Viking's Love (36 page)

“
Is that her name?” Collin asked with a
chuckle, and rolled his eyes mockingly. “I have the devil’s own
time remembering it.”

“
Someday you will not forget it, I
predict.”

“
What of you, Allisande?” His violet
eyes met hers with concern. “Have you thought of your future? You
may rethink vengeance when no noble family will receive
you.”

“
I will raise my child, Collin.”
Allisande shrugged as she met his gaze. “I told you I wasn’t fond
of marriage.”

“
Yes, I believe we had that discussion
the last time we spoke. Think of how different it would have been
had I given in to you and remained here? I would lie dead alongside
Father, and you would still be the Viking’s slave,” Collin said and
shook his head sadly. “I would still hope you will consider
marriage for the sake of the child.”

Allisande said nothing to his suggestion she
marry. They spoke of everything that transpired since her
abduction. She was tired by the time she left him to seek out her
mother. She found Lady Edwina helping Meghera with her needlework,
looking unimpressed with the result.

Lady Edwina was instructing her on the finer
points of her stitches when she arrived at her solar. Her mother
blinked as she saw her daughter standing in the doorway. The
sampler fell to the floor. Allisande had little time to react and
suddenly she was in her mother’s arms and the last four months
seemed to evaporate.

****

Robert Fitzhugh eyed the woman in his bed
with little interest as he plopped another grape into his mouth and
chewed it thoughtfully. It had been a month since he heard Lady
Allisande had been returned to her family without a ransom changing
hands.

The talk at court was that Joran the
Stonehearted grew weary of her shrewish tongue and sent her
packing. He hadn’t seen Collin since his marriage, and knew the
young man had no reason to pursue him further.

Collin had much to lose. He was confident the
man wouldn’t expose him. With Luxtley and Lockwraithe dead, he
turned his thoughts to Ivar. The Viking would not stop until he was
destroyed too, he knew.

He wondered if Lady Allisande knew of Ivar’s
plans for him, but knew Collin would question a visit from her
former betrothed. He considered the news she carried Ivar’s
grandson and chuckled. The servant from Lockwraithe had been very
forthcoming with the gossip coming out of the keep.

He sat up and the lady in his bed gazed at
him questioningly as he dressed hurriedly. He was going to
Lockwraithe. He would marry the ruined lady and secure his safety
with becoming the child’s guardian.

Ivar wouldn’t dare go after him if he was
holding his grandson like a shield in front of him. His handsome
face flushed with pleasure at the thought of besting the Viking. He
renounced his claim to Allisande when he discovered she was
abducted by the Viking. Alfred would give him whatever he
desired.

In light of her condition, Collin could
hardly refuse his suit with his sister’s dishonor being bandied in
every hall in the land. He cringed when he thought of the scorn he
would receive for taking her for his wife, but there was no help
for it.

Marrying Allisande would ensure no more
attacks from the Vikings. All it took was a bit of persuasion on
his part to make sure the Lockwraithe’s complied. He smiled cruelly
as he slipped on his velvet tunic.

Collin thought himself free now that his
father and Luxtley were dead, and his sister was returned to him.
Collin extorted them for the ransom for his sister, now he would
extort him for the hand of his sister to keep all quiet. Now that
Allisande was back at Lockwraithe, he had enough leverage to get
everything he wanted without saying a word to the king.

Collin had little choice in the matter. He
shouted for his retainer as he left his rooms in the castle and
hurried below to get the king’s approval for the marriage, feeling
as though he had finally rid himself of all those who threatened
him.

****

Collin wondered if married life could get any
more exciting as he watched his child bride cavorting with the
village children in the snow. He watched Marianne and chuckled as
she was pelted in the face repeatedly by snow balls, and remembered
that wasn’t her name.

Good God, could she not have a far simpler
name like Alice or Mary? Allisande had written her name down and
put the scrap of paper in his pocket to remind him, but for the
life of him, she was forever to be known as Lady what-was-her-name
to him.

