Magnus whirled and slashed out with his sword. It caught the face of his attacker, Thorvald. The man cried out, but still drove forward with his dagger. The weapon grazed Magnus’s left arm and he felt a stinging pain. He spun away from Thorvald, then faced him, sword at the ready. Blood dripped from the wound on Thorvald’s cheek and his eyes were wild and desperate. Magnus regarded him with a sense of resignation. Now he had no choice but to kill him. Grasping his sword in both hands, he swung the weapon and sliced open Thorvald’s throat. Blood spurted out, spraying Magnus and everything around him. Thorvald crumpled and fell.
Magnus adjusted his grip on his sword. Perhaps now everyone would be satisfied. He’d killed his challenger. Perhaps now they would finally accept his authority.
“Magnus!” It was Ailinn who called out his name this time. She hurried toward him. Two paces away, she halted, her amazing eyes focused on him with a look that took his breath away. He wanted to pull her into his arms, but there was blood everywhere. “You’re wounded.” She pointed to the blood dripping down his arm.
“It’s nothing,” he said. “Only a flesh wound.”
“I can stitch it for you.”
“Aye,” he answered. “Later, after this mess is cleaned up.”
“At least let me bandage it.”
He shrugged, feeling ridiculously pleased that she wanted to tend to him.
Asgar approached Magnus, stepping over the fallen Thorvald to reach him. He took hold of Magnus’s right wrist and held his arm up, the sword still in his hand. “Is there any doubt that Magnus Gunnarson is now our leader and captain?” Asgar called out. “Let us agree that this matter is settled once and for all!”
A chorus of agreement sounded among the men on the ship. Magnus acknowledged their response for a few moments, then turned—still holding his sword triumphantly—and faced the men on the Seawolf. “Is it agreed?” he called out. “Do you accept my authority?”
The crew responded with respectful “ayes”. Then Orm let out an exuberant whoop of “Aye, Magnus!” and the rest of the men joined in until everyone on both ships was shouting and cheering.
Magnus grinned and waved his sword, feeling like a small boy who has won the footrace at the Allthing. He could scarce believe his good fortune. He’d fulfilled his dream of having his own ship. In some odd way, he owed it to Ailinn. If not for her, he’d never have undertaken this voyage, nor had a reason to kill Croa. In pursuing his mad urge to free her, he’d changed his own life for the better.
Chapter 12
The next moment, Ailinn was beside him. She took hold of his arm and examined the bleeding gash. “You should take off your tunic so I can clean your wound.”
“Aye, I should.” He couldn’t keep his eyes from her. The perfect shape of her mouth. The graceful curve of her cheeks and brow. The soft waves of her hair, like a shimmering bronze sea. When she looked up at him, he felt as if he could drown in the green-gray depths of her eyes. She tugged at his sleeve. “Take it off so I can tend you.”
It was an order, given in her usual imperious tone. But he was happy to obey. Handing his sword to Asgar, he pulled his tunic over his head.
She gasped when she saw the wound. “’Tis deep. ‘Twill need stitching.”
“You can do that, can’t you?”
“Aye. But first I must clean it.” She turned to Asgar. “Fetch me some wine.”
Asgar narrowed his eyes at her, then looked at Magnus. Magnus nodded, trying to hide his amusement at the way she treated the warrior like a servant. No wonder he’d thought of Ailinn as a princess ever since he first laid eyes on her. His princess. And now she truly was.
Ailinn led him over to one of the sea chests. Perhaps it was the blood loss, but everything around Magnus seemed to be happening at a distance, as if he were watching from outside himself. He couldn’t quite believe what had transpired. He was now the captain of not one fine ship, but two. He’d freed Ailinn and won her regard and attention. He’d killed two men and survived a violent storm.
Ailinn washed his wound using the wine and strips of linen she tore from the finely woven shift she wore under her kirtle. He was touched she’d used her own garment to clean the wound. Now that she was his, he would find a way to not only replace the shift, but all her clothing. She would be garbed in the finest fabrics available. He imagined her wearing a kirtle of Byzantium silk, a fabric said to be so sheer and delicate it revealed all a woman’s charms.
