Viking's Love (30 page)

Grogan hastily got out of the way when Joran
grabbed his sire by his tunic front with lightening speed and held
his face in front of his as the red mist formed once more. His
teeth were clenched as he bore down on the older man.

“
You will stay out of it as you did
when you saw him drag her into that stable, old man!” Joran said
coldly and flung him away, contempt flaring in his gaze. “I will
deal with Wulfstan for this insult. The wench is mine. I will let
no man harm what is mine, do you hear?” This last was said with
such vehemence, Ivar refrained from striking his son when he saw
it. He staggered back and recognized that Joran’s feelings went
beyond just being an insulted master wanting retaliation for his
slave being injured. He developed feelings for the English girl. It
was obvious, and the older man’s eyes narrowed as they met
his.

“
You dare to take the side of a slave
over a Viking brother, Joran!” He gazed at his son angrily. “The
wench has proven more trouble than her weight in silver. I will
take her back to Lockwraithe myself before another of my son’s
dies.”

“
You will not coddle him
anymore!”

“
Wulfstan is my son as well,
Joran!”

“
He may be your son, but he will never
be a brother to me!” Joran stalked from the room and left the hall.
He stood on the bluff overlooking the fjord and watched as the
freezing waters winded sluggishly along, dragging the newly-formed
ice under the water.

Joran now questioned his association with his
father and his future within his army. He turned away from the
water and returned to the hall. He went to his room and refused to
have further words with his sire.

He excused Janna as he sat by his bed and
watched Allisande sleep uneasily. He was at a loss to control the
tender feelings developing within him and soon did not try as he
undressed and slid in beside her.

He held her carefully as she slept. His blue
eyes flared every time she whimpered in her sleep. He would let no
one hurt her again, he swore to himself, as he buried his face into
her hair. He didn’t realize until he feared she would die what the
feelings stirring to life within him were, recognizing them with
dread. He looked down at her sorrowfully as she slept.

“
You are safe with me always,
Allisande,” Joran whispered raggedly. “You may have what little is
left of my heart. It is yours, for always.” He kissed her neck
before he closed his eyes and slept, cradling her battered form to
his side and vowing to never let her go now.

****

Rowan watched her sleep as he stood over the
bed, his green eyes filled with fury. Allisande had been horribly
beaten by Wulfstan. He fought for breath as he stared in shock at
her appearance.

A guard was to be positioned outside the door
at all times while Joran hunted for him. She was unconscious for
days. They feared one of her broken ribs hit something vital within
her.

Joran insisted he stay here to guard his
woman. The fates were laughing at him now as he recalled his
original mission here and end the enchantment she cast over Joran.
Ivar paid him to seduce Joran’s slave. He agreed before he knew he
was being cleverly used by the warlord.

Joran was now preparing his ship, grim-faced
and furious. His men joined him. Ivar was furious as he watched his
son prepare to fight over the beating of the girl. He was shaking
with fury as he saw Rowan approaching from the house. Ivar eyed him
without a word as he watched his son acting the hero for the
English girl, his eyes resentful.

“
Did you do as I asked in regard to the
girl, Rowan?” Ivar asked suddenly, and his pale eyes shown with
interest as they met his speculatively. Rowan gazed at him without
expression. He thought of the money he’d taken from Ivar to bed
Joran’s pretty slave, and felt sickened for having any part of
it.

It seemed a trivial enough matter until he
set eyes upon her, and felt his insides melt. She was the loveliest
creature he’d ever seen. Sadly, she would not be one of his
conquests. Not like this, not for payment. He smiled without
humor.

“
The girl lies near death, Ivar. It
seems you needn’t have asked me to end your son’s affection for
her.”

“
You would have gone after the girl for
free, Rowan, do not lie,” Ivar said with a shrug, his eyes missing
nothing. “She is a beauty my son does not need. When he learns you
have had her, he will set her aside.”