She was a pretty little thing, and seemed
biddable. He took a mistress in the village and longed for the day
the girl would grow up to be a proper lady. Lord Lancaster was a
mystery, and he never discovered why he hastily wed his noble
daughter to a penniless baron, but he reasoned perhaps the man had
his reasons.

Marianne seemed normal in all outward
appearances. Her health wasn’t an issue. Damn! He pulled the scrap
of parchment out of his vest. Yes, her name was Meghera. That was
it.

Meghera was for all outward appearances
normal, and had Lancaster been reaching for more, he could have
garnered a more lofty title for the girl. He chuckled as she pelted
the village lads with a return volley of snow balls, and crowed
with delight that she hit the bigger one smartly square in the
face.

What happened next mystified him. He would
finally know the reason Lancaster sent her away. The larger boy
soon tired of the game of hitting his betters with snow balls, and
began picking on a smaller boy in their group.

The larger boy was thrashing the younger
child. Meghera pointed a finger, and closed her eyes. A strange
blue fire leapt from her finger and singed the larger boy’s pants,
starting them on fire, and stopping the fight.

The larger boy was too busy putting out the
fire in the seat of his pants to have seen it, but from the window
of the great hall Collin saw his child bride was a witch. From that
day on, he never forgot her name. The scrap of paper slid from his
fingers to the floor in the rushes.

****

Allisande moved a great deal slower as her
pregnancy advanced. The days grew longer with winter in progress.
She sewed garments for the child to occupy herself, and chuckled
when she held up something that Meghera made.

She was certain it was a shirt for the child,
but it had three arms. She set it aside as she went through her
basket for her scissors when she heard Collin shouting for her. She
rose and went to the top of the stairs. He looked like he would be
ill. She rushed down. He was so upset she became alarmed.

“
Dear God, Collin, what ails you?”
Allisande muttered in irritation. “You gave me a fright! Why are
you blathering about witches for? What is this? Have you been
imbibing mead this early again?”

“
It’s Meghera!” Collin shook his head
incredulously. “Fire came out of her fingers! She is a witch,
Allisande! I have seen it with my own eyes!”

“
Are you sure you are not drinking,
Brother, for that is quite a bit of yarn you are spinning?”
Allisande chuckled and shook her head as she returned to her solar,
before calling over her shoulder. “I am glad you remembered her
name finally.”

Collin glowered at her back. He knew what he
had seen! She was a witch! Good God, he was married to a witch!
Lancaster knew his child was evil so he cast her out as far away
from him as possible.

He shook with a certain bit of fear when she
entered the hall. She gazed at him with an angelic smile before she
removed her cap and gloves and approached. She didn’t notice he
paled as she walked closer and gazed at him questioningly when he
backed away and made some excuse to be away.

Meghera watched him retreat with a sigh, and
returned to the solar to help Allisande sew garments for the baby.
Her husband was still an enigma to her. She found married life
pleasing so far.

She was glad he abstained from the bedding,
and decided her husband was the kindest of men. She frowned when
she took to the stairs, thinking what he would think if he knew she
was afflicted with these powers she couldn’t understand nor
control.

Meghera quivered when she thought of the
priest who declared she should burn as a witch. Her marriage to
Collin of Lockwraithe removed her from Lancaster to keep her
safe.

Her father was terrified of her, saying she
was possessed of the devil. She knew she wasn’t evil for she
despised causing pain to another, but sometimes it had to be done.
She smiled as she walked down the hall to the solar to join her
sister-in-law.

Allisande smiled when Meghera joined
her and her lips twitched as she watched the angelic-looking girl
rework the three-armed shirt.
Witch
indeed!

Collin frowned when his steward informed him
Robert Fitzhugh arrived. He grimaced as he rose to greet the Earl
of Ulsted, wondering what pried him from the king’s robes this day.
Alfred was probably bored without his favorite courtier. He frowned
for his arrival couldn’t be more suspicious.

