Dragon of the Island (23 page)

“It’s a rare and beautiful gift for a rare
and beautiful woman,” Cunedda said in his heavily-accented voice.
Aurora smiled back at him, well-pleased with the extravagant
compliment and gift.

The gift giving did not seem to be quite
over. Aurora glanced up and saw that Cunedda’s fox-haired brother
stood in front of her.

He smiled as he knelt down to her, and
Aurora smiled back, admiring his strong white teeth. He placed a
soft leather bag gently in her lap and then stood and bowed
gracefully. The round object within the bag had a familiar feel,
and Aurora moved eagerly to open it.

The drawstring neck opened easily, and
Aurora reached inside and pulled out the rather hairy object. It
was a human head—dead for some time and beginning to rot. Blind,
decaying eyes stared at her from the shrunken face, and Aurora
screamed and dropped the head. It rolled slowly down to her feet,
and as it rolled, Aurora caught the glimmer of gold lining the
inside of the skull.

Aurora sat stunned, speechless, and looked
around at the startled faces watching her. Maelgwn’s face was a
cold deadly mask. Cunedda and Esylt had begun to laugh, but the
rest of the room was silent, and Aurora could sense their chilling
disapproval.

Aurora moved her eyes up uneasily to face
the young man who had presented her with the gift. The muscles of
his neck were corded in rage and his handsome face was curdled with
hatred. She shook her head pleadingly—she had not meant to offend
him—but the gesture seemed to infuriate him even more, for he
whirled and stomped off.

Aurora looked back imploringly at Maelgwn,
but his eyes were hard, and she knew he would not help her. Even
Balyn and Gareth, who had come to sit by Maelgwn, stared at her in
open embarrassment. But it was the sound of Esylt’s cackling
laughter that unnerved her. Shaken and confused, Aurora jumped up
and ran out of the hall.

No one moved or tried to stop her, but even
out in the damp darkness, Aurora’s panic did not subside. She had
the feeling of having done something truly awful, and she expected
at any minute to be punished for it. The sound of her own footsteps
on the rough, rocky ground sent her heart up into her throat. She
kept anticipating a knife in her ribs or a crushing hand on her
throat, and for a few seconds she was too terrified to figure out
the direction to the guest lodge.

Gradually the fresh air cleared her head,
and her eyes adjusted to the darkness. It was a misty, heavily
overcast night, and it took some time to locate the hut. When
Aurora finally found it and looked inside to see the reassuring
clutter of her clothes and possessions, she was so overcome with
relief that she rushed in and sank down trembling on the skins near
the dying fire.

As she closed her eyes, the image of the
rotting trophy head flashed into her mind, and she gagged. How
could the Brigantes even touch such things? she wondered in
revulsion. Yet, it was obviously an important and precious gift.
The gold that lined the skull must have been enough to make a
torque as fine as the ones that had been given to Maelgwn and
Esylt. The young man who gave her the head had meant to honor her,
Aurora realized wretchedly, and she had managed to offend him, and
to dishonor Maelgwn as well.

Aurora shuddered again in the cozy
sheepskins. She felt almost too miserable to cry. She had done
something terrible, and then had run cowardly away with Esylt’s
taunting laughter ringing in her ears.

Then it hit Aurora like a thunderbolt. She
had seen Esylt talk to the young man after he had caught Aurora
staring at him. That was right before the gift exchange began, and
Aurora had not seen the red-haired man again until he walked up
with his hideous gift. It all made sense now. No doubt Esylt had
suggested the gift of the trophy head, knowing what Aurora’s
probable reaction would be. Esylt had planned the whole thing; she
had deliberately contrived to humiliate Aurora, to disgrace her
before one of her husband’s most important allies.

Consuming anger and hatred replaced Aurora’s
shame. She would not take all the blame for her mistake this time.
Esylt had gone too far in her attempts to make Maelgwn reject her
as his wife. This time Aurora intended to confront Maelgwn with
Esylt’s treachery and make him realize what a monster his sister
was!

Maelgwn walked to the guest lodge wearily.
His head was spinning with fatigue, mead and the unpleasant
surprises of the last few hours. It was as if his worst fears had
been realized. He had brought Aurora with him on this journey to
impress his ally with her beauty and elegance, and she had ended up
embarrassing him and perhaps endangering their future relationship
with the Brigantes.

