by Sandra Hill
Eadyth's heart went out to her husband as he sat with wide shoulders slumped in weariness and disillusionment. His handsome profile was rigid with tension. He had not shaved that day and a dark stubble shadowed his face. He was a strong man... he truly was... but he had been pushed sorely that day.
Eadyth hesitated, then put her hand familiarly on her husband's shoulder. He looked up at her, in surprise at first, then laid a hand over hers. Eadyth thrilled at this small show of affection outside the fever of bedlust.
"We can no longer wait for a decision from the Witan on the custody petition," Eirik said.
She nodded, knowing the danger grew day by day as Steven grew more bold in his misdeeds.
"I still say we could lure the bastard into the open if we used Eadyth or John," Tykir grumbled.
"Tykir, I warned you not to broach this subject around Eadyth." Eirik stood, towering over his brother menacingly.
Eadyth pushed Eirik gently back down into his chair. "Now, Eirik, let Tykir speak his mind. For once, treat me as a woman, not a child."
"A child!" Despite the seriousness of their situation, Eirik grinned at her. Eadyth blushed, knowing he was thinking of all the ways in which he had treated her in a very womanly way, all night long.
"The answer is 'nay,' and we will not discuss it again, Tykir," Eirik stated flatly. "We will find another way. On the morrow, I intend to travel to Gravely's estates in Essex, and I will hide out there 'til he returns, no matter how long it takes."
But the solution was taken out of their hands the next morning when Earl Orm came to give them the news. "King Edmund was murdered at Gloucestershire. 'Twas on the feast of St. Augustine. He and his court were feasting at Puckle-church when the villain Leofa stabbed the king in the heart."
Eadyth and Eirik exchanged startled glances. What could it mean?
"The king's men tore Leofa limb from limb after the assault, but 'twas too late. Edmund was already dead," Orm said, gulping down deep draughts of mead.
"He was so young," Eadyth murmured with dismay. "He could not have seen more than twenty-four winters."
"Yea," Eirik agreed, "and his sons Edwy and Edgar are barely out of swaddling clothes, being but four and two years old. His brother Edred will, no doubt, succeed him now, and him not much younger than Edmund was... only twenty-two, methinks."
Tykir stood and paced uneasily. "But unlike Edmund, who compensated for his youth by surrounding himself with wise advisors, Edred thrives on evil companions such as Gravely. An ill wind blows over Britain, I say."
"Was Edred responsible for his brother's death?" Eadyth asked the earl.
Orm shrugged. "He is suspect, but there is no proof thus far. His supporters sweep down on Wessex even now, presumably for the funeral, but more likely seeking their spoils."
"And the Witan?" Eirik asked uneasily, voicing Eadyth's silent concern over Steven's custody petition now that the king was dead.
"The Witan cannot be changed 'til after the funeral and a short mourning period. At least one month," Orm advised. "Rumor has it, though, that the present members will meet in three days at Gloucestershire to plan strategy. But already Edred demands acceptance by the Mercians and the Danes of the Danelaw. Next will be the Northumbrians, and there is no question, Eirik, that you and I will be forced to swear fealty. From there he goes to Tadden's Cliff where he expects homage from all the northern kings."
"He wastes no time," Eirik said scornfully, "but 'tis what we all expected. Yea, we will swear allegiance to him, Orm. What other choice have we? But mayhap we can work with the present Witan to forestall sweeping changes in his governing body."
"My thoughts exactly. Can you meet me in two days so we can travel together to Gloucestershire?"
Eirik nodded.
Later, after Orm left, Eirik and Tykir sat discussing this new development with Eadyth.
Eadyth laid her hand over Eirik's to get his attention. "I will not allow John to be used in any way, but 'twould seem you have no choice but to use me as a lure for Steven," she told her husband. " 'Tis more dangerous now to delay. Once Edred gets his own men on the Witan, I fear Steven's custody petition will be granted."
Eirik glared at her stubbornly, but finally he nodded his agreement. "We will do it my way, though, Eadyth, and you will do naught to endanger yourself. Do you hear?"
