Viking's Love (41 page)

She glared up at him. He lifted her up into
Grogan’s arms as they came to his ship, and they made ready to
sail. She watched Ambryn look at her forlornly from the deck, and
hid a smile when she saw Rowan approach her. She saw Ambryn eye him
murderously. Rowan smiled and waved, and she could see he was
angry, but she knew he would take care of the displaced noblewoman.
She waved and smiled, and was sorry to see the girl go. She would
have liked a friend.

“
I have a feeling we have not seen the
last of them,” Allisande said and chuckled and watched Joran
release the ropes from the dock. “I should like to see a lady tame
Rowan finally. He needs a woman to curb his womanizing
habits.”

“
I have a need of a woman to tame me,
Wench. Can we think on something other than Rowan and the fair
Ambryn?” She sent him a knowing look and her violet eyes narrowed
at him.

“
So you did notice how beautiful she
is?” Allisande glared at him as he laughed and pulled her into his
arms.

“
Nay, not at all, she is by far one of
the ugliest wenches I have ever seen,” he said innocently. She
elbowed him in his midsection and he grunted in good humor, and
gazed down at her with a gleam in his eye. “She is a rare beauty,
but I have only eyes for thee, so enough of your jealousy,
Wench.”

Allisande smiled and leaned back against him
as the ship sailed away from Oslo. She knew their future together
was uncertain in light of her husband’s malignant presence in their
lives, but for this moment, it was just the two of them. Allisande
vowed to make what time they had together precious.

****

Wulfstan was lingering on the deck of Ivar’s
ship when he saw the English ship with the royal English insignia
on the side. He knew he should notify the guards and send word to
Ivar, but he was curious. He approached the vessel when it docked.
A number of the king’s soldiers met him at the plank that was
tossed onto the docks.

He held up his hands as he met their swords
and spears and backed away. The Earl of Ulsted descended and eyed
him curiously, recognizing him from a previous meeting with Ivar.
He spoke in Norse, knowing the soldiers didn’t know the
dialect.

“
Where is my wife, Wulfstan?” Robert
asked coolly as the soldiers stood back so he could speak to the
Viking. “I know she is here, so do not bother lying for
Ivarsson.”

Wulfstan relaxed visibly when he learned the
Englishman had come for his wife, and not to take Ivar unaware. His
pale eyes narrowed maliciously when he thought of Allisande, and
how near he had come to having her had Ivar not stopped him. He was
even more resentful when the silver-eyed noblewoman chose Rowan
over him.

He was still anxious to seek vengeance upon
Allisande and Joran and knew the nobleman wanted her back. He
rubbed his chin thoughtfully and wondered if the Englishman was
willing to pay for his help. “They are gone, but I know where they
are headed,” Wulfstan said shrewdly. “I will steal her back for
you, but it will be a considerable sum. I will not be able to
return to Norway if it is known I betrayed Ivar’s son. I will need
enough gold to leave this place.”

“
I will pay whatever it takes to have
her back unharmed, Wulfstan,” Ulsted said coolly and his gaze
flicked over him in distaste. “If you touch one hair upon her head,
you get nothing, and I will make sure Ivar learns of this
personally, is that clear? I have already had to accept one Viking
bastard! I shall not accept another before I get to bed my own
wife!”

Wulfstan nodded reluctantly, and was
disappointed he couldn’t do as he liked to the woman who killed his
brother, but the fortune he was to be paid to deliver her was worth
it. “I will not touch her, Lord Ulsted, but what of her child?”

“
I need the child as well,” Ulsted said
quietly. “It is all I have to bargain with, and I have a feeling
the child will allow me to control my wife should she prove
difficult as well. Both of them need to be delivered to me as soon
as she whelps the bastard, or sooner, if you can manage
it.”

“
I am not welcome in his longhouse, but
I have many friends who are,” Wulfstan said and nodded. “It may
take some time. They plan the raid upon your holdings when you
retire from court, so you had best prepare. Do not worry, Lord
Ulsted, your wife will be returned to you very soon.”