Still, he could not really blame Aurora for
her behavior. Few women who were unfamiliar with the old Celtic
custom of trophy heads would not have greeted the gift with some
shock. If only she had made an effort to apologize, to smooth
things over instead of running off like a distraught frightened
child.

Maelgwn sighed. He was disappointed, but he
did not want to be too hard on Aurora. His wife was a spoiled,
childish woman, but in a way, that was part of her charm. He could
still see the radiant beauty of her face as she fingered the
beautiful ivory necklace. She was a woman who was meant to be
indulged, and somehow he could not help himself. Even now, tired
and discouraged, he could not forget the thrill of watching her
naked in the firelight—and the rapture of her silken skin and
streaming hair covering him.

Maelgwn shook off the enticing image. He
must be firm with Aurora. If she was to be his queen, she had to
learn more self-control. Tomorrow she had to make a public apology
for her behavior, especially to Ferdic. Did Aurora even realize
that the young man was Cunedda’s oldest son and that someday he
would probably be leader of the Brigantes? Maelgwn hoped they could
settle things amicably with the young prince. Surely Ferdic would
not let something that happened with a mere woman affect an
important trading relationship and alliance.

Maelgwn lifted the hide flap which covered
the door of the guest lodge and went inside. He expected to find
Aurora in bed, her face tear-streaked and miserable. Instead he
found her staring grimly into the fire.

“About your behavior tonight...” he began,
trying to be tactful.

“
My
behavior tonight—what of
Esylt’s?” Aurora snapped.

Maelgwn was almost too surprised to be
angry. He had not expected her to attack him. “I have told you that
Esylt’s behavior is no concern of yours. It hardly reflects on me
the way your rudeness does.”

“What if I told you Esylt planned the whole
incident with the... the head? That she deliberately arranged it to
humiliate me.” Aurora had jumped up and stood facing him, her eyes
flashing in the firelight.

“I don’t believe you,” Maelgwn answered
flatly. “She wouldn’t risk our relationship with Cunedda and his
son Ferdic for such an absurd form of vengeance.”

“His son?” Aurora stopped and her face grew
still and thoughtful.

“Aye. That young man you offended so rudely
is the man I may well have to deal with in years to come as the
leader of the Brigantes.”

“I didn’t know. I thought he was Cunedda’s
younger brother.”

“Well, that hardly excuses you!” Maelgwn
continued angrily. “Aurora, you must admit that you have no one to
blame for your foolish behavior but yourself. It’s time you grew up
and thought before you acted.”

“I tell you, Esylt was behind it!” Aurora
cried out in frustration. “I saw her talking to Ferdic right before
the gift giving began. I know she put the idea into his head. You
saw how she laughed. She didn’t care that her laughter humiliated
Cunedda’s son even further.”

Maelgwn threw his cloak down irritably. “I
am tired of your squabbling with Esylt. You blame her for
everything that displeases you.”

“And I am tired of you standing by while she
insults me! Did you know that when you were gone to visit the
coast, she followed me and threatened me? She warned me to return
to Viroconium or she would tell you lies about me.”

There was a flicker of interest in Maelgwn’s
eyes. “Why did you not come to me with this sooner? What lies did
she mean to tell me?”

Aurora stopped, realizing too late how much
she had said. “It was... she threatened to tell you that Elwyn and
I... that I were unfaithful to you. It’s not true, of course,” she
continued breathlessly. “Elwyn was just being kind to me. He would
never dream of being disloyal to you, or unfaithful to
Gwenaseth.”

Maelgwn’s face was a mask, calm, unreadable.
His tone, ironic. “It’s not Elwyn I worry about when it comes to
loyalty... it is you. You have told me enough how unwillingly you
came to this marriage. How do I know that I can trust
you
?
“

Aurora tried to meet her husband’s eyes
levelly, but she could not. She was thinking of Esylt’s taunting
words.

“I would never be unfaithful to you
Maelgwn,” she said softly.

Maelgwn took a shaky breath. “No, I suppose
you would not. You are probably too afraid of me.” His voice was
bitter and scornful, and Aurora wondered what she had done
wrong.

Maelgwn tried to fight back the feelings of
helpless jealousy that raged within him. How could he admit, even
to himself, that he wanted more than Aurora’s loyalty and fear of
him? He wanted her to love him, wanted her feelings for him to be
so strong that they erased from her mind the thought of every other
man except him.

