Authors: Anna Markland
Caedmon and Aidan nodded and followed the servants. Blythe went with them, arm in arm with Aidan.
***
Dieter let out a long, slow breath. The confrontation had gone more smoothly than he could have hoped. He watched Blythe go off with her family, happier than he’d ever seen her. He’d known when he heard the demand for entry the angry visitor could only be Blythe’s father. Dread had filled him. He wasn’t afraid of the man’s ire, which was after all justified. But this arrival meant Blythe’s departure.
Dieter had entered the hallway in time to see Blythe run to her father’s arms. As he watched the tearful reunion he knew that Blythe had been brought up in a loving home, and again he felt terrible remorse for having abducted her. He’d brought this family nothing but anguish and still didn’t understand what had motivated him to bring her to Köln. He suddenly felt bereft, an outsider.
He’d seen the expression change on Sir Caedmon’s face when the man noticed him. He expected it, understood the anger, and braced his shoulders as the Englishman strode over to where he stood. Though no longer a young man, this grey haired knight was obviously still a force to be reckoned with.
Dieter wished he could put such a smile on Blythe’s face. If only she cared for him. He longed to be enfolded in her arms, so he could bury his face in her lovely breasts, make her cry out with joy as he—
He shook his head and leaned heavily on the banister. This had to stop! She would be leaving soon. She didn’t love him and that was that. He had things to accomplish for his Duke. He pulled himself together and hurried to the kitchens to make sure all was in order for the evening meal.
***
Caedmon, Aidan and Blythe clung to each other in the larger of the two adjoining chambers prepared for the men.
“I was sewing when I heard your voice, Papa. I couldn’t believe it. I hoped you would come.”
Aidan put his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. “Has he harmed you, Blythe?”
She shook her head. “No, Aidan, he’s a noble man. He would never harm me.”
Caedmon didn’t understand. “Is he not the person who abducted you?”
Blythe averted her eyes. “Yes, he is, but I was not the intended hostage really. It was part of an unsuccessful plot to kidnap Matilda.”
Aidan snorted. “Why didn’t he let you go when the plot failed?”
Blythe moved away, fidgeting with the lace of her sleeves. “I don’t know, Aidan. At first I thought he planned to sell me into slavery, but I know now he would never do such a thing. So I surmised he would ransom me to my family, and here you are.”
Caedmon coughed, not sure what all this meant. “He hasn’t asked for a ransom.”
His daughter was obviously surprised by this news. “He hasn’t? I don’t understand.”
He put his arm around her shoulders. “Neither do I, daughter. Mayhap after I speak with him things will be clearer. I learned a long time ago not to jump to hasty conclusions. What’s all this talk in the streets about him being a hero?”
Blythe smiled broadly. “He
is
a hero, Father.”
As she described Dieter’s pivotal role in the victory of Köln over the Emperor, Caedmon noticed how glowingly she described the exploits of a man one would think she would hate for what he’d inflicted on her. “You seem quite impressed with his bravery.”
She blushed and looked away. “Well, he’s a brave man. I can’t deny that.”
Aidan was furious. “Brave men don’t kidnap innocent girls.”
Blythe seemed at a loss to know how to respond. “Why not summon a bath for each of you to wash off the dust of your travels, and I’ll meet you later? I’m so happy you’re here. I’ve missed everyone at home. How are Edwin and Ragna? Is she still a hellion? How is mother?”
She’d changed the subject, but Caedmon didn’t press her. He answered her questions, then bade her leave so he and Aidan could bathe.
“What are you thinking, Father?” Aidan asked after she’d left. “Are we going to kill him for what he has done?”
“I’m thinking that if we kill him, the person most likely to be distraught about the deed would be your sister.”
***
After bathing, Caedmon instructed Aidan to find Blythe and distract her with a walk in the garden. He wanted to confront the Count alone. As the twins strolled arm in arm in the chilly winter air, Aidan was curious about how she’d survived her ordeal.
