Dark Under the Cover of Night (The Kingdom of the East Angles Book 1) (6 page)

Raedwyn’s
temper erupted again. Terrified as she was of Ceolwulf, she was unused to being
addressed in such a rude manner. Her father had always spoken to her with
respect, as had her brothers. Her fingers clenched tightly at her sides, her
nails biting into her palms. Not for the first time she wished she had been
born a man.

Raedwyn’s
next course of action, whether it was to defy Ceolwulf or submit to his will,
was interrupted as voices on the far side of the glade reached them.

“Word from
Raedwald, M’lord!”

Raedwyn
watched as a travel-stained rider atop a stocky dun horse, trotted briskly
through the settlement. Defiance forgotten, Raedwyn realized that her father
had learnt of her abduction.

Caelin
appeared beside his father, his sharp-featured face impassive as he watched the
rider approach.

The rider
pulled his horse up before Ceolwulf. He was a grizzled warrior covered in
battle scars and with a face that seemed hewn from stone.

“What
news?” Ceolwulf barked.

“I have
given Raedwald your terms m’lord,” the rider replied, “and I made it clear that
if I was harmed or if he breaks our agreement in any way, his daughter will
have her throat cut.”

Raedwyn’s
hand went instinctively up to her exposed throat. She felt eyes on her and
looked across at Caelin. Their gazes met. The enigmatic expression he usually
wore had slipped slightly and she saw concern cloud his dark eyes for a moment.
Despite his promise she would not come to any harm here, Raedwyn’s life was
seriously threatened.

Ignoring
Raedwyn’s reaction to his words, the rider continued. “Raedwald has agreed to
meet us in battle on Uffid Heath at dawn of the next full moon with a
fyrd
of two-hundred men – no more – no less.”

Ceolwulf’s
hairy face split into a wide grin. He turned to Raedwyn, giving her a mocking
bow.

“In just
three nights, your father will meet his maker. Did I not tell you Raedwald
would do anything to have his precious daughter returned to him?” Ceolwulf
jeered. “Not such a fearless warrior now is he? It seems the great Wuffinga
line is nothing but a family of cowards where women rule.”

A red haze
swept over Raedwyn at Ceolwulf’s cruel words. This traitor had slandered her
family for the last time. Striking like an adder, Raedwyn leapt forward,
grabbed a sword that lay atop a pile of weapons to be sharpened, and plunged it
at Ceolwulf. She gripped the hilt with both hands as she had seen men do during
swordplay, and the sword would have found its mark if another blade had not
blocked hers.

Caelin had
stepped in between his father and Raedwyn and stopped her blade a moment before
it caught Ceolwulf below his collarbone.

Ceolwulf
reeled back and Raedwyn had the momentary satisfaction of seeing the giant
caught off guard. Raedwyn was a tall woman and despite her feminine curves,
strong enough even to wield a sword with enough power to kill a man.

Caelin
twisted his blade and tore Raedwyn’s sword from her fingers. Still in a haze of
fury, Raedwyn scrambled to retrieve it but Caelin’s foot pressed the sword into
the mud, foiling her again. He dropped his own sword and grasped her tightly –
one arm clamped across her chest, the other around her neck. Raedwyn struggled,
kicked and clawed at Caelin. However, his arms were like two iron bands. He
held her fast until her struggles ceased.

Panting,
Raedwyn looked up and saw Ceolwulf glaring at her, his face swollen and red
from the force of his anger. She had humiliated him in front of his men. Her
own anger was subsiding now and Raedwyn felt a jolt of alarm as she stared back
at Ceolwulf. He would make her pay for attempting to stick him on his own
blade.

“I said
I’d hand Raedwald’s daughter back alive,” Ceolwulf growled, “but I did not say
what state she’d be in.” 

He slapped
her hard around the face.

“It’s time
a man disciplined you wench!”