Aurora was frightened by her husband’s
stark, murderous face as he stared at her in the firelight, but
even in her fear, her tongue seemed to form the resentful angry
words: “You are a fine one to be jealous,” she shouted. “What of
me? You have always chosen to respect Esylt’s feelings over mine.
Someday you will find that you cannot have both of us. Someday you
will have to choose between us!”

Aurora’s furious words gradually penetrated
Maelgwn’s fevered mind, and the rage and jealousy dropped away from
him as quickly as they had come.

“Aye,” he said softly, staring into the
fire. “You are right, I suppose, I will have to choose after
all.”

He turned back to her, and Aurora saw that
his face was once again controlled, an inscrutable mask.

“It doesn’t matter. The important thing is
to salvage what goodwill we have left with our hosts.” Maelgwn’s
eyes bored into Aurora, and his voice was implacable, commanding.
“Tomorrow, you will apologize... to everyone.”

Aurora nodded. She knew that begging her
hosts’ pardon would be easier than making things right with
Maelgwn.

The next day Aurora knelt before Cunedda and
his son and spoke the words that Maelgwn had taught her. Cunedda
smiled at her lustily, and she knew no harm was taken on his part,
but of Ferdic she was not so certain. His beautiful blue-green eyes
flicked over her face coolly, and she couldn’t tell if the hurt had
been soothed or aggravated. She worried she had made a lifelong
enemy.

After an awkward, rather gloomy meal, they
set out for home. Aurora could barely stand the sight of Esylt and
her crude escort, and she rode as far from them as she could.
Maelgwn was moody and preoccupied, seldom speaking to anyone.
Aurora found herself riding beside Balyn, and the big man remained
friendly and cheerful despite the obvious tension between Aurora
and the king. Balyn’s warmth helped Aurora endure the long,
exhausting days of traveling, but the nights were nearly
unbearable. Aurora slept alone, nursing her anger toward Esylt,
blaming her sister-in-law for ruining things with Maelgwn. Aurora’s
emotions were usually fleeting, but this time her anger did not
ebb, but grew and grew. By the time they reached the valley below
Caer Eryri, she was seething with hatred.

Elwyn and Gwenaseth waited arm-in-arm for
Maelgwn and the other travelers to arrive. As he drew near to the
fortress, Maelgwn smiled confidently and gestured in greeting to
his people. Aurora remained grim and unsmiling, her face pale and
tense. Gwenaseth and Elwyn looked at each other uneasily.

“Find out what is wrong with Aurora,” Elwyn
whispered. “Something has happened between her and Maelgwn.”

Gwenaseth nodded.

Aurora and Gwenaseth climbed the tower
stairs, neither of them speaking. The slave boy followed after
them, carrying Aurora’s things. As soon as he had left and the door
shut behind him, Gwenaseth turned to Aurora.

“God in heaven, Aurora, what is wrong?”

“It’s all Esylt’s fault! I’m afraid Maelgwn
will never forgive me!” Aurora burst into tears.

“Tell me what happened,” Gwenaseth said,
putting a comforting arm around Aurora’s shoulders.

In a voice shaking with rage and
frustration, Aurora told the story of Ferdic’s gruesome gift and of
her fight with Maelgwn afterwards.

“Well, I suppose you did act impolitely in
rejecting the trophy head,” Gwenaseth said when Aurora had
finished. “But I’m not sure I would have been able to do much
better.” She shuddered. “I told you the Brigantes were not decent
people.”

“But it is not just Ferdic and the
Brigantes. Once again Maelgwn has taken Esylt’s side against
me.”

“You don’t know that for sure,” Gwenaseth
pointed

out. “Perhaps Maelgwn is just worried about
what will happen with the alliance.”

Aurora shook her head grimly. “No, it is
more than that. Maelgwn will not speak to me, will hardly even look
at me.”

“It wasn’t appropriate for you to tell
Maelgwn that he must choose between you and his sister. It’s your
place to yield to him, not the other way around. Perhaps that is
why he is so angry.”

“Why?” Aurora asked bitterly. “Why must I
accept Esylt’s influence in Maelgwn’s life? She is evil! She is
deliberately scheming to get rid of me.”