by Jianne Carlo
Xára was scribbling furiously.
Arnfinn’s leman persuaded him to do so.
Liam had not spoken of Arnfinn having a mistress. “Her name?”
Her face paled. She shuddered.
Magnhildur.
A vague memory tickled at him. He had heard the name before, but could not place it. “Is she still in the castle?”
She shook her head, made a clucking sound of sheer frustration, and traced, Mayhap Touft Abbey.
“Was that not where you were sent?” The hairs at his nape bristled.
Magnhildur is Jennie’s cousin.
“Arnfinn swived his wife’s cousin?” He had not meant to blurt the words and snapped his teeth together when Xára’s beautiful eyes misted. The look of abject shame she wore shredded the armor he’d built in the last hours. He dropped to one knee, but when he would’ve cupped her face, and given her a comforting kiss, she jerked away, and wrote more.
Aye. Magnhildur leman to Néill too.
Dráddør’s jaw sagged. Loki’s cock wither and die. He had seen such depravity at the Arab courts, but for a father to treat his own child this way was beyond belief. “’Tis heinous. Tell me Lady Jennie ne’er knew of such.”
The sad down turn of Xára’s lips told him the truth before he read what she wrote. Jennie knew.
“Do all who live here know?” Dráddør stood and began gathering his weapons, needing to focus on physical activity to shroud his galloping rage. He sheathed his small dagger. No wonder the people of the keep welcomed his claim. If Arnfinn practiced such dissoluteness, what other foul acts had he permitted?
He bent down to pick up his hammer and saw she had written more.
Néill has another leman - Myrtle Harbor.
Dráddør hoped Arnfinn’s death had been a long, lingering one and vowed to make Néill suffer with his every breath until his last. That Jennie, Evelyn, and Xára had lived under the roof of a man as perverse and vindictive as the Christian Satan outraged him.
“Myrtle Harbor is but a short detour from where we intend to go. I will stop there and see what I can learn.” Dráddør strove to keep his voice even. He had a great need to roar and bellow his seething rage.
Good. She wrote.
“When did Magnhildur leave Lathairn?” He finished strapping the hammer in place and then secured an axe to the center of his back.
The eve Arnfinn died. She left with Néill.
“I must go.” He pulled her to stand and cupped her chin. “I am leaving Ghazi in charge of you, Nyssa, Evelyn, Lady Jennie, and the keep. I intend to say naught to Konáll of Néill and Godfraid and the threat hanging o’er us. He needs to get Nyssa and the babe she carries back to Rurari and the safety of his own holding. I have instructed my men to make this known to all.”
She bit her lip and then mouthed. Konáll will not go with you?
He read the worry in her eyes, in her knitted brows. “I will try to persuade him to stay here, but I know my brother. He will insist on coming.”
How will you keep all from him? The lines creasing her forehead deepened.
“We will be riding too hard for much talk. ’Twill be fine. I protect what is mine. Have no fear. We will be back before sundown.”
Go with God, she mouthed, caught ahold of his tunic, and rose to brush her lips to his. He tangled a hand in her loose curls and slanted his mouth over hers, drinking deep of her, branding her with his tongue.
Her passionate response nigh did him in. She rubbed against him and her lithe fingers kneaded his chest. Her little tongue danced in his mouth and the first tentative touches drove his burdens to the back of his mind. He hardened, and the slight burn of his crown against his linen drawers snapped him back to reality. Slowly, he drew away, feathering kisses on her nose, temple, and forehead.
“’Tis with great reluctance I leave you, mit sváss.”
Groaning at the sight of her flushed features, her swollen ruby lips, and the sweet glaze dusting her beautiful eyes, he gathered his discipline, and brushed her cheek with the back of his knuckles. “Ghazi can read and write. Make your wishes known to him with the sand tray. I have ordered Ghazi not to let you out of his sight. He will earn my displeasure if he fails in this task.”
She bit her lip, took a deep breath, and for a moment, the rise and fall of her pretty titties distracted him. By the time he had willed the blood racing to his groin to slow, she lifted her chin, and nodded her understanding.