"I promise. But I tell you this, husband. I would kill myself and my son afore I would allow that son of Satan to get his hands on John. Putting a child in his care would be like casting it into the pits of hell."
Eirik put his arm around her shoulder and drew her protectively against his side. For now, she felt safe. But who knew what the morrow would bring.
Later that day, Eirik took her into the underground level of the castle to show her a secret exit from the keep, one they might use in the plan against Steven of Gravely. She had never realized there was a secret entrance to the below-ground level from behind a panel in the great hall.
Mainly, the rooms held old weapons and discarded furniture. Eadyth eyed the broken chairs and tables and bedsteads closely, thinking some might be salvaged for the cotters' huts.
"What is in that locked chamber?" she asked.
"Treasures," Eirik said offhandedly. He was squinting in the dim light as he gingerly picked up a rusted sword and put it out of harm's way.
"Treasures? What treasures?"
Eirik looked at her and shrugged. "Coins. Jewels. Fabrics."
A ripple of annoyance passed over Eadyth. "May I see?" she asked sweetly.
Eirik's head shot up at her oozing tone, but he drew a large key from the ring at his waist and opened the creaking door. Then, taking a torch from where he had placed it in a wall sconce, he led the way.
Eadyth gasped. She could not believe her eyes. Everywhere she looked, she saw incredible riches—chests overflowing with jewels and gold coins, fine silks and rich wools, several ivory tusks, casks of wine, scented oils, tapestries, heavy plates and silver cutlery.
She turned on her husband and shoved his chest with the palms of both hands. "You tightfisted troll! How could you?"
"Wha-at?" he said, backing away.
"You must have been laughing heartily at my meager dowry. You let me think you were impoverished, you lout."
"Well, I did laugh. But only a little."
She was not amused and glowered her displeasure at him. He was leaning against the wall, grinning at her, totally without remorse. The boor.
"Now, Eadyth, do not get your hackles up. You told me you did not care about riches and such."
"Do not play me for a lackwit, husband. You know good and well, 'tis one thing to not care about riches, and another to have to slave to make ends meet."
"Slave? You exaggerate."
"How would you know? Oh, when I think how you made me feel guilty for ordering a few piddling sheep, and—"
"Twenty."
" 'What?"
"You ordered twenty sheep, Eadyth, not a few."
"Oh." She had not been aware that Eirik kept such a close eye on her management of his keep.
"And the cow! There was one mere cow to serve this keep when I arrived."
"There are eight now. I wonder how they got here," he remarked dryly, raising a brow pointedly. And Eadyth was amazed once again that Eirik had been more observant than she had realized.
Then he ducked his head sheepishly. "I was going to get more cows myself. I just never got around to it."
Her upper lip curled contemptuously. "Tell me, Eirik, why do you live so penuriously?"
" 'Tis not wise for a Norseman—even a half-Viking, such as myself—to provoke the envy of his Saxon neighbors."
Eadyth understood then, but that did not explain Eirik's failure to tell her, his wife.
"How did you think I was paying all the new soldiers I have brought to Ravenshire?" He tugged playfully on one of the curly strands of her hair while he spoke, wrapping it around his finger.
Eadyth felt her face grow hot. "I had
not considered that. No doubt, you were muddling my thoughts at the time."
"Yea, I am rather good at... muddling. Am I not?" He grinned at her and forced her closer by pulling on the lock of hair still wrapped around his finger. She tried to ignore the sweet heat he was stoking with his mere closeness.
"Oh, you are outrageous! And Asa, your mistress—this is how you paid her, is it not?" Eadyth waved her hand at the room's contents, and her throat tightened at the thought. Fool that she was, she had even expected Eirik to use some of her profits to pay off his mistress. Instead, he had, no doubt, laid vast riches at her feet. Mayhap he had not even ended his relationship with her.
"Wipe that nasty thought from your head immediately," Eirik snapped. "If you dare to accuse me of infidelity after wearing my cock nigh down to a nub, I swear I will pull out your tongue and nail it to your frowning forehead."
Eadyth inhaled sharply. "You are so vulgar."
