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‘Markings?’
‘Yes.’ She reached inside the neck of her gown, tugged out the small pouch and handed him the ring, saying, ‘I don’t know what they mean.’
Elrik inspected the piece of jewellery. The ring was not a wedding band. He narrowed his gaze and glanced at her before looking back at the gold seal ring. She couldn’t read. Had her father seen to anything that might have benefitted his daughter? If not, then why hadn’t his grandfather done so?
She might have been born to a servant, but she was a lord’s daughter, more importantly the great-granddaughter of a king. There were things she needed to know how to do in order to be able to run a keep successfully, otherwise she would have to always rely on her husband, or trust the people in her service and neither were the best options. It would be far too easy for someone to take advantage of her.
He held the top of the ring out for her to see. ‘This is the letter “A” over the top of your great-grandfather’s seal. Your grandmother would have used it to put her official wax mark on any missives she’d sent.’ He turned the ring. ‘The roses on the side are simply for decoration.’
She frowned. ‘Why would my mother say it was a wedding band?’
‘Perhaps she’d been told it was and didn’t know any different.’
‘Why would she have it in the first place?’
Elrik handed the ring back to her. ‘I can only guess that your father gave it to her for some reason.’ It could have been a token of his affection, or payment for services rendered, but he kept those thoughts to himself.
While once again securing the ring in its pouch tucked safely beneath the neck of her gown, she asked, ‘I can neither read, nor write, so why would she have placed so much importance on keeping it safe when she gave it to me?’
‘Lady Avelyn, it is a way for you to prove your relationship to your family if need be. Your mother was looking out for your future in the only way she could.’
‘Oh.’ Her eyes widened. ‘Oh! Maybe this is what my father was looking for when he tore apart my mother’s home.’
‘Most likely.’ Although why Brandr would need any proof of his identity was a mystery he had no desire to unravel.
‘He could have just asked. There was no reason to destroy my home.’
Elrik had no reply to her comment as there was no good reason for his actions. A few moments of silence passed when he felt her watching him and when he turned his focus back to her, she asked, ‘Have I ruined your high regard for Lord Brandr?’
Fulke turned to look over his shoulder at her question until Elrik’s hard glare made him once again face forward. Not willing to divulge his hatred of her father, he answered her innocent question as non-committally as possible, ‘Fear not. My regard for Brandr has never been high.’
‘Yet you are returning me to him.’
He reminded her, ‘I am taking you to King David.’
‘Who will then hand me back over to the tender care of my father.’
The disdain in her voice prompted him to ask, ‘Your life with him has not been better than it was before?’
Avelyn looked at him, wondering if she’d already told him far too much. Instead of telling him that life with her father had been much harder than she’d expected, she said, ‘I learned more in the four years at his keep than I did in the fourteen years with my mother.’
It wasn’t a lie, she had learned more—much more about the ways of men and the lies they told.
‘I imagine it wasn’t easy to leave the life you’d known behind.’
‘No, but other people would disagree with you. There were many at my father’s keep who believed the life I had before was not worth living. They didn’t understand how being brought to Brandr could prove a hardship for me. The simple truth was that I had nowhere else to go.’ She would have rather been left alone living in her mother’s home.
‘How did you find yourself betrothed to Bolk?’
‘I suppose the same as any unwed woman—my family arranged it. From what Lord Somerled claimed when he arrived with the news, my great-grandfather arranged it all.’
She looked up at him. From the bland expression on his face, she knew he wasn’t interested in anything about her, but had likely been seeking to draw her fear away from being on the back of a horse. His tactic had worked, but it was time to learn what she could about him.
‘Enough about me. What was your childhood like?’
At first, he stiffened and she feared he would say nothing. She’d spent four years living with people who spoke to her only when they absolutely had to do so. These last days spent with Hannah had been a rare blessing as the women were all more than happy to converse. She didn’t look forward to a return of the silence.
When she could stand the quiet no longer, she said, ‘Please, my lord, I do not ask that you betray any secrets, I want only to hear the sound of another’s voice.’
