The Viking's Woman (50 page)

“And child,” Daria said.

“The babe? He has taken the babe too?”

“Aye, Eric. She left so quickly, neither Adela nor I were here. Father sent ships, you see. Oh, Eric!”

“Where’s Mergwin?”

“With them, perhaps,” Patrick said. “He went leaping onto a bare-backed mare when they left. The mare just returned alone. We were preparing to search for him before the daylight could fail us completely.”

“I will find him,” Eric said.

He turned the white stallion about, heading for the gates. Rollo, Jon, and Edward quickly followed. “Wait!” Daria pleaded. “Let me come with you! Maybe I can help.”

Her brother barely paused. “Daria, go back inside!” Eric told her. “By God, Daria, I would not have you at risk too!”

But when he had turned again, Daria was already
heading for the stables. She was her father’s daughter—and her mother’s, he thought admiringly.

Eric was already hard set upon the trail. He had snatched Rhiannon away from Yorg the Dane easily enough, but this would be different. William was a very desperate man, a man guilty of much but mainly of treason against the king. There was no help against the king’s wrath. He would care nothing for his own life, only that he bring Rhiannon and Eric down with him into the darkness of death.

And the child! If only she had left the child behind! But she would not have left the babe; he knew that well. And he knew, too, that she would do anything to protect Garth. Sweat broke out upon his brow, his hands trembled upon his reins, and he knew that if he found William, he would gladly rip him asunder with his bare hands.

He frowned, aware of a body in his path, against the trees. He leapt from the white stallion and came down beside the crumpled form. It was Mergwin, as gray as death, his eyes closed against the shadows of the coming night.

“God!” Eric choked on the word and dragged his ancient mentor upon his lap, cradling him in his massive arms. “He will die for this alone, I swear it, my friend, I swear it, by my mother’s honor.”

He leaned against the man’s chest and could find no heartbeat. He would leave Mergwin now to rest in the glade, and if he could not bring him home to lie in Irish soil, then he would bring him to the water, cast him upon a bier with his runes and Celtic crosses, and send him off aflame, to blaze his very way to the halls
of Valhalla. Every honor would be done him. And for his life Eric would remember him and miss him.

Suddenly Eric felt a rumbling within the frail chest. The wise gray eyes opened with a heavy effort and met his. “Take no more time with me, Prince of Dubhlain. I rest rather comfortably here in the forest. She knows that William is a traitor, and she will be slowing him down. Go quickly now. He is heading north along the cliffs and ridges. You will be at a grave disadvantage. Hurry. Leave me, and go quickly.”

“I cannot leave you here to die!”

Mergwin smiled and beckoned Eric closer. He whispered to him and then fell back, exhausted.

“Rollo, come, take Mergwin. I charge you, bring him home with all the tender care of a babe.”

“Then you ride on as three,” Rollo protested.

“I’ve ridden alone against twenty,” Eric reminded him dryly. “Take Mergwin. Jon and Edward have the death of a friend to settle with William, and I will have my wife and child. Go—quickly.”

Rollo did as he was bidden. Eric remounted the white stallion, and he, Jon, and Edward started briskly through the woods once again.

It seemed to have grown so very late that Rhiannon could not believe that they had not stopped for even a moment. Garth had grown very restless, and his crying had become so strident that she began to fear William’s reaction if she did not still him soon. She had been forced to nurse him before William’s gaze, a gaze that chilled her to the marrow of her bones and made her feel uneasy and shamed. She tried to ignore him, then soon discovered that he was anxious only to move as quickly as possible for as long as possible.

Mergwin had told her that Eric would come. If only it would be so! Had they come to love each other so very much, only to lose all to this treachery now? If there was a God in heaven, it could not be so.

She tried to stall William and Allen frequently, telling them she had need of the woods, begging a drink, complaining of thirst and hunger and exhaustion again and again. But it seemed that William had a destination in mind and that they were not going to stop until they reached it.

They came to it very deep in the night, a cave upon a high ridge with a narrow entry and a clear path before it. Rhiannon quickly saw the wisdom of his
choice, for no one could come upon them without being seen.

William dismounted from his horse and came to Rhiannon’s side. “I see you are aware of the advantage this cave affords, milady. The moment he comes near—if he should do so—I will know.”