"Yea, I am." Then he grinned mischievously. "Would you like to lie down on one of these lengths of silk and get vulgar with me?"
She shot him a look of disgust, but could not help the smile which crept over her lips. He looked so engaging, standing there like an overgrown boy, grinning happily. "Nay, I would not ruin good samite by rolling around on the ground with you."
"Ah, ever the sensible wife!" He gazed at her fondly, then added, his eyes twinkling, "Wouldst you consider good wool?"
She laughed despite herself.
He held out his arms to her and she stepped into his embrace. She pinched his belly, though, just to show she had not lost all her anger with him.
Later, when they exited arm in arm from the secret tunnel which led to a cotter's hut just outside the castle walls, Eadyth said, more serious now, "Eirik, I am fearful for John's fate now that Edred is king, but I just wanted you to know..." Her voice broke with emotion.
"What, dearling?" he asked, tilting her chin up with a forefinger.
"I just wanted you to know that I am happier at this moment than I have ever been in all my life."
He tried to make light of her serious tone by teasing, "Yea, I am rather good at making you happy, am I not?"
But she would not allow him to trivialize her sentiments. "I love you, Eirik. Nay, do not shift your eyes and look downward. I am not asking you to return my sentiments." At least not yet. "Mayhap women are different. All I know is that I could not yield myself the way I have with you unless I gave my heart, as well."
" 'Tis hard for me to talk of these things, Eadyth. Trust comes hard for me, and without it, I do not think I could love anyone. Give me time."
"I will," she said, smiling up at him. " 'Tis just that I fear hard times are coming, and I wanted you to know how I feel." She looked about then, wanting to change the subject, and said, "Look at that green pasture over there. I have never seen it afore. Do you think... hmmm... I was wondering if we might purchase a few... just a few, mind you... goats?"
"Goats?" he choked out.
Then he laughed when he saw the teasing expression on her face. "You are beautiful when you smile, Eadyth. If you had smiled once or twice when you were pretending to be old and ugly, your charade would have been over in a trice."
"You think so, do you?"
"I know so, dearling. Even with my damned eyes, I would not be able to miss the beauty of your smile."
"Oh, Eirik, do not speak so of your eyes. I love your eyes." After all, it was those pale blue eyes that had drawn her to Ravenshire in the first instance.
"You do? Ah, well, they are my weakness, but—"
She put her fingertips to his lips. "There is nothing weak about you, my husband. I recognized your vision problem almost from the start, because my father experienced the same, and it never made him less a man."
"Well... ," he said, seeming to shrug off her words of confidence, but Eadyth could tell that he was pleased. His dim sight—his one weakness, or so he perceived it to be—was a sensitive point with her husband. And she had rankled his pride by playing on that foible with her foolish masquerade.
She gazed at him adoringly, recognizing her good fortune in having gained this man for her husband.
"What? Why are you looking at me so?"
"How?"
"Like your bloody dog, Prince."
Eadyth chuckled softly. What an apt description!
"I do not suppose, Eadyth, that you would... oh, never mind..." He let his words trail off deliberately, arousing her curiosity. He stroked his upper lip, scrutinizing her the whole time. His eyes twinkled with mischief.
Putting both hands on her hips, Eadyth tilted her head in question.
". . . wag your tail," he finished with a chortle of laughter.
"You have better parts to wag than I do," she retorted, shoving him playfully in the chest. He fell backward, pulling her with him to the ground.
Taking her face in both his hands, Eirik kissed her deeply. In truth, Eadyth could never seem to get enough of his lips and teeth and tongue. Why had she never known that kissing could be such a pleasure?
"You are looking dreamy-eyed again, Eadyth," he said, blowing softly on the wetness of her lips.
"And no wonder! You turn a maid's mind inside out with your kisses, and well you know it."
"Just yours, Eadyth. Just yours. Now, will you tell me why you were looking at me like Prince looks at a juicy bone?"
"I just wondered how I could have grown to love you so quickly."
"No doubt it is my manly prowess," he boasted immodestly.
"I think I loved you long afore you ever touched me."