Finally, he sighed, then said, ‘My childhood was likely not much different than yours. But my three brothers and I grew up with our father as our mother died in childbirth.’
‘The baby survived?’
‘Yes. Two of the women in the village had given birth about the same time, so they cared for Rory along with Edan who was about one in addition to their own.’
That made sense to her since it wasn’t unusual for the women in her village to band together and help each other in time of need. Besides, how would his father have cared for an infant by himself? She couldn’t imagine her father even bothering to attempt the task. He would have been more likely to set the baby outside the castle walls to await its certain death than to assume any responsibility for its well-being.
‘How old were you and your other brother?’
‘I was nine, so Gregor would have been six.’
At nine he was still a child. ‘How did your father cope with two young boys and his other duties?’
Roul laughed before answering, ‘He didn’t. He saw to his duties while I kept Gregor and myself out of trouble as much as possible.’
The guard behind them snorted. Without turning around, Roul responded, ‘I did a fairly good job of it, except for the times other boys got us embroiled in childish pranks.’
His men were quick to interject. ‘Like raiding the roost for eggs to toss from trees at people passing by?’
The one in front of them added, ‘Or getting mud all over the clean laundry?’
Avelyn couldn’t help but laugh. When this subsided, she said, ‘So the lord’s boys weren’t much different than those from the village?’
‘Probably worse, since we had no one at home to mete out punishment for our pranks,’ he admitted, then added, ‘Like the whipping these two took when one passer-by was Samuel’s father.’ He hitched a thumb over his shoulder to the guard riding behind them, before he nodded towards the guard in front of them and said, ‘And Fulke’s mother was the head laundress.’
‘Sadly, the pranks ended shortly after that,’ Samuel said.
‘Why is that?’
‘Because their parents...’ Roul nodded towards both men before continuing ‘...suggested to my father that Gregor and I needed some tasks to keep us from having idle hands during the day. So, we had lessons with the priest in the morning and spent our afternoons split between the stables where we learned how to care for and ride horses and the bailey learning how to fight.’
Fulke added, ‘We didn’t exactly get off lightly either. The two of us were banished to the shipyard and wharf until we were old enough to handle a weapon.’
‘What did you do then?’ Avelyn asked.
‘Trained hard to get into Roul’s guard.’
She looked at Elrik, who shook his head. ‘Not mine—my father’s.’
‘Oh. I thought all men owed service to their lord.’
‘Well, yes, but on Roul, as long as we aren’t under attack—or the threat of attack—their service is only mandatory a couple of weeks a year. We need the men working at the shipyard and docks in addition to the keep. But even those who choose to employ their services at the keep aren’t necessarily qualified to join the guard.’
She frowned in confusion and leaned back against the blanket-padded cantle. ‘I’m afraid I don’t understand.’
‘While every keep needs to be guarded at all times, the normal day-to-day responsibilities can be supplemented with men who aren’t always there. For example, right now Henry is on gate duty for the next two weeks. He’ll eat and sleep in the guard quarters at night, so that he’s available any time day or night. When his two weeks are completed he’ll return to his own home, wife, family and his normal routine at the docks.’
‘But he’s not a guard?’
‘No. He is on guard duty.’ Elrik drew in a breath and frowned, before explaining further, ‘Where Samuel here is a guard and is never off duty. He will take his turns at guard duty wherever he is assigned, but if I or my brothers need him for another task that’s where he will go.’
She glanced over her shoulder at Samuel. ‘And you do this by choice?’
The man nodded.
Elrik leaned over to whisper, ‘He is no good with tools, so he’s useless at the shipyard and he likes to drink too much to be left to his own devices at the dock.’
As Elrik sat back up, Samuel cleared his throat and then said, ‘But I am good with a sword and this way I don’t have to cook, do my own laundry, find my own place to live and the pay is reasonable, so I’ve no complaints with my lot.’
Without turning around Fulke added, ‘And sometimes the task that takes us away from Roul is easy, making it far more preferable than gate duty.’
‘Gate duty is hard?’
‘Boring!’ both men answered at the same time.
‘What made you choose these two for this task?’ she asked Elrik.
