Читать книгу The Warrior's Runaway Wife - Denise Lynn - Страница 13
ОглавлениеTo Avelyn’s relief, she’d slept well on the hardness of the ground. It was more like her old pallet at her mother’s than the over-soft, lumpy mattress in her shared chamber at her father’s keep. For the first time in what seemed ages, she’d awakened feeling rested, although a bit stiff, and ready to continue their journey.
She did wish, however, they could do so on foot instead of on the back of a horse.
Well aware that her wish would not be considered, she studied the horse being led in her direction. It was the one she’d ridden yesterday, the smallest of the four, but as far as she was concerned the only difference size made was in the distance to the ground—the fall would still hurt as much.
What did catch her attention was the saddle. The one she’d used yesterday—with the shorter pommel and cantle—had been placed on Roul’s animal, while his saddle, with the high front and back meant to help keep him seated during a battle, was on her horse. Lashed to the inside of both the pommel and the cantle was a rolled-up blanket.
That wasn’t the only difference. The stirrups had been cinched higher so that she’d be riding with her knees slightly bent, instead of hanging straight down, and a lead string had been secured to the reins.
Roul held his hand out. ‘Come, we need to make up for lost time.’
She hesitantly took a step forward and grasped his hand.
The fingers closing around hers were warm and a smile curved up the corners of his mouth, lending Avelyn a small amount of courage as she joined him alongside the horse.
He stroked his free hand the length of the animal’s nose. ‘I didn’t properly introduce you yesterday as I should have. Avelyn, this is Little Lady and she’s helped train more guards than I can count.’
‘You brought her along to train a guard?’
With his fingers still woven between hers, he raised their hands to the horse’s head. ‘No. I was uncertain if the runaway I sought could ride or not.’
He stroked the animal’s neck with their entwined hands. ‘And since I’ve discovered that she cannot, I am giving Little Lady here a task she is well suited to perform.’
From the way the animal eyed her, Avelyn got the impression she was not exactly a welcome task.
Roul nudged her shoulder with his. ‘Relax. She’s never bitten or thrown anyone.’
Under her breath, Avelyn muttered, ‘Yet.’
His laugh let her know that her comment had been heard.
It wasn’t until he grasped the lead string with one hand and rested the other hand on her shoulder that she noticed she was stroking the horse alone—his hand no longer covered hers. Avelyn frowned.
How had he managed that without her knowledge?
From the solid wall of warmth at her back she knew that while he might have released her hand and moved behind her while she’d remained unaware, he’d stayed close enough to prevent anything from happening. She stiffened her spine.
He lightly squeezed her shoulder. ‘I’ll be this close for the entire journey. Nothing is going to harm you.’
She wasn’t certain what bothered her more—the heated breath rushing against her ear, his nearness that made her feel protected yet threatened at the same time, his words promising her she’d come to no harm, or the sudden realisation that he wasn’t going to give her any chance to escape.
‘Ready?’
As much as she wanted to tell him no, she knew they weren’t going to stand here for ever. ‘I suppose.’
‘Up with you.’ He lifted her on to the saddle before she could change her mind and handed her the reins. ‘Lady will follow my horse’s lead. You need do nothing to guide her.’
He adjusted the roll of blankets behind her, wedging it tighter between her body and the cantle, then did the same with the roll in front. ‘These should keep you from sliding around on the saddle. If you feel unsteady, hang on to the pommel.’
After checking the length of the stirrups, he rested a hand on her knee and looked up, assuring her, ‘You will be fine. Just try to relax.’
Through the layers of her tunic and chemise, she felt the warmth of his touch. And he wanted her to relax? She nodded. ‘I shall try.’
Elrik mounted his horse and tucked the end of the lead string behind his belt. Since Little Lady would follow along without baulking, he knew he didn’t need to keep a tight hold on her lead.
Once they were on the road, his men split up, Fulke in front and Samuel behind. With them guarding the road, Elrik was better able to keep his attention on Avelyn.
Even though they were moving faster than they had yesterday, her rigid back and near-white knuckles from gripping the reins so tightly made him wonder how long she’d be able to keep up this pace.
Elrik rarely remained at King David’s court longer than absolutely necessary. The times he had tarried overlong, he’d discovered that few, if any, of the men and women in attendance wanted anything to do with David’s Wolf.
