Betrothed to the Enemy Viking

by Michelle Styles

  ‘Stay close,’ he whispered, coming to an abrupt halt. He surveyed the ground in front of him. If he made his stand here, Cyn would still have the possibility of escaping to the shelter of the trees and then eventually finding a horse and making her way to her brother-in-law’s. ‘Whatever happens, trust me. Do what I say, when I say it. Without question.’

  ‘Whatever happens, I will trust my own abilities. I don’t have to lean on a man.’

  ‘But it would be pleasant to lean on me. I would make it my business to ensure it.’

  Her cheeks flamed bright red. ‘I’m a widow with a child, not a maiden to have her head turned with such talk. Concentrate.’

  ‘What does being a widow have to do with anything?’ He put his hand about her waist. ‘You do yourself a disservice, my lady, if you believe you are unattractive because you are a widow and a mother.’

  ‘Hush. Someone approaches.’

  A brawny Dane had started towards them, his hand on his sword’s hilt and a distinct wariness in his step.

  Kal frowned, trying to place him. Friend or foe? He recalled a shield wall buckling, a sword arching through the air and this man’s hand in his as Kal pulled him to safety.

  Kal clapped his hands together. ‘A fine welcome this is. No one speaking. Everyone staring.’

  The Dane stubbed his foot against a cobblestone and sent his sword flying through the air. It fell within a few feet of where Kal stood with Cynehild.

  ‘Jaarl Icebeard, is it truly you? And you are alive?’

  ‘Who else would it be?’ Kal reached down and retrieved the sword, holding it out to the man. ‘You should have a care. Keep a tight hold, lest you lose it again in a shield wall.’

  ‘You are not a ghost? A figment of my imagination come to haunt me?’ The man eyed the proffered sword warily.

  Kal dropped it at his feet. ‘Come here and see. I’m flesh and blood. And my shade would have better things to do than haunt you, Gautr.’ Kal held out his arms, thankful that the man’s name had just come to him. ‘What is all this about?’

  Gautr enfolded him in a hug while tears streamed down his face. ‘You are a sight for a troubled mind, but beware—rumours of your death are everywhere. Your cousin went today to deal with the murderers, even though no body had been found. He knew where a nest of outlaws lurked.’

  A nest of outlaws? Cyn’s men... Kal silently thanked the Fates for their foresight in having most of the men leave.

  ‘Understood, Gautr, son of Agathi. I know I can count on you in any fight.’ Kal pounded the man on the back and then stepped away.

  Gautr clapped his hands together like a young boy, instead of like the hardened warrior he undoubtedly was. ‘It is you! Everyone—our Jaarl has returned. He is not dead on some hillside as Alff claimed! We need to greet him properly.’

  A loud roar filled the yard, replacing the silence.

  The news of who had proclaimed his death thudded into Kal. His cousin had claimed he was dead. His very being rejected the notion that Alff had had anything to do with it. He and Alff had always looked after each other.

  ‘We will go into the hall. Me and my lady.’ Kal put his hand firmly on Cyn’s back and urged her forward. He leant down so his mouth touched her ear. ‘Things are far worse than I feared. We need to stay together, no matter what happens.’

  Her face became shuttered. ‘Obviously.’

  ‘My lady?’ An elderly woman darted across the yard. She dropped into a deep curtsy in front of Cyn. ‘Is it truly you? You are a fair sight for sore eyes. How does the little one fare? We had heard you and the late lord had a bonny son. Is the young man with you?’

  Cynehild’s smile lit up her face. ‘Ursula, it is good to see you. My son grows very well indeed, but he remains with my father back in Mercia. He is far too young to undertake such an arduous journey as this one.’

  ‘You are here with the master, my lady?’ the woman asked, grabbing Cynehild’s arm. ‘Without any men?’

  ‘He hasn’t kidnapped me, if that is what you are asking.’

  ‘We had understood you were travelling in a large group, and well-armed. We feared it would go badly for you if you arrived here while Jaarl Icebeard remained missing.’

  A cold shiver went through Kal. The person behind the attack had placed these rumours well. Cynehild had very nearly walked right into a trap.