"Really?" His eyes sparkled with interest.
She nodded. "Yea, 'twas when you acknowledged John as your son at our wedding feast, no doubt. And then when you gave me that tongue kiss in your bedchamber the same night, I suspected I would not be able to resist your charms for long."
"Yea, my charms are formidable."
She nipped at his shoulder and continued, "And then there was the time you were stung by my bees and did not beat me."
"I was tempted."
"But you did not."
There was a long moment of silence as their eyes locked, and Eadyth cried inwardly that Eirik did not tell her that he loved her, as well. She told herself it did not matter, but, of course, it did.
"I am trying, Eadyth." he said softly.
"I know," she whispered, trying to hide her pain, and leaned up into his gentle kiss.
"Are you two at it again?" They looked up to see Tykir emerging from the tunnel entrance. "Hell, Eirik, every time I turn around, you are counting Eadyth's teeth with your tongue."
"Thirty-two," Eirik said without a blink of his eyes.
"Huh?" Tykir said.
"Eadyth has thirty-two teeth."
They all burst out laughing then.
Tykir dropped down to the ground next to them once their merriment ended.
"Where are the children?" Eadyth asked.
"I tied them to posts in the great hall."
"How could you!" Eadyth exclaimed, horrified at his cruelty, and started to stand.
"Do not get your dander up, sister. Sit back down. They think it is a game. I am the mighty Viking warrior and they are my captives. At least it gives me a moment to breathe." He grimaced comically. "I promised that when I return I will be their captive. Hell's flames, I think I may go a-Viking when I leave Ravenshire just to get a rest."
They all turned more serious then as they discussed the plan to lure Steven into their trap.
"I will leave with a large contingent of men on the morrow," Eirik said. "If Earl Orm has not already done so, I will spread the word that I go to Gloucestershire to speak with the Witan."
"Surely Steven will watch you carefully," Eadyth said worriedly.
"Yea, but I will leave in full battle gear, including a helmet which covers my hair. When I get a few hides from Ravenshire, there is a wooded area where Sigurd will be waiting for me. Sigurd is much the same size as me. He and I will exchange garme
nts. After the troops move on, I will backtrack to Ravenshire and enter through the secret tunnel."
Eadyth bit her bottom lip anxiously.
"I know you are concerned about John. I am sending him under heavy guard, along with Larise and Emma, to Hawks' Lair. They will leave tonight through the tunnel. I do not want them inside the keep, in the event something should go wrong with our plan."
Eadyth put a hand to her mouth apprehensively. "And Tykir?"
"Will sail out tonight from Jorvik, along the Humber to the North Sea. Then he will travel back here by land. He will be the one to stay with the children at Hawks' Lair. I do not think Emma will be manageable for long without one of us there."
"It all sounds so... sensible... but you know that Steven does not think as a normal man does. I fear his treachery."
"We will be careful, Eadyth. I protect what is mine." He put an arm around her shoulders for emphasis.
Eirik's gesture warmed Eadyth, even more than his words. He did not love her... yet, Eadyth could see that. But she believed that he did care about her. That was something. A start.
"One last thing, Eadyth. 'Tis possible we have a spy within the keep. So we must not discuss this plan with any of the servants, and I must not come abovestairs once I leave Ravenshire. We will prepare the rooms underground with bedding and food and drink for me and some of my men. Even the horses will have to be kept with us."
At her look of distaste, he added, "It should only be for one night or two. I am certain Steven will be lured to the prospect of you and John in a seemingly ill-protected keep."
* * *
Two days went by, and still there was no contact from Steven. Eadyth paced her bedchamber, and the kitchen, where Bertha complained, "Gawd! Yer wearing a groove in the floor, and yer makin' the milk curdle in me custard with yer constant complainin'."
Eirik had warned Eadyth not to step outside the keep under any circumstances, and only Wilfrid and Jeremy, her trusted stoneworker from Hawks' Lair, were aware of the plan. At the first sign of Steven's, or any stranger's, presence inside the keep, Eirik was to be contacted. To outward appearances, the keep must look understaffed and poorly guarded.