Harlequin Historical September 2014 - Bundle 2 of 2: Lord Havelock's List\Saved by the Viking Warrior\The Pirate Hunter (44 page)

‘Why do you think this?'

‘Hagal is here and plotting something with your brother. Your brother can command an army, but it would be suicide to move against the Norse. Once Halfdan knows of Hagal's plotting, he will act. There is no need for either of us to do anything yet. When we are in Jorvik, I will set things in motion, but then we go to Iceland. Trust me.'

He hoped she understood what he was saying and how much she meant to him and how scared he was of voicing his feelings out loud.

With a sigh she laid her head back on his chest. ‘It is good to know.'

He tightened his arms about her and bid the feeling that somehow he was about to lose her to go.

Chapter Fourteen

C
wenneth waited, wrapped in Thrand's arms until she was certain he was sound asleep. She pressed a gentle kiss on his mouth and slipped out from his arms.

In the moonlight she swiftly dressed. And then she kissed each of the children. Their little faces looked like angels. Tears welled up in her eyes. She wiped them away with fierce fingers. She was going to see them again. All of them. They wouldn't even know she had gone.

‘I will return,' she said. ‘I refuse to allow Hagal to destroy any more families. I refuse to allow Hagal to destroy you. I'll be back before you wake.'

She stole away downstairs.

‘So you are truly leaving?' Martha said from the shadows.

Cwenneth stopped. ‘You waited up. You should have gone to bed hours ago.'

‘I wondered if your man had talked some sense into you. I hoped he had.' Martha came forward. ‘I know what you are like, my lady. Meddling will get you nowhere.'

‘Meddling? My brother is about to be tricked into a war which he will lose. And while he may deserve to lose his life for being a fool, the men of Lingwold deserve to live. One of the reasons I agreed to marry Hagal in the first place was because I wanted peace for my people. I don't want to be the cause of destroying lives. I am the only one who can stop this madness. How could I live with myself knowing people died to avenge my supposed kidnap?'

‘Your man agrees?'

Cwenneth covered Martha's hands with her own. There was little point in telling of Thrand's decree. Jorvik would be far too late. ‘I kept it from him. What can he do except get killed? My brother wants his head. It is why he agreed to an alliance with Hagal the Red in the first place. It is why he will march south—to put an end to Thrand the Destroyer.' She tightened her grip on Martha's fingers and willed her to understand the future. ‘None of those men will make it back to the north. Hagal then will really be able to pillage this land. I'm the only person who can stop this.'

‘You might want to believe that, but your man will have other ideas once he learns where you have gone. You belong to him now.'

‘I don't belong to anyone,' Cwenneth said quickly. ‘I have worked it out in my head. I will go in by the side entrance and through the kitchens. Once I'm there, I will send one of the servants to quietly fetch my brother. We will have a brief conversation and I'll leave a free woman. I will be back before anyone awakes.'

Martha's face turned mulish. ‘You should discuss it with your man first. He is supposed to be a great warrior, which means he understands strategy far better than you. Even I can see your brother could have you followed.'

‘I want to spend the rest of my life with him and the children, Martha.' Cwenneth pressed her hands together to keep them from trembling. Always people treated her like a child, rather than recognising that she did have a mind. ‘Hagal needs to be exposed for the lying murderer that he is before he can ruin all of Lingwold. I'm the only one who can do it. Once Edward knows I'm alive, this nonsense will stop. And he won't keep me. Even if he tries, I know all the ways out of the hall. I grew up there. Remember how I used to escape to visit you on baking days?'

Martha squeezed Cwenneth's hands. ‘Your mother despaired.'

‘There, you see. You should have some faith in me.' She patted Martha's shoulder. ‘If I could escape my mother, I can escape from the hall.'

‘And what shall I tell him if he wakes and you have failed to return? Confronting an angry Norseman is a fate I wish to avoid.'

Cwenneth stared at the dying embers of the fire. Martha's question was something she preferred not to think about. Thrand would be furious with her when he found out what she had done. She had to hope that he'd listen.

‘Before the cock crows, I'll be back. Edward will listen to me and heed my advice. He has in the past.' Cwenneth straightened her shoulders and refused to think how long in the past it had been since Edward had listened. She would make him listen if she had to tie him down and beat him about the head. ‘Failure is not an option.'