* * *
Long after Dráddør left the chamber, Xára stood staring at the dying flames and pondering his last words. What had he meant? What punishment would Ghazi receive if she went into the tunnels for a wee bit? Surely he would not injure a warrior under his command for something she did?
Why had he not raged and shouted when Evie made their relationship known? She knew from what Liam relayed that Dráddør believed her Arnfinn’s sole heir. Yet Xára noticed no signs of anger or mistrust even though she had deceived him by saying naught of her sister. Could he really be the husband she’d always dreamed of? A warrior cert, but also a man of honor, compassion, and kindness?
Each time he called her mit sváss, her heart skipped a beat, and she grew warm all over, as if those two words wove a heated blanket around her body. Such a small token and yet it affected her deeply. What did the Norse term mean? Liam spoke Norse, but how to broach the topic subtly?
Xára shook her head. There was much to do and she had no time to waste mooning over her new husband. Dráddør and the men would be starved on their return. How many warriors accompanied Konáll on his journey? Arrangements must be made to stretch the salted meats in the larder ’neath the hall.
First, she had to see Evie.
Her sister had cast another spell. Why else would Jennie be so improved? And why had Nyssa not found a trace of the poison?
Ghazi greeted her with a bow from the waist when she stepped into the hallway.
She smiled and inclined her head.
Two warriors flanked him, one tall and lean and swarthy with streaming black locks, the other stocky with thick, muscled arms covered with blue runes, and a mass of brown, wavy hair.
“I am pleased to be your escort until Lord Dráddør returns, my lady. Should I need to attend to Lathairn’s defenses, these men will remain with you.” Ghazi’s impenetrable black eyes and the grim cant of his mouth was a marked contrast to Egron’s ready grin.
Xára kept her lips in smile position though it took considerable effort. She inclined her head to the two new soldiers who bowed, but kept their distance.
“I am to tell you that Lord Konáll has left to join his brother. He bids you to see to Lady Nyssa’s needs. Do you wish to go to her now?”
Nay. She had to see Evie first. Xára shook her head and pointed in the direction of the great hall.
“We will escort you wherever you wish to go. Lead the way, my lady.” Ghazi inclined his head.
She gave him another smile and set off for the kitchens and the herbal room and then decided to go straight to the south tower. Egron must have informed his comrades of her disappearance from the herbarium the day before and she did not want them to focus their attention on that room.
Xára took the most complicated route to the tower deliberately going from level to level in the hopes of confusing them. When they neared the turret at the top of the tower, she slowed her pace.
The leather-hinged door stood wide open and she immediately spied Evie kneeling in a corner. Her stomach pitched. Ulna never punished Evie unless she had committed some dire offense.
“Milady.” Ulna lumbered off the bench under the open window. “Ye will ne’er believe—”
Xára’s wild signaling—narrowing her eyes and crossing them to the warriors behind her—resulted in what she wanted.
Ulna clamped her lips together.
Keeping her back to the men she signaled Ulna to get rid of them and close the door.
“Milady wishes to speak to me alone.”
Ul
na’s narrow-eyed gaze and belligerent tone would only stiffen the warriors’ resolve to not let her alone, Xára was cert. She spun around and threw a beseeching glance at the shortest one of the three men as he had seemed most approachable.
Ghazi scowled. “The door will remain open.”
Xára waved her hands around the room indicating its emptiness and lack of exits save through the windows.
“Lady Xára cannot leave the room save for the door, Ghazi.” The short warrior declared. “Ladies must have some privacy.”
“The door will remain open,” Ghazi growled. “We will await you on the steps.”
Out of the corner of her eyes, Xára spied Evie taking advantage of Ulna’s distraction to crawl to the bench and sit cross-legged. She wore breeches, a tunic, and boots. So, Evie intended to steal away for a ride. Where to and why? Or had she gone already?
Xára waited until the warriors vanished from sight. She spun about and marched over to her sister, mouth pursed, and gave the hand signal used most oft ’tween them—what-did-you-do?
“Naught.” Evie stared at the floor, wriggled, and dropped her feet. She swung her legs. “Mayhap I borrowed a spell from another.”
Another? There were no others in the land who could cast a spell. Nay. Evie would not have consulted Magnhildur. Xára pressed a hand to her chest hoping to slow the sprinting beat of her heart.