However, he had been called to court often enough to notice the actions and manners of the people there and he’d seen enough women of substance on horseback to realise that learning to ride was normal for them. So, Lady Avelyn’s lack of skill confused him.
‘How is it that you never learned to ride a horse?’
Without taking her stare from the spot between her horse’s ears, she asked in return, ‘Even if I’d have had a need to learn, where would I have found a suitable horse?’
‘In your father’s stable?’
The laugh that escaped her lips was more bitter than pleasant. ‘My father did not acknowledge my existence until after my mother died.’
‘I thought—’
‘The same thing everyone else thinks,’ she interrupted whatever he’d been about to say. ‘That I was born and raised in my father’s keep. An assumption that couldn’t be more wrong.’
Elrik knew she was the man’s natural-born daughter conceived outside his marriage. Still, she was an important enough possession to have been raised at his keep and taught the ways of nobility. Since Brandr had been more concerned with removing King David’s rule over the land, perhaps he hadn’t been aware of her birth. ‘Did he know about you?’
‘My mother said that he did. She’d been a servant in his keep, but when it was discovered she carried the lord’s child, the steward banished her from the keep.’ She paused, frowning a moment, then said, ‘Mother had been certain the order came from the lord or lady, yet he seemed shocked when he discovered me in our hut after her funeral. Perhaps he hadn’t issued the order.’
Elrik shook his head, wondering what he’d been thinking to have started such a personal conversation about things that were none of his concern, but curiosity prompted him to push forward, asking, ‘What do you mean he discovered you?’
‘I still don’t know why he came that day.’ Her voice was barely above a whisper as if she were talking to herself. ‘She’d pined for him for as long as I can remember. His name was the one on her lips when she took her last breath. But her prayers and wishes had gone unanswered. Not once in the fourteen years since I’d been born had he come to our home. Not until after her body was covered with dirt.’
‘And that’s when he came for you?’
‘Came for me?’ She looked up at him and shook her head. ‘No. I think he came to make certain my mother was truly gone.’
‘And instead, he found you?’
‘Only by accident. I’d been sitting in a corner eating my last crust of bread when he entered with two of his guards. They stopped me when I tried bolting to safety. I thought they were going to kill me from the way they were excitedly shoving me back and forth, daring each other to be the first to take a taste, but after staring at me for a few moments he ordered the guards to release me.’
Elrik doubted if their intent had been to kill her. ‘So, he did recognise you?’
‘He said I looked like his mother, the late Lady Avelyn. That’s when I realised I’d not been named for my mother’s mother, but for his. Which obviously shocked him, because he paled upon learning my name.’
‘No one had ever told you that?’
‘When my mother said I was named for my grandmother, I always thought she’d meant her mother. So, both he and I were rather surprised.’
She laughed at the memory and, this time, her laughter was lighter, not quite as bitter as it had been earlier. Since she seemed a bit more relaxed than she had when they had first started out, Elrik wanted to keep her talking, so he asked, ‘Did he then move you to the keep?’
Again, she shook her head. ‘Not that day. He had one of his men gather some food from the village for me and vowed to return in a day or so.’
It was difficult to imagine Brandr leaving a fourteen-year-old girl to fend for herself even for just a day or two, especially one who he knew was his natural-born daughter. Old enough to take as a wife—or simply use as one—she’d been left unguarded and alone. Perhaps that was what he had hoped would happen—it would have taken away his responsibility for her care.
Elrik glanced at Avelyn and noticed that she’d released her death grip on the reins and had rested one hand atop the pommel.
‘To my surprise, he did return.’
Since Brandr had shown no previous interest in her or her mother, Elrik could understand her surprise.
‘He and his men terrified the whole village when they loaded me and my few possessions into a cart before torching the hut.’
This time, the stiffening of her body and clenching of her hands had nothing to do with fear of the horse, but obvious anger at Brandr’s actions.
Elrik asked, ‘Did he give any reason for setting fire to what could have provided another with shelter?’
‘He’d claimed it was so I had no place to ever return to. But from the way he tore through my mother’s things first, I believed he’d been looking for something and, when he couldn’t find it, burned the hut to ensure no one else would either.’
‘What could your mother have had that was so valuable to him?’