‘Simple. Whenever I’ve need of men I trust without question, these two are first on my very short list. Since the three of us grew up together we can communicate many things without words. I know that when Fulke stiffens in his saddle that something questionable is ahead, or when Samuel hisses beneath his breath danger lurks nearby. I know without ordering and without a doubt that they will guard my back.’
‘And we trust Elrik to return us to Roul in one piece.’ Samuel said.
Ahead of them, Fulke nodded in agreement.
‘So, the three of you are...friends?’
Elrik shrugged. ‘I suppose you could say that.’
‘Perhaps,’ Fulke said while looking over his shoulder. ‘But I am not tucking either of you into bed tonight.’
Samuel snorted before blowing a loud smacking kiss towards the other man.
‘Enough.’ Elrik ordered. ‘As evidenced by their behaviour we are more like brothers than friends. Even so, at times, someone has to be in charge.’
Avelyn nodded. ‘Yes, I can see where some order at times might be needed. Do you think that someone in charge might order a break soon?’
Samuel stretched, then yawned. ‘Now there’s an order that would be welcome.’
Elrik looked up at the sky and, from the slight widening of his eyes, seemed surprised to discover the sun had already passed its cenit to begin its descent. He motioned towards a clearing just ahead. ‘We’ve ridden longer than I’d thought. We’ll stop here to eat and stretch.’
Fulke and Samuel rode ahead. When Avelyn and Elrik arrived at the clearing a few moments later, the men had already started to unpack a leather sack of food.
Elrik dismounted and, after removing the padding, he assisted her from the horse. The moment her feet hit the ground, Avelyn’s legs wobbled and she stumbled against him, clinging to his shoulders to regain her footing.
His arms closed around her easily, as if they had done so countless times to support her and hold her close. ‘Take a moment.’
The deep huskiness of his voice caught her attention. She looked up at the face so near hers. The hardness of the chest she rested against, the warmth of his embrace and his heavily lidded gaze warned her that taking a moment would not be wise. A shiver raced down her spine, leaving her less steady on her feet than she’d been a heartbeat before.
Avelyn gasped softly and tore her stare from his. She pulled away, forcing her legs to hold her upright, and lowered her hands from his shoulders. ‘I am fine now. Thank you.’
‘You are far from fine.’ His voice had lost all traces of any warmth. In fact, he sounded decidedly angry. He took her arm and led her towards a log. ‘Sit down before you end up face first in the dirt.’
She pulled free of his grasp and then took a seat. ‘You create such a lovely vision of me.’
‘You could have said something earlier about being stiff and tired.’
Why was he now being so contrary? ‘Yes, I could have and then you would have complained about me slowing you down.’
‘I need to get you to King David quickly.’
‘Oh, yes, so he can hand me over to wed Sir Bolk.’ She stared up at him and quirked a brow. ‘Perhaps I should suggest that you would be a better mate for the ogre than I. Do you think your King might agree with me?’
‘Is that your attempt at humour?’
‘No.’ She shook her head. ‘I am quite serious. It seems to me that the two of you might have much in common.’
‘Such as?’
‘Surliness, impatience and arrogance to begin with. If you give me but a moment, I am certain I can find more things you share.’
A muffled snort from one of the men let her know that they were paying close attention to this conversation. She didn’t care.
‘Arrogance?’
‘Yes, you heard me correctly. Arrogance.’
His threatening glare deepened, but Avelyn refused to let it intimidate her. She held his dark stare with what she hoped was a threatening glare of her own.
Chapter Four
Elrik knew he was directing his frustration towards her unfairly. He wasn’t angry with her in the least, simply frustrated. And he had no explanation why just holding her close in his embrace for a few short heartbeats had left him so...wanting.
Countless times since leaving King David, he’d reminded himself that the King was right—she had played no part in the harm her father had brought to the Roul family. She was not to blame and in fairness he could not take his hatred for Brandr out on her.
Yet, a small, tiny part of his mind warned that he did not know this woman and had no idea how much of her father’s evilness had been passed to her. While it could be none, it could also be a great deal. There hadn’t been enough time for him to decide.
