Page 29 of Summer of the Viking

She held out her hands. ‘I am grateful for the concern, Lord Edwin, but I feel it is up to me to run my estate how I see fit. My lineage allows me that privilege. The king agreed with me, if you will recall.’

Lord Edwin resembled a fish as he rapidly opened and closed his mouth several times. ‘But...but...’

‘Enjoy your sojourn with King Athelfred.’ She gave him a hard look. ‘I feel confident that everything will remain quiet while you are gone and if not, my steward will be able to handle it. Be sure to give the king my assurances on the matter.’

His snake-like gaze swept over her, making her feel dirty. ‘The trouble with you, proud Lady Alwynn, is that you have led far too easy a life. Some day you will see sense. Some day you will regret this.’

Alwynn drew on all of her reserves not to berate him like a common fishwife. ‘We shall have to agree to disagree on that one, like so many other things.’

‘As you wish, my lady.’ Lord Edwin made an elaborate bow. ‘You will learn—I am a patient man and I generally get my way in the end.’

He stomped away, his cloak twitching like an infuriated cat.

Alwynn stumbled over to where Purebright stood munching a pail of oats. ‘I have to be doing the right thing. Lord Edwin is as much my enemy as any Northman who might be lurking about.’

The back of her neck prickled. She didn’t know exactly where Raumerike was but she trusted Valdar. She had no other choice. She had to hope that this time, her instinct was correct. She wasn’t starting to believe in tales again. She was a grown woman now.

* * *

Valdar concentrated on circling his arms and getting the movement back into his torso as he stood in the doorway of the cottage. The garden sloped away to his right and the sunlight appeared dappled through the leaves of an apple tree. A pair of white doves played on the light breeze, before disappearing with a soft coo.

He could understand why Gode wanted to live in this spot, rather than sleeping in a crowded hall. There was something about the place that exuded peace and tranquillity. Last night the nurse had been quite vocal on her desire to stay there and her fear that Alwynn would force her to move. After spending time with the nurse, he understood Alwynn’s concern: Gode clearly had moments of dwelling with the gods.

‘My lady will be here when she is ready,’ Gode declared from where she was sweeping the floor. Since she had arrived back at the cottage, she had set to work cleaning and tidying, but otherwise she had left Valdar alone. ‘There is no need to keep watching the door like a dog waiting for his mistress.’

‘I wasn’t wondering and I wasn’t watching the door.’ He tilted his head to one side. The old woman’s skin was a bit yellow and her mouth seemed pinched. She was thin all over except for her stomach. He’d seen similar signs before with his grandmother. ‘What pains you, old lady? Does Lady Alwynn know about this?’

‘When you are not watching the door, you are standing beside it.’

Valdar rapidly moved away from it. ‘Satisfied? Does Lady Alwynn know about your illness? Why does she allow you to stay in this hut on your own?’

The woman grunted and swept a large pile of dirt out the door. She gave one last push of the broom, but then doubled over in pain.

Valdar took the broom from her. The old woman reminded him of his grandmother who had died from a growth in her stomach the year he turned ten. It was the same year his life had changed for ever when his mother had left his father. ‘I can do that. You sit.’

‘Women’s work.’

‘I dislike inactivity. The worst part of healing.’ Valdar was pleased his Northumbrian words had come back so quickly, but then he’d always been good at languages. His father had been similarly skilled and had insisted both his sons learn as many languages as possible so it would be less easy to cheat them at market.

He rubbed the back of his neck. His father and brother, if they were still alive, would have said that he was crazy. Staying here was courting death, but what choice did he have? Either that or have Lady Alwynn exposed. This way he’d have established his credentials as Lady Alwynn’s steward. It would make it easier to travel north when the time came.

A little voice called him a liar. He wanted to see if his dream about the way her lips tasted was true. He pushed it aside. Lady Alwynn was out of bounds.

‘You will see plenty of activity in due course...Northman.’

Valdar blinked as his blood ran cold. The old woman had guessed his secret. Or was she simply trying to unsettle him again? He concentrated on sweeping the dust into a neat pile. ‘Why do you call me that?’

‘You don’t deny it?’ Gode asked from where she perched, rubbing her belly. ‘I know the Frankish accent.’ She gave a small preen of her wispy hair. ‘In my youth, I was quite a beauty, not this old crone you see before you. A Frankish warrior loved me once. I’ve never forgotten his voice or the way he rolled his r’s. Yours is not like that.’

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