‘While I suspect he was looking for a gold ring, I never cared enough to ask.’ Avelyn shrugged. ‘All I knew was that he’d destroyed the only home I’d ever known.’
He’d always considered Brandr to be heartless, but he’d never imagined the man to be so devious and petty. It would have made more sense to thoroughly search the hut again instead of torching it. Destroying an enemy’s property during battle was one thing, but to destroy what was essentially his own property out of frustration or spite was not only thoughtless and short-sighted, it showed a complete lack of concern for his villagers—the very people whose welfare was his responsibility.
Noticing the sad downturn of her lips, Elrik drew her attention back to her suspicions. ‘A gold ring?’
‘For my twelfth birthday, my mother gave me a gold ring, stating it had been my grandmother’s wedding band and that I was to keep it safe at all costs.’
‘And did you?’
‘I buried it beneath the floor under my pallet.’
Of course the man hadn’t thought of digging up the hard-packed floor. ‘That was good thinking for one so young.’
‘No, not really. I knew the ring was of value from the markings on it and burying it like a treasure was all I could think of doing.’
‘Markings?’
‘Yes.’ She reached inside the neck of her gown, tugged out the small pouch and handed him the ring, saying, ‘I don’t know what they mean.’
Elrik inspected the piece of jewellery. The ring was not a wedding band. He narrowed his gaze and glanced at her before looking back at the gold seal ring. She couldn’t read. Had her father seen to anything that might have benefitted his daughter? If not, then why hadn’t his grandfather done so?
She might have been born to a servant, but she was a lord’s daughter, more importantly the great-granddaughter of a king. There were things she needed to know how to do in order to be able to run a keep successfully, otherwise she would have to always rely on her husband, or trust the people in her service and neither were the best options. It would be far too easy for someone to take advantage of her.
He held the top of the ring out for her to see. ‘This is the letter “A” over the top of your great-grandfather’s seal. Your grandmother would have used it to put her official wax mark on any missives she’d sent.’ He turned the ring. ‘The roses on the side are simply for decoration.’
She frowned. ‘Why would my mother say it was a wedding band?’
‘Perhaps she’d been told it was and didn’t know any different.’
‘Why would she have it in the first place?’
Elrik handed the ring back to her. ‘I can only guess that your father gave it to her for some reason.’ It could have been a token of his affection, or payment for services rendered, but he kept those thoughts to himself.
While once again securing the ring in its pouch tucked safely beneath the neck of her gown, she asked, ‘I can neither read, nor write, so why would she have placed so much importance on keeping it safe when she gave it to me?’
‘Lady Avelyn, it is a way for you to prove your relationship to your family if need be. Your mother was looking out for your future in the only way she could.’
‘Oh.’ Her eyes widened. ‘Oh! Maybe this is what my father was looking for when he tore apart my mother’s home.’
‘Most likely.’ Although why Brandr would need any proof of his identity was a mystery he had no desire to unravel.
‘He could have just asked. There was no reason to destroy my home.’
Elrik had no reply to her comment as there was no good reason for his actions. A few moments of silence passed when he felt her watching him and when he turned his focus back to her, she asked, ‘Have I ruined your high regard for Lord Brandr?’
Fulke turned to look over his shoulder at her question until Elrik’s hard glare made him once again face forward. Not willing to divulge his hatred of her father, he answered her innocent question as non-committally as possible, ‘Fear not. My regard for Brandr has never been high.’
‘Yet you are returning me to him.’
He reminded her, ‘I am taking you to King David.’
‘Who will then hand me back over to the tender care of my father.’
The disdain in her voice prompted him to ask, ‘Your life with him has not been better than it was before?’
Avelyn looked at him, wondering if she’d already told him far too much. Instead of telling him that life with her father had been much harder than she’d expected, she said, ‘I learned more in the four years at his keep than I did in the fourteen years with my mother.’
It wasn’t a lie, she had learned more—much more about the ways of men and the lies they told.
‘I imagine it wasn’t easy to leave the life you’d known behind.’
‘No, but other people would disagree with you. There were many at my father’s keep who believed the life I had before was not worth living. They didn’t understand how being brought to Brandr could prove a hardship for me. The simple truth was that I had nowhere else to go.’ She would have rather been left alone living in her mother’s home.