The thought aroused him, and the thrill of having Ailinn so near, touching him, made his passion burn even hotter. He felt little pain as she stitched the wound, only a hot longing to have her touch him elsewhere than his arm. For her to stroke his chest...and lower...lower.
When he sighed in longing at his imaginings, she thought his response meant she was hurting him. She halted with her needle poised in the air and furrowed her brow. He smiled at her and urged her to continue.
Around them, the crew was busy putting the ship to rights. Thorvald’s body was thrown overboard and the blood cleaned up. Whether someone said a few words commending the fallen man to the gods before Thorvald was sent to the sea, Magnus didn’t know.
There was a lot of shouting going on back and forth with the crew of the other ship, as details of the storm were exchanged. But Magnus was still startled when he looked up and saw Orm swing across on a rope attached to the Seawolf’s mast and land on the deck of the Dragonsbreath.
“Orm!” Magnus cried as his friend approached.
“Sit still,” Ailinn warned in a sharp voice.
“As you can see, any talk of me being in charge is but a jest.” Magnus smiled at Orm. “In truth, I have little authority here.” He motioned with his head to Ailinn.
Orm nodded, regarding Ailinn warily.
To Ailinn, Magnus said, “Lady, I want you to meet someone. This is Orm Bjornson, who had a part in helping free you. He set the fire in Croa’s warehouse, which made Croa think the curse you’d put on him was real and caused the distraction that allowed me to get on the ship.” Magnus shook his head in wonderment. “It’s strange how it all came to pass, almost as if the gods meant it to be.” He nodded again to Orm. “And my good friend Orm was with me from the beginning.”
“You failed to mention that I also saved your life,” said Orm. “If not for my warning, Thorvald might well have stabbed you in the heart rather than the arm.”
“That’s true.” Magnus glanced at the wound Ailinn was stitching. “How did you know he was going to attack me?”
“A man on the Seawolf suggested Thorvald was biding his time and would eventually try to kill you.”
“What Thorvald did was stupid,” said Magnus. “Did he really think the men would accept him as their leader after he vowed to yield and then stabbed me in the back?”
“Obviously, Thorvald wasn’t thinking clearly. Perhaps he lived too long in Croa’s shadow and never learned to reason for himself.”
“Perhaps,” Magnus agreed.
As she sewed up Magnus’s arm, Ailinn listened to the two men discuss Thorvald’s attack and then go on to exchange information about everything that had happened since they parted company in Dublin. Ailinn was glad for the chance to regain her composure. Only now was her fear subsiding. Like everyone else, she’d been so focused on what was happening on the other ship, she hadn’t seen Thorvald approach Magnus with a weapon. Thank heavens Orm had warned Magnus before Thorvald was able to make the killing thrust.
Orm. She wasn’t certain what to think of Magnus’s friend. Her instincts told her she to be wary of him. She sensed that having him around was going to make everything more complicated. She thought of her earlier plan to get the box of treasure and hide it away. Now she wondered if Brina wasn’t right—that she should give it to Magnus. But how could she trust him not to take it all for himself? He might desire her and even care for her, but she had no reason to think he would support her plan to regain her family’s lands.
As she finished tying off the thread, s
he took a deep steadying breath. She needed to get away from Magnus. When she was around him, her thoughts became confused. She must not let her feelings for him distract her.
She put her sewing things in her leather pouch and stood. “Be careful how you move your arm for the next few days,” she told him. “And watch to see that it doesn’t become red and swollen.”
Magnus smiled at her. “I will have you examine it often, to see if I am mending.”
When he looked at her like that, sweet Jesu! She wanted him to embrace her, to hold in his arms as he had the night before. To press his mouth to hers and...
Ailinn turned quickly, fearing he would guess her thoughts. “I must see to the other women,” she said as she hurried away.
As Magnus and Orm watched Ailinn rush off, Orm shook his head. “I know you think Lady Ailinn is wonderful, but I don’t trust her. She’s too cunning and clever by half.”
