Page 81 of Summer of the Viking

Alwynn crouched down. ‘Merri told me—Valdar’s gone. He took the opportunity and left.’

‘Are you happy about that?’

Alwynn patted Gode’s hand. How could she begin to explain that she doubted if she’d ever be truly happy again, but at least she knew what it was like to be loved and to love in return. Before Valdar arrived in her life, she hadn’t understood what true happiness was. ‘I’d rather think him free and safe. If he’d stayed, there was every possibility that he’d have been killed.’

‘He is not like those others. A good man. One of the best.’ Gode coughed. ‘He saved all of us. Killing someone for saving others sounds pretty harsh. I should never have told you who he was. I should have kept my mouth shut. I should have known that he’d keep his word and leave.’

‘You know the law as well as I do.’

‘Is it the king’s law? Or one of Lord Edwin’s orders?’ Gode tapped her nose. ‘Have you thought about that? Valdar never attacked any of us. He never threatened...’

Alwynn blinked. Might there have been a way to keep Valdar here? Had she sent him away for nothing? She twisted the ring on her finger. ‘It is far too late to think about such things, Gode.’

‘Only too late when you are dead, my lady.’

* * *

‘Lady Alwynn.’

Lord Edwin’s nasal tones told Alwynn that her time of grace had finished. Silently she gave thanks that Valdar had done as she asked. She schooled her features and prepared for battle.

‘Lord Edwin, you returned far more quickly than I had considered possible.’

Lord Edwin’s boots were mud splattered and his cloak damp. Alwynn’s eyes widened. She had never seen him this unkempt. Had she been wrong? Did he actually care about the people who lived here? Or was something else going on?

Lord Edwin removed his riding gloves. ‘Once I heard the news, I wasted no time. I rode as swiftly as possible. I only stopped to change horses. Where are the Northmen’s bodies? Are you certain they are indeed Northmen? You must be certain on this point.’

‘They were Northmen. Beyond a shadow of a doubt.’ Alwynn tilted her head to one side. ‘They have been buried in a pit. You may ask the monks about them. I believe they collected their badges to show to the king if he requires it.’

Edwin whistled. ‘And they attacked one of my farms. Why?’

‘They wanted food, I presume.’

‘It doesn’t matter what they wanted. It matters that they were here and my tenants foiled the attack.’

‘All the villagers combined. Your tenants and mine.’

Lord Edwin’s eyes narrowed. ‘My tenants performed heroics with pitchforks. That is what the king wants to hear.’

‘But...’

‘The king will be arriving soon. He expects a feast. A celebration. He wants to reward the man who saved Northumbria from a terrible invasion.’

‘I am sure you are more than capable of providing one.’

‘Except...’ Edwin tapped his fingers together. ‘Except they all say it was your steward.’

‘My message said nothing about my steward.’

‘It didn’t have to. The messenger was very clear on who the hero was.’

Alwynn struggled to take a breath. ‘Then the king knows about my steward?’

‘The king would very much like to meet your steward, as would I.’ Lord Edwin snapped his fingers. ‘Summon him.’

‘Impossible. He has left.’

‘Left?’ Edwin arched a brow. ‘After such a triumph?’

‘We had an agreement. He had promised to return home by summer’s end.’ Silently Alwynn prayed that Valdar had gone and had not remained hidden somewhere.

‘And his name?’

‘His name?’ Alwynn pasted a smile on. Her hands shook so she clasped them together. ‘His name is unimportant.’

‘Surely you know his name. What did you call him?’

She looked him directly in the eye. Edwin was trying to intimidate her. A sudden cold but calm feeling swept through her. She raised her head and met Lord Edwin’s gaze directly. ‘Valdar, the son of Neri.’

Lord Edwin blinked rapidly. ‘Those are not Northumbrian names.’

‘I never said he was Northumbrian.’ Alwynn inclined her head. ‘Perhaps if you had stayed in the area, you wouldn’t have to hear about this from your neighbours.’

She picked up a dropped spinning whorl. Valdar’s ring glinted in the sunlight. Alwynn silently groaned. She should have taken it off, but it was her last link with him and she couldn’t bear it.

‘He is a Northman, your steward. That’s what my farmer’s wife says. And I, for one, believe her. I will make sure the king knows you have been consorting with the enemy. How long have you been a Northman’s lover?’

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