Читать книгу The Warrior's Runaway Wife - Denise Lynn, Denise Lynn - Страница 13

Chapter Four

Elrik knew he was directing his frustration towards her unfairly. He wasn’t angry with her in the least, simply frustrated. And he had no explanation why just holding her close in his embrace for a few short heartbeats had left him so...wanting.

Countless times since leaving King David, he’d reminded himself that the King was right—she had played no part in the harm her father had brought to the Roul family. She was not to blame and in fairness he could not take his hatred for Brandr out on her.

Yet, a small, tiny part of his mind warned that he did not know this woman and had no idea how much of her father’s evilness had been passed to her. While it could be none, it could also be a great deal. There hadn’t been enough time for him to decide.

Now, if his mind could just convince the rest of him that she was not to be trusted. It had been years since any woman had had this type of effect on him and he wasn’t sure why. However, as confused as he was by his own reaction, hers left him just as surprised.

Instead of quietly accepting his change in mood, like most people did, she’d raised her eyebrows as if judging him, only to find him lacking and had then given him a taste of her own temper.

Complaining would only make him appear foolish since he did deserve it.

He found her reaction to his change of mood...interesting. Had he snarled at one of his men, in the same manner, they would have said nothing before giving him a wide berth.

Yet here this little bit of a woman who barely reached his shoulders glared at him and intentionally taunted him in a manner that made him wonder how many times she’d poked a stick at a beehive in her past.

Elrik felt his lips twitch and knew that without clenching his jaw he would soon find himself grinning like a fool. Unable to summon the will to stop himself, he laughed in surrender as he took a seat next to her on the log. ‘Since I would rather kill Bolk than look at him, I do not think we would be a good match.’

Avelyn reached down to pick up a twig. While flicking off the bark with her fingernail, she asked, ‘How do you think I feel?’

‘I fully understand your position, but what can I do about it?’

‘You know King David.’ She poked his arm with the twig. The tiny stick slipped easily between the links of his chainmail. ‘You could help me devise a plan he might find acceptable.’

‘I hate to lower your overblown opinion of my relationship with the King, but I do not know him well enough to know what he would or wouldn’t find acceptable.’

She shrugged. ‘Maybe not, but you’ve been to his court and are surely more familiar with the things he values than I.’ Once again, she poked him before adding, ‘Besides, you are a man, so you could tell me what things might be of more value to another male.’

‘You noticed that, did you?’ He snatched the twig out of her hand and tossed it away. ‘First off, poking a man is not the way into his heart.’

‘Who said I was looking for a way into anyone’s heart? I’ve seen the pain caused by love and wish nothing to do with it or any other tender emotion.’

Elrik frowned at her admission. ‘I thought that’s what all girls dreamed of finding one day—a husband who would shower them with love and kisses.’

‘I would think it obvious that I am no longer a girl. I’d much rather have a husband willing to be my friend and consider me worth treating fairly than one who would shower me with pretty words and sweet kisses one moment only to forget my existence the next.’

From the determined tone of her voice, he could only assume she spoke her true feelings on the matter. Since he had pulled her naked from a bed, of course, he was well aware she was no longer a girl and, while her wishes seemed reasonable to him, they would never find fruition—not for a king’s great-granddaughter, not even a bastard one. ‘Do you realise how impossible that will be for you?’

‘Why?’ She looked up at him. ‘Why will it be so impossible for me?’

‘Lady Avelyn, surely you must know your value. You can’t have been so protected, so kept in the dark, that you know nothing about how much you can bring to your family’s coffers.’

Her focus turned to the ground at her feet. ‘I am nothing but a servant’s shamefully begotten spawn.’

Something in the sadness of her voice and the slight, barely perceptible tremor of her chin touched him deeply, making him feel guilty for something not his doing and filling him with a need to convince her of her value. While the unfamiliar emotions pricking inside his chest deserved some thought, the young woman sitting beside him needed his attention more.

‘Lady Avelyn...’ Elrik reached out and lifted her chin with the tips of his fingers, coaxing her to look at him. ‘Avelyn, you are not to blame for what your mother and Brandr did. She might have only been a servant in his keep, but no matter the circumstances of your birth, you are a lord’s daughter and a king’s great-granddaughter, nothing can change that.’

When she tried to turn her head away, he slid his palm to her cheek to keep her focus on him. ‘I know not who made you feel this shame, or lack of worth, but they were wrong to do so.’

She rose, bringing an abrupt halt to this conversation. ‘I am famished.’

As much as he wanted to, Elrik wasn’t going to push the issue—it was none of his concern.

He stood up, saying, ‘Then we should get you something to eat.’

They joined Fulke and Samuel who had unpacked a meagre fare atop a boulder. Samuel waved a hand towards the food. ‘It is nothing grand, but there’s plenty for all of us.’

Avelyn picked up a wrinkled apple and took a bite. After swallowing it, she said, ‘The food here suits me far better than anything you might consider grand.’

