposed to be,’ Ansithe said, glaring at Brother Palni. ‘I feared the worst. My sister’s life is worth more than anything.’

  ‘No, it was I who was busy saving lives.’ Cynehild pointed towards where Toka and Alff stood. ‘If you wish to do something useful, secure them. My old maid is willing to testify against them and their plot to murder Kal, Jaarl Icebeard.’

  In a calm, clear voice Cynehild explained about why they had left the hut to come to the hall. She skated over her intimate liaison with Kal, but left her sisters in no doubt of her debt to him.

  When she reached the end of her narrative, Alff began to bleat that it had had nothing to do with him and that it had been all Toka’s idea, while Toka blamed Haddr for everything. At Ansithe’s signal, her men surrounded them and led them away.

  ‘Brother Palni told you to remain at the hut, Cynehild,’ Ansithe said.

  Cynehild glanced between the man she loved and her family. She needed to get these words right, because she knew she would not have a second chance. ‘Do I have to do everything Brother Palni says? Or indeed what Kal says? I had to return. I had to fight.’

  ‘Why? For your son’s inheritance? We’ve already established it is l
ong gone,’ Kal said. ‘You should have stayed safe, Cyn.’

  ‘I came because I am never wrong in matters of my heart. I have made other mistakes, that is true, but the one thing I did right on this journey was to fall in love with you. And I needed to tell you that before I left. I wanted to see if we could reach another arrangement—one not based on peace-weaving but mutual respect.’

  ‘Loving me is an impossibility, Cynehild. Everyone knows what I am like.’

  His eyes begged her to say otherwise.

  ‘Says who? Haddr, who hit you over your head, left you for dead and tried to steal your lands? Or maybe it was that witch who drove your first wife to despair and then married your cousin? Or your weak-willed cousin, who had to have known what was going on but chose to turn a blind eye to it? Their opinion is not worth the spit it takes to voice it. I love you. I consider you to be a good man and I don’t care who knows it. I will be on your side and at your side.’

  She waited. Both he and her sisters had to understand which side she was on. She did not want war in the family, but she would be staying with her warlord if he would have her.

  She hadn’t known until she spoke the words what a great part of her heart he occupied. Her heart still had space for her family, for her late husband and most especially for their son, but it had expanded because of this man who had done so many things for others. Right now he had to believe in himself and his ability to restore peace and prosperity to these lands. Otherwise his cousin and that witch had won and they were all lost.

  ‘Your brother-in-law and your sisters want you to go with them. It is why they brought your son with them—so you can see your duty.’

  ‘I will stay here—with you. I accept your offer of marriage.’

  A distinct twinkle appeared in Kal’s eyes. ‘When did I offer that?’

  ‘Earlier, when you tried to get me to go. Except you forgot to offer to train my son. That is my one condition—Wulfgar must remain with us.’

  Kal slowly lowered his sword and Cynehild dared breathe again.

  ‘Then I had best ensure we both survive, as I love you with my whole heart. And it would be a great honour to be entrusted with the training of your son.’