Evie’s glistening eyes peeped up at her. “I had to save Mama.”
Who? She mouthed.
“Auld Bessie. She told me to fire the bark of a Rowan tree and sprinkle the ashes around Mama’s bed and she gave me the words to say.”
Xára’s knees buckled. She sank onto the bench. Bessie. Thank the Lord. She gestured for Ulna to bring her the sand tray from the table near the bed. The room had escaped Néill’s rampant destruction because Evie had threatened to curse him.
It amused Xára, the way Evie discovered the weaknesses of any who thwarted her, and honed in on them. ’Twas one of the reasons Néill had left Lathairn. Evie had cursed him to never awake should he but fall into slumber in the castle or its lands.
At first Néill had scoffed at the curse, but he’d grown more and more uneasy and furious as dusk approached. ’Twas when his rage erupted that Néill had ordered the destruction of all the beds in the castle and allowed his men to defecate in the great hall. The first night he had not slept a wink, but stamped and howled and drank nigh on a barrel of ale. When the drink made him drowsy and he dozed for mere moments, the terror had come over him. Before dawn had fully broken, Néill and his men had vacated the castle.
Ulna placed the sand tray beside her on the bench.
Xára flashed her old nurse a smile, turned to face her half-sister, and frowned when she saw the expression on Evie’s face. She knew that look. She signaled, Tell me.
“The spell didn’t work. So, auld Bessie and I followed Galdan when he went to meet Magnhildur. She gave me a potion to give Mama.” Evie caught her hands. “It worked, Xára. You saw Mama this morn. She is better. And Nyssa said she could find no trace of the poison. I had to do it. I had to.”
Magnhildur had returned to Lathairn. When? Was Néill with her?
What had Evie done? What had Magnhildur demanded in return for the potion?
Xára wrote the question ignoring the tears streaming down Evie’s face.
“Naught. She asked for naught. Auld Bessie went to her while I hid. Auld Bessie asked her for the spell. I vow to you, she asked for naught.” Evie dashed the backs of her hands over her cheeks.
Xára turned to Ulna and raised a brow.
“I turned me back for a moment, milady.” Ulna snapped her fingers. “She was gone. Wicked, wicked girl. To go to—”
Xára shook her head violently and Ulna pressed her lips together. Evie had done well using auld Bessie to beg the favor. For Xára knew Magnhildur had sought to have Bessie make her womb fertile. Magnhildur would never refuse Bessie nor harm her.
She scribbled. Where did you find Magnhildur? When? Is Néill with her?
“Lady Xára.” Ghazi burst into the room. “You must come with us at once. The girl, too.”
What had happened? The frantic alarm in the warrior’s voice sent Xára’s pulse into a furious hammering.
“Why?” Evie stood arms akimbo. “Why must we come with you?”
Ulna scurried nearer to them.
“Earl Godfraid arrives anon. He sent a messenger ahead of him.”
Why would Godfraid warn them? She frowned and wrote in the sand, He comes alone?
Evie read her question.
Ghazi glanced at the tray and then to Evie. He frowned, but answered, “Nay, my lady. His messenger relates he is on his way to King Kenneth’s court. He travels with his men. You must prepare to greet him as chatelaine of Lathairn in Lord Dráddør ’s absence.”
Her insides rioted. She pressed a fist to her mouth. Néill and Magnhildur must travel with Godfraid. They had returned as they had promised. She had hoped never to see Néill or Magnhildur again.
How could she face the two of them? Be in the same chamber without emptying her stomach? When had she become such a quailing coward?
Ghazi motioned for her to stand. “You cannot refuse him.”
Nay. She could not. A refusal would give Godfraid an excuse to invade and none would fault him, not even the king. But she knew ’twas no chance arrival. Godfraid, Néill, and Magnhildur had chosen their timing well.
“We will not leave you alone with him. It is best that the girl and the nurse go to a room near to your mother’s.” Ghazi gestured for her to precede him.
