Viking's Love (34 page)

“
That very well may be, but he can
still think for himself!” Allisande sat back on the pallet and eyed
her stubbornly. “I will not defend myself. Let him think the child
is Rowan’s, for he will anyway, and nothing I say will be believed.
At least I need not worry he will seek to take my child from me
when he receives the ransom.”

“
You ran away!” Elwynn said in
determination, her grey eyes narrowed unkindly. “You plotted with
his father, and went with Rowan knowing you carried Joran’s child.
You are not without blame here, Girl. Tell him the truth of it, if
only for the sake of the babe. He has no faith in women, and you
use it to gain your freedom from him. Is it really what you
want?”

“
He would steal my child and send me
back! I couldn’t bear it! He hates me now, Elwynn.” Allisande eyed
the woman with a calm she was far from feeling. “If he thinks it is
not his, he will let me go.”

“
You will regret your spite, Allisande
of Lockwraithe, and when you do, don’t say that none tried to talk
you out of it!”Elwynn retreated and slammed the door behind her.
Allisande was saddened she spoke so harshly to her one friend here,
but after weeks of being treated like a pariah, she was in no mood
to be generous to anyone.

She stared into the empty space where Elwynn
had stood, and mulled over her words. She would rather suffer
Joran’s rage than endure a lifetime without her own child. Her eyes
narrowed as she scratched off another day upon her wall.

****

Joran was grim as he eyed the destruction
that was once Luxtley. The old man lay dying and his keep was
burning around him. The men looted and carried off female serfs. He
viewed the carnage with little stomach for it. He was grateful when
Haldon and Grogan returned, and announced it was done.

Luxtley’s village had been spared. Joran
refused to punish the innocents for their master’s crimes. As
Luxtley’s wealth was divided among his men, Joran returned to his
ship in disinterest as they boarded dragging captives with
them.

He frowned when he saw Haldon wrestling with
a girl who valiantly refused to be taken. Something in her manner
and appearance reminded him of Allisande. He made him let her go,
much to his disgust. The girl ran off screaming back to the
village.

Haldon pouted for the remainder of the trip
back to Oslo. He sent him and Grogan to his father’s house with his
share from the raid, not feeling like dealing with Ivar. He was
weary of raiding, and wanted no part of it anymore.

The senselessness of it was beginning to wear
upon him. He vowed when Ulsted was brought down, he was done with
raiding all together. His lips tightened when he thought of
Allisande.

She was locked up a full moon and hadn’t
demanded, begged, or pleaded for her release from her cell. He was
surprised when Merta arrived back at his home. Wanting to get back
at Allisande, he took her back to his bed. He had little passion
for her after Allisande, and tired of her incessant whining.

He had to admit to himself that he missed
Allisande. Knowing she had lain with Rowan made him want to beat
the wench black and blue. Just thinking of Rowan possessing her
made him livid, but he could find no fault with Rowan for it.

What man would refuse his beautiful slave
with what she offered? His pride refused to challenge Rowan knowing
this, and had no stomach for further violence. He would not give
her the satisfaction of fighting Rowan over her treachery.

Grogan said he didn’t know everything
involved in how she had wound up with Rowan, and was suspicious of
the timing of the thing. Joran refused to listen to reason,
thinking of his passionate encounters with Allisande during their
time together. He recalled her disheveled appearance when he found
her with Rowan the day he caught up to them.

He would never forget the sight. It tortured
him. He wanted her to suffer as he did now. His heart had been
revived, only to be ripped out again. He was in no mood to be
merciful.

Allowing Merta to stay was his way of hurting
Allisande. He knew she was aware of Merta’s presence. He gained
some satisfaction knowing it bothered her. He had little tolerance
for Merta of late, and was grateful to escape his own hall to get
away from her.

He left Janna in charge of Allisande’s care
while he was gone, and warned her to keep Merta from harassing his
slave in his absence. He knew she would have found a way to make
her presence known by now to Allisande.