‘If you haven't returned by mid-morning, I will tell him where you have gone, and if he is half the man I think he is, I won't be able to hold him.' Martha waggled her finger. ‘Think on that, my lady. Think on that.'

* * *

A few stars faintly twinkled in the sky. Cwenneth raised her hood and stepped into the darkness.

A black shape stepped in front of her. ‘Where do you think you are going?'

She missed a step and nearly fell. ‘Thrand? You are supposed to be asleep.'

‘Once Martha told her tale, it was obvious what you were going to do.' He lifted a brow. ‘I asked you to stay with me and to confide in me. You refused.'

She dipped her head. He was making her out to be in the wrong, but it wasn't that way at all. ‘I wanted to save your life.'

‘How? By running away?'

‘By going to my brother and telling him the truth?' She held out her hands and willed him to understand what she was doing was for him. ‘It is the only way to stop this madness. If he knows the truth, my brother will stop Hagal. His interest is in saving his people rather than having a vendetta against you.'

‘And what do you think he will do? Just let you go? Allow you to return to me? The kidnapped bride?'

She glared at him. ‘Once my brother knows the truth and sees how he was duped, he will understand he owes you a life debt. Do you really think Hagal will be planning on keeping him alive?'

She waited for him to agree.

He ran his hand through his hair. ‘You should always say goodbye when you go, even when you think you will only be gone for a short while. One of the things I always regret is that I never said goodbye to either of my parents. I slipped away to meet Ingrid. I was supposed to be working in the barn, mending a byre as punishment for disobedience.'

‘I'm sure they knew you meant to,' Cwenneth said quietly.

He clenched his fists. ‘My mother's body was in the barn. She'd left her hiding place and had gone searching for me. If she had stayed hidden, she would have survived. If I had said goodbye, she would have lived.'

Cwen went cold. His quest for vengeance made more sense now. Why he blamed himself. All the self-loathing and naked longing to change the past was written bare on his face. ‘She should have trusted you were old enough. You were hardly a baby. You knew what to do in case of attack.'

His mouth twisted. ‘You didn't know my mother. She was always fussing. I was her one chick. She knew my father's rules. She would have stayed hidden if she thought I was safe. But she didn't. She came to get me and I wasn't there. She died because of my lust for a faithless woman. I have regretted it every day of my life.'

Cwenneth breathed deeply. She had to get it right. Her instinct told her that Thrand had carried his guilt close to his heart and had never confided it before. ‘We all make mistakes. You were barely more than a boy. How could you have foretold the future?'

His mouth twisted. ‘It is nothing I am proud of, knowing that my actions caused my parents' death. But the children should know where you are going. Think about them and stop. They need a mother. They have bonded with you.'

‘And if I do nothing, if I continue on to Iceland, what am I guilty of?' She held out her hands and willed him to understand that her decision had not been an easy one. ‘People will die. Other boys will be left without their parents. Hagal needs to be stopped and I am the only one who can stop him. Here. Now. Before he has a chance to murder more innocent people.'

‘And you think going to Lingwold will make a difference?'

‘Doing nothing will allow Hagal to get stronger. If he leaves Lingwold with an army, he might succeed. Are you prepared to take that risk?'

Thrand looked down at her. His brow creased. ‘Hagal wants you dead.'

She put her hand to his cheek. ‘I can stop this madness before it starts, Thrand. I can expose Hagal's lies.'

‘Then go to Jorvik and tell the king. Halfdan will listen, particularly as we know the true extent of Hagal's treachery. We will get there before any army.'

‘I want to avoid more death, not destroy a generation of Bernician men.' Cwenneth wrapped her hands about her waist. ‘One of the main reasons I was willing to marry Hagal was that I didn't want another woman to go through what I did when I lost Aefirth.'

‘I...I...care about you, Cwen, and want to save your life. Throwing it away like this is madness.'

Her heart soared. Thrand cared about her. But then she forced herself to think and Cwenneth's heart shattered. Too little too late. She had settled for Aefirth caring for her. She had settled for a lot of things, but no longer. She wanted Thrand's love. She deserved more than lukewarm caring. She deserved his whole-hearted love.