‘How did you find yourself betrothed to Bolk?’
‘I suppose the same as any unwed woman—my family arranged it. From what Lord Somerled claimed when he arrived with the news, my great-grandfather arranged it all.’
She looked up at him. From the bland expression on his face, she knew he wasn’t interested in anything about her, but had likely been seeking to draw her fear away from being on the back of a horse. His tactic had worked, but it was time to learn what she could about him.
‘Enough about me. What was your childhood like?’
At first, he stiffened and she feared he would say nothing. She’d spent four years living with people who spoke to her only when they absolutely had to do so. These last days spent with Hannah had been a rare blessing as the women were all more than happy to converse. She didn’t look forward to a return of the silence.
When she could stand the quiet no longer, she said, ‘Please, my lord, I do not ask that you betray any secrets, I want only to hear the sound of another’s voice.’
Finally, he sighed, then said, ‘My childhood was likely not much different than yours. But my three brothers and I grew up with our father as our mother died in childbirth.’
‘The baby survived?’
‘Yes. Two of the women in the village had given birth about the same time, so they cared for Rory along with Edan who was about one in addition to their own.’
That made sense to her since it wasn’t unusual for the women in her village to band together and help each other in time of need. Besides, how would his father have cared for an infant by himself? She couldn’t imagine her father even bothering to attempt the task. He would have been more likely to set the baby outside the castle walls to await its certain death than to assume any responsibility for its well-being.
‘How old were you and your other brother?’
‘I was nine, so Gregor would have been six.’
At nine he was still a child. ‘How did your father cope with two young boys and his other duties?’
Roul laughed before answering, ‘He didn’t. He saw to his duties while I kept Gregor and myself out of trouble as much as possible.’
The guard behind them snorted. Without turning around, Roul responded, ‘I did a fairly good job of it, except for the times other boys got us embroiled in childish pranks.’
His men were quick to interject. ‘Like raiding the roost for eggs to toss from trees at people passing by?’
The one in front of them added, ‘Or getting mud all over the clean laundry?’
Avelyn couldn’t help but laugh. When this subsided, she said, ‘So the lord’s boys weren’t much different than those from the village?’
‘Probably worse, since we had no one at home to mete out punishment for our pranks,’ he admitted, then added, ‘Like the whipping these two took when one passer-by was Samuel’s father.’ He hitched a thumb over his shoulder to the guard riding behind them, before he nodded towards the guard in front of them and said, ‘And Fulke’s mother was the head laundress.’
‘Sadly, the pranks ended shortly after that,’ Samuel said.
‘Why is that?’
‘Because their parents...’ Roul nodded towards both men before continuing ‘...suggested to my father that Gregor and I needed some tasks to keep us from having idle hands during the day. So, we had lessons with the priest in the morning and spent our afternoons split between the stables where we learned how to care for and ride horses and the bailey learning how to fight.’
Fulke added, ‘We didn’t exactly get off lightly either. The two of us were banished to the shipyard and wharf until we were old enough to handle a weapon.’
‘What did you do then?’ Avelyn asked.
‘Trained hard to get into Roul’s guard.’
She looked at Elrik, who shook his head. ‘Not mine—my father’s.’
‘Oh. I thought all men owed service to their lord.’
‘Well, yes, but on Roul, as long as we aren’t under attack—or the threat of attack—their service is only mandatory a couple of weeks a year. We need the men working at the shipyard and docks in addition to the keep. But even those who choose to employ their services at the keep aren’t necessarily qualified to join the guard.’
She frowned in confusion and leaned back against the blanket-padded cantle. ‘I’m afraid I don’t understand.’
‘While every keep needs to be guarded at all times, the normal day-to-day responsibilities can be supplemented with men who aren’t always there. For example, right now Henry is on gate duty for the next two weeks. He’ll eat and sleep in the guard quarters at night, so that he’s available any time day or night. When his two weeks are completed he’ll return to his own home, wife, family and his normal routine at the docks.’
‘But he’s not a guard?’
‘No. He is on guard duty.’ Elrik drew in a breath and frowned, before explaining further, ‘Where Samuel here is a guard and is never off duty. He will take his turns at guard duty wherever he is assigned, but if I or my brothers need him for another task that’s where he will go.’
