Page 76 of Taming His Viking Woman

Sayrid stared at the pond. ‘I know what you mean. Too many things don’t make sense. Our marriage cannot have been the catalyst. If these men were on their way here already, then they cannot have been expecting you.’

He cupped her face. ‘You may be right. What else are you thinking?’

She put her hands on his face and felt the warm skin under her fingertips. He valued her opinion. ‘Blodvin. Inga called her a ghost yesterday but I think she means a different ghost from the one she supposedly saw at the harbour. I never got an opportunity to question Inga about it. It could be her play-acting again. But why would Blodvin be down at the harbour wrecking your ship? She has nothing against you.’

‘How long did Regin know Blodvin before they eloped?’

‘Several months, long enough for him to get her pregnant,’ Sayrid admitted with a rueful smile. ‘The pregnancy surprised me. I thought he would have been more cautious. I had warned him, but what can you do in the face of young love? He swore it was only the once. But it changed everything. Abandoning my blood is impossible.’

Hrolf sat up straighter. His face became hardened planes. ‘When did the only once happen?’

‘At the summer festival apparently. Regin was prepared to swear that neither had had lovers before.’ She shook her head. ‘I may dislike Regin’s choice of bride, but she is too…’

‘Too what…honey-sweet? Accomplished in the woman’s sphere?’ Hrolf asked. ‘You were the one who accused me of prejudice. Be careful that you don’t fall into the same trap.’

Sayrid hugged her knees to her chest. ‘But why would she do such a thing?’

‘About time we asked her.’

A loud shout followed by a long blast from the horn drowned the rest of his response.

Sayrid instantly started to run, but before she had gone a hundred paces, Magda stumbled into the clearing. On seeing Hrolf, she fell to her knees and started wailing.

‘What is going on?’ Sayrid asked. ‘Where is Inga?’

‘It is what I’m trying to discover. She keeps going on about the ghost.’

‘She means Blodvin. Inga calls her a ghost.’

The woman nodded vigorously and rapidly explained Inga was with Blodvin before she tugged on Sayrid’s arm. ‘We must go. There is trouble.’

‘Trouble?’ Hrolf’s brow creased. ‘What sort of trouble?’

Sayrid saw the smoke begin to rise and her blood ran cold. ‘The hall has been attacked. As impossible as it sounds, it has been and it has come from the sea.’

‘Regin! I’m sorry, Sayrid.’

Sayrid’s stomach revolted. Regin was the only explanation. He had completely betrayed her. Everything she had done for him meant nothing to him. ‘I don’t understand why he has behaved in this fashion. I would have wagered my life on him. I owe him several life debts. He found me after the beating and saved my life.’

Hrolf’s face was like thunder. ‘And this is how he treats you?’

The pain in her head increased to a breaking point. She struggled to take deep breaths. Even now, she wanted to believe that Regin had nothing to do with this, but as the smoke billowed higher, she had no other explanation. ‘If my brother has done this, then he will pay, but that is for later. Right now we need to regain control of the hall.’

‘There we agree. I have faced far worse odds.’

‘How can we hope to succeed?’

‘They may have attacked early, but they neglected to secure the two most important warriors. Do I have your sword arm, my lady?’

Sayrid returned his smile. ‘With pleasure.’

Hrolf turned to the nurse. ‘Have any more men arrived? Who of my men remain standing?’

The nurse shook her head and started wailing in Rus.

‘Take a deep breath and speak slowly, Magda. I want to understand as well.’ Sayrid grabbed her cold hand. ‘Where did the men come from?’

Magda gulped air. ‘In boats! From the sea. At dawn.’

She then started speaking in Rus and making wild gestures.

‘In the North language,’ Hrolf commanded. ‘Sayrid needs to hear. She knows the hall and its buildings better than I do. Your words may make all the difference to our success.’

From her garbled words, Sayrid gathered that Hrolf’s bodyguard had been slain first. When she had seen the sails, she’d gone to find them, but their throats had been slit while they slept.

The others were either dead or captured. The attack had happened while they all slept. Her brother’s betrayal was complete.

Hrolf hunkered down and drew a quick map in the dirt. ‘They struck in the early morning and must have assumed that we would still be asleep in our bed.’

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