Tying off the braid, she rose and pulled her fur around her shoulders. It smelled of Aevir. She smiled and bent over to grab his fur and gather it under her arm, as it was too bulky to roll. He should have been back by now, so she knelt and peeked out from under a length of canvas, not at all anxious to see the other warriors this morning who had probably heard every bit of what they had done last night. There was no movement outside which was odd. Aevir’s footsteps led to the other tent, but he seemed to have circled to the other side.
Could he be in there with them? It didn’t seem likely given he was in such a hurry. Someone should be off retrieving the horses.
‘Come on out here.’
The voice was not Aevir’s or one of his warriors. In fact, it was decidedly that of a Saxon. She took a breath, intending to duck back into the tent where Aevir’s sword lay, but a brutal hand grabbed her arm and pulled her out and up.
She looked into the face of man with a full beard and hateful eyes. ‘Who are you?’
He grinned. ‘If you’re lucky, we’ll become better acquainted later.’
She shuddered at his insinuation.
‘Leave her alone, Egric. That’s my sister.’
Turning as best she could with the oaf still holding her arm, her knees nearly went out from under her with relief when she saw Galan. ‘Galan!’
He glared at the man holding her so that he finally let her go and she ran to her brother. Throwing herself into his arms, she nearly cried as the tension left her body. ‘Thank God it’s you. I was so afraid when that man was there. I...’ She had pulled back and the words seemed to stop as he stared down at her not saying anything.
That’s when she realised...he was her enemy now. He and Father were wanted for questioning and suspected of treason. But that didn’t seem right. He was still her brother. Aye, she was angry at him for standing by while Father tried to marry her off to a stranger, but he had also been the one she had come to as a child with her problems. Father had been cold to her, but Galan had always had a smile and an answer for her troubles.
He wasn’t smiling now.
‘What is this about?’ Her voice shook, but there was nothing she could do to stop it.
‘We came to rescue you.’ His hands squeezed her shoulders once before falling away. ‘But you seem to not want that.’
Her face flamed in heat. ‘What do you mean?’ She was so afraid that she knew what he meant, her hands tightened into mortified fists.
He glanced away and only then did she notice several mounted warriors staring at them. ‘You were in the tent with that Dane, Ellan.’
Oh, dear God! Aevir’s warriors hearing them was bad enough. This was disastrous. Drawing herself up, she put on her best face. ‘Good. Then you can all bear witness to the fact that our marriage has been consummated.’
‘Your marriage? You were marrying Tolan as of last night.’ His voice boomed so loud that it dislodged a few winter redwings from their sleep.
She grimaced, but kept her spine straight as she said, ‘You heard me and I was never going to marry Tolan.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘I’m married to Aevir.’
He shook his head as if he couldn’t quite believe what she was telling him. ‘When?’
‘Last night.’
‘In the tent?’ His eyes blazed with fury. She had never seen him so angry with her. Never. He pointed to the canvas and repeated as if trying to get it just right. ‘You married that Dane,’ he said that word as if it were a bad word, ‘last night in the tent?’
‘Aye.’
Much to her horror, he burst out laughing.
‘What? Words were exchanged.’
‘Hasn’t anyone ever told you that a man will tell you anything to get what he wants from you? It doesn’t mean anything.’
That was not the case with her and Aevir. It had been his idea when she would have lain with him regardless. ‘Where is he?’ She turned to look for him and his warriors about the time one of the Saxons rode forward on his horse. He wore a fur that covered his entire body and boots that had seen better days. His greasy hair was long and plaited and shot through with grey. He didn’t seem like a Saxon. Her suspicion was confirmed when he spoke.
‘Enough of this. We must go.’ He was a Scot. She watched him as he rode past her.
‘Come, Ellan.’ Galan took her arm and led her through the trees.
‘Where is Aevir?’
He ignored her. ‘You were right about one thing,’ Galan said as he led her deeper into the forest.