  ‘But Jaarl Icebeard is not missing. He has been with me. We’ve been deciding if it would be wise to weave a separate peace.’

  ‘You were with Jaarl Icebeard all this time?’ The woman belatedly gave a curtsy in his direction. ‘Truly?’

  ‘We would hardly be here like this if it wasn’t the truth.’

  Kal took Cyn’s arm from Ursula’s and strode towards the door without a backward glance. When he reached the top step, he turned to look back at the yard. In the time it had taken them to walk to the door the nearly empty yard had overflowed. Kal scanned the faces of the people nudging each other, seeking the familiar. His head started pounding. The last thing he wanted to be doing was to be standing here.

  Cynehild gestured towards the increasing throng with a tight smile.

  ‘The Lady Cynehild and I are betrothed.’ Kal ensured his voice rang out over the cobblestones. ‘Having plighted my troth to this woman, I have returned to ensure the continued peace and prosperity of these lands.’

  A ragged cheer went up in the yard. Kal smiled down at Cynehild’s twinkling eyes. His people’s simple pleasure at the news of his survival and betrothal showed him that he commanded their respect, and possibly their love. His attacker had struck from the shadows because he feared striking in the open.

  The muscles in Kal’s neck eased. He stood a little straighter. With Cyn’s help he would survive the coming days and discover the truth. Because of Cyn he had hope. His only fear was that Brother Palni would return before he had convinced her to stay.

  At his knock, the great door swung inwards, revealing a blonde woman dressed in a gold-embroidered gown with a crown of intricate braids topping her head. But a network of fine lines had started to appear around her mouth and eyes, and her small mouth was turned down in a petulant pout.

  ‘What is this noise about? You were given work. You are being disrespectful to your Jaarl’s—’

  Her mouth dropped open and she went very white.

  ‘Kal, is it you? I’d understood... That is, we had heard...’

  She shielded her eyes with her hand and recognition rocked through Kal. Toka—Ranka’s much older sister, the woman who had tried to sabotage their marriage, stood in front of him, seemingly in command of his hall. How had he allowed that to happen? How could he have forgotten her base betrayal of him?

  ‘Where have you been?’ Her talons dug into his arm. ‘Alff and I have been frantic. Alff was certain the Mercians had done away with you. There have been rumours about war bands of Mercians prowling about these lands, and you know what a lot of thieving cowards they are.’

  Kal firmed his mouth and disengaged his arm from the vice-like grip. More rumours of Mercian outlaws? How many gangs of supposed outlaws were there? His stomach roiled. Had he believed this about the Mercians as well? If he had, he’d been wrong.

  ‘Where is Alff? Fetch him.’

  ‘Alff rose from his sickbed for you. He leads today’s search for the culprits who abducted you. Why would he be hiding in the hall when his lord is missing?’

  His cousin must have been the one to spread the rumour about the reason for his disappearance. Kal’s guts churned even more. Alff and he had been so close as boys, and now Alff was his right-hand man...

  ‘I’ve been with my intended bride, Lady Cynehild. We have come to an understanding. But it appears some misunderstanding has grown in my absence.’

  He rapidly made the introductions, taking his time in naming Cyn’s antecedents.

&nb
sp; Toka’s reaction was immediate. She put her hand over her mouth and her eyes bulged. ‘The widow of the last Mercian lord and you? Betrothed? Haddr mentioned a woman, but I thought he’d been drinking too much!’

  The final word rose to a crescendo of a shriek. He almost smiled. Luba, unlike her son-in-law, had kept her word.

  ‘Do I need to consult you about my plans, Toka?’

  ‘No, but it would have been appreciated.’ Toka’s knuckles shone white against her gown. ‘We’ve been worried, Icebeard. I’d hoped you might show some small consideration for your family—but when have you ever done that?’

  He noticed how she said his name, with a curl in her lip. ‘Where did you think I had been?’

  ‘You went off without a word. I considered you had gone for a walk after... Never mind. You had been keeping secrets, and you were always good at that. You have never paid the slightest heed to those who might be concerned about you.’

