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‘Does it truly matter? Right now he is alive.’
‘What if he were an exiled prince?’ The girl gave a little shiver. ‘Or a Northman? Do Northmen come from every country to the north or from just one country? What if they were not all like the monsters who attacked Lindisfarne?’
There were times when Merri’s questions made Alwynn’s head spin. What did she know about the politics? Or where countries were? Or how people behaved? All she knew was that Northmen were monsters who had no respect for anything or anyone.
‘He is a stranger, that’s all I know. His accent is unlike any I’ve heard before but he can speak our language. Goodness knows where Raumerike is. Somewhere.’ Alwynn adjusted her hold on the man’s waist. ‘Once we know who he is in truth, then we can decide what to do. But first we save his life.’
She gazed back at the beach where she’d found him. The morning sun sparkled on the waves. Nothing to show the power of last night’s storm beyond the debris which littered the high-tide mark.
She couldn’t abandon the man, but she wished she knew where Raumerike was. She’d have to wait until the priest in the next parish returned. He knew things like that. And the question would have to be asked carefully. The last thing she wanted was for Lord Edwin to start wondering why she wanted to know.
His accent was very strange and she had never seen the markings on his clothes before. True, the garments were fine, far finer than any around here, but the gold embroidery was different.
There were many countries besides Northumbria. She used to ask about going on pilgrimage and seeing other places, but Theodbald had always refused. He had visited the Franks before his first marriage and after that had seen no reason to go anywhere. So she’d remained by his side, managing the garden and being blissfully ignorant about his mismanagement of the estate.
There was something about the storm-tossed man’s gaze which reassured her that he had no intention of harming them. But whatever the risk, she had to take it. Leaving someone to die on this beach made every fibre in her body revolt, no matter what Lord Edwin had ordered.
Time to stop obeying people blindly and take charge of her life.
She’d made that vow on the day she discovered her late husband’s debts and she intended to keep it. This was the first test of her resolve. She no longer blindly followed the rules.
‘Here you were saying how strong you were,’ she said briskly. ‘You wanted to take over the feeding of Purebright. Are you saying you aren’t strong enough to manage the pony now?’
‘If I don’t complain, does that mean...?’ Merri’s eyes gleamed.
Alwynn shook her head slightly. Only Merri could think looking after that cantankerous pony was a privilege, rather than a chore. Merri was ready for added responsibility. She’d shown that over the past few turbulent months. ‘I was going to tell you when we arrived home after collecting the sea coal. But, yes, provided you help me now, you may look after Purebright.’
The man mumbled something incoherent, plucking at her sleeve. Alwynn cocked her head to one side, listening.
The sound of rough voices travelled on the wind.
‘Shall we move forward? One step at a time? We are nearly in the tussocks of grass. We can stop there and rest out of sight. Wait until everyone has gone.’
Merri squared her too-thin shoulders. ‘I believe I can make that. Purebright would want me to.’
They reached the cover of the grass-topped dunes just as several people arrived at the beach. They were armed with a variety of cudgels, sticks and a pitchfork as well as baskets for gathering sea coal.
Alwynn’s heart knocked against her chest. It pained her that this place had come to this. Before the Northmen attacked Lindisfarne, they had welcomed seafarers and looked after anyone who might be stranded. Not now. They had lost too much.
The men started laughing and joking about the dead and what treasure they might find on the beach. Silently Alwynn wished them to hell along with the Northmen who had caused this change. Her Northumbria was hospitable rather than murderous.
‘Alwynn?’ Merri whispered. ‘This feels wrong. We are going to get in trouble. Big trouble. Can we go?’
‘Keep down, Merri. Keep quiet.’ Alwynn forced Merri’s head down lower and put her hand over the girl’s mouth.
‘Should we get help?’ Merri whispered against the barrier. ‘Maybe I could get Oswy. He has a strong back from lifting grain sacks.’
Alwynn put her fingers to her lips and shook her head. Merri’s off-and-on friendship with the miller’s son was going to have to end soon. ‘We shall manage, you and I. In a little while. Right now, he must rest. Understand?’
Merri gave a slight nod and Alwynn removed her hand.
‘And once we start again?’ Merri asked in an urgent whisper. ‘Carrying him all the way to the hall will be impossible.’