Robert smiled and eyed the soldiers with a
shrug as he returned up the plank informing them Joran the
Stonehearted had already left for Norway. They were too late to
catch them. The soldiers eyed Wulfstan as though they would like to
kill the Viking to make the trip worth their while. Robert ordered
them back as the Viking returned to his ship.

“
We make for home, lads,” Robert called
out and heard the groans of disappointment. He smiled as he saluted
Wulfstan and made his way back below to relax knowing Allisande and
her child would be returned to him soon. His eyes glittered when he
thought of what he would do to her when he got his hands on
her.

****

“
Just concentrate, Meghera,” Collin
encouraged her as she started another tree on fire, and missed the
fake, makeshift figure of the man in the middle of the field. He
used his own clothes to stuff the thing until it resembled a man,
but his wife’s aim was poor. She had better luck the closer she
was, but it placed her in danger. For what he planned, she needed
to work on her gift from a considerable distance.

Meghera pouted and concentrated upon the
figure in the center of the field, and pointed and repeated the
words. Her heart wasn’t in the game anymore. The flame fell short
and fizzled before it made it to the object. She looked down at the
ground woefully as he approached. She looked up at him and saw his
disappointment and became more determined.

“
Just pretend it was the man who beat
the beggar woman, but concentrate,” Collin said and stood back as
she gazed at the figure. She thought of that day and the way the
woman had sobbed and rolled in the dirt as she was kicked and
beaten for all to see, and none came to her aid. Her blue eyes
narrowed. She pointed to the figure nearly three hundred yards from
her and pointed. The cloth man burst into flames.

Collin crowed with delight, and swung her up
in his arms and twirled her around in a circle until she was dizzy.
He let her go and she stumbled and fell upon her bottom in the
grass, a grin on her face as he continued to laugh.

“
You see?” He leaned down to help her
up. “You must focus your emotions on the object in order to direct
the flame. It was as I thought. Tomorrow we will try it even
farther away.”

“
Why do we do this?” Meghera asked as
he walked with her out of the meadow, a frown marring her smooth
forehead. “Is it not wrong to deliberately try to hurt people? Is
it not evil if the gift is used in such a way?”

Collin frowned down at his wife and knew she
was at odds with using her gift for other than self-defense or the
defense of others, but after the Vikings destroyed Lockwraithe he
was taking no chances. “Meghera, we are not using your gift for
evil purposes, I can assure you,” Collin snapped and softened his
words when she looked alarmed at his tone. “Had you seen this place
devastated as it was, you would consider us blessed we have the
means to protect our home now. I do not ask you to kill
indiscriminately, but to use this gift to protect your people if it
comes to that. Can you do it?”

She nodded quickly and tears filled her gaze
as she saw him visibly shake as they watched the cloth man burn to
a cinder in the center of the meadow. She could see he was
trembling from his remembrance of the attack that destroyed his
home once. She was eager to dispel the frown upon his handsome
countenance.

“
Let us go down to the water and see if
I can form the waves again now that I have learned to focus my
emotions,” she suggested and he grinned at her enthusiasm. She
managed to raise a ten foot wave before it collapsed and dissipated
against the shore line. It could be a useful skill if they were
attacked by sea again. He was eager to explore the possibilities of
her gift.

Meghera would have agreed to anything to
remain in the company of her husband, and looked up at him with
something akin to worship in her gaze as she followed him down to
the sea line.

Collin was too preoccupied with thoughts of
Ulsted’s revenge, and how he would come after his family in the
event Allisande remained with Ivarsson indefinitely. She had been
gone weeks, and he knew Robert had gone to York to try and catch
Ivarsson before he disappeared into the heart of Norway.

He knew the man was desperate to get her back
and wasn’t above going after him in revenge, believing he allowed
Ivarsson to take his wife. Allisande created a horrible foe in her
husband. He feared for her and her child if Ulsted managed to get
her back.

