Viking's Love (21 page)

Joran was in no hurry to leave her. He seemed
to enjoy the quiet that existed between them for once and refused
to break the peace. She cursed as she tried to drag a comb through
her hair, and she was shocked when he took the comb from her and
sat her upon his knees.

He patiently untangled the long, curling
mass, his hands deft and efficient. She thanked him softly, and
would have gotten up, but his arm slid about her waist and held her
there. She turned and saw the tender look in his gaze and wondered
at it. He looked into her eyes and his hand touched her cheek.

“
Do not fight me anymore, Allisande,”
Joran whispered low, his voice soft and gruff with tenderness.
“Hate me all you want, but do not fight me.”

Allisande could say nothing, lost in the
fathomless blue gaze that met hers. He patted her bottom and she
got off him. She looked at him as he opened the door to his room,
unsure of what to say to his heartfelt words.

She refused to answer him. She couldn’t bring
herself to destroy the fragile peace by railing at him all the
reasons she had to fight him. He led her down into the hall, and
every eye was glued upon them as he seated her next to him at the
table.

Janna looked positively gloating as she met
Grogan’s stunned look. The men hid their smiles as they noted the
satisfied expressions both wore as the meal was served that
morning, all agreeing the pair had finally come to an uneasy
truce.

****

Collin paced angrily before the fire in his
room at the castle as he thought of his earlier conversation with
the king. He would get no royal intervention from King Alfred to
reclaim his sister.

The king was crying light coffers and
claiming he hadn’t the funds to meet Joran the Stonehearted’s
ransom demands. Collin was frustrated when his plan to keep the
siege a secret backfired.

One of his sentries erred and rode to court
to tell the tale of the Viking attack. He left court for his home,
having missed his servant’s arrival and the news was out. The
king’s men arrived to survey the damage. The Earl of Ulsted learned
his intended had been abducted by Ivar’s bastard son.

Ulsted took it well, gazing over his lands
pityingly before he renounced his intention to wed Allisande even
if she was returned unharmed. Collin’s lips tightened when he
realized his sister was forever ruined. There would be no
ransom.

The Viking would be angry when he realized he
would get nothing for Allisande. Thinking of the horrors his little
sister must be enduring made him weep late at night when his
tortured dreams awoke him.

He was bitter when his king reluctantly gave
him the funds necessary to rebuild Lockwraithe. It was no gift. The
loan would keep him a beggar to his king for the next decade. He
would not see a profit from his holdings for many years.

Thinking of his father’s treachery made him
grimace. Collin couldn’t afford to admit his father’s guilt. He
must tread lightly or all was lost. Rebuilding Lockwraithe was all
he could do.

Allisande was lost to him and his people for
now. He was saddened if he would never see her again, remembering
their bitter words before he left for court and wincing in pain.
She was angry he was finding her a husband and refused to marry
anyone he chose for her.

How ironic she got her wish? For if she
returned, he would not be able to find one noble in the kingdom
willing to marry her after being despoiled by the Berserker, Joran
Ivarsson.

His father was stealing from his king for
years in collusion with Ivar the Boneless for a portion of the
stolen riches. When he discovered his father’s treason, he wept in
rage, thinking of the many English families who died in Viking
raids over the years, some of them relations to the baron’s own
family.

His sire’s greed had made him careless. He
turned on the Viking leader to his own detriment. Collin vowed to
never admit his father’s guilt out of respect to his sainted
mother.

Lady Edwina had been forced to hide behind a
false cabinet dug out of the wall during the siege by her daughter.
There wasn’t enough room for them both in the confined space and
little warning when the marauding Vikings attacked.

Allisande saved their mother’s life that day.
When the keep was lit on fire, Lady Edwina managed to get out as
the Vikings departed and hid in the woods with her servants.

Lady Edwina wasn’t strong enough to endure
the scorn of their class if it was known her husband was a traitor.
Their lands and titles would be stripped. There was little hope
they would ever regain Allisande’s release.