‘As I said, we’re going to Gode’s. That isn’t far. Think about Purebright and how much he loves your grooming. That fat pony has a lot to answer for. I should have kept a carthorse.’
‘But...’ Merri’s forehead wrinkled. ‘Father always said...’
‘The area around here was very different when your father was in charge.’
‘I suppose so.’
‘We’re doing nothing wrong.’ Alwynn made a fist. ‘Finders of flotsam on the beach have the first say as to the disposal. Custom from a time beyond our minds. And he did wash up on the beach, our beach. You remember what your father used to say. The beach has always belonged to your family.’
Merri nodded, accepting her word.
‘And the mint tea?’ Merri’s brow knitted. ‘Does he need more? Can we get it without...?’
‘When we can...’ Alwynn gauged the distance from where they lay to the small stream. The lack of cover was too great to risk any movement. ‘It will not take them long to strip the beach of anything valuable. Once they have what they want, they will go. Your warrior will survive until then.’
Merri’s eyes widened. ‘My warrior?’
‘You were the one who saw him first.’
Alwynn refused to think about the warrior’s eyes and how they had held her. That connection to him she’d felt deep within her gut was nothing. She could not afford to be attracted to any man. And yet... She shook her head. Truly she was becoming worse than Merri for wool-gathering.
‘But...but...but...’
‘He can hardly be mine. Your father has not been dead that long. We shouldn’t have come in any case. Collecting sea coal was a poor idea.’
Merri curled her fingers about Alwynn’s. ‘I don’t blame you. I thought it exciting.’
She snuggled up next to Alwynn and lay very still.
Alwynn lay listening to the man’s steady breathing and the banter between the reeve’s men who seemed to stay at the other end of the beach. Apparently they’d found nothing of interest.
‘Almost gone,’ she muttered.
‘Oh, no,’ Merri cried and darted forward.
‘Merri, where are you going?’
Merri grabbed the basket with sea coal and returned, dropping to the ground. ‘I couldn’t allow them to take that! It belongs to us. We collected it. We need it for our fire.’
‘Next time leave it.’ Alwynn patted the sand next to her. ‘Over here and stay by my side until I tell you otherwise. Do you want everyone to know where we are?’
Merri hung her head. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t think... We need the sea coal, though. No one saw me.’
‘Tempting fate is never a good idea. How many times, Merri?’
‘But I’m quick,’ Merri muttered. ‘Quicker than you.’
‘Hush now. Lord Edwin’s steward is headed towards us.’
Alwynn glanced at the warrior. Thankfully he appeared to understand the situation and had gone completely still. She moved closer to him to give Merri some space. Her breast hit his chest as Merri wriggled in.
The steward stooped down and picked something up from the beach. He looked directly at them. Alwynn sank further down in the hollow, half-covering the man with her cloak.
As the steward’s gaze intensified, she lowered her head and breathed in the warrior’s salty scent.
Footsteps seemed to come closer. The sound of heavy breathing hung in the air.
In another few steps, he’d be on them and she’d have to explain the unexplainable. If she was lucky, he’d take her to Lord Edwin. And if unlucky... A small shiver ran down her back. It didn’t bear thinking about.
Her heart thudded. She’d rescued a stranger for no good reason except that she refused to allow him to die. The woman who kept all the rules was truly gone.
Giving up was not an option. She tried to think about what she’d say when they were discovered and how she’d have to emulate her mother at her imperious best.
She lay there with the sun warming her back, until she thought the steward must surely see them. She prepared herself to stand and started to rise. The warrior’s hand tugged her down.
‘Stay!’ he commanded against her ear. ‘I will protect you with my sword arm, but he may yet pass us by.’
For someone who had just survived drowning, his grip was like iron. Alwynn had no choice but to lie still, beside him. With each breath she took, she found she was aware of him and the way his muscles were hard.
Just when she thought they were sure to be discovered, she heard a shout from one of the man’s companions and the man headed off in another direction at a quick trot.
‘They are going, Alwynn. They’re going.’ Merri squeezed her hand. ‘We will be fine. Our warrior is safe. Everything will be fine. You will see this warrior will bring good luck. He isn’t a Northman. He doesn’t have pointy teeth like Father Freodwald said they had.’
