Barbarian Prince (11 page)

Frowning thoughtfully, she went back into the bathroom to study the facilities again and see if she could figure out how the damned shower and /or lavatory worked. If she could just get water! Hot water!

How nice it would’ve been to thaw out beneath the flow of hot water when she’d spent so many days freezing!

Of course, the boys had been diligent about bringing fuel for the fire and keeping it up, but the fireplace was far from effective at heating the cavernous room! The only place that was close to comfortable was the hearth area. The warmth barely penetrated a yard into the room.

What was the anatomy of affection, she wondered?

She hadn’t allowed herself to think about her grandmother for a very long time, but she summoned her memories, trying to dissect her feelings even though she’d never tried, before, to figure out why she loved her Grandmother. She just accepted that she did.

Was it feelings and emotions that defied definition? Or was love based on need?

She realized abruptly that it probably was and that that didn’t detract from the love in any way. She’d needed her grandmother to survive. Her grandmother had provided everything she needed—including affection. Food, warmth, shelter—and emotional support—advice, guidance based on her own experiences. Her grandmother had been mentor and caregiver and protector. Love had sprung from those things. They were the food that fed it.

So maybe it wasn’t as bizarre or unreasonable as it had seemed on the surface that she might have developed some affection for the barbarian Prince? From the moment he’d captured her he was her lifeline—her survival was completely in his hands.

“
I don’t suppose either of you guys know how to make the damned shower work?” Noelle asked when the boys arrived with the tray of food and the fuel for her fire.

Both boys stopped in their tracks and stared at her as if some beast had suddenly displayed an ability to talk.

Annoyance flickered through her. “What? You thought I couldn’t talk?”

The youngest of the two snickered. “We don’t bathe in winter.”

Noelle wondered if she looked as horrified as she felt.

The older boy drove his elbow into the young boy’s side. “Ain’t true! We don’t shower because this is the only one that still works. Father says we have to bathe at least once a week! And I do and if you aren’t he’s going to be angry.”

Oh that was so much better!

Actually, she supposed that was a death defying act considering how freaking cold the castle was and she doubted they did much to get dirty or sweat in the winter ….

The young boy paled, but then his expression set angrily and a jolt went through Noelle. This child, obviously, was also Drak’s son. There was no mistaking the resemblance when the child was feeling obstinate! “That’s what I meant,” he muttered. “No showers ‘cause this is the only one that still works.”

“
Well, it isn’t doing me a bit of good,” Noelle pointed out irritably, “because I don’t know how it works.”

Shrugging after he’d stared at her suspiciously for several moments, the older child set the tray he was carrying down and headed into the bathroom. The younger boy unceremoniously dropped the sticks he’d brought in and followed.

Curbing the urge to tell the youngest to clean up the mess he’d just made, Noelle followed both boys into the facilities.

It became clear fairly quickly that they had no more idea of how to make the plumbing work than she had. They were game to search, however, and Noelle hadn’t had a great deal of luck figuring it out by herself so she was perfectly willing to have them work on the problem for a while in the hopes that, between the three of them, they might resolve the dilemma without her having to resort to asking the Prince.

The cooperative attitude of the boys, unfortunately, degenerated fairly quickly to squabbling between them, which gave Noelle more insight about the two than she’d expected.

They hadn’t grown up together. They had not, in point of fact, been together much more than a year as far as she could determine. Since at least some of the comments had to do with their mothers, she discovered they also didn’t have the same mother—which seemed to be more typical than not.

The older child was a bully. At least, he bullied the younger—which meant it might be an integral part of his personality and might be no more than sibling rivalry.

That was certainly apparent—the sibling rivalry—although she was a little confused about the source since the older boy was his father’s second heir and the youngest didn’t seem to care.

He just wanted to go home to his mother, Noelle discovered when the older boy began to taunt him about it.

“
Now that’s just plain mean!” Noelle said tightly, although she’d struggled to stay out of their business up to that point. “And not at all the kind of behavior one should expect out of a … Prince! He’s not even half your age!”

At that point the boy, Kadin, whirled to glare at her. “What would you know of it?” he snarled. “You’re just the Prince’s whore! He didn’t even want you to breed you!”

Noelle thought it was the venom in the declaration more than the statement itself that shocked her.

Well, it was also the prejudice he displayed when he had no reason to dislike her that she was aware of, let alone hate her, and the ugly insight into the general attitude of these men toward the women they took as captives.

She shouldn’t have been surprised at it. She shouldn’t even leap to the conclusion that the boy’s speech reflected the general attitude, but then he’d had to pick it up from somewhere, hadn’t he? And she didn’t think they would capture and use the women as they did if they had any respect for them.

She had to wrestle again with the urge to lower herself to argue with the child. It was fortunate that she did because the three of them had been so focused on tossing insults around that none of them had heard the Prince enter the room and cross to the door. It wasn’t until she heard the scrape of his boots on the stone floor, quite close, and sensed his massive presence looming over her, in fact, that she realized he was there.