She smiled. “At first it was an ordeal, I agree. But Dieter is a charming and gentle man. He has tried to make me comfortable. He really is a hero, and in truth I’m the one who has made it an ordeal for him.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I’ve behaved rudely towards him. I’ve tried to make myself ugly, unattractive to him.”
“Why not? He abducted you.”
She turned to face him. “Aidan, you’re my twin. I know it’s no use trying to hide anything from you, but you mustn’t tell Father—I was afraid to fall in love with Dieter.”
“By the Saints, Blythe!” he retorted angrily. “How could you fall in love with a man who abducted you and kept you against your will for months?”
“I don’t know, but I think I do love him. I didn’t want to because he’s not the kind of man who could ever fall in love, and would probably laugh in my face if I told him I loved him.”
Aidan rolled his eyes and threw up his hands. “I’ll never understand women! Has he defiled you?”
She punched him hard in the shoulder and he winced. “No, he hasn’t! You haven’t listened to anything I’ve said.”
***
From the upstairs window Dieter watched the exchange between the twins. He saw how comfortable they were with one another, despite the fact they were male and female, and he marvelled at the notion of twins. But they were not in agreement about something, and he wondered what it was. Blythe had punched her brother’s shoulder and run off into the house.
However, he didn’t have time to ponder further. He hastened his pace to the gallery for what he anticipated would be a difficult interview with Sir Caedmon.
The knight awaited him, legs braced, arms crossed over his chest. Dieter noted he’d left his sword in his chamber. That boded well. Why did he feel like a naughty boy about to be punished? “Please, sit down, Sir Caedmon.”
“I’ll remain standing.”
For the first time, Dieter noticed something of a Scottish brogue in the knight’s speech. Blythe had shared some of her father’s story, and he was awed that here stood a man who’d endured the People’s Crusade and returned home a hero. “May I offer you some refreshment?”
Sir Caedmon shifted his weight and moved closer to Dieter. “Let’s not waste time with niceties. You know I want to kill you.”
“Yes, I’m aware you feel that way. I would probably feel the same if I was you.”
Anger blazed in the Englishman’s eyes. “You’ve dishonoured my daughter.”
Dieter was outraged. “Sir Caedmon, I give you my word of honour I have not.”
The Englishman stepped closer, fists clenched. “But you’ve compromised her by keeping her here so long. No woman who has spent so much time alone with a man will be accepted back into society in England. Why did you keep her when you failed to take Matilda? Of what use was she to you?”
Dieter couldn’t look into the man’s eyes. “I confess I wish I knew the answer to those questions. I’ve asked them myself many times. I simply couldn’t relinquish her. I had to hold on to her.”
“But you’ve ruined her chances for marriage!” Sir Caedmon was almost shouting now.
Dieter shouted back. “I would gladly marry her myself if she didn’t hate me so much.” The vehemence of his own words astounded him, and Sir Caedmon was obviously taken aback.
“What?” the knight roared.
Unexpectedly, relief washed over Dieter. He’d finally admitted the truth of his feelings for Blythe. “I love your daughter, Sir Caedmon. I realize now I’ve loved her from the first moment I looked into her eyes in those desperate moments in the cathedral. But she hates me for what I’ve done to her.”
Sir Caedmon snickered. “I know only too well what gazing into hazel eyes can do to a man. She doesn’t hate you, Count Dieter.”
He glanced up sharply. “What do you mean? How can she not hate me?”
“A woman who hates a man doesn’t look at him the way Blythe looks at you. She doesn’t speak of him in the way Blythe speaks about you. I haven’t seen a woman so much in love with a man since my own sweet Agneta fell head over heels for me!”
Dieter’s heart swelled on hearing Caedmon’s words, but he seemed to have something stuck in his throat. When he could speak, his voice sounded like someone else’s. “You believe she’s in love with me?”
“Ask her.”
Aidan found his father sitting alone, his feet up on a footstool. “I’ve just had a very strange conversation with Blythe. We have a problem. I’ll never understand women. Have you spoken with the Count?”