Alwynn shifted her position and wished she retained the easy assurance of a nine-year-old. Long ago, she’d learnt that most things were far from easily solved. ‘Of course, sweetling.’
* * *
Valdar lay utterly still as the woman Alwynn huddled next to him with her stepdaughter on the other side of her.
He concentrated on breathing and trying not to think about the woman and her problems. She’d rescued him, but for how long? How long did he have before she betrayed him?
For some reason the men on the beach frightened her. Normally such creatures wouldn’t worry his sword arm, but every muscle in his body ached and he knew he couldn’t protect her beyond a few token swipes with his sword. The storm had battered him against rocks before spewing him up on the shore.
He heard the men depart the beach, cursing their lack of spoils and joking about what they would do to any Northman they discovered.
His hand fell back to his side, releasing Alwynn. A thousand questions buzzed about his head. He hated not knowing why she’d rescued him. Why had she taken the chance? Asking was out of the question. He needed her help to escape so he could fulfil the gods’ plan for him and bring vengeance against Girmir and all who followed him.
‘More drink,’ he groaned through parched lips.
She instantly rolled off him. Her cheeks glowed pink, highlighting her eyes and the way a few tendrils of black hair escaped from her head covering.
‘You are awake.’
‘Can we move yet?’ He tried to stretch, ignoring the screaming pain in his shoulder. ‘Do you deem it safe?’
‘Lord Edwin’s men have left the beach.’ She absently tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. ‘Now is an excellent time to move.’
‘You know who they were.’
‘Yes, I know.’ Her mouth held a bitter twist. ‘If I’d had any doubt about this particular order to kill strangers being fulfilled, today—the first time I’ve been out gathering sea coal on the shore—has quashed it.’
‘But you disapprove of the order.’
‘We are a Christian country. Hospitality should be given to those who don’t abuse it.’ She shrugged. ‘And there are some who take far too much pleasure in changing the custom for the worse.’
He nodded. Her words confirmed what he suspected. She had suffered a recent setback and was unhappy with the new regime in the area.
He fought back the urge to protect her. Alwynn’s problems were none of his business. He needed to concentrate on returning home and bringing Girmir to justice. But he found it impossible to completely silence it.
‘Do you think you can walk without assistance?’ she asked, tilting her head to one side and revealing the sweep of her neck.
‘What man ever refuses a beautiful lady when she is offering him her arm?’
Her green eyes darted everywhere but at his face and her cheeks became a delightful pink. ‘You speak with a silver tongue.’
‘I speak the truth.’ He tried to rise and stumbled to his knees. ‘My time in the sea took more out of me than I thought possible. It feels like I have fought several battles and yet I’ve not lifted my sword today.’
‘You fought the sea and won. It is enough for one day.’
‘That is one way to put it, but until a battle is won, I don’t give up.’
She put her arm about his shoulders. Their breath interlaced and their gazes locked. Valdar forgot everything but the curve of her upper lip. His mouth ached to drink from hers.
He leant forward and slowly traced the curve with his forefinger. Her flesh trembled, but she didn’t move away from him.
‘And that was for?’ Her husky voice broke the spell.
‘Luck.’
Chapter Three (#ulink_85458390-5503-5eb2-8c6f-7a2903fa0504)
By the time they reached the small cottage where her old nurse lived, Alwynn’s back was screaming from her exertions and her nerves were in tatters. Alwynn was pleased that Gode was off visiting her niece helping with the latest child in that brood. She’d encouraged it because Gode rarely had anything to do with her niece. Proof that her nurse was mellowing in her old age.
Right now the fewer people who knew about this half-drowned warrior, the better. Any whisper and Lord Edwin could be down on them, demanding to know why this man wasn’t dead.
She knew what his wrath could be like. She had faced it when she refused his unseemly offer of becoming his mistress.
A small sigh escaped her throat. She had to face facts. She’d very nearly kissed a stranger. What sort of woman did that make her?
Thankfully the half-drowned man had behaved impeccably about it.
But her body felt alive in a way that it never had when Theodbald had touched her. Then she’d recoiled from his damp touch and had wanted everything over as quickly as possible. The marriage bed had been a duty rather than a pleasure.
One single touch to her lips from this man, from this stranger, and she was ready to melt in his arms.