‘What?’ Her head swung from side to side, looking for any sign of her husband.
‘You were never going to marry Tolan.’
Digging her feet in, she tore herself from her brother’s grasp. ‘What is happening, Galan?’
‘Your Dane is over there.’
She whirled to see him struggling to sit upright in the snow. A trickle of blood oozed from his temple and his hands were tied behind his back. He was on the far side of Oleif’s tent which is why she hadn’t seen him. Ander was a lump underneath a tree further away. ‘Oh!’
Galan stopped her from running over to him.
‘But you don’t understand. There was a battle and he sustained a head injury. Did someone hit him again?’ Her voice rose in anger and concern. She didn’t know much about head injuries but it couldn’t be good to have another one so soon.
‘He’s fine. Listen. We have a lot of ground to cover before evening.’
‘Galan, nay, I’m not going with you.’ A man came from the trees, leading three of the four horses they had arrived on last night. Galan led her to the mare and urged her up.
‘Are these all the men who were with you, Ellan?’
There was one missing. Oleif and his horse was not among the others.
Had he left early? Was he out there somewhere waiting? She didn’t know, but she wanted to give him the best chance wherever he was, so she said, ‘That’s all.’
Galan studied her as if to determine if she was lying then nodded. ‘Get on your horse and I’ll answer your questions.’
A quick glance confirmed that Aevir had been forced to mount his own and was being tied to it. She was thankful that he hadn’t been killed immediately and she tried to tell him that with her eyes when he looked at her.
‘Fine, but I want to take him his fur.’ It had fallen on to the snow when Egric had grabbed her. Anger flared in Galan’s eyes. ‘He will freeze without it. Please,’ she pleaded.
He didn’t say anything so she hurried away and he didn’t stop her. Grabbing the fur, she ran to where Aevir was mounted. He blinked as if he was having trouble focusing on her. Up close, the gash looked even worse. She couldn’t really reach him so she did her best to tuck the fur around him so that it wouldn’t fall off as he rode.
‘I should have known they would be so close behind,’ he said.
‘It’s not your fault. You wanted to leave earlier and I made you stay. Don’t worry. I’ll come up with a plan. Don’t doubt me,’ she said. ‘I’ll think of something.’
He shook his head and grimaced in pain. ‘I don’t want you to plan anything. Stay with your brother. He’ll protect you.’
Smiling up at him, she said, ‘I’ll protect you.’
Pain crossed his face, but this time it wasn’t from his wound. ‘I love you,’ he whispered.
She placed a kiss to his thigh and hurried back to Galan. Having no other choice, she mounted. As a group, they left the trees that had been their shelter the night before, leaving the tents where they lay and retracing their path from last night.
Galan leaned over a bit to say, ‘Tolan had agreed to bring you to us. Father had arranged a fake betrothal with him so that he would have a way to get you away from the Danes in case we failed to bring you out the night we came to Alvey. I thoug
ht he was mad at the time, but he turned out to be right.’
She was immediately relieved and perplexed all at the same time. ‘Then why did he tell me about the betrothal that night outside Alvey’s walls? That more than anything else was what made me want to stay.’
‘Because it would seem more legitimate if he had told you. Tolan showing up with an agreement unannounced could have been suspect. The fact that Father told you made it seem more real.’
She grimaced at the truth of that. ‘Why would Tolan agree to that?’
‘He owed Father a favour, not to mention the price in gold he demanded.’
‘I still don’t understand any of this. Father hardly cares for me. What does he care if I stay in Alvey?’
Galan shook his head. ‘He does care for you.’
‘We both know there is more to this than his affection.’ She leaned to the side a bit to get a look at Aevir who rode several riders in front of her. She wanted to get a good look at his face, but it was impossible. At least he seemed to be sitting upright on his own.
‘You’re right.’ Galan sighed. ‘You’re part of an agreement with the Scots. Father promised you to one of them along with silver and horses for his help in driving the Danes out of Alvey.