He smiled mirthlessly when he thought of her
reaction. Did she care that Merta lay with him each night? Did it
bother her as much as the thought of Rowan’s hands upon her had
driven him wild with jealousy and pain? He doubted it. She cared
nothing for him, he realized with a sour feeling in his gut, and
wanted nothing more than to go home.

He shouldn’t have ever touched her. He should
have kept her chaste until he received his silver for her. Just the
thought of her so close at hand made him want to do nothing but go
down to her cell, and drag her back to his bed, but he dared not
to. The pain of the hurt this time was so much worse than when
Aelynn betrayed him. He had little desire to revisit it, and
shrugged it away like he didn’t care.

He would send Merta home when he returned. He
hadn’t asked for her to come back despite what Allisande must
think. She showed up when her brother passed by on his way to the
markets, and she remained. He grew bored using Merta to try to
inflict pain upon his slave. He longed for spring, and wished he
had never set eyes upon Allisande of Lockwraithe.

****

Collin viewed the destruction that was once
Luxtley, and felt a feeling of such intense rage he stomped away
from the priest as the man wept over the baron’s murder and the
theft from the Vikings.

There was little left of value, though they
didn’t raze the village or kill any of Luxtley’s own people. The
only one who perished was Luxtley and his devoted retainers, who
fought valiantly while the Vikings destroyed the keep. The
survivors prepared to move to Lockwraithe under his care now,
leaving Luxtley.

He rode back to Lockwraithe wanting to do
murder when he realized Ivar was behind this. He stole Luxtley’s
fortune. Now only one man remained alive to pay Allisande’s
ransom.

Robert Fitzhugh was surely feeling
uncomfortable by now. Knowing Robert as he did, in his own
arrogance, he was probably feeling safe now that his father and
Luxtley were both dead.

Collin was shrewd enough to know Fitzhugh
would consider killing him now that he was the only one who knew of
his involvement. He had extra guards installed at the gates to the
keep, and warned the villagers to arm themselves of an attack,
though he knew Ulsted was far more sinister. He would not risk an
open attack. He would sneak up upon him like spider, he thought
maliciously, as he galloped up the slope that led to
Lockwraithe.

Collin thought of his wife Magdalene, and
frowned. That wasn’t her name. Why in the bloody hell did he keep
forgetting the girl’s name? The girl reminded him daily, but he had
yet to think of what it was.

His child bride giggled incessantly. It drove
him insane to be in the keep when she was about. Marianne? Was that
the girl’s name? He frowned darkly as he jumped down from his horse
and kicked a clump of earth as he realized his avenue of gaining
the ransom had dwindled to one half of the whole. He had two months
in which to pressure Fitzhugh with paying the whole sum, or
Allisande was lost to them forever.

****

Joran returned from the raid. He entered the
hall and groaned inwardly when Merta flew into his arms. He set her
away from him with a frown. He glared at Janna’s knowing look as
she passed him to greet her husband.

Joran sat pensively as he sipped the ale
before him, and stared into his tankard moodily. Merta was speaking
to him. He realized he hadn’t listened to a word she said.

“
What are you babbling about, Woman?”
Joran bade a serving girl refill his tankard. Grogan smothered a
chuckle as he turned away, earning a scowl from the redhead. She
eyed him patiently, with her hands folded in her lap. Her green
gaze was innocent as it met his.

“
I was speaking of the wedding, my
love,” Merta began with a slight smile, and faltered at his
thunderous expression. “Our wedding, and as I was saying, it should
be in the spring.”

“
There will be no wedding!” Joran
shouted angrily, and saw her eyes narrow at his words. “I did not
ask you to come back here! I did not ask you to be my wife! What in
Odin’s bones were you thinking? You think because there is an empty
spot in my bed, it means anything more?”

The hall grew silent at his harsh words.
Everyone almost felt sorry for Merta as she rose and left the hall,
her back rigid as she went up the stairs. He glared at Grogan as he
hid his mirth in his ale.

He rose and felt every eye upon him as he
approached the door to the cellars. Elwynn and everyone looked so
hopeful when he approached the door. They nearly sighed aloud in
disappointment when he stomped out of the hall instead.