He eyed his young wife, and smiled at her
earnest expression and never failed to dream about her as an adult
woman and grew angry at his thoughts. Winifred was losing her
allure. He would have to seek out another to keep from lusting for
his child bride.

She just celebrated her thirteenth birthday.
It was all he could do to keep from counting the days when he did
not have to sneak into the village to ease his lust. Meghera put
her tiny hand in his and he smiled as he looked down at her.

She may be a child, but the look she sent him
nearly singed his eyebrows. He swallowed hard, knowing if she
wanted to singe anything, she could. He stared straight ahead and
repeated the Latin verses in his head from the services that
morning in the chapel. His heart beat erratically and he held her
hand tightly as they crossed the meadow to the edge of the sea.

****

Allisande was happy to see everyone when they
arrived back at Joran’s home. Janna squealed with delight when she
noted her growing belly. Allisande gazed down at her friend’s
nearly burgeoning one with a raised eyebrow.

The woman assured her it could be any day
now. Grogan hugged her and they retreated to their home hand in
hand. Allisande and Joran were greeted by all those in the
hall.

The serfs were grinning ear to ear. Elwynn
was wreathed in smiles when she saw how tenderly Joran treated
Allisande as he led her to the table. She sat at his side now, and
none missed the glances that passed between them.

They were relieved their Chieftain’s woman
had come back willingly. The news of her marriage cast a pall over
the group. Allisande was worried they would resent her now, but
most assured her she would be a widow soon, much to her
delight.

“
Do you see?” Joran nibbled at her ear
and sent gooseflesh over her shoulders and arms. “They love you as
I do.”

Allisande gazed up at him in shock of his
words. Before she could answer him in kind, they were again
interrupted by Mira. She gazed at Joran and asked to speak with him
privately.

Allisande glared at their backs. She hadn’t
one opportunity to tell the man she loved him since he had carried
her away. It seemed like a conspiracy to keep her from declaring
her feelings. She was frustrated and pouting when Joran returned to
her side. He frowned at her look and fed her from his trencher, his
lips curved as she grudgingly ate from his hand.

“
What is wrong with Mira?” Allisande
asked between bites.

“
She wants to go to Ivar’s home, and I
have said no.” Joran plopped another bite into her mouth before she
could speak. She glared at him as she chewed the mouthful, and
before she could open her mouth to say more, he plopped another bit
of food in her mouth. “If I wasn’t worried of you growing fat,
Wench, I could use this as a means to keep you silent on matters
that don’t concern us.”

She chewed her food and continued to eat and
eyed him with a glower until she sat back. “I would know why you
have said no to her request. She is having his child. Should she
not be with him? It is his. She has sworn it.”

“
He said no, Allisande, and you must
leave it alone,” Joran said with a shrug and ignored her angry
look. “She is a serf, and he has the blood of kings. She is half
his age as well. My father does not seek to foster babes anymore.
He knows he will not live to see them fight. Leave it alone. She
knew what she was about when Rowan cast her aside. She sought to
make him jealous with my father, and it has backfired upon
her.”

Allisande was painfully aware she could have
easily been in Mira’s situation. Clearly Ivar cared nothing for
Mira. She wanted more than she could have from the warlord. She
watched her sadly, and yawned and wished she could do something for
the young woman, but it wasn’t her place. Joran saw her eyes grow
droopy, and smiled as he rose and drew her up. She rose and
followed him to his room.

He stopped and stood aside as she entered.
She gasped when she saw the large wooden cradle he made for her in
the corner and rushed to it, her eyes misting as she touched the
gleaming wood.

He came alongside her and showed her that it
rocked. She was speechless of the gift and a bit miffed he was
arrogant enough to believe she would be returning with him in the
end, but she forgave him when he drew her close.

Joran kissed her with such tenderness; she
felt a wave of love for him so strong she deepened the kiss. He
pulled away, saying they would hurt the child if they
continued.

She watched as he turned and undressed. Her
eyes narrowed as they fell across his incredible beauty as he
stripped in front of her. She strode forward and pushed him
backward upon the fur skins and gazed down at him in
determination.