Fulke tore off a piece of bread from the dark round loaf and handed it to her. ‘I doubt you would find any of this at your father’s table.’

Samuel inspected the small wheel of cheese before slicing off a few slivers, which he also gave to her. ‘Surely Lord Brandr’s table provides better food than what we can offer.’

Avelyn took the cheese while shaking her head. ‘Since I always made certain to eat with the cook and helpers in the kitchen, I am afraid I wouldn’t know what was served in the hall.’

Fulke offered her a good-sized portion of smoked fish, nearly bumping into Samuel in his haste.

Elrik watched his two men vie for the opportunity to wait on her. Their actions were so out of character that he nearly choked on the piece of bread he was eating.

If he had to guess at their reason for such gallantry, he’d say they had overheard the conversation he’d been trying to have with Avelyn and were going out of their way to be more than kind to a woman who’d apparently experienced little kindness in her short life.

Since he found nothing amiss with their actions, he saw no reason to stop them and slowly backed away from the boulder to watch from a distance.

Avelyn’s soft laugh at something Samuel said made him smile. He was grateful his men were showing her such attention instead of ignoring her as they normally would. From what he’d seen and heard, the lady deserved a few light-hearted moments before she would once again be back in the cold embrace of her family.

From King David’s description, Elrik had believed Avelyn to be lovely yet headstrong. She was indeed quite lovely, but he’d yet to witness much that could be considered overly headstrong. Oh, yes, she’d been defiant when he’d discovered her at the inn, but that had been expected since he was unknown to her. She would have been foolish not to have questioned him. And he’d experienced a small flare of her temper when he’d taken his frustration out on her a short while ago.

But he’d seen no overt stubbornness or any action that could be considered headstrong or wilful, quite the opposite, actually. Even though it was obvious she’d had no experience riding a horse, she’d not complained once yesterday. Nor had she given any argument when he’d essentially tied her into the saddle like a child today. She’d simply accepted the fact that she had no choice in the matter of riding the horse and had made the best of what had to be an uncomfortable situation.

And when he’d suggested she argue her future with King David, she’d not whined or complained. As far as he could tell she had given it some thought, otherwise she’d not have asked him for a man’s opinion on what might be considered valuable.

No. This was not some simple-minded woman who would argue for the sake of arguing. She might not have been raised in her father’s keep and had yet to learn courtly manners, but she was not lacking in wits. She stood up for herself. And she knew what she wanted, along with what she didn’t want.

In a way it was a shame she was so connected to Brandr. He was not someone Elrik wished to be related to in any manner, otherwise, he might be half-tempted to offer for her himself.

Elrik shook his head in an attempt to clear that ludicrous thought from his mind. Things like a wife and family were for other men, not him. But sometimes...times like this when he let his guard down and his musings drew him once again into wondering what if...he had to remind himself of that simple fact.

A hand rested gently on his arm, startling him away from his odd thoughts. ‘What are you thinking about so intently?’

He looked down at her and asked, ‘Did you get enough to eat?’

‘More than enough, thank you.’ Avelyn laughed. ‘I had to walk away before the two of them fed me enough for four meals.’

‘They were simply being kind.’

She let her touch fall away from his arm. ‘I know that. I wasn’t complaining.’

Elrik closed his eyes for a moment at the feeling of loss, then he reached out to draw a fingertip along her cheek. ‘I apologise. I know you weren’t complaining.’

She tightly clasped her hands before her and lowered her gaze. ‘We should be getting back on the road.’

‘In a bit.’ He covered her hands with one of his own and tugged gently. ‘Come, sit with me for a few moments.’

At her nod, he pulled a fallen log to rest at the base of a tree. ‘Here, you can rest against the tree.’

When she settled on to the log, he took a seat on the ground next to her legs, pulled off his helmet and then unlaced and pushed back the chainmail covering his head. The breeze rushed against his damp hair, drawing a sigh of relief from him.

Samuel and Fulke paused to stare at him a moment before they finished packing the food away. Once finished, both men took up a position at opposite ends of the entrance to the small clearing.

Avelyn nodded towards the men, asking, ‘Do they expect trouble?’

Elrik shook his head. ‘No. But this ensures that if any threat should occur, I’ll know in advance.’

‘Ah. So, they see to your safety when you aren’t.’

‘That’s what they are here for, yes.’

‘But aren’t they more than just your guards?’

‘Of course they are. But when there is a task to be done, they do it without having to be told.’

‘Oh.’

‘Oh?’ The tone of her voice seemed filled with censure. ‘Do you have some quarrel with this?’

‘No. I just...it just seems... I don’t know...’

‘Of course you know, otherwise you wouldn’t have said anything to begin with. What do you wish to say?’

‘If you are taking time to rest, don’t they require the same?’