“Of course, she’s cunning and clever. Otherwise she wouldn’t be alive!” Magnus felt his temper rising. How could Orm say such things about Ailinn? He didn’t even know her.
“I’m merely suggesting you should be careful,” said Orm. “After all, what do you really know about the woman? If she were a comely whore you were bedding for a night, it would be one thing. But I’m certain you want more from her than that.”
“Of course, I do.” Now he was getting irritated. Ailinn cared for him, he felt certain. “Didn’t you see the concern on her face as she stitched up my wound?” he demanded. “That certainly wasn’t feigned.”
Orm shrugged. “Perhaps not. But I still don’t trust her. There’s something cold and calculating about her. In a man I would admire such qualities, but in a woman it makes me uncomfortable.”
“She’s a princess. That’s why she appears so reserved and haughty,” he responded.
“Perhaps I’m wrong about Ailinn,” Orm said. “But even if all is well between you, what are you going to do with her? Where will she live? What sort of life can you offer her? You now possess two ships, but to pay your crew and earn enough wealth to keep your princess in gowns and jewels and servants, you’ll have to be on the sea most of the sailing season. What do you think will happen if you leave her alone in some foreign longphort?” Orm shook his head. “I see trouble there, serious trouble. My advice would be to bed her and be done with it. Then, take her back to Ireland and leave her there. Slake your lust and let her go.”
Orm’s words were harsh, yet Magnus couldn’t deny there was some sense in them. He’d accomplished his goal of freeing Ailinn, but now what was he to do with her? Orm was right. He should bed Ailinn as soon as possible and then take her back to Ireland. But how would she survive there without a man to protect her?
Orm put a hand on his arm. “I know she’s beautiful, but there are other beautiful women in the world. And some of them might even have a sweet nature to match the loveliness of their features.”
“She is proud,” Magnus responded. “But if she wasn’t like that she’d never have be able to stand up to Croa and curse him. If it wasn’t for her fearlessness, I wouldn’t now be in possession of two fine vessels. My fortunes have greatly improved over the last sennight, and all because of Ailinn.”
“If you say so, Magnus. But don’t forget you face many obstacles. Some other man might decide to challenge you.”
“That’s true,” Magnus agreed. “And there’s also the matter of how I’m going to pay the crew once we arrive in York. We had to jettison most of the cargo to keep the ship from foundering.”
“Surely there are some trade goods left.”
“Perhaps,” Magnus answered. “Before the day is over, I plan to go down into the hold and see what remains. But first I want to talk to Vibald.”
* * *
“You’ll feel better when you breathe some fresh air and move around.” Ailinn spoke coaxingly to Brina. She hoped to get the other women on deck so her own actions wouldn’t be so conspicuous. If she was going to sneak into the hold to retrieve the treasure, she needed some sort of distraction.
“I don’t know,” Brina said, frowning. “What if I start to feel sick again?”
“You won’t,” Ailinn answered firmly.
“But the men—they’ll watch us.” It was Ullach who spoke this time, her voice timorous.
“Let them look,” Ailinn responded. “That’s all they can do. Magnus won’t let them bother you. He’s sworn to protect us. And now that he’s captain, the men must follow his orders.”
“What of you, Gormlaith?” Brina asked. “Do you feel well enough to walk around?”
“I’m a little dizzy, but I think I can manage. And breathing some fresh sea air might help settle my stomach.”
“I’m sure that’s true.” Ailinn moved to grasp Gormlaith’s arm. “Here, I’ll help you up.”
As she and Brina assisted Gormlaith in leaving the tent, Ailinn knew a sharp sense of relief. If she didn’t get down into the hold soon, someone else might find the treasure. Again, she agonized over whether she should tell Magnus about it. If only she could trust him to share the find with her. But why should he? As a man, he would want to be in control and make all the decisions. He would never understand her plan to regain her family’s lands. Even Brina hadn’t understood.
Ullach was right. As soon as they left the tent, all eyes were on them. Including Magnus, who was talking to the old man by the steering oar, turned to look. Meeting his gaze, Ailinn felt the familiar yearning. A moment later, he returned to his conversation.