She glanced over her shoulder at Samuel. ‘And you do this by choice?’
The man nodded.
Elrik leaned over to whisper, ‘He is no good with tools, so he’s useless at the shipyard and he likes to drink too much to be left to his own devices at the dock.’
As Elrik sat back up, Samuel cleared his throat and then said, ‘But I am good with a sword and this way I don’t have to cook, do my own laundry, find my own place to live and the pay is reasonable, so I’ve no complaints with my lot.’
Without turning around Fulke added, ‘And sometimes the task that takes us away from Roul is easy, making it far more preferable than gate duty.’
‘Gate duty is hard?’
‘Boring!’ both men answered at the same time.
‘What made you choose these two for this task?’ she asked Elrik.
‘Simple. Whenever I’ve need of men I trust without question, these two are first on my very short list. Since the three of us grew up together we can communicate many things without words. I know that when Fulke stiffens in his saddle that something questionable is ahead, or when Samuel hisses beneath his breath danger lurks nearby. I know without ordering and without a doubt that they will guard my back.’
‘And we trust Elrik to return us to Roul in one piece.’ Samuel said.
Ahead of them, Fulke nodded in agreement.
‘So, the three of you are...friends?’
Elrik shrugged. ‘I suppose you could say that.’
‘Perhaps,’ Fulke said while looking over his shoulder. ‘But I am not tucking either of you into bed tonight.’
Samuel snorted before blowing a loud smacking kiss towards the other man.
‘Enough.’ Elrik ordered. ‘As evidenced by their behaviour we are more like brothers than friends. Even so, at times, someone has to be in charge.’
Avelyn nodded. ‘Yes, I can see where some order at times might be needed. Do you think that someone in charge might order a break soon?’
Samuel stretched, then yawned. ‘Now there’s an order that would be welcome.’
Elrik looked up at the sky and, from the slight widening of his eyes, seemed surprised to discover the sun had already passed its cenit to begin its descent. He motioned towards a clearing just ahead. ‘We’ve ridden longer than I’d thought. We’ll stop here to eat and stretch.’
Fulke and Samuel rode ahead. When Avelyn and Elrik arrived at the clearing a few moments later, the men had already started to unpack a leather sack of food.
Elrik dismounted and, after removing the padding, he assisted her from the horse. The moment her feet hit the ground, Avelyn’s legs wobbled and she stumbled against him, clinging to his shoulders to regain her footing.
His arms closed around her easily, as if they had done so countless times to support her and hold her close. ‘Take a moment.’
The deep huskiness of his voice caught her attention. She looked up at the face so near hers. The hardness of the chest she rested against, the warmth of his embrace and his heavily lidded gaze warned her that taking a moment would not be wise. A shiver raced down her spine, leaving her less steady on her feet than she’d been a heartbeat before.
Avelyn gasped softly and tore her stare from his. She pulled away, forcing her legs to hold her upright, and lowered her hands from his shoulders. ‘I am fine now. Thank you.’
‘You are far from fine.’ His voice had lost all traces of any warmth. In fact, he sounded decidedly angry. He took her arm and led her towards a log. ‘Sit down before you end up face first in the dirt.’
She pulled free of his grasp and then took a seat. ‘You create such a lovely vision of me.’
‘You could have said something earlier about being stiff and tired.’
Why was he now being so contrary? ‘Yes, I could have and then you would have complained about me slowing you down.’
‘I need to get you to King David quickly.’
‘Oh, yes, so he can hand me over to wed Sir Bolk.’ She stared up at him and quirked a brow. ‘Perhaps I should suggest that you would be a better mate for the ogre than I. Do you think your King might agree with me?’
‘Is that your attempt at humour?’
‘No.’ She shook her head. ‘I am quite serious. It seems to me that the two of you might have much in common.’
‘Such as?’
‘Surliness, impatience and arrogance to begin with. If you give me but a moment, I am certain I can find more things you share.’
A muffled snort from one of the men let her know that they were paying close attention to this conversation. She didn’t care.
‘Arrogance?’
‘Yes, you heard me correctly. Arrogance.’
His threatening glare deepened, but Avelyn refused to let it intimidate her. She held his dark stare with what she hoped was a threatening glare of her own.