He heard tales the Vikings had taken York in
the last hour, led by Ivar the Boneless and his two brothers.
Northumberland was now under Viking control. The King of Wessex was
rallying his allies to free Northumberland, though Collin
questioned the timing of it all, and was relieved his sister was
freed before the siege.

Ivarsson was no doubt at the helm with his
sire in the battle for York, and thinking of his father’s nemesis
so close by made him nervous.

Robert entered the hall and smiled benignly
as he came forward. Collin bade him to sit and a serf brought them
both draughts of mead. Robert wasted little time in declaring his
intent to wed Allisande. Collin choked on a sip of the brew when he
proposed he would marry his sister at once, in accordance with
Alfred’s dictate. Collin stared at Robert in shocked anger.

“
You renounced my sister, Ulsted,”
Collin snapped and set down his cup. “What are you playing at now?
She carries the Viking’s child. You cannot possibly want her
now.”

“
To the contrary; I acted rashly,”
Robert demurred and gazed at Collin with a slight sneer. “It is in
all of our benefits that this marriage takes place, today in fact.
You cannot ignore the king’s order, and given Allisande’s
condition, it is not likely you will gain her a better husband.
Come now, you intend to expose me eventually, we both know this.
What you are unaware of is that you will also be implicated with
your sire and hung alongside me. When the crown seizes Lockwraithe,
you may rethink me as a brother-in-law.”

“
What do you want with Allisande?”
Collin shook his head, realizing Robert had cut off every avenue he
had to escape this newest web of deceit. “She does not wish to wed.
You realize she will not accept you? I would hazard to guess your
attentions would be most unwelcome, and given her prowess with a
sword, I fear for your safety, my lord.”

“
I do not need her in my bed,
Lockwraithe,” Robert said contemptuously. “I need the child she
carries. It is Ivar’s grandchild, is it not? He will not seek to
come after me if I have the child, and if it is a boy, I need not
fear him at all.”

“
You would hide behind my sister and
her child to save yourself from the Viking?” Collin chuckled as
Robert’s face flushed with rage at his implication he was a coward.
“I cannot think of who I feel most sorry for at this moment, you or
my sister. Very well, we cannot ignore the king’s edict, but do not
say I didn’t warn you. When my sister widows herself this day, I
will have fond thoughts of you, Ulsted.” He rose to go to
Allisande’s solar, knowing the battle was about to begin. Allisande
would go back to the Viking before she would wed Ulsted, but he
couldn’t ignore the king’s edict or Fitzhugh’s threats. They had no
choice, once again.

“
Nay, I will not!” Allisande raged as
Collin explained what was about to take place, her eyes narrowed
and spewing fire. “He would hide behind my child like the coward he
is! No, I will not do it!”

“
Would you prefer being carted off to
court, and being forced by Alfred himself?”Collin argued and threw
up his hands in frustration. “We cannot ignore the king’s edict,
Allisande! It would be treason. Fitzhugh has implicated me in the
raids, and says he will expose us all! We have no choice! Think of
it? He is Alfred’s favorite! Do you think he will not be believed
over us? Now than Ivar has secured York, perhaps he with be content
and leave Robert alone.”

“
You would force me to marry Ulsted?”
Allisande asked coldly and eyed her brother so unkindly, he
flinched.

“
No, you will do it because you have no
choice. He will not seek your bed. You have his word this is of
convenience for him. He seeks to thwart Ivar. You have no choice,
so prepare yourself. The priest arrives in one hour.”

She stared down at the defined roundness of
her abdomen and thought of Joran. Her heart wept for what couldn’t
be. Joran would despise her when he learned she married Lord
Ulsted, one of his father’s worst enemies. They would see it as
something she did for spite against them all, she knew. She retired
to her mother’s room where she began laying out her wedding
garb.

Meghera chattered incessantly. She dearly
liked to tell her to shut up, but the girl was taking her mind off
the gloom that had descended upon her. She was dressed into her
mother’s wedding dress, and in less than an hour, she was standing
next to a grinning Earl of Ulsted as they recited their vows.