Caedmon indicated the chair next to him. “Yes. There is no ransom demand. Tell me about this conversation you refer to.”
Aidan sat. “I promised Blythe I wouldn’t. We’ve always kept each other’s secrets.”
Caedmon waited a moment or two. “Did it concern the Count?”
Aidan came to his feet and paced. “Yes—she is—she thinks she is—”
“She thinks she loves him.”
Aidan spun around to face his father. “How did you know?”
Caedmon stood and playfully hooked his arm around Aidan’s neck. “Ah, my son, I’m much older and wiser than you.”
Aidan struggled to free himself from his father’s hold. “But aren’t you furious? How can she love him? He’s a Saxon.”
Caedmon released his son, his face sober. “Careful Aidan, don’t forget we have Saxon blood in our veins, albeit from different parts of Saxony originally. And never forget the lessons I’ve tried to teach you about intolerance and hatred.”
Aidan gave his sire a sheepish look. “I’m sorry. It’s that I can’t understand—”
“Aidan, love is often a difficult emotion to understand. Who would imagine for example that a Count from Saxony, living in Köln would fall in love with our Blythe?”
“He loves her?” Aidan asked incredulously. “By the saints! I swear I’m never going to fall in love. It’s too complicated. What are we going to do now?”
“Nothing, except enjoy the Count’s hospitality. Come, dinner awaits in the dining hall. It occurs to me that you and I need to have a long conversation.”
“About what?”
Caedmon chuckled and tousled his son’s hair. “About women, Aidan Branton FitzRam. As my heir you’re expected to marry and have children.”
Aidan threw his shoulders back and straightened his hair. “I have a lot of time before I need to think about marriage. I’m still one year short of a full score.”
Caedmon nudged Aidan towards the dining hall. “That’s true, but trust me when I tell you that living with a woman is much more satisfying and joyful if you share love and passion.”
Aidan sighed loudly and rolled his eyes. “Father, you and Mother have told us this many times.”
Caedmon suddenly realized he didn’t know if his son was still a virgin. “Yes, Aidan, but you and I have never had a discussion about how to satisfy a woman.”
Aidan looked puzzled. “What do you mean ‘satisfy’?”
Aidan’s deep blush told his Father there was likely a great deal of knowledge he would need to pass on to him. Agneta had made sure their daughters were prepared for marriage, and he regretted now he hadn’t been more direct in such matters with his sons. “I mean in bed, Aidan. Don’t worry. We’ll talk—it’s a long journey home. I’m an expert in these matters! Ask your mother.”
***
Dieter offered Caedmon the seat at the other end of the oblong dining table from where he sat, and the twins dined facing each other on the sides. Blythe was relieved that her father’s anger seemed to have cooled, and the conversation was almost jovial.
“I’m curious, Sir Caedmon,” Dieter said, “you’re an English knight. Blythe tells me you’re part Norman, part Saxon, and yet you speak with an accent reminiscent of Scotland.”
“You’re right, Count von Wolfenberg, my mother fled to Scotland after the Conquest. I was born there, but returned to live in England when I married my wife.”
“Your mother was the Saxon then?”
Caedmon paused only a moment. “Yes, her name was Lady Ascha Bronson. My father was the late Ram de Montbryce, the first Earl of Ellesmere. He fought with William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings.”
“And that’s the reason you bear the name FitzRam, and not Montbryce?”
Blythe feared her father would get annoyed at these personal questions, but Dieter seemed genuinely interested and her father unflustered. What was going on?
“Yes, I have two half brothers—Baudoin, the current Earl of Ellesmere and Robert, the
Comte
de Montbryce in Normandie, and a half sister, Rhoni.”
They ate in companionable silence for a while before Dieter spoke again. “I’ve heard things are still unsettled in Normandie?”
The two men chatted on amicably about politics. Dieter told the story of Andernach and shared his strong opinions about the Emperor. Caedmon related the tale of Agneta rescuing him after he fell at the Battle of Alnwick. Aidan and Blythe exchanged curious glances across the table.