The rest of the crew were scattered around the deck engaged in various activities, from cleaning weapons to dicing and playing board games. Some merely glanced at Ailinn and the other women and then went back to whatever they were doing. Others regarded them with intense interest. One man rose from his sea chest and approached. Ailinn immediately recognized him as the man who’d brought food to them earlier. He’d also fetched water for her when she was stitching up Magnus’s wound. She expected the man to speak to her. Instead, he focused his gaze on Ullach and mumbled a few Irish words.
Ailinn opened her mouth to ask him what he wanted, but before she could do so, Brina murmured, “That’s Asgar. He brought us food this morning. In exchange, we agreed to mend his clothing.”
“You asked them to mend your garments?” Ailinn asked the big man in Norse.
He met her gaze, his light blue eyes betraying no emotion. “Have you an objection, lady?”
As soon as he spoke in Norse, Ailinn knew who he was. “You’re the man who came down into the hold before the storm and told us Magnus was on the ship.”
“Aye. I’m Asgar.” His face remained expressionless.
Ailinn regarded him warily. She remembered how he’d tried to drag Brina out of the cargo area that night so he could see her. And now his attentions seemed to be focused on Ullach.
But despite her concerns, Asgar’s request to have the women mend his garments might provide the distraction she needed to get down into the hold unnoticed. “Fetch whatever you wish us to mend,” she told him. “I’ll get my sewing things.”
She hurried back to the tent and retrieved the small bag containing her needles and thread. Once the other women were busy mending the warrior’s garments, she would say she needed to return to the tent to get something else. Then she would make her way to the other side of the mast and slip down into the hold. Having seen her with the other women, Magnus would be less likely to worry about her whereabouts.
When she came back, Asgar had brought a whole pile of garments and Brina and Ullach were examining them. Observing Asgar’s expression as he watched Ullach, Ailinn felt a renewal of her concern. His interest in the young woman was clear. To a Norseman, Ullach’s coloring must seem very exotic. She had raven black hair, milky-white skin and pale gray-blue eyes.
But she’s barely a woman, Ailinn thought protectively. Her awareness of Asgar’s interest almost deterred her from her plan. But she told herself that Brina would look after Ullach.
/> A moment later, she saw Orm approaching. Ailinn tensed. She couldn’t get over the sense that this man was her enemy. She wondered if he was coming over to keep an eye on her. Instead, he ignored her and attempted to talk to Brina, with Asgar serving as a crude interpreter. As it had been with Asgar and Ullach, Orm’s interest in Brina was obvious. This irritated Ailinn, but she had to admit it served her purposes.
Within moments, the women were smiling and behaving coyly, while Asgar and Orm had assumed the smug demeanor men seemed to take on when they were being flirted with. Ailinn gritted her teeth at the sight, then told herself she was being a fool. Only a day or two ago, they’d all had as much control over their lives as a group of prize heifers for sale at a summer fair. Now her young companions were being treated with courtesy and respect. It was a very great change in their circumstances and she owed it all to Magnus.
She glanced in his direction again and reassured herself that he was still engaged in conversation with the weathered seaman. This was her chance. She leaned down to whisper to Gormlaith, who sat on a sea chest with her eyes closed, apparently enjoying the cooling breeze on her face. “I’m going to pretend to go back to the tent to fetch something. But I’m really going down in the hold. If Magnus comes over here and asks for me, make up some sort of excuse as to where I’ve gone.”
Gormlaith opened her eyes and frowned at Ailinn. A moment later, she nodded.
Ailinn left the women and made her way back to the tent. Ducking into the shelter, she retrieved one of the leather bags she’d kept her spare clothing in. The bag was still sodden, but large enough and sturdy enough to conceal the contents of the box.
She left the tent. When she reached the other side of the mast, she looked around. About a third of the crew was on this end of the deck. She didn’t recognize any of them except Hafgrim. He was sitting with two men who were playing some sort of board game. None of them were paying any attention to her, so she sat down on the side of the deck and slid down into the hold.
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