‘Father has interesting taste in men.’
‘Be serious, Ellan.’
‘I am serious. None of this matters. I am Aevir’s wife. I cannot—will not—marry any other man.’
‘We’ll see what Father has to say about that.’
‘Where is Father?’
When Galan didn’t answer right away, she glanced over at him to see pain in his eyes. ‘He’s not well.’
Chapter Twenty-Two
They rode for several hours, finally breaching the shelter of tall forest Aevir had led them away from the day before. Ellan asked about Baldric who had been left behind. He was well, but angry Galan hadn’t allowed him to come. She did not ask where ‘behind’ was, nor did Galan ask more about her and Aevir. There were things between them that they couldn’t discuss. They rode maybe another hour until the group came to a campsite in the late morning. There was almost no one there. A few campfires had burned recently, but only smouldering ashes remained.
A man sat huddled at the base of a tree wrapped in blankets. As she and Galan were bringing up the rear, everyone else had already ridden into the clearing when they arrived. Almost no one approached the man who was struggling to his feet. It was only as she was dismounting that the blanket fell back and she realised the man was her father.
‘Father!’ she yelled as he wobbled and sank back against the broad trunk. His face was pale and wan.
He held out a hand as she ran to him and placed it on her shoulder when she stopped, uncertain about how to touch him. She only realised right then how they had hardly ever touched.
‘What happened?’ she asked.
Galan had run up behind her, so he answered, ‘The storm brought on a bout of some kind. He fell ill last night.’
‘I’m fine, boy.’ Father pushed away from the tree and stood on his own two feet. Perhaps he wasn’t as ill as she had first thought. ‘I see you found the Danes.’ He indicated Aevir and Ander who had been strapped to his own horse. ‘Only two?’
‘The Scots will be satisfied with Aevir,’ Galan said.
Fear twisted her insides. ‘Nay, you cannot deliver Aevir to the Scots!’
‘It’s what they want.’ Galan lowered his voice to keep it between the three of them. ‘It will finally convince them to help us.’
‘I thought they were already helping you,’ she said.
He shrugged. ‘Some. They’ve been more reluctant to invade than Father thought they’d be. The King doesn’t want to draw the ire of the Danes. His son is the only one bold enough to face them and he must prove we can gather enough men before his father will be convinced to join our cause.’
Grabbing his arm, she pleaded, ‘Then stop this. Why must you cause problems when there could be peace?’
‘Enough!’ Father’s voice brooked no argument.
Galan shook his head in disappointment at her and said to their father, ‘Don’t listen to her. She thinks she’s married him.’
‘I have married him. I will not be a part of your plans to bring the Scots into a war with these people. They only want peace with the Saxons.’
‘You don’t understand anything.’ Her brother raised his arms in frustration.
Father held up his hand for quiet, gaining their attention. He stared at Ellan so hard she took a step backwards. ‘You married him...a Dane?’
‘Aye, I married Aevir.’
‘Ellan!’ Aevir called to her from across the campsite and gave a firm shake of his head when she glanced over at him.
Father had come closer so she took another step back, recoiling from the anger in his eyes. ‘How could you? It can’t be true. I won’t believe it.’
‘He’s good to me, Father.’ He slapped her and she fell to her knees.
Something rushed past her. ‘You do not touch her!’ Aevir’s shout filled up the air as he pushed a shoulder into her father’s chest. His hands were still tied behind his back.
Hurrying to her feet, she put her hands on Aevir’s chest and stood between him and her father. ‘Nay, stop, Aevir. I’m not hurt.’ It wasn’t really true. Her cheek burned, but that was nothing compared to the pain in her heart. Father had ignored her and said harsh things to her, but he had never raised a hand to her before now.
‘Stand behind me,’ Aevir ordered her, his harsh gaze on her father.