  Kal narrowed his eyes. Toka made it sound as if he was arrogant, running roughshod over everyone—the worst sort of leader. But Toka and he had rarely seen eye to eye. He wished he could remember why Alff had decided to marry the woman. Perhaps he’d done it and then informed Kal. The thought of her had always obsessed Alff.

  ‘You of all people should know better than to worry about me—particularly after I’d had words with my cousin.’

  She made a little cat’s paw with her hand. ‘I told Alff that you would turn up, and that he was being unduly worried after your intemperate words. But then you didn’t.’

  What had they had words about? Kal concentrated, but hit the black abyss again. ‘Alff knows I always turn up.’

  ‘He would rise from his deathbed for you.’ Toka’s mouth pursed as though she’d tasted a sour plum. ‘Not that you’d care or notice...such things as human frailty are beyond you.’

  Kal winced. Had he really been like that? He knew he pushed himself, and made demands to get the results he desired, but surely he thought of others too. Surely his road to this hall had not been littered with the bodies of men who trusted him.

  ‘This Alff—is he your husband?’ Cynehild asked, fluttering her lashes and tucking her arm more tightly about his, as if she was ready to prop him up should the need arise. ‘I want to get everything straight in my head. Kal and I have been discussing other matters. But it is important for the new lady of the hall to understand the tangle of relationships.’

  Kal had to admit that Cyn did a good impersonation of being utterly brainless when she wanted to. The intensity of her gaze gave the game away to Kal, but he suspected Toka would only hear the breathlessness of her voice and dismiss her as feather-brained.

  ‘Yes, Alff’s my husband and Icebeard’s closest advisor. His cousin. His last remaining blood kin.’ Toka widened her eyes and put a hand to her head, as if it pained her to think about Kal’s folly. ‘Icebeard, I’m astonished you never confided in him your intention to meet with this...this person. Let alone contract a ruinous marriage which will sow discord throughout these lands. Perhaps the rumours about her being a witch are correct and she has enchanted you.’

  ‘Show respect to my betrothed,’ Kal growled.

  Toka tossed her head, making her braids slither like glittering snakes. ‘Sometimes, Icebeard, I wonder if you really have not learned lessons from your previous encounters with Mercian women.’

  ‘I believe I’m not like other women—from my country or yours.’

  Cyn laid her head against his chest and somehow it felt right to have it there. Kal put his arm about her waist.

  Toka’s mouth opened and shut several times in rapid succession with no sound emerging. ‘We shall have to make sure you are well looked after, my lady. I run the household, as I’m married to my lord’s cousin and therefore the senior ranking woman. Also, Icebeard’s adored wife was my sister.’

  Cynehild did not miss a beat. ‘It is something we both share—the loss of beloved spouses.’

  ‘He spoke to you about Ranka?’

  ‘And the child he lost.’

  Toka’s smile became almost fanged. ‘We must also speak about Ranka soon, Icebeard.’

  She turned her back on Cynehild and began to discuss the hall and all the mundane things which had occurred in his absence.

  Cynehild lifted her head from his chest and stood on her own two feet. ‘Of course, once I become mistress here, in truth, I will require things to be done my way. That goes without saying.’

  Kal kept his face impassive. Cyn’s quick thinking had given him the clues he needed to work out what had happened. It was Alff’s doing that Toka was here. Toka had always been clear about her intention to progress in life through marriage, and Alff had always sworn he’d have no woman but her.

  ‘I wouldn’t trust either of them,’ Cynehild murmured out of the side of her mouth, while maintaining a pleasant smile on her face. ‘She is less than pleased to see you.’

  ‘Toka dislikes surprises unless they are of her own making.’ Kal gave her hand a squeeze, to show he understood. Thankfully Cynehild allowed her hand to rest in his while Toka continued with her endless speech.

  ‘I wish to get my lady settled. She shall be sharing my chambers,’ Kal said, when Toka finally paused to take a breath.

  There was a rapid blinking of her eyes. ‘Does she have any belongings with her?’

  ‘Alff will be bringing them all directly.’

  Toka gave him a surprised look. ‘Alff has seen the pair of you?’