Samuel turned to look at them. Close enough to have heard her question, he answered, ‘Lord Elrik guarded the camp most of the night while we slept, my lady. We have no argument if he takes some rest now.’

Avelyn sighed heavily. ‘Well, don’t I sound like a lack-witted fool?’

‘Not at all.’ Elrik bumped her leg with his shoulder. ‘You wouldn’t know if you didn’t ask.’

‘This would never happen with my father.’

‘What wouldn’t happen? Sitting on a log?’

She returned his bump by bouncing her leg against his shoulder. ‘He does not treat his men in the same manner as you do yours.’

‘That’s because they aren’t his childhood companions. He came of age in King Henry’s court, where I grew up on Roul Isle far away from any king or court.’

‘So, how did you end up being King David’s Wolf?’

Elrik paused. What could he tell her about her father’s involvement without upsetting her, or making her question his explanation?

Nothing.

The two of them would soon part ways; there was no need to tell her anything. So, he chose to keep it brief.

‘Not pleased with the new laws placed upon them, nor with the newly installed lords, my father and some of the other men thought they could battle their King without any repercussion for their act of treason. My brothers and I are paying for our father’s mistaken thinking.’

‘What happened to him? Did the King take his life?’

‘No.’ Elrik shrugged. ‘Gregor and I were old enough to offer ourselves in his place. Our father was confined to Roul Isle and died in his own bed.’

‘While you and your brothers spend the rest of your lives in service to the King?’

‘Or until he decides to release us from our duty.’

‘That must be a terrible way to live.’

He looked over his shoulder at her. ‘Why do you say that?’

‘Instead of having your own life, you are at the beck and call of another.’

‘Isn’t everyone at somebody’s beck and call? Every man answers to their overlord, just like every woman answers to her guardian, be it husband, father or protector. How is my situation any different?’

‘But you have been forced to do things that make people afraid of you.’

‘Are you afraid of me?’ He rested a hand on her knee. ‘I don’t feel you trembling beneath my touch, nor do I see you pulling away in fear.’

She laughed. ‘That’s different.’

‘How so?’

‘You’ve given me no reason to fear you.’

‘I’ve given very few people reason to fear me, yet they do.’

She frowned. ‘Are the tales told of King David’s Wolf true?’

He ignored Samuel and Fulke’s snorts of amusement to ask, ‘Which ones?’

Avelyn nodded towards the two men. ‘Well, from their response, I suppose I should ask if any of the tales are true.’

‘No.’

‘Then why do you let them exist?’

‘Exist? I’ve done more than just let them exist, I’ve fed them, nurtured them, letting them grow beyond the believable.’

‘Why would you do such a thing?’

‘Because the rumours keep people away. The tales keep me from having to explain myself. And because in all honesty, the fearsome reputation of King David’s Wolves keeps all of us safer.’

‘Safer?’

‘If you believed someone was heartless, merciless and bloodthirsty, would you recklessly attack, or even provoke, that person, or would you think twice about doing so?’

‘Since I would think long and hard about such an action, I suppose your reasoning makes sense.’

‘Good. Just don’t share that knowledge with anyone.’

She toyed with a lock of hair at the nape of his neck. ‘I should be jealous.’ Her voice had been little more than a whisper, as if she’d been speaking to herself.

Elrik briefly closed his eyes at the shiver rippling down his spine, before asking just as softly, ‘Why?’

She twirled the lock around her finger before releasing it with a sigh. ‘Your hair curls so nicely.’

He frowned at another shiver as her fingertips brushed against his neck. The sound of muffled choking as Samuel and Fulke fought desperately not to laugh reminded him that they were not alone.

Elrik reached up to stay her hand. ‘Lady Avelyn, we should be getting back on the road.’

That wasn’t what he’d wanted to say. He’d been torn between ordering her to stop the distracting touch and asking her to continue. Since his men were close at hand, he couldn’t decide. The safest course of action seemed to be avoidance. That would be more easily accomplished if they were once again travelling.

Thankfully she didn’t argue or question his abrupt change of mind. Instead, she quietly waited while he once again donned the mailed head covering and helmet before helping her mount her waiting horse.

Once she was again secured between the rolls of padding on the saddle, she reached down and touched his shoulder. ‘I apologise if I said, or did, anything unseemly.’

‘You did nothing.’

She jerked her hand away, making him feel foolish for using such a gruff tone. Elrik covered her hand, now resting on the pommel, with one of his and moved closer until his chest rested against her leg. ‘Lady Avelyn, I would like nothing more than to spend the day enjoying your company.’ He nodded towards his men, who were both pacing their horses on the road, apparently anxious to get underway. ‘But I would prefer to do so without such an avid audience.’

Without looking at him, she nodded. Then her lips curved into a small smile and she turned to stare at him, a look of surprise on her face as if she’d just now understood his words. ‘Oh!’

She curled her fingers around his to squeeze lightly. ‘Thank you for saying such a kind thing.’