Now, if his mind could just convince the rest of him that she was not to be trusted. It had been years since any woman had had this type of effect on him and he wasn’t sure why. However, as confused as he was by his own reaction, hers left him just as surprised.
Instead of quietly accepting his change in mood, like most people did, she’d raised her eyebrows as if judging him, only to find him lacking and had then given him a taste of her own temper.
Complaining would only make him appear foolish since he did deserve it.
He found her reaction to his change of mood...interesting. Had he snarled at one of his men, in the same manner, they would have said nothing before giving him a wide berth.
Yet here this little bit of a woman who barely reached his shoulders glared at him and intentionally taunted him in a manner that made him wonder how many times she’d poked a stick at a beehive in her past.
Elrik felt his lips twitch and knew that without clenching his jaw he would soon find himself grinning like a fool. Unable to summon the will to stop himself, he laughed in surrender as he took a seat next to her on the log. ‘Since I would rather kill Bolk than look at him, I do not think we would be a good match.’
Avelyn reached down to pick up a twig. While flicking off the bark with her fingernail, she asked, ‘How do you think I feel?’
‘I fully understand your position, but what can I do about it?’
‘You know King David.’ She poked his arm with the twig. The tiny stick slipped easily between the links of his chainmail. ‘You could help me devise a plan he might find acceptable.’
‘I hate to lower your overblown opinion of my relationship with the King, but I do not know him well enough to know what he would or wouldn’t find acceptable.’
She shrugged. ‘Maybe not, but you’ve been to his court and are surely more familiar with the things he values than I.’ Once again, she poked him before adding, ‘Besides, you are a man, so you could tell me what things might be of more value to another male.’
‘You noticed that, did you?’ He snatched the twig out of her hand and tossed it away. ‘First off, poking a man is not the way into his heart.’
‘Who said I was looking for a way into anyone’s heart? I’ve seen the pain caused by love and wish nothing to do with it or any other tender emotion.’
Elrik frowned at her admission. ‘I thought that’s what all girls dreamed of finding one day—a husband who would shower them with love and kisses.’
‘I would think it obvious that I am no longer a girl. I’d much rather have a husband willing to be my friend and consider me worth treating fairly than one who would shower me with pretty words and sweet kisses one moment only to forget my existence the next.’
From the determined tone of her voice, he could only assume she spoke her true feelings on the matter. Since he had pulled her naked from a bed, of course, he was well aware she was no longer a girl and, while her wishes seemed reasonable to him, they would never find fruition—not for a king’s great-granddaughter, not even a bastard one. ‘Do you realise how impossible that will be for you?’
‘Why?’ She looked up at him. ‘Why will it be so impossible for me?’
‘Lady Avelyn, surely you must know your value. You can’t have been so protected, so kept in the dark, that you know nothing about how much you can bring to your family’s coffers.’
Her focus turned to the ground at her feet. ‘I am nothing but a servant’s shamefully begotten spawn.’
Something in the sadness of her voice and the slight, barely perceptible tremor of her chin touched him deeply, making him feel guilty for something not his doing and filling him with a need to convince her of her value. While the unfamiliar emotions pricking inside his chest deserved some thought, the young woman sitting beside him needed his attention more.
‘Lady Avelyn...’ Elrik reached out and lifted her chin with the tips of his fingers, coaxing her to look at him. ‘Avelyn, you are not to blame for what your mother and Brandr did. She might have only been a servant in his keep, but no matter the circumstances of your birth, you are a lord’s daughter and a king’s great-granddaughter, nothing can change that.’
When she tried to turn her head away, he slid his palm to her cheek to keep her focus on him. ‘I know not who made you feel this shame, or lack of worth, but they were wrong to do so.’
She rose, bringing an abrupt halt to this conversation. ‘I am famished.’
As much as he wanted to, Elrik wasn’t going to push the issue—it was none of his concern.
He stood up, saying, ‘Then we should get you something to eat.’
They joined Fulke and Samuel who had unpacked a meagre fare atop a boulder. Samuel waved a hand towards the food. ‘It is nothing grand, but there’s plenty for all of us.’
