Joanna Fulford - The Viking's Touch

With that the mounted group turned and cantered away.

‘Nice,’ said Hermund. ‘I reckon we can expect another visit quite soon, and with reinforcements.’

‘They could have been bluffing,’ replied Thrand.

Hermund shook his head. ‘Not a chance. He’d never have made the threat unless he knew he could back it up.’

‘Hermund’s right,’ said Wulfgar.

Thrand grinned. ‘Do we get ready for a fight then, my lord?’

‘We do.’

The men around them exchanged anticipatory glances. Thrand’s fist closed on the hilt of his dagger.

‘I’ll look forward to silencing Big Mouth myself.’

‘Don’t count your chickens,’ said Hermund. ‘We don’t know how many friends Big Mouth has got yet.’

‘Just so,’ replied Wulfgar, ‘which is why we need to be ready for them. Arm yourselves.’

Anwyn held her mount to a steady walk, her gaze on the horizon where the grey sea formed a darker smudge against the sky. White caps chased across the bay and even from this distance she could hear the roar of surf along the strand. The breeze was cool and smelled of salt and damp earth, a reminder of last night’s storm. Even so, it was good to be out of doors again. Good to have the choice.

‘The clouds will soon be gone now, my lady.’ She glanced at her maid riding alongside her and smiled faintly. ‘I hope so, Jodis.’ Privately she wondered if the clouds were not gathering about them rather than dissipating. However, to have said so just then would have been to destroy her companion’s cheerful mood.

The girl had accompanied her when, five years earlier, Anwyn had been sent by her father to wed Earl Torstein. In those dark days she had acted more as friend and confidante than personal maid. At twenty Jodis was much of an age with her mistress, too, though taller and more sturdily built. Now she gestured towards the older man and child who rode a little way ahead.

‘Eyvind has taken well to horsemanship,’ the maid observed.

‘Yes, he has.’

‘He used to be such a quiet child but he’s gained more confidence since—’ Jodis broke off and amended hastily, ‘gained more confidence now.’

‘It’s all right. You can say it. He has gained confidence since his father died.’ Anwyn’s green eyes deepened with contained emotion. ‘Of late he has really begun to come out of his shell.’

Jodis nodded. ‘That he has.’

‘Ina has played a large part in that. He is a good mentor for the child.’ Anwyn smiled faintly. ‘Eyvind looks up to him. These days almost every sentence starts with “Ina says …”’

‘Aye, it does. I think if Ina told him to stand on his head in the midden, Eyvind would do it.’

‘That he would. For all his gruff ways, Ina has been more of a father-figure than Torstein ever was.’

‘You are both free now, my lady. Torstein cannot hurt you more.’

‘ He cannot.’

Jodis heard the inflection and understood at once. ‘But Lord Ingvar could.’

‘His reputation is well known.’

Jodis shuddered. ‘And well earned, too, as we have proof.’

‘No solid proof; he’s too clever for that. The loss of livestock or the burning of a rick might easily be attributed to other causes.’

‘That’s a lot of unexplained mishaps.’

‘Too many, and yet I dare not openly accuse him. In any case it is his men who carry out these deeds, not he himself. Thus he can pretend innocence. By keeping up the pressure he thinks that I’ll give in eventually.’

‘How does he dare to face you?’

‘Pretence comes naturally to him. The man is a predator. One only needs to be in his company for ten minutes to know it.’

The maid looked up quickly. ‘He has not taken liberties, my lady?’

‘No, he’s not that stupid. He hides cruelty behind a smooth manner and honeyed words. I will never deliver myself or my son into his clutches, nor my people, neither.’

‘No-one could blame you for that. All the same, he grows more importunate.’

Anwyn sighed. ‘Don’t I know it?’

Lord Ingvar’s face loomed large in her mind; with its almost aristocratic lines framed by pale gold hair some might have considered it handsome, but for the thin-lipped mouth and the slanting gold-brown eyes that reminded her of a hunting cat. A little above the average height, he also had the lean form of a cat. The words of their last conversation were etched on her memory …

‘Think about it, Anwyn. Beranhold lands adjoin yours. What could be more practical or more sensible than to merge our two estates? My war band is strong. Put yourself under my protection.’

‘I thank you, my lord, but I have protection enough.’

‘Ah, yes. Torstein guarded you well, did he not? I don’t blame him for that; I would do exactly the same.’

A sudden chill raised gooseflesh along her arms. ‘I am quite sure of it.’

His voice grew softer, almost tender. ‘Would you not prefer to let a man shoulder the burdens for you?’

‘I can shoulder my own burdens well enough.’

‘That you are courageous is not in doubt. However, widowhood is a sad condition and a lonely one, especially for so lovely a woman.’ One hand reached out and lightly touched the edge of her braid. ‘Do you not long for a man to share your bed again—especially a man who appreciates beauty and knows how to please a woman?’

Her gut tightened. ‘I am not ready to marry again.’

‘You say so now, but I know how to be patient.’

‘Do not hold out hopes of me, my lord.’

‘When I set my heart on something I use every means at my disposal to get it.’

Anwyn suppressed a shiver at the memory. ‘I refused his suit long since,’ she continued, ‘yet barely a week goes by without his calls on some pretext or other.’

‘He is much smitten.’

‘Smitten with lands and wealth more like.’

Jodis shook her head. ‘A woman alone is vulnerable. You won’t be able to hold him off for ever, unless …’

‘Unless what?’

‘Unless you were to find another husband.’

‘I have no desire to marry again.’

‘If you do not, your father will choose for you.’

‘He has already intimated as much,’ replied Anwyn, ‘or at least my brother did when last he visited. Torstein had barely been dead three months! Osric takes after Father in his determination to increase our family’s wealth and holdings.’

‘Both of them are determined, my lady, and they see you as the key to future success.’

‘Another marriage for me; another step on the ladder to power for them. A wealthy northern earl, Osric said.’ Anwyn grimaced. ‘But I will not suffer them to make another match for me.’

‘You will likely have no choice, my lady. Your father is powerful and ambitious.’

‘He has furthered his ambitions at my expense already.’

‘But you remain a desirable marital prize.’

‘Maybe so, but the very thought of another marriage is repugnant to me.’

‘I did not mean a husband like Earl Torstein,’ Jodis replied, ‘but a good man, a kind man even.’

‘A man who is both good and kind? Now there’s a thought.’

Before either of them could say more, the child’s voice broke in. ‘Mother, can we have a canter now?’ He and his mentor had halted their mounts, waiting for her to draw level. The child’s green eyes were eager, pleading. ‘Ina says I can if you give your permission.’

Anwyn looked over his head at his companion. For all his fifty years the old warrior was still an upright figure whose sturdy frame spoke of compact strength. Grizzled locks and beard belied a shrewd mind and his dark eyes missed very little. He had besides an air of quiet authority. In the days after Torstein’s death he had been an invaluable ally, one she had learned to trust.