He slapped
her again and Raedwyn’s head snapped back with the force of the blow. Bright
lights exploded in her field of vision as Ceolwulf loomed closer. He grabbed
her by the hair and ripped her from Caelin’s grasp. Raedwyn fell to her knees,
her eyes tearing from pain. Ceolwulf shook her like a dog worrying a rabbit, so
hard Raedwyn felt her teeth rattle in her head. He drew back a booted foot to
kick her in the stomach. Raedwyn attempted to curl up to protect herself but
was unable to do so as Ceolwulf held her in a death grip.

“Father!”

Caelin
wedged himself in between Raedwyn and Ceolwulf.

“Come to
your senses! You cannot beat her!”

“I can!”
Ceolwulf roared back, turning his black rage onto his son. “I can whip and beat
this slut black and blue under her dress and leave her face pretty so her
father thinks nothing is amiss. Stand aside Caelin!”

“No
father.” Caelin’s voice was low and hard. “Leave her be. It gains us nothing.
Do not let the girl enrage you.”

“She tried
to kill me!” Ceolwulf yelled.

“Then it
is because we have all underestimated her,” Caelin shot back. “I will ensure
she stays confined to her bower from now until we leave for battle. It’s better
if she is out of your sight.”

Ceolwulf
locked gazes with his son for a moment. His men looked on tensely, watching,
waiting for Ceolwulf’s reaction to Caelin’s interference. He had killed men for
less. Ceolwulf was a terrible foe to cross for he was a warrior to the core –
and he had a warrior’s pride.

“Father,”
Caelin softened his voice. “You are right to want retribution. Raedwyn is a
stupid, spoiled girl who would make a fool out of you if you let her. Remember
that you will have reckoning on the battlefield. Raedwyn will have to watch you
slay her father. Surely that will be punishment enough.”

Ceolwulf’s
anger slowly deflated. He let go of Raedwyn and shoved her aside so she fell
into the mud.

“Get her
inside before I change my mind,” he snarled.

Caelin
pulled Raedwyn roughly to her feet and manhandled her away through the crowd
towards Ceolwulf’s hall.

His
fingers dug painfully into Raedwyn’s arms as he propelled her through the main
entrance. Caelin pushed aside the rabbit-skin partition and hurled Raedwyn
inside. Immediately, she flew at him, nails raking at his face.

“Cur! How
dare you call me stupid and spoiled!”

Caelin’s
patience finally snapped. He grabbed hold of Raedwyn and threw her down onto
her pile of furs.

“Do you
realize the danger you put yourself in?” he shouted.

Raedwyn
looked up at his face and saw Caelin was white. In contrast, his eyes were
black and his brows drew together above the bridge of his nose, giving him a
hawkish appearance.

“You
are
stupid and spoiled.” Caelin stood over her, daring her to get to her feet and
attack him again. “And you have a temper to rival my father’s. It’s not a good combination
Raedwyn and twill be the end of you if you continue to bait men like my
father.”

Raedwyn
sat up and glared at him, aware as she did so that she was covered in mud and
that her hair had come loose of its ribbon and now hung in her face like a madwoman’s.

“You have
no idea what it’s like,” she hissed, “to be a woman in a man’s world – to be
married off in order to strengthen political alliances and then to be used to
bargain with. If I were a man, I would have at least had the chance to die
valiantly in battle like my brother Raegenhere. Instead, I have to listen while
Ceolwulf insults my family and publicly humiliates me. It was not to be borne
Caelin! I had to react, even if your father killed me!”

Hot tears
slid down Raedwyn’s face and she buried her face in her hands as the shock of
her ordeal hit her. They were also tears of impotent rage for she knew that if
Caelin had not intervened, she would have fought Ceolwulf even while he beat
her, until pride dictated that he killed her.

“Raedwyn.”
Caelin’s voice was gentler now as he hunkered down before her. “I’ve never met
such a proud, foolhardy woman. Under different circumstances, I would admire
your fire but here as my father’s captive, I counsel you to restrain yourself.
Ceolwulf has been pushed to his limit. One more folly and he will slay you.”

Raedwyn
did not respond to his words. She only cried harder. Caelin watched her with
growing dismay. Like most men, he could not bear a woman’s tears.

