‘Aedan mac Connall is not my man. He is not from the north. I’ve no control over him. Daughter, be reasonable.’
There was no mistaking the pleading in her father’s voice. All bluster and no bite.
‘I am merely following your orders.’
Her father ran his hand through his hair. ‘By Thor, you remind of your mother and not in a good way!’
‘I shall take that as a compliment. My mother would have approved of Aedan mac Connall.’
‘Impossible! Come forward, Aedan mac Connall, and explain why it is impossible.’
Aedan’s lips turned up into a cynical smile, but he said nothing.
‘I will not ask Aedan mac Connall to be your bridegroom.’ Her father’s lower lip jutted out. ‘You can’t make me. He is a Gael rather than a Northman. I have never begged favours from a Gael and I do not intend to start.’
‘You and Aedan mac Connall have sworn friendship,’ Dagmar argued into the silence. ‘Are you saying that you lied to me? You refuse to allow me the basic luxury of the choice. Very well, I see no reason why I should give up being a shield maiden and become a peace-weaver to please you. Someone will have me and my sword. Your lands, gold and everything you worked for can crumble to dust when you’re gone as I shall not lift a finger to save any of it.’
‘You’re more stubborn than your mother. May Thor and Odin preserve us—Helga did what she claimed she’d do—she has created a monster who would sooner slit her throat than marry.’
‘Your compliments flow today.’ Dagmar kept her head high. ‘Having heard your answer, I will see my old nurse and then depart. Enjoy the remainder of your life, Father.’
‘Wait!’ her father shouted. ‘I will ask him. Mac Connall, will you marry my daughter? I’ve no desire to jeopardise our new alliance, but remember the strength of this alliance rests on your answer.’
Dagmar winced as she had not expected the implied threat from her father, but Aedan had to know it was bluster. She kept her head proud and steeled herself for the rejection to come this time. Her father would not carry out any threat. All Aedan had to do was trust her judgement. He had to know she had a scheme to protect him.
A tiny piece of heart whispered—what if...? She silenced it. Aedan would react predictably. He had told her as much last night.
Aedan stepped forward and made a deep bow. His eyes blazed with pure fury. He exchanged a cynical glance with her father. She took a step backwards and belatedly realised that perhaps she should have mentioned this scheme to him earlier.
‘I, too, value our new-found friendship, Kolbeinn the Blood-Axe. It is why I held my tongue until you formally asked. Now you have and you deserve my considered answer.’ He paused and glanced about the room with disdain. Dagmar held her breath. ‘Yes, I will marry your daughter, but on one condition and one condition only.’
Dagmar’s jaw dropped. He was not doing what he was supposed to. He should have rejected the offer outright because his duty to his people transcended all other obligations. What had she missed?
Her father tilted his head to one side and a broad smile crossed his features. ‘And that condition is?’
‘That we marry according the rites of my church and Dagmar renounces her former life and swears fealty to me and my people instead.’
‘Those are two conditions,’ Dagmar retorted.
‘One follows from the other.’ A muscle jumped in his jaw. ‘The only way my people will accept the marriage is conversion to my faith and a swearing of loyalty to Kintra above everything else. If you’re willing, then we marry. Otherwise find yourself another husband.’
The words hung in the air before echoing around her brain. Aedan had accepted the offer, but with conditions! Conditions he confidently expected her to refuse, judging from his smug expression.
Dagmar stared at him in disbelief. He should have rejected the offer outright. That tiny part of her heart which had believed he wouldn’t rejoiced.
Aedan was agreeing to marry her, but only if she put Kintra first and gave up any hope of wreaking her revenge on Olafr. A true son of Loki!
If she refused, she couldn’t claim that he was the one man for her. Her father would argue that if he was the only man for her, she should be prepared to walk over burning coals for him. Therefore she should choose one of his warriors. The result would be the same. She would have to give up being a shield maiden and become a wife, but to a man she neither liked nor respected.