Allisande was grateful the sickness passed as
did another month, and looked forward to Elwynn’s visit. She had a
clearly defined bump where her belly had once been flat. The
maladies that plagued her the month previous no longer dogged her
every step.

She heard Merta was gone with little
interest. Elwynn sighed when she left her cell and locked the door.
Elwynn supplied that information hoping she would relent and tell
Joran the truth. She refused so adamantly, Elwynn didn’t bring it
up again.

Joran watched Elwynn return. He saw her look
of worry and wondered at it. Was Allisande ill? He called her over.
The older woman shrugged away his concerns, saying it was to be
expected. The hall grew silent as Joran repeated her words.

“
What do you mean, it is to be
expected?” Elwynn eyed him with such fear, he softened his words.
“What is wrong with her now?”

“
She is with child, Joran,” Elwynn
smiled brightly as she walked away. She got to the door to the
kitchen before she heard his chair grating across the floor, and
turned to see him stomping down to the cellars. She met the looks
of all with a shrug. “It needed to be said!” She glared at them as
they looked away for none wanted to be the bearer of the news. The
only one who didn’t know the girl was pregnant was Joran, and it
appeared enough to get them talking to one another
again.

Joran approached her door to her cell so
silently; she did not hear him as she sat upon her pallet. He
stared at her through the small window, and glared at the peaceful
expression on her face. She did not appear to have suffered the
last months in the cell as much as he had for putting her there. It
made him furious.

He opened the door and confronted her with
eyes so angry, she jumped up when she saw him. It annoyed him when
she smiled mockingly up at him, her violet eyes pools of
loathing.

“
To what do I owe this visit, Master?”
she asked with a sneer in her voice. “Did Merta fail to please you?
I heard you sent her packing. Would you like to have me here in my
cell, or do we go to your room?”

“
Are you with child?” Joran asked in a
menacing voice, ignoring her comments. She quailed from the livid
look on his face and ignored his question, refusing to meet his
gaze. “I repeat, Allisande, are you with child?”

“
Yes, it would appear I am,” Allisande
met his look directly, daring him to say the words that would
destroy them both. The moments passed between them and dragged
on.

“
Is it mine or Rowan’s?” Joran asked
coldly.

She ignored the pain in her chest at his
accusation and met his glare with an unfeeling stare. “What do you
think, Viking?” She laughed at the pained expression upon his face,
and almost allowed herself some measure of satisfaction when his
face darkened in rage. He looked like he would beat her, his body
trembling with the effort to control his anger. His contempt made
her flinch, but she refused to tell him the truth. He turned on his
heel and slammed the door shut and locked it behind him.

When Joran appeared above with such a
devastated look upon his face, Elwynn muttered under her breath and
disappeared into the kitchens. Her disappointment that he returned
alone was obvious. He left the hall, and everyone hoped no one got
in his way at that moment, for he looked ready to kill someone.

Joran rode his horse across the open field
and railed against the woman who tortured him with her presence.
She flaunted her pregnancy in his face and dared him to strike out
at her. He had never hit a woman, but the urge had been so strong
when she confirmed his worst thoughts.

He wanted to strangle her and Rowan
both in that moment.
Perhaps I still
might
, he thought darkly. Rowan would take no
responsibility for the girl now that he got what he wanted. She
would return to her brother with a Viking bastard in her
womb.

His father would have laughed had he recalled
their first conversation of Allisande, and the self-fulfilling
prophecy that had come from it. Joran slowed his horse and
contemplated his lands and sighed.

Joran blamed himself more than her. He should
have left her at Lockwraithe, but he had carried her away like a
child with a new toy. He despised the weakness she made him feel
again, and vowed to never fall for her charms. He turned his horse
around and returned to the hall.

Joran was grimfaced when he approached Haldon
and Grogan. He gave them their instructions. They looked at him
sadly as they gathered the men to set sail. Allisande of
Lockwraithe would have her wish this day. She was going home.