Avelyn picked up a wrinkled apple and took a bite. After swallowing it, she said, ‘The food here suits me far better than anything you might consider grand.’
Fulke tore off a piece of bread from the dark round loaf and handed it to her. ‘I doubt you would find any of this at your father’s table.’
Samuel inspected the small wheel of cheese before slicing off a few slivers, which he also gave to her. ‘Surely Lord Brandr’s table provides better food than what we can offer.’
Avelyn took the cheese while shaking her head. ‘Since I always made certain to eat with the cook and helpers in the kitchen, I am afraid I wouldn’t know what was served in the hall.’
Fulke offered her a good-sized portion of smoked fish, nearly bumping into Samuel in his haste.
Elrik watched his two men vie for the opportunity to wait on her. Their actions were so out of character that he nearly choked on the piece of bread he was eating.
If he had to guess at their reason for such gallantry, he’d say they had overheard the conversation he’d been trying to have with Avelyn and were going out of their way to be more than kind to a woman who’d apparently experienced little kindness in her short life.
Since he found nothing amiss with their actions, he saw no reason to stop them and slowly backed away from the boulder to watch from a distance.
Avelyn’s soft laugh at something Samuel said made him smile. He was grateful his men were showing her such attention instead of ignoring her as they normally would. From what he’d seen and heard, the lady deserved a few light-hearted moments before she would once again be back in the cold embrace of her family.
From King David’s description, Elrik had believed Avelyn to be lovely yet headstrong. She was indeed quite lovely, but he’d yet to witness much that could be considered overly headstrong. Oh, yes, she’d been defiant when he’d discovered her at the inn, but that had been expected since he was unknown to her. She would have been foolish not to have questioned him. And he’d experienced a small flare of her temper when he’d taken his frustration out on her a short while ago.
But he’d seen no overt stubbornness or any action that could be considered headstrong or wilful, quite the opposite, actually. Even though it was obvious she’d had no experience riding a horse, she’d not complained once yesterday. Nor had she given any argument when he’d essentially tied her into the saddle like a child today. She’d simply accepted the fact that she had no choice in the matter of riding the horse and had made the best of what had to be an uncomfortable situation.
And when he’d suggested she argue her future with King David, she’d not whined or complained. As far as he could tell she had given it some thought, otherwise she’d not have asked him for a man’s opinion on what might be considered valuable.
No. This was not some simple-minded woman who would argue for the sake of arguing. She might not have been raised in her father’s keep and had yet to learn courtly manners, but she was not lacking in wits. She stood up for herself. And she knew what she wanted, along with what she didn’t want.
In a way it was a shame she was so connected to Brandr. He was not someone Elrik wished to be related to in any manner, otherwise, he might be half-tempted to offer for her himself.
Elrik shook his head in an attempt to clear that ludicrous thought from his mind. Things like a wife and family were for other men, not him. But sometimes...times like this when he let his guard down and his musings drew him once again into wondering what if...he had to remind himself of that simple fact.
A hand rested gently on his arm, startling him away from his odd thoughts. ‘What are you thinking about so intently?’
He looked down at her and asked, ‘Did you get enough to eat?’
‘More than enough, thank you.’ Avelyn laughed. ‘I had to walk away before the two of them fed me enough for four meals.’
‘They were simply being kind.’
She let her touch fall away from his arm. ‘I know that. I wasn’t complaining.’
Elrik closed his eyes for a moment at the feeling of loss, then he reached out to draw a fingertip along her cheek. ‘I apologise. I know you weren’t complaining.’
She tightly clasped her hands before her and lowered her gaze. ‘We should be getting back on the road.’
‘In a bit.’ He covered her hands with one of his own and tugged gently. ‘Come, sit with me for a few moments.’
At her nod, he pulled a fallen log to rest at the base of a tree. ‘Here, you can rest against the tree.’
When she settled on to the log, he took a seat on the ground next to her legs, pulled off his helmet and then unlaced and pushed back the chainmail covering his head. The breeze rushed against his damp hair, drawing a sigh of relief from him.