  ‘Not directly,’ Cynehild said, putting her arm through his. ‘We have been staying a little way from here. But if he has gone to investigate the so-called Mercian outlaws, he will have discovered my covered cart. I hope he will save me the trouble of having to send someone to fetch it. But one can never tell.’

  Her voice sounded very light and innocent, but Kal caught the deadly expression in Cynehild’s eyes.

  Toka drew in a sharp breath. ‘I see.’

  ‘I hope you do.’

  Cynehild placed a kiss against Kal’s cheek. He knew it was only for show, but the touch gave him courage. He would use this time to convince her to stay with him. He simply had to stay alive long enough to ensure he discovered who had attempted to kill him and then show Cynehild that he was the sort of husband she needed—for herself and for her son.

  ‘Being with Kal has been a revelation.’

  Toka drew her brows together. ‘If I had not seen you together and heard the words from your lips I would not have credited the tale. You always were one for games, Icebeard.’

  ‘I must marry sometime, and Cyn fits my needs far better than I had hoped.’

  He hoped that Cynehild would hear the truth in his words.

  * * *

  Kal’s private chamber surprised Cynehild, with its well-appointed tapestries, its set of semi-precious stone tafl counters, carefully placed on a board made from inlaid wood, and—dominating everything—its massive bed piled high with furs. Intellectually, she knew he was supposed to be a successful warlord, and she had seen the amount of gold he’d been wearing when he was attacked, but she wasn’t prepared for the unabashed luxury of his accommodation.

  The opulence was in stark contrast to the self-effacing man she’d thought she knew, and a reminder that he had played his part in the invasion of her homeland. Whatever was between them was a pretence and a sham. Pretending it was otherwise was a delusion. There was no future for them as a couple. There could not be. She had to keep in mind who he truly was, and not who she wanted him to be.

  Even so, her heart kept whispering that she was being too hard on him.

  ‘Did you carve these animals?’ she asked, running her hand along the intricate carvings on the headboard to take her mind off the gloomy prognosis of where their relationship was headed. She wanted it to have another ending, but she couldn’t see how that was possible. ‘It i
s a true labour of love to create something like this for such an intimate room. Few people will see it, I mean. I thought such things needed to be displayed for everyone to admire?’

  He gave a little boy’s pleased smile at her words. ‘Do you like them?’

  ‘You have a real talent...for something other than war.’

  ‘Had a real talent.’ Kal drew his brows together, which gave him a stern look. He seemed lost in his thoughts now that they had returned to the hall. ‘My skill appears to have deserted me for the time being.’

  Cynehild felt for the little carved horse and rider she’d placed in the pouch she wore. ‘For a first effort it wasn’t bad. You made a horse. And Wulfgar will love the warrior.’

  ‘And if I wanted that warrior to be a bear?’

  ‘A bear?’ She turned it over in her hand. ‘You adapted it to the requirements of the wood. It is a good thing in a warrior, Kal, to be able to adapt to the battle which is being fought.’

  His smile warmed her down to her toes. ‘You always know the right thing to say to make my heart easier.’

  ‘You’re hardly a failure,’ she said. ‘We need to concentrate on the things which must be done—such as working out who wants you dead.’

  ‘I heard a voice, Cyn. Someone telling me that I was a tyrant and I must fall. That person wanted them to be the last words I ever heard.’

  ‘Did the voice belong to your cousin?’

  Slowly Kal shook his head. ‘More guttural than that—and why strike me then? If my cousin wanted a serious quarrel with me then he possesses the right to challenge me for the leadership of this band of warriors. Any of my men can do it. I only lead because my men see that I’m capable of doing so. I suspect someone will challenge me today, when Alff returns. Be ready to grab a horse with your men if I should fall.’

  Cynehild firmed her mouth. While she might instinctively distrust his sister-in-law, she had no proof that Toka was behind the attack. ‘Hadn’t we best discover if you left your sword here? It might give you a clue as to why you were up on Hangra Hill to begin with, if you did.’

  He opened an iron bound trunk and drew out a sword which had gold inlaid on the handle. The sword gleamed silver in the torchlight.