‘Well, Daughter of mine, have you grown mute?’ Her father gave a triumphant smile as if he’d anticipated and planned for this outcome.
She clenched her fists, longing to smash something very hard. A tiny inkling grew in her. Her father was far too pleased. Was this why he had sent Aedan to get her? Was this something they had dreamt up together before Aedan had even left? Had his seduction been planned all along?
All her insecurities flooded back. Had she been so desperate for a man’s touch that she mistook impersonal touches for caresses? When she lay in his arms, had he pretended she was beautiful? Had he thought of the woman who even now prettily sobbed over the loss of him? She had gambled and lost. Badly. Her throat worked up and down, but no sound came out except a strangled cry of rage.
‘Will you do as he requires or do you marry the man I pick for you?’ her father said, clapping his hands and barely containing his glee. ‘Were you attempting to play me false and cause discord between me and this good warrior here? Let’s see what you are made of now, Daughter of mine!’ He slapped his hand against his knee and chortled. ‘Are your words worth the spit it took to say them, Dagmar Kolbeinndottar?’
All of Aedan’s nerves tensed to the breaking point. The silence stretched as the entire hall waited for Dagmar’s answer. Behind him, Mhairi had begun to weep irritating tears again.
Aedan clung on to his temper by the slenderest of threads. It was typical of Dagmar to take this sort of risk. She never considered the consequences. All she did was react to the provocation from her father. Worse, he could not entirely banish the notion that Kolbeinn had anticipated these events. The man certainly knew how to make Dagmar react.
Dagmar hadn’t made the declaration because she wanted to marry him or thought he was indeed the only man for her. If she had wanted marriage, she should have said so earlier when instead she had been busy telling him that their affair was at an end and that she would raise any child on her own without his input.
She had done it because she was certain of his refusal. It irritated him beyond measure that after all they had been through, she considered that he would put his people in jeopardy.
It had been on the tip of his tongue to refuse, but then he caught the eager gleam in Kolbeinn’s eye and knew the truth. Kolbeinn wanted an excuse to destroy him. Kolbeinn would use this insult as an excuse to invade and crush Kintra for ever. He could not. He was trapped. He had to make the offer.
Right now he did not know what he wanted. He would not have to deal with the jealousy that made him want to slay any man who might dare look at Dagmar, let alone shared her bed. Marrying her was the best solution for him, but his people would never accept a pagan warlord as the lady of Kintra.
Silently he willed her to accept his offer with its conditions and then abide by her decision. His heart could not stand it if she decided to play him false.
Dagmar stared at him, her blue eyes wide. All colour had faded from her cheeks. ‘I am to marry in your church and renounce my gods if I am to be married to you.’
‘And give up your old life of warring,’ he said slowly as if he was calming a nervous horse. ‘My people need someone who will tend to the harvest, who will be gentle and kind and who will be there for them instead of raiding other lands. Are you capable of that?’
She balled her fists. ‘Underestimate me at your peril!’
‘Then end this ridiculous farce which has put my kingdom
in danger.’ He inwardly winced. The words were harsher than he intended. But he refused to give Kolbeinn the satisfaction of knowing he was attracted to Dagmar.
Dagmar raised her chin. Fierce, proud and one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. Her lips turned up into a smile he distrusted. She was plotting another scheme, but neither he nor his people would be punished for it.
‘Very well, I accept. We will marry in your church on Ile at which time I will renounce my way of life.’
Aedan wanted to shake her. She continued her games. He knew precisely what Dagmar would do once they were on Ile. She’d vanish in the night before they got married and he’d be left with an enraged father to deal with.
‘“According to the rites of his church” were the exact words Aedan mac Connall uttered. I trust he had good reason for using that particular phrasing,’ Kolbeinn said before Aedan had a chance to let her know that he was wise to her tricks.