“Raedwyn
please,” he impulsively reached out and pulled her gently into his arms.

The shock
of Caelin’s arms around her stilled Raedwyn’s tears. He smelled of fresh sweat,
leather, horse and an underlying male musk that made her instinctively relax
against him. She remained motionless for a while, enjoying the closeness, the
warmth of Caelin’s body and the sound of his heart through the linen tunic he
wore. As he held her, Raedwyn felt the tempo of his heart quicken and knew that
having her in such proximity was affecting him.

Raedwyn’s
own heart raced as she lifted her tear-stained face to his. She kissed him
gently on the lips.

Caelin
drew back in surprise; confusion and longing played across his face. Then, he
gave into the need that the touch of her lips on his had aroused. His mouth
came down fiercely over hers.

He pulled
her hard against him and tangled his fingers in her hair, forcing her head back
so that she was trapped in his embrace. The feel of his body against hers and
the urgency of his kiss unlocked something primal within Raedwyn. Before she
knew what she was doing, her hands slid over Caelin’s torso and she pressed the
length of her body against his.

This kiss
was nothing like her wedding night with Cynric. That experience had been cold
and violent – while this made her senses reel, and released a hunger from
inside of Raedwyn that she had never known existed.

Suddenly,
Raedwyn had never wanted anything so badly in her life than she wanted Caelin
to lay her back on the furs, lift her skirts and take her.

It was
Caelin who broke away first. He grabbed Raedwyn’s shoulders and held her back
at arm’s length, breathing heavily. His face had flushed about the cheekbones,
and his eyes had glazed with lust. Raedwyn imagined she looked the same. As she
gazed at him, she saw the expression he usually wore slip back into place as he
regained self-control.

“A
dangerous wench you are Raedwyn the Fair,” he said thickly. He let go of her
shoulders and got to his feet. “One moment you seek to enrage and humiliate my
father in front of his warriors, while the next you play the role of helpless
maiden, followed by that of seductress.”

Raedwyn
stared at Caelin dumbfounded, before a tide of shame flooded through her. He
thought she had been trying to manipulate him. The realization horrified her –
how could he think her reaction to him was feigned? Watching her, Caelin gave a
bitter smile.

“You are a
sensual, beautiful woman I’ll grant you that,” he spoke coldly so that the
compliment stung like a rebuke, “but a woman who uses her charms like weapons
cannot be trusted. It will be a relief to hand you back to your kin.”

If he had
slapped her hard across the face, as Ceolwulf had done earlier, it would have
been less painful. For once, Raedwyn was lost for a response; he had just
succeeded in humiliating her totally.

Caelin
halted in the doorway as he drew back the curtain and looked at her once more.
His expression was unreadable but she saw the contempt in his eyes.

“Caelin…”
Raedwyn managed, her voice unnaturally high, “I…”

Caelin put
up a hand to silence her.

“No more
Raedwyn. Our ‘friendship’ is at an end. From now on if you speak with me you
will do it before my father.”

Raedwyn
watched as he turned and left her bower, the curtain swishing shut behind him.
Alone in the tiny, drab bower, Raedwyn felt her chest constrict as if an iron
band was tightening against her ribs. Her eyes burned with unshed tears and she
fought back a growing nausea. She could not believe what had just transpired.

Fool
, she berated herself,
you should never
have kissed him.

Caelin had
not been her friend, but he had been the only person here who had shown her any
kindness. Now, she had made him an enemy.

***

Caelin
wandered away from his father’s hall and, avoiding the men who were working in
the center of the glade, made his way into the shadowy green of the woods
behind the settlement. The cool, peaty scent of earth and vegetation calmed him
somewhat but his heart still hammered against his ribs.

Damn
her.
Why had he not heeded
his own advice and kept away from her?

She was a
witch; a seductress who had nearly entangled him in her snare. Even now, he
ached for her, but seeing the shock and hurt on her face just moments earlier
had forced him to be even harsher than he intended. He could not let Raedwyn
see how much he wanted her.