Xára understood the man’s reasoning. Having all those he was sworn to protect in one spot made for an easier defense. She took a deep breath. ’Twas not the time to panic. All she needs do was to ensure neither Godfraid, Néill nor Magnhildur were ever alone with her, Evie, or Jennie. She would greet them and offer them hospitality, but fall sick before they could utter a word.
“I have guards at Lady Nyssa’s door. She sleeps. Do you wish me to wake her?”
Temptation dangled before her like the devil himself. What she wouldn’t give to have the fierce Nyssa at her side. But, nay. ’Twas her duty to protect Nyssa and ’twould be perfect if the queen slept until Lord Konáll returned.
Sweeping a glance around the turret, she decided to have this chamber prepared for Godfraid. With only one exit and entrance, it would be easy to track Godfraid’s movements.
Néill and Magnhildur she would put in the last chamber of the west wing. It was isolated and they could be watched surreptitiously.
Xára wrote her intentions.
Ghazi surveyed the room after reading her words. “Aye. ’Twill do well. ’Tis a shrewd plan. When you retire, I and others will stand guard o’er your chamber. We must make haste, my lady.”
With a quick nod, she rose, linked hands with Evie, and signaled for Ulna to walk with them. They followed the warriors down the steep stairs. When they reached the great hall, Xára glimpsed Arnfinn’s steward, Haakon, sitting at a table with a group of villagers. She halted, tugged on Ghazi’s arm, and pointed to Haakon.
The warrior’s forehead creased and then his brows relaxed. “Mayhap the steward can greet Earl Godfraid on your behalf?”
Xára hesitated. The lure of using Haakon as greeter proved irresistible even though she knew Néill and Magnhildur would view the act as one of her cowardice. Aye. She nodded and then pointed to the archway leading to the kitchens.
Ghazi frowned. “You wish Haakon to accompany you to the kitchens?”
She shook her head.
“My sister will inform the cook to prepare a welcome feast while Haakon prepares to greet Earl Godfraid,” Evie declared. She jammed her hands onto her hips and tilted her head to meet Xára’s stare. “I must stay with you to be your voice.”
Dare she trust Evie not to say some wickedness?
“I vow on the Lord, I will only do what you want.” Evie pressed a hand to her heart. “If you s
ay nay, I will steal away and follow you anyway.”
Xára rolled her eyes. Evie would be the death of her.
Giving her sister a behave-yourself stare, she nodded.
“We will go to the kitchens and then retire to our chambers until ’tis time for the meal. Is that not so, Xára?” Evie addressed her words to Ghazi, though the question was for Xára.
Once again, Xára nodded.
“These two men will accompany you to the kitchens.” Ghazi indicated the two Vikings who flanked him. “I myself will fetch you for the meal should Lord Dráddør not return before then. I will take my leave of you now, my lady.”
In truth, Xára was relieved to see Ghazi leave. She had too much to do to worry about sneaking around the Viking.
Time seemed to race ahead of the tasks needing to be completed.
Xára, assisted by Ulna and Evie, organized the rooms for the coming guests. When it came the time to choose the ale and mead for the evening repast, Xára had an epiphany. She grinned at the barrel of ale. Lara, the healer, had used a powerful emetic to try and cleanse the poison from Jennie’s body. The ground herb had little taste and could easily be added to the pitcher she would designate for Godfraid, Magnhildur, and Néill. ’Twas hard not to jump up and down at the notion of using Magnhildur’s nasty tricks on the wicked woman herself.
But to put her idea into effect she had to escape the two guards Ghazi had assigned to them and persuade Evie’s mischief cohort, the smithy’s son, Ívarr, to serve the guests exclusively. The two Vikings proved markedly vigilant and Xára realized the tunnels would be the only way to dodge their scrutiny.
First she had to ensure Evie remained hidden away from Néill.
Dare she trust Evie to stay with Ulna through the whole night? Nay. Evie would go to the tunnels to spy on the visitors the moment Ulna began to snore. Xára decided to bar the entrances to the tunnels from all the chambers in the west wing.
“Think you Néill rides with Godfraid?”
Evie’s whispered query startled Xára out of her contemplative trance. She glanced at Evie and her stomach sank. The sprite’s fear emanated in waves and Xára knew she had to be convincing in her pretense of bravery.