Dagmar waved an airy hand. ‘There will not be a priest from his church on Colbhasa. We must go to Ile.’ She gave a brilliant smile as if she had suddenly thought of something. ‘It will suit me well. I can take proper instruction in his faith as well. I know the process. I have been in the court of Constantine. The priests take a very long time to decide if a candidate is suitable. Aedan is anxious to return to his kingdom without delay. It is best that I go there until such a time as his priest believes I am ready. Once that time arrives, I will renounce everything. You cannot ask fairer than that.’
She held out her hands as if she had nothing to hide. Aedan flexed his fingers and retained a leash on his temper.
‘Kolbeinn speaks truly. Those are my conditions. We marry according to the rites of my church, rather than at my church.’
‘We do have a priest of his church here. I am waiting for his ransom to arrive,’ Kolbeinn said, beckoning to one of his warriors. ‘Summon him. Perhaps he will be willing to overlook the need for giving you intense instruction in his faith for a chance of freedom. It is surprising how such things can clarify the mind.’
Dagmar’s eyes widened in horror. ‘What are you saying, Father?’
Kolbeinn’s eyes hardened. ‘This marriage alliance will be settled before you leave my compound, Aedan mac Connall. Better than that, it will be settled before owl-light.’
The man allowed him to think that he was the last person he wanted for his daughter and then he secretes away a priest of his faith here! Aedan pressed his lips together. The priest was far too convenient. Kolbeinn had clearly been planning for this eventuality for a long time.
Dagmar’s mouth dropped open. ‘You mean to see me married today?’
‘Why wait?’ Aedan said, capturing her hand. Despite his cold fury at her tricks, a warm thrill went up his arm. Dagmar would be his bride. She would be part of his life for ever. ‘My people have been without a leader for long enough. I need to return to them. I see no reason to make two trips here.’
Dagmar pulled away and her face became mutinous. He smiled inwardly. He’d guessed her game—stall and hope that something else turned up to prevent their marriage. ‘Very well. I accept your offer when it is put like that.’
‘Swear it,’ Aedan demanded. ‘Give your solemn oath on your mother’s shade.’
Dagmar went pale and he knew that, despite everything, she truly had other plans than to go through with the wedding. No one played him for a fool, particularly not her. ‘Is this truly necessary?’
‘You may swear on my sword, Daughter, if you feel your mother’s shade would be ashamed of her daughter contracting such an alliance.’ Kolbeinn’s smile increased. ‘Make a binding oath. You required it of me.’
‘I will swear on both. My mother would never be ashamed of such alliance.’
The gleaming sword was brought. Dagmar placed her slender hand on its hilt and swore by all the gods. Her face was grimly resolute. Aedan had never seen anyone who looked less like a blushing bride than Dagmar did.
Dagmar bowed towards her father. ‘We are done. May I go and get some air while you find the priest and put your proposition to him? I wish to find my old nurse and renew my acquaintance with her.’
Her father nodded and waved a hand of dismissal. ‘Sif will be delighted to see you. She often speaks of you with affection.’
Aedan narrowed his eyes. Dagmar would wriggle against every possible restriction. It was one of the things he admired about her.
Kolbeinn rubbed his hands together. He appeared altogether too pleased with this turn of events. ‘I will not have my new ally marrying some strange half-man. He marries my daughter, a woman. Insult my house at your peril, Dagmar. Wear one of your stepmother’s old gowns. She had plenty and has no use for them now.’
Dagmar lowered her brows. For an instant, she appeared about to refuse, but then she glanced between them and gave a smile which Aedan instinctively distrusted.
‘My stepmother’s gowns may remain mouldering for ever. I already have the required gown,’ she said and turned on her heel.
As Dagmar swept past them with her head held high, Mhairi grabbed Dagmar’s arm.
‘Why did you have to ruin everything?’ Mhairi said in a low furious voice. ‘I shall remember this day for ever.’
‘Mhairi!’ Aedan said in a low voice. The last thing he required was Mhairi acting up. She, of all people, should understand how important this alliance was for Kintra. She’d offered her life for it.
‘I only speak the truth.’