‘Part of you remains that boy who found his parents murdered.' She raised her chin. ‘We need to stop Hagal while we can...unless you are afraid?'

‘I've lived my life, hoping for the opportunity to destroy Hagal.'

Thrand waited in the silence. Inside he felt a great hollow open as if his heart was being ripped from his chest. He was a liar. Cwen was his life. Without her, he was nothing. And she did not love him enough to put him first. He might have confessed that he cared for her, but she didn't care for him. Her loyalty remained with her old family.

‘Fine. I'm glad we have that settled. Now if you will let me go so I can return to
my
home...'

He gasped her upper arm. She might have rejected his love, but he couldn't allow her to stumble blindly into whatever trap Hagal had laid for her. ‘You are not going alone, Cwen. I forbid it.'

Cwen took his fingers from her sleeve. ‘You forbid it? You forbid nothing.'

Thrand clenched his fists. He ought to turn his back on her, but he couldn't. She might not believe in his love for her, but he knew it was fierce and strong. The reason he lived now was to protect his family— his new family.

‘I will go with you. In the background as insurance in case your brother does not behave how you'd expect.'

She arched her brow. ‘What shall we do with the children?'

‘Take them with us, of course. We are a family. We stay together. If it is safe enough for you, it is safe enough for them.' He glared at her, daring her to say differently. ‘And who would think Thrand the Destroyer would be travelling in the company of two children? How many people have actually seen me? I will wear a cloak to cover my hair and will keep silent unless you actually need my help.'

‘You are willing to do that? To let me speak first? To keep silent if necessary?'

Thrand put his hand on his sword. What he was about to do was the hardest thing he had ever done—allow the woman he loved to go into danger. But he knew she was right, not because he needed vengeance for his long-dead family but because he needed to protect the family he had acquired. Looking over his shoulder and worrying was doomed to failure. Hagal had to be stopped now before he had an army on his side.

‘Shall we put your theory to the test?' He raised her hand to his lips.

She bowed her head. ‘I didn't expect you to agree.'

‘So you could go off all indignant and lose your life?' Thrand put his hand on her shoulder. The faint stain of colour told him everything he needed to know. ‘If you are going to face Hagal, then I'll be there, ready with my sword.'

‘Thank you.' She laid her head on his chest. Thrand enfolded her in his arms and knew he'd protect her with his dying breath.

* * *

Cwenneth stared up at the grey stone walls of her old home. They had made good time from Martha's and had arrived before the main gate opened. Once she had dreamt of this moment, but now, instead of the welcome comfort, she knew it was potentially her prison and a death trap for Thrand. However, she could not turn her back and walk away. She had to stop Hagal, for good. And this was the only way she knew how to do it.

It meant a lot to her that Thrand walked at her side, carrying a sleepy Aud as Hilde held her hand. Each step she took, she was reminded of why she was doing this. These children deserved to grow up free from the menace which was Hagal.

Cwenneth hoped the children along with the cloak they had borrowed from Martha would provide enough of a disguise for Thrand. They had discussed the plan several times on the way over. Thrand reluctantly agreed that he needed to stay in the background until her brother learnt the truth.

‘I will go through this back passage. You will go through the main gate and stay in the main hall. Once I have spoken to my brother, I will join you and we can walk out together. Slowly and carefully. If I am not there by the time it is noon, you must go back to Martha's and I will get there as soon as possible.'

Thrand's eyes glittered. ‘I hope you are right, but if there is any trouble, I will be there. I will protect you.'

Cwen gave Aud a kiss and then knelt beside Hilde, rather than answering Thrand.

‘I wish I had something...' She stopped and remembered the rings she had hidden in the hem of her skirt way back when this adventure first began. She rapidly extracted them. ‘If anything happens to
Far
, you are to take these to the Lady of Lingwold and tell her what has gone on. Show no one but her.' Cwen looked over Hilde's head at Thrand. ‘My sister-in-law may be many things, but she has a soft heart for children. She knows my rings. She will find a place for them...if the worst should happen.'

‘Hilde, if there is trouble, we discussed what you do.'

Hilde nodded. ‘
Far
told me that I was to go to Martha. He showed me where he has hidden some gold for us. But it won't come to that,
Mor
.
Far
trusts you and your judgement.'