Collin stared into the flames in rage as he
contemplated his monarch’s advice he wed a rich heiress to get the
ransom for his sister. Collin grimaced at the irony of it. His
determination to see Allisande wed led him into the same trap.

****

Allisande felt refreshed as she dressed and
dried her hair in front of the fire. The inky black curls shown
with blue-black luster and hung in fragrant waves to her hips. She
felt restored by the bath and more than a little determined to
escape Joran than ever before.

He made her feel things she never felt
before. The inescapable fact that she was his slave made it all the
more unbearable. She dreaded the prospect of sitting at his side
for the evening meals, and be on display to endure the speculative
looks from his people.

They shared an uneasy peace since the night
she came to him willingly. The pleasure she found in his arms was
dizzying. He left her breathless each night. She hated herself for
giving in to him. She tried to deny him, but once he lowered her to
his bed, all else was forgotten. It was the one thing they agreed
on, and for now, it was enough.

Allisande reasoned it was nearly time to join
the other women in the kitchen’s and rose to go downstairs. She
paused on the stairs when she heard the men speaking below. She
listened to them discussing another raid, and stiffened when she
realized they would be leaving soon.

She hastened down the stairs. She was
determined to learn more about the next raid, feeling excited she
had some means of escape now. She joined the women in the kitchens
to prepare the evening meal. Elwynn saw her and came forward
tentatively.

“
Are you well, Allisande?” She realized
the older woman was concerned Joran hurt her. She bit her lip and
nodded. The older woman smiled in relief and patted her shoulder
comfortingly. “Don’t pay him any mind when he gets into one of his
tempers. I have never known him to hurt a woman, even his wife,
Aelynn, after her treachery was known.”

“
What is this you speak of? Joran was
married?” Allisande was suddenly eager to learn more about the man
she loathed. Thinking of him being married to someone else made her
wonder if the stonehearted man she knew had some measure of
kindness in him.

“
She died birthing her babe five
winters past.” Elwynn’s expression hardened suddenly. “She was very
beautiful and Joran loved her and offered for her. When he brought
her here she changed. His raiding and absences made her sullen and
withdrawn. She was often cruel to the slaves. Joran wanted to
believe she would be happy. When he went away to raid, she began
taking his men to her bed. She was never sure who sired the babe.
Joran buried them both together. He has not seemed happy in years
until this morning when he came down to join the men upon the
practice field,” Elwynn finished with a sigh, and gazed at her
knowingly making her blush and look away. She refused to believe
she made Joran the Stonehearted happy at all.

Allisande faltered when she remembered how
she had brought him to the height of passion that morning, urging
him to her with soft, lusty cries. He had left his room with eyes
aglow, blowing a kiss to her before he went to join his men below,
leaving her to dwell upon the serenity she felt in his arms
now.

Surely she betrayed her family by what she
did with the Viking? Discovering his heart had been broken long ago
by his wife’s betrayal was a surprise. To know he had once loved
and been hurt was a shock, for she thought him immune to such human
emotions. Thinking of Joran loving another woman bothered her for
some reason.

“
Merta no doubt made him happier than I
ever could,” Allisande argued a bit defensively, refusing to
believe the man she loathed and had tried to kill recently was
happy with her at all. He enjoyed bedding her. She was sure that
was the extent of his feelings for her. Had she not watched her
father and brother debauch half their female household and village
women while she grew up? She knew men’s lust was a fleeting thing
at best.

He would tire of her soon, and she would be
returned to her cell. The thought made her feel suddenly bereft. It
angered her to begin to feel insecure about his attentions. Why
should she care if he no longer desired her? Why did the thought
make her feel like crying? Her eyes narrowed. Why was she thinking
about the Viking at all?

“
He did not ask Merta to come here.”
Elwynn met her disbelieving gaze with a wily smile. “She arrived at
the last gathering with her brother, and wormed her way into his
bed and was here every since. He never once seemed as pleased with
her. You do not give yourself enough credit, Allisande. My
Chieftain cares for you very much. It is obvious.”

