Page 16 of Saxon Blade Norman Blood
The wind picked up as soon as they left the riverbank, and the fact did nothing to help with the feeling of cold—or her mood. It would be a miracle if she didn’t get a chill after today. Her clothes were still damp and dusk was already descending. Before long it would get even colder. She glanced at the sky warily. The clouds had gathered all afternoon and were now ready to burst, almost purple in the fading light. She and William would never make it back to the castle in time to avoid the downpour.
A moment later, a few scattered drops fell on the dusty track, proving her right. Without further warning, the heavens opened. Rowena put her cloak above her head, but she was drenched almost immediately. For a while they carried on in the mud then she called out for respite.
“We might as well carry on now,” William said once they had come to a halt under a rocky ledge.
He was right. As exhausted and cold as she was, she knew that they could not afford to be caught outside after dark. A woman and an unarmed man presented too easy a target for ill-intentioned people.
“The rain shows no signs of stopping and the castle is just on the other side of the forest.”
William rubbed a hand through his short hair. The rain had made the blond hue several shades darker, and Rowena could not help but admire the result. She watched in fascination as a drop slid along his temple and his cheek before landing on the corner of his lips, making them glisten.
Until the day before she would not have been able to say what she liked in a man but now it was staring at her right in the face. Everything about this Norman baron fit her description of male beauty. She wondered how much of this was influenced by what he had done to her the evening before. It seemed impossible for a woman to be indifferent to a man who had given her such blinding pleasure. It had to be the explanation behind her unspeakable feelings, she decided, for deep down she knew she should be scared out of her wits by what he could do to her.
“Are you ready to go?”
“Yes.”
A good soaking in cold rain was what she needed to come back to her senses. She walked resolutely forward, leaving him to follow her if he wanted to. At this point she might have been relieved if he had decided the time had come for them to part ways.
A moment later she felt his warm, solid presence by her side. Her heart fell to the pit of her stomach.
He was not finished with her yet.
6
Though she was exhausted, Rowena lengthened her stride as soon as she saw the imposing shape of the motte and bailey castle ahead of them. Her clothes, which had taken the best part of the day to dry, were now just as wet as they had been when she’d emerged from the river.
Shivering, she followed William into a well-maintained courtyard, then finally, blissfully, into the warmth of the main building. Exclamations burst in all directions when they entered, but since they were directed at him, not her, she headed straight to the center of the room where a huge fire roared, a most welcome sight after the day they’d had.
As she rubbed her chilled hands in front of the flames, the smell of roasted meat floated to her nostrils. Her stomach growled loudly. She was ravenous as well as chilled and weary to the bone.
William gave various orders to his people with a tranquil air. He asked for dry clothes to be found for both of them, for food to be prepared, for someone called Simon to be summoned. His unshakable poise unnerved her. Though he was as soaked as she was, and undoubtedly just as famished and parched, he acted as if none of it had effect on him. The man was clearly impervious to hunger, pain, fear.
Remorse for the killing of innocent men.
How would she get the better of such a man? Rowena watched him act as master, and a long shiver ran down her spine, only this time it had nothing to do with the cold. His calmauthority reminded her of the shocking orders he had given her the night before.
And how much she had enjoyed obeying them.
“Go to my room,” he instructed, barely looking in her direction.
The abrupt command made her forget all about dry clothes and food.
“Through that door,” he explained when she remained frozen to the spot.
Oh, but she had not been wondering where the room might be, rather worrying about what would happen once he joined her there.
Heart beating wildly, she went.
A moment later a knock sounded on the door. It would not be William, she guessed. It was nowhere near commanding enough, and of course he would never ask permission to enter his own room.
“Come in.” Nervousness made her voice shaky.
A maid entered, carrying a tray laden with food in one hand and a dress in the other. The disapproval on her face told what she thought of her master treating a Saxon girl so well. She did not address her a single word and left as soon as she’d discharged her duty. Rowena did not care; she was too hungry to let the scorn of the maid worry her.
As soon as the door closed, she fell onto a piece of cheese, biting into it with gratitude. The bread was whiter and softer than any she had ever eaten. She spread some honey on it and chewed with a smile on her face. Delicious. The slice of roasted suckling pig was next, and when the succulent meat hit her tongue, she moaned out loud in delight. Heavily spiced and refined, this was not food as she knew it.
With her hunger sated, her thoughts went to her wet gown. She paused, considering her options. The last thing shewanted was for William to walk in whilst she was changing. Seeing her naked would only put ideas in his mind.
