Page 2 of Saxon Blade Norman Blood
1
Eighteen months later
August, 1086
South of England
William was bored.
All around him the men were laughing, drinking, and eating in a joyous cacophony, but he could not join in the revelry. Without knowing quite why, he felt oddly despondent. His sojourn at Old Sarum had been profitable. He had made the most of the fact that so many Norman barons had been assembled by the king to advance his own enterprise and managed to convert dozens of them to his way of thinking.
They had promised they would strive to make their presence more agreeable to the Saxon lords in the months to come. William could understand why the Saxons were bitter. A good number of their estates had been stolen by the king and bestowed as rewards upon his faithful warriors. It was little wonder these men should be rebellious, but William wanted to build bridges with the people they had conquered.
The lasting success of King William’s invasion lay in fruitful cooperation with the local population, not in brutal domination, he was convinced of it.
The fact they were officially the new masters of the country did not change the fact that they were in a minority and vulnerable to attack. The ruthlessness King William displayed in repressing every spark of rebellion, if very efficient in assertinghis authority, had not endeared him to the Saxons, and there were many who conspired to rid themselves of him and his elite.
Cooperation would protect the Normans from violence more efficiently than intimidation ever would and ensure a safe future for their children. Over the course of the week, William had impressed this opinion onto a handful of the most influential barons in the land.
He should have been proud of his achievement, but instead, he was bored.
The music failed to rouse his interest, the food was not to his taste, and his neighbor’s conversation, centered around his memories of the battle of Hastings, was as dull as it was predictable. Twenty years of retelling had not made the story more compelling. William looked around him wearily. By now the men were a fair way into their cups. That, too, was predictable.
It was then that he noticed the girl.
Something about her caught his attention, but he was not sure what. Frowning, he let his gaze wander over her, trying to decide what was special about her.
She was a Saxon, that much was clear from her fair complexion and flaming red hair, but so were all the other servants at the banquet. That fact alone could not explain the sudden interest she stirred in him.
He watched her walk back to the kitchens with an empty tray. Beneath her woolen gown she swayed her hips in a most inviting way, but there was nothing extraordinary in that either. William had lost count of the number of women who had tried such ploys to entice him, and even if admittedly this one had curves that would tempt a monk, he knew it must be something else that had captured his attention.
Presently she came back with two pitchers of wine, and glanced at him. The deep blue in her eyes had an undercurrentof gray that made them appear almost frosty. He had seen such swirling pools in rapid rivers before but never in human eyes. The effect was captivating. Her oval face, with its milky white skin, was striking, but he was not convinced that her beauty was enough to explain why she might have piqued his interest in such a way.
“We are all going thirsty here,” Hugues de Malemort called from the other end of the table, causing the girl to lower her gaze like someone caught doing something reprehensible. “Will no one have mercy on us?”
She rushed to replace the empty wine pitchers with the ones she held, and William had his answer. The Saxon understood his language. The fact was unusual enough to be of note. The other servants around the table would have been hard pressed to understand simple instructions, never mind deduce from what Hugues had said that more wine was needed at his end of the table.
“Stop yelling, Hugues. As you see, someone has taken pity on you,” he said, gaze fastened on the girl. The look she threw him proved he was right in his assumption. She knew he was speaking about her.
“I say, this is a comely wench.” Hugues wrapped an arm around her waist and would have dragged her onto his lap had she not disentangled herself from his hold with a swift but subtle move.
It almost looked as if the man’s hand had slipped of its own accord, but William knew different. She had made sure he could not catch her.
“I’m thinking she could warm my bed tonight.”
Hugues laughed and made for her again. This time the hold around her was firmer. He pulled her closer and stroked her buttocks, before giving a small, proprietary tap. William sawthe effort it cost the girl not to strike in retaliation, and he could not blame her.
His own blood boiled at such treatment.
“I fear the only bed she will warm tonight is mine,” he said, trying to hide his fury. “As she has the past few nights.” The girl’s head shot up at his declaration. So shedidunderstand his language, in all its nuances. He kept his gaze on her to urge her to go along with the pretense. “I’m afraid you will have to find another way of warming your bed. Sleeping with one of your hounds, mayhap. At least the creature should enjoy being patted like a dog. In my experience, women rarely do.”
“My apologies,” Hugues said, releasing his hold at last. He was not drunk enough to miss the ice in his overlord’s voice. “Trust you to keep the choicest morsels for yourself, William.”
“Yes, well. Make sure it doesn’t happen again,” William growled, feeling murderous.
No woman deserved to be treated thus, and the little Saxon had stirred his protective instinct along with his interest. How could it be any different? She was delightful. Her hair sparked in candlelight every time she moved, and as for her figure…
His groin tightened when she bent to place a custard tart on the table. The girdle tied around her slender waist emphasized the swell of her hips, inviting a man’s caress, making it impossible to detach his eyes from her. He toyed with the idea of asking her to fill his tankard just to have her come to his side but decided against it.