“
I do not want him to care for me! I
want only to go home and forget I ever knew the man!” Allisande
snapped, and gazed down at the bowl of carrots with tears in her
eyes. “I wish to pretend none of this ever happened to
me!”

“
I felt the way you do now when I was
taken in a raid many years ago by Johan, the former Chieftain
here,” Elwynn said softly and covered her hand with hers and
squeezed it comfortingly. “I was a serf in Mercia long ago when the
Vikings came. I wasn’t treated as well as I am treated here. I was
given my freedom finally, and could have left years ago. My
children are here. It is my home. Perhaps one day you will feel
that way too.”

Allisande chose not to answer the kindly
woman. She was too busy plotting how she would escape Joran
Ivarsson. She was soon humming under her breath as she helped cook
the meal. She wandered out of the kitchen, and was brought up short
by the huge Nordic wolf who sat sprawled in front of the
hearth.

The animal seemed tame, but she was taking no
chances as she gave him a wide berth. He whined and wagged his
tail. She glowered at him as he began to follow her about, looking
ridiculously less ferocious when she realized he merely wanted
attention.

“
Act like a damned beast, will you?”
Allisande hissed down at him, and scowled as he jumped up and began
licking her face. She giggled in delight, and pushed the huge
animal down, and smiled as she patted his head. She was still
smiling when she saw Joran standing in the doorway watching her
with an unreadable expression. Her smile faltered. She looked away,
and turned to leave the hall when she heard his voice call
out.

“
Allisande, you will sit with me,”
Joran said quietly, and gestured to his seat at the high table. She
scowled and went back to her seat at his side. Her only consolation
was the wolf lying adoringly next to her feet, whipping her with
his tail. She ignored the wolf, and he whined and soon she was
petting the animal behind his ears.

Joran took his seat at the table. He looked
down at her dark head turned to the animal, and longed to see her
smile again as she had earlier. He watched her pet his wolf and
wished she was petting him.

He smiled at his lustful thoughts. When a
woman approached to pour him a tankard of ale, he drank
thoughtfully as he watched Allisande scratch the wolf behind his
ears. “You will spoil him and he will not leave you alone,” Joran
warned in a soft, velvety voice, referring to him as well as his
pet. She craned her neck and regarded him with look that spoke
volumes. She was still angry at him. He could see it in her violet
eyes, and wondered why he cared how the wench felt at all. She gave
him a taste of Valhalla each night, and sent him spiraling back to
earth with her acid tongue the next morning. She shrugged and
looked at the animal with another rare smile that tugged at
him.

“
How did you come to have a wolf as a
pet?” Allisande noted the animal’s incredible size. “It is strange
to find one so tame. The ones near Lockwraithe were all vicious. I
can remember being chased by them as a child when I wandered too
far from the keep.”

“
Thor was a pup when I found him. His
paw was injured. He was lame for a time, and grew spoiled by my
people. It would be cruel to set him into the wild again. He cannot
fend for himself. How is it you once outran wolves, Wench?” Joran
raised a golden eyebrow at her words. The girl kept surprising him.
She was unlike any woman he had ever known.

“
I wandered away from the keep. I was
forced to climb a tree to escape them. For many hours they circled
the tree. My chance to run came when a cow wandered out of the
pasture and they turned their attention to it. I ran, but soon they
were after me again. I had nearly a dozen on my heels by then. I
was lucky my father’s men were in the practice fields that day to
kill them all. You see, I always won the footraces at the keep.”
Allisande looked up at him, her long-lashed violet eyes enchanting
him. “I run rather fast, as you will see one day soon when I leave
you, and escape this God awful land.”

“
You may be able to outrun me on land,
Girl, but you won’t get off this mountain without a ship.” Joran
chuckled at her boastful words. “Unless you can run on top of the
water, that is.”