His expression was … unnerving.

Noelle was more cowed by the anger she could see simmering just below the surface than she had been at any time since she’d been captured.

Because, she realized, she hadn’t actually seen him angry before.

His gaze moved from her to the boys and Noelle instinctively followed that look.

The youngest child had turned paper white with fear and Noelle’s heart clenched painfully at the look on his face. She could no more have ignore it than she could’ve simply commanded her heart to stop beating. Without even stopping to consider the possible consequences, she gathered the child close, sheltering him protectively.

If she thought she’d seen the full brunt of Drak’s anger before, she discovered she’d been dead wrong. The look he gave her that time made her go weak in the knees.

“
My sons are under
my
protection,” he said through clenched teeth. “They do not need
your
protection!”

He transferred his attention to the boys. “Wait for me in the solar.”

Both boys immediately ducked their heads respectfully and fled—abandoning Noelle to face Drak’s wrath completely on her own. He glared at her for a long moment and finally pushed past her. Striding across the bathroom, he slammed his palm against a small, square tile that was protruding slightly. Instantly, steaming hot water began to pour from an opening above the bathing alcove. Turning, he met her gaze for a long moment and then strode from the room.

Noelle went limp when she heard the outer door slam. For a few moments she debated following him and leaping between him and the boys if he had it in mind to do harm to them, but then she dismissed that insane and totally useless idea.

The oldest, at least, had been with his father for a while and showed no signs of ill treatment. And, she abruptly recalled, she’d never seen any sign in either boy, before, that they were afraid of their father. Their reaction had been because they weren’t used to seeing his temper and they knew they were in trouble because they’d done or said something they shouldn’t.

She’d meddled when she hadn’t needed to and stepped between a parent and child, interfered with their father’s attempt to discipline them.

No wonder Drak had looked so furious!

Maybe he’d even heard her comment to his son!

Not but what the little bastard hadn’t needed a good smack for speaking to her in such a way! And being so hateful to the little one who was homesick!

Regardless of her current circumstances, she was an adult and he was a child and children should be taught some respect for their elders! And not allowed to be so mean to those younger and weaker than them.

She shook her head. She was no psychiatrist. And she knew absolutely nothing about the dynamics of the family here—in general—or this one in particular.

It seemed more screwed up to her, though, than things back home on Earth … and that was saying something because the need to provide financial support for their families had left parents with almost no time to parent their children and contributed to a general breakdown in the family unit. Dysfunctional had become the norm not the exception.

Dragging in a shaky breath, she began to strip her clothing off resolutely and then moved cautiously toward the steaming stream of water.

It was very hot, almost too hot, but she had no idea how to adjust it to a more comfortable temperature and she desperately wanted a hot bath.

Drak didn’t know who he was most pissed at—himself, his son, Kadin, or Noelle. He supposed that was because he was thoroughly pissed off with all three.

Kadin’s comments had enraged him—not the least because Noelle had pointed out an unpleasant truth he had been at great pains to ignore.

Kadin had no place in the line of succession—let alone as second in line. He did not have the temperament for it. He was lazy, jealous natured and spiteful, and he
was
a bully.

If he ascended to the throne the entire clan would degenerate under his rule—if he did not fall in short order to an assassin.

He shook those thoughts after a moment, trying yet again to convince himself that he was wrong about Kadin and the boy was just displaying behavior typical of boys transitioning from childhood into manhood. Once he outgrew childhood completely, Kulle would whip him into shape and he would learn behavior more becoming of a Prince.

Both boys looked at him guiltily and uneasily when he reached the solar. He studied them for a long moment. “Tell me, Kadin, why was Jules with you in my suite when he is supposed to be with Merl learning his lessons?”

Jules gaped at him and then glanced at Kadin, making it clear he had thought he was doing his father’s bidding.

Kadin chewed his lip but said nothing.

Drak’s lips tightened. “Why don’t you tell me, Jules?”

“
He said that I was to help because he could not carry everything by himself.”

Laziness. Anger threatened Drak’s patience. He had not only told Kadin it was his responsibility, he had made it clear that it was a disciplinary action because Kadin had lost his temper with one of the younger warriors he was training with and attacked him with a pike.

“
And Merl did not question this even though he had been told that he was to instruct you?”

Jules glanced at Kadin uneasily.

“
It is alright,” Drak said gently. “Kadin would not dare to harm you for answering my questions when he is too cowardly to take responsibility for his actions and answer himself, would you, Kadin?”

Kadin reddened but slid a threatening glare at Jules before he met his father’s gaze with patently false innocence. “Of course not, Father. I only took him with me because you had told me that I was to look after him and teach him the ways of the castle.”

Drak studied his middle son. “My mistake, clearly, since it seems to have given you the opportunity to torment the child. Your are dismissed, Kadin, but if I discover that you have spoken so disrespectfully to my woman again, I will give you a taste of the rod you are not likely to forget any time soon. Are we clear on that?”

Noelle was curled in a corner of the shower, weeping quietly when he returned.