“
Joran will seek to challenge me. You
have underestimated his esteem for his slave, Ivar. I have never
seen him act like this over a mere woman, and I will not be a party
to it,” Rowan said coldly, deciding he had involved himself enough
in these matters. He would end up fighting Joran if Ivar continued.
The girl obviously meant very much to him, or he would not be
hunting her assailant now.

“
Bah, my son is letting his cock lead
him instead of seeking any ransom for the girl!” Ivar argued hotly
and turned away from the ship’s progress. “If the girl dies, he is
better off for it.”

“
If she dies, so too, will Wulfstan,”
Rowan said coolly. “You might have stopped his beating the girl,
Ivar. You could have, and you didn’t. My guess is your son will not
forgive that very soon either.”

“
Joran will come around when he learns
you bedded his slave, Rowan,” Ivar said and chuckled in
amusement.

“
I didn’t avail myself of the fair
Allisande,” Rowan said quietly and enjoyed the older man’s look of
anger and disbelief. “She refused me. If you seek to end his
attachment to the girl, I suggest you seek another for your
schemes. I want no part in this. I will end up staring down the end
of Joran’s sword before this is all over. Is that what you
want?”

Ivar didn’t answer and glared at the handsome
mercenary as he stalked away, frustrated to know Rowan failed to
seduce his son’s slave. He smiled darkly as he thought of another
way to end his son’s growing affection for the girl at last. She
wouldn’t be able to resist freedom.

****

Rowan retreated to get something to eat
before he took over guarding Allisande. He knew he made a serious
mistake trying to seduce Joran’s woman. Ivar would use it to his
advantage if he could.

There was no point in telling Joran he failed
to make love to his slave, for he wouldn’t be believed. If the time
came where Ivar would use it, he would tell Joran everything and
let him find out how devious his sire was.

Lady Allisande did not deserve what Ivar was
doing to her, and neither did his son. Rowan made a career out of
deceiving women into his arms, it was true, but not many got to him
as she had.

Just thinking of how she felt in his arms
made the first stirrings of a conscience surge within him. He would
play the game, but Ivar would lose what he valued most in the end.
If Joran truly cared for the girl as he suspected he did, Ivar
would lose another son.

Joran returned days later, furious to have
not caught Wulfstan before he fled Norway. Allisande was awake. She
healed quickly, to his relief. The gathering arrived several weeks
later. Allisande healed to where the bruises had albeit faded.

Her arm was unbound, but she doubted she
could wield a sword to any degree as she flexed it in despair. She
was frustrated by it, and vowed it would not stand in her way when
she escaped. Joran would be angry if he saw she unwrapped the
binding from it.

She smiled when she thought of how
considerate he had been during her recovery those many weeks. He
fed her and bathed her as she was too weak to rise. He slept next
to her each night without touching her out of fear of causing her
pain.

Allisande smiled when she recalled how she
forced the issue finally in his bath tub that morning, much to his
delight and hers. She blushed when she recalled how she had ridden
him lustily, as water sloshed over the sides of the tub, and how
they had spent a better part of that morning in his bed. He kissed
every lingering bruise with such gentleness; she no longer held
back and gave him all she had to give.

He did not whisper words of love to her, but
he showed her every time he held her. She recalled his surprise
when she rolled atop of him that morning and kissed him awake. His
blue eyes widened with delight as she took the initiative. She was
still thinking of those idyllic moments when she overheard the
serfs talking in the kitchen.

“
I heard Mira is pregnant from Ivar,”
Eldred whispered conspiratorially to Stasia. “She has not had a
cycle since he arrived here. She wants to rid herself of the babe
before Joran finds out he is to have another brother or sister come
summer.”

Allisande stiffened as she listened. Her eyes
flew wide as she strove to remember when her last cycle was. Harsh
ragged breaths escaped her when she realized she had only one flux
since arriving at Joran’s home. She believed the stress of her
forced captivity had kept it from coming on, but she could no
longer deny the truth.