She was gratified to realise that Galan stood between them, his hands on the older man’s chest as he urged him back to rest against the tree trunk. Father returned Aevir’s harsh look over Galan’s shoulder.
‘You had no right to marry her,’ Father said. ‘She did not have my permission. The marriage cannot stand.’
‘It will.’ Aevir’s voice was deep and measured. His easy confidence made her feel better.
‘You had no right,’ Father said again. His face grew redder with anger by the moment.
‘Father, stay calm.’ Galan’s voice was soothing, but it carried an undercurrent of displeasure.
‘What of her bride price?’ Father asked. ‘You think you can just take her with nothing?’
‘I will pay you. Is that really your only objection to me marrying your daughter?’
‘Of course not. You’re a bloody Dane. That’s objection enough.’
Her grip tightened on Aevir, even though another Saxon had come over and had an arm around his shoulders to hold him in case he decided to lunge at her father again.
‘That’s right,’ Aevir sneered. ‘You’re a fool who is blind to the treasure of his own daughter. She is kind and good-hearted, strong and brave, loyal to her own detriment. If you would only open your eyes and see that. Do you even want to know if she’ll be well in my care? If I’ll take proper care of her?’
Her father said something, but Ellan was too caught up in Aevir’s words to hear him. Her eyes and ears were only for her husband who had stopped talking and stared down at her. Her hand on his chest, she whispered, ‘Do you really think those things about me?’
With his arms bound, a man holding him in a death grip and a streak of blood still on his brow, he gave her a gentle smile. ‘Of course. I knew them from the start, but I was a fool like your father. Can you forgive me?’
‘Aye.’ Tears blurred her vision so she blinked them back furiously because she didn’t want to miss a moment of seeing his face.
His eyes gentled. ‘You are my heart, love.’
Wanting to kiss him, but having no way to reach his lips since he couldn’t bend down, she placed a kiss above his heart. ‘I love you more than my own life.’
His eyes were still gentle but sad as he shook his head. ‘Nay, never more.
You must stay safe.’
They were smiling at each other when thunderous yells filled the forest. Her heart stopped for the brief moment it took her to understand that they were being attacked. Or rather the Saxons and Scots were under attack. She caught sight of Oleif and several warriors who had travelled with Aevir yesterday. Other men crashed through the forest from the other direction, perhaps a score of them in total.
Having been let go by his captor who was grabbing a sword, Aevir tugged furiously at his bindings. Galan was hurrying back to his horse where he’d left his sword. ‘Galan!’ She grabbed at the knife on his hip.
Her brother paused and took hold of her wrists. ‘What are you doing?’
‘Aevir! I have to release him.’
‘Nay, he’s a prisoner.’ He sounded furious.
‘Please, Galan.’ She stared up into her brother’s eyes and pleaded as if her very own life depended upon it. ‘Please untie him. He could be killed.’ When that didn’t move him, she said, ‘He’s my husband and I could even now be carrying his child. If you ever cared for me at all, please let me help him.’ She had never once wished for Elswyth’s bravery or skill with an axe, but she wished for it now.
Galan stared at her for a moment more and, though he didn’t speak, he released her wrists. Not waiting for further permission, she drew the knife and turned towards her husband. As soon as she had cut through the hemp, he took the knife from her and shoved her behind him, wielding the knife in front of him as if it were a sword. The entire area was in chaos. Men on horses and on foot fought each other until she could not tell which were Saxons and which were Danes. A man came towards them, holding up his sword, and Aevir ducked as the man swung while keeping one hand on the front of her dress to pull her down with him.
‘Get behind the tree!’ he yelled.
She had squeezed her eyes closed, but opened them to see him stab the man in his neck. It was Egric, the one who had pulled her from the tent. Her stomach turned as blood poured out. Aevir picked up the fallen man’s sword and glanced at her. ‘Now, Ellan!’
Longing for Her Forbidden Viking Page 20