Dagmar removed Mhairi’s hand from her sleeve. Her eyes blazed with a fury like Aedan had never seen before. ‘I suspect it will be a day that we will all struggle to forget.’
Chapter Ten
The now silent throng of warriors parted and Dagmar reached the outside and gulped mouthfuls of life-giving air. How she made it through that crowded hall without collapsing in a heap, she’d never know.
Her mind reeled as she struggled to control her temper. She’d gone into that hall thinking that she’d be a shield maiden for ever and she’d come out betrothed to Aedan, not only betrothed but about to give up everything her mother had instilled in her as being necessary for life. After today, she’d never be able to be the sort of independent woman her mother envisioned. She’d given her oath.
Her heart thrummed. She was going to marry Aedan. If he cared even the littlest particle about her, if their time together had meant anything at all to him, he would have understood what she was trying to accomplish and would have given her the time to allow tempers to cool. Why had Aedan done it? Why had he not acted how she had anticipated he would?
She kicked a pebble and sent it scurrying away. Or had he already had an alternative scheme? The look her father had given Aedan seemed to indicate there was more there.
She clenched her fists as fresh fury swept through her. She had been so naive, so ready to believe that one gorgeous man found her attractive, that one man could not keep his hands off her. Aedan had cynically seduced her and she had laid her heart at his feet. She had given him her virginity. How he must have laughed. All he had to do was to couple with a freak. Was it any wonder that he’d insisted on her wearing a dress when they were travelling so he could imagine another woman beneath him?
The various wooden houses leading to the harbour wavered in front of her eyes and she blinked rapidly, trying to restore some measure of calm. She had never even considered that her father might send a potential husband to get her after what had happened to his messengers, particularly not a Gael.
The door opened with a bang and Aedan emerged with a face that could have been carved from granite. When he saw her, his expression appeared to relax for a heartbeat before hardening again.
‘Did you plan this with my father? Before you left on your quest?’ she asked before he had a chance to utter a word. Half of her wanted him to take her into his arms and kiss her roughly. And the other half, the more s
ensible half, needed to know how deeply he was involved in this plot.
She wanted the time they had shared to be something more than a means to an end. She wanted to think their affair had been between two people, rather than Aedan using her to save his people. She wanted to believe in dreams again. But she feared deep down that she already knew the truth. He’d been open about it, if she’d cared to listen. But she’d spun her own reality, just as she had done when she was a girl and had believed the skalds about her parents’ undying love.
‘You are here. That is a surprise. I expected you to be already running towards the harbour and my currach.’
His cold tones made her cringe. She looked in vain for the gentle man who had held her this morning until the sun rose. All she could see was the furious warrior.
Her stomach roiled. If he’d planned this, would he be this angry? Possibly. She had only thought she knew him.
She attempted a nonchalant shrug. ‘Why would I do that?’
‘Steal my boat? Depart to places unknown? Leave me to face your father’s wrath alone? Leave me to watch helpless as my lands are destroyed and my people enslaved?’
She stared at him, shocked. They had travelled together. They had been intimate but he didn’t know her. ‘I gave my oath. I will abide by it. I always do that to the best of my ability.’
He crossed his arms. ‘Is that so?’
‘A warrior is nothing without her word.’
‘But you are more than a warrior, you are a very stubborn woman who insists on getting her own way. And your way has been thwarted.’
‘Until I formally renounce my old life, I remain a shield maiden. Even renouncing that life will not change how I value my honour and how I strive to keep it.’
‘Why were you ready to destroy my life?’
‘My father would have married me off to some preening oaf with more muscles than brains. You should have trusted my instincts. I had everything under control.’ She put her hand on her hip and glared back at him. ‘You haven’t answered my question. Instead you seek to distract me with nonsense about me running away. The only time I left a battlefield before the battle was over was when you carried me away. Answer my question—did you and my father scheme together before you departed to make this marriage happen? Is that why you came after me? Was there more, much more to that blasted wager of yours? Get my daughter back and you can have her? Was there even a wager? Was that the gold he paid you to seduce me?’
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