Page 47 of Saxon Blade Norman Blood
“Nothing, you say? Who on earth got the better of you? I have never seen you with so much as a scratch before.”
“Perhaps, but you have never met this new hound of mine,” William answered, looking straight at her.
Alfred, oblivious to the tension between them, laughed. “That fierce, is he? Well, I hoped you tamed the beast.”
“I’m not sure such a thing will be possible.” A pause. “It is truly a half-wild animal, only at ease in nature.”
Rowena shuffled on her feet, knowing this comment was aimed at her. She had told him only the other day she was more at home outside the confines of the castle. Unsure how to behave, she lowered her gaze to the floor while, one by one, the men who took their leave with assurances that efforts would be made.
Alone, Leowald made no move to leave. William did not seem surprised. He had warned her this morning that the man would not be easily appeased and demand one favor or another. More often than not, he’d told her with disgust, the favors in question were for his personal gain rather than the common good.
Instead of addressing William, Leowald took her by the arm and whispered a lewd proposition in her ear, while gazingat her breasts with ill-concealed lust. She froze, fighting nausea. The man was a snake.
“What was that?” William asked as a slow smile appeared on Leowald’s lips.
“He thinks I am your mistress. He says to prove your good will, you’ll allow him a moment in private with me,” she answered in a bland voice that did little to mask her anguish.
She was petrified William would accept the proposal. This was not about her, or him, but about something altogether more important. She was not naïve enough to ignore he could not allow any personal misgivings to weigh in the balance. He would have to do whatever was needed to keep Leowald on his good side and forget about his urge to ram his fist down his throat—supposing that was what made his hazel eyes glitter so. Too many lives depended on his maintaining good relations with the local Saxons.
Heart in her throat, Rowena waited for his answer.
“Tell him he is welcome to have you if he wishes,” he told her with a dismissive wave of his hand.
The words hit her like a punch to the gut.
“I-I’m sorry?” Leowald waswelcometo her? Had William truly said that? He had not even glanced at her while he had sold her to the man.
“He’s welcome to you. But if he really wants proof of my good will, he’ll heed my advice and ask for Margot in the kitchens instead. She’s a lot more inventive in bed, and doesn’t just lie there like a plank of wood. A much more piquant proposition for a hot-blooded man like him.”
The interpreter in the corner gave a little amused cough. Cheeks aflame, Rowena heard him relay the cruel words to Leowald when she remained tongue-tied. Her insides became liquid with disgust and shame combined. If William said anything else she would have to sit down or faint dead away.
Leowald gave a booming laugh.
“I thank him for this thoughtfulness. I do like my women with some imagination and a bit more meat on them,” he said, patting her bottom. “Tell him I am in a hurry today, but will certainly remember his advice next time.”
With this last taunt, he left. Rowena turned to William and translated the comments with her head lowered. Her buttocks still burned from the man’s touch, a dull ache was spreading through her chest, and she was on the verge of tears.
“The next time Leowald of Tillburn comes, you can handle the negotiations on your own,” William told the interpreter. “I cannot be trusted not to send him to hell a second time.”
Something in his clipped tones made her steal a glance at him. He looked about to explode with a fury such as she had never seen before. Not knowing what to make of it, she retreated to the window while the last two men left the room.
“Can I go now?” she whispered once they were alone.
From the corner of her eye, she watched as William walked up to her, shaking his head. He seemed on the verge of an outburst. It would not take much to detonate his fury right now, so she thought it best to stay silent and keep her gaze to the floor. Brimming with resentment as she was, she wasn’t sure she could be trusted to behave sensibly.
“You think me unforgivably coarse,” he said through gritted teeth. “Iwasunforgivably coarse, I know. But I thought…” He paused then said in a different voice. “Wait. You didn’t think I had agreed to the bargain, did you?”
The question made her raise her head at last.
“Of course I did. Did you not hear yourself tell him he was welcome to have me?” she answered, unable to hide her hurt. Not only that, but he had said she was as exciting as a plankof wood. How could he have said something like that, and in her presence? “There was not much room for misinterpretation.”
William inhaled, as if trying to keep calm. “I had to agree to Leowald’s proposition, or at least appear to. Don’t you see? I could see no other way of getting you out of this without offending him. Something too important is at stake here.”
Rowena knew she should be grateful for his efforts, but being considered so casually by men time and time again made her snap. She bunched her fists as fury crashed through her.
“IsupposeI should thank you for calling me boring in bed and allowing me to be patted like an animal,” she exploded, remembering the feel of the man’s hands on her.
“Yes, you should!” William roared back. “You have no right to expect anything from me. What did you want me to do? Kill him on the spot? You called me monstrous for killing my overlord when I had no choice, yet you want me to run my sword through Leowald for doing nothing more than ask an insulting question?”