She was pregnant with the Viking’s child.

Her hand slid over her flat abdomen and she
questioned it for she showed no signs of it yet besides her lack of
monthly courses. There could be no denying the truth. She never
missed a cycle before. It had been four months since her arrival.
She slid away from the wall and returned to the hall, her features
pale with the realization she would be having Joran’s child in
summer.

Allisande expected to feel disgust and
shame, but a feeling of protectiveness surged through her when she
realized she was carrying a child.
All the
more reason to leave
, she thought with a narrowed gaze
when she remembered his words he would keep the child if she became
pregnant. The thought of being separated from her baby made her
more resolved than ever to be on that ship seven days
hence.

She managed to ferret away the things she
thought she would need for the trip and counted on the feast for
the next three days to secure enough food rations for the trip
home. She would avoid Luxtley and get to Lockwraithe as soon as she
could get off the ship. She determined that Luxtley was on his own
now.

She would leave him to his fate with the
Vikings. Lockwraithe was over seven miles from Luxtley. It would
take her many hours to travel on foot without a horse. She wondered
what Collin would say when she appeared at the gates of
Lockwraithe.

Would he embrace her or send her away? She
was troubled by these questions as she went about her morning doing
whatever her one good arm would allow. The hall was being cleaned
and decorated for the celebration and everyone was in merry
spirits, she noted, as she watched the comings and goings in the
hall.

Joran went out to hunt with his father’s men
and his own and had been gone since early that morning. She saw
Ivar descend the stairs. Her lips tightened with the news he was to
be a father again.

Disgust flared in her eyes as he pinched the
bottom of a passing maid. She rose from the table as he approached,
intending upon leaving, but he gasped her good wrist and kept her
from leaving his company.

“
I would speak with you privately,
Allisande,” Ivar said in a low voice and his pale eyes met hers
warily as he looked about to see who was nearby to listen. “You
wish to leave here still, do you not?”

“
Yes, of course I do. Life as your
son’s slave is not what every woman could wish for,” Allisande said
quietly, realizing Ivar was proposing something.

“
I will see you are returned safely to
Lockwraithe under one condition,” Ivar said as his eyes met hers
over the table. “I want your word, or you can enjoy your servitude
for the rest of your life, because we both know if you remain here,
he will not let you go in the spring.”

“
What is your condition?”

“
Rowan will accompany you home. He
wants you badly enough to risk my son’s anger,” Ivar said smugly
and noted her look of dismay. “He has agreed to take you home,
before more blood is spilled. Wulfstan will not be here for the
gathering. When Joran finds out you left with Rowan, he will not
seek to reclaim you.”

“
Why should I trust you now?” Allisande
laughed in a low mocking tone. “You would trick me and betray me
for your own ends.”

Ivar’s look of pain made her pause. She saw
the regret in his gaze as he met her stare with something akin to
pleading in his eyes. She was taken aback by his somber demeanor.
The Viking warlord had no softness in him, but something troubled
him greatly.

“
I will not lose more sons over a
Lockwraithe, and that is all I will say.” She would never learn the
true reason he was sending her away, and she could tell he would
not tell her. “You have gotten under my son’s skin. He is acting
rashly and it clouds his judgment. His fight with Wulfstan is only
further inflamed by your presence here. I cannot afford to lose any
more men by your hand, Girl.”

“
What of Rowan?” Allisande asked
tightly, seeing her escape route improved and not feeling as elated
as she might have been. “Will not Joran be at odds with him once it
is known I have left with him? What if the man dies as a result of
your meddling?”

“
Women flock to Rowan like bees to
honey,” Ivar said with an amused look and shook his head. “Joran
will think you a faithless, fickle wench when it is known you left
with him and we need only put this unpleasantness behind us. You
will regain your freedom, and I need not worry my son will battle
Wulfstan over you.”