She cast her shimmering gaze upon him. “And what will that do? So you will see him coming. He will kill you, anyway. How will you stop him? Even if he comes alone, he will kill Allen, and then he will kill you very slowly.”

“I think not.”

“And why not?”

“Because he will know that if he comes near me, first the child, and then the bride, will go hurtling over the cliff to the rear. Now come down, Rhiannon.”

He reached for her. She gripped Garth tightly against her, glad that he seemed to be sleeping peacefully at last. “I will come down myself,” she said.

She dismounted easily enough with her son but was not able to avoid his touch. When her feet touched the ground, Allen caught hold of the mare and led her into the cave. William stood still, staring at Rhiannon. He touched his mustache and stroked his long beard, and then Allen reappeared.

“A fire is burning deep within. I’ve made a bed for the child and Rhiannon.”

“Fine.” William’s eyes remained upon Rhiannon, his smile deepening. “Then you will take the first watch. Milady, you will come with me.”

“I’ll not—” she began, but William nodded to Allen,
who caught her shoulders, and then William, himself, wrested Garth from her.

“He can go over the cliff right now, milady!” he warned her. “Walk with me and I will set him to sleep on his blanket. Walk with me now.”

He would do it, she thought, torn, exhausted, fearing an onslaught of helpless hysteria. “Give him back to me. I will lay him down to sleep.”

William shook his head and turned, walking into the cave. Desperate, Rhiannon followed him. “Please! Put him down, William, now.”

He was doing so, setting the child down more gently than she had expected. Garth did not awaken, but his little body shook with a sigh, and his thumb climbed to his mouth. She stared with anguish at her son and then looked at the man before her.

“Time to pay, Rhiannon!” he told her softly.

“Pay for what?”

“Ah, for your pride and arrogance and insolence. You should have been mine from the beginning, and the land and the manor should have been mine. I was Alfred’s man, loyal to the core. I watched you grow, and I went to the king and made it known that I should be the one to receive you and the land. But you were in love with Rowan, and the king was a fool for your desires until that bastard Viking entered the picture. I thought to dishonor you before the king when I had you fight the Viking. Alas, it all turned upon me. Again I thought that Ragwald could dispatch Eric the Wolf on his way to Valhalla, that invader could slay invader, but he failed me too. I had Rowan killed—”

“What?” she cried, feeling ill.

“Indeed, lady, ’tis easy to hire murderers. You would be amazed. A man’s life is often worth a paltry amount in gold. And then again I tried to kill your husband and wrest you from him, but my dagger was deflected. If he does not know now that it was I who betrayed him, he will soon come to the realization. And so there is nothing left but you, and I will not let you go so easily.”

“No,” she whispered, backing away from him. “I loathe you. I despise you. The thought of you makes me ill. I shall never let you—” She broke off, frozen, as he drew a knife from a sheath at his calf. She thought he meant to toss it at her, and she thought that she would welcome death before his touch. But he turned suddenly and sent the blade hurtling toward the blanket where Garth slept. Rhiannon screamed, racing toward her infant. The knife had been well aimed. It did not strike the lad; it did not even awaken him. But it fell upon the blanket right beside the tiny golden head, and its warning was clear to Rhiannon.

She started to turn but it didn’t matter. William was at her side, wrenching her to her feet and into his arms. “Lady, you will have me!” he insisted. His mouth came down hard upon hers, bruising her, causing her to taste blood. She fought him, fought his kiss, fought his hold. She kicked and pummeled and kneed him, and he swore, tossing her to the ground. And then he approached her with venom in his eyes, and before she could defend herself, he struck her hard across the face, then yanked her to her feet. His hands lit upon her bodice and she heard the rent and felt the fabric tear. He threw her then into the corner of
the cave, and as she fell to the floor she was terribly afraid that she could fight no more, because a blackness was descending before her eyes.

God, don’t let this happen! she prayed.

But she could still taste the blood.

The moon was high when Eric saw the cave gaping before them in the darkness. He lifted his hand, and behind him, Edward and Jon reined in their horses.

Neither Rhiannon nor the babe could be seen, nor William of Northumbria, nor the horses.

But Allen was there, seated at the opening of the cave, watching every movement about him.

Jon came up behind Eric. “I know this cave. There is an opening to the rear. Sheer cliffs lie below it. If we approach, William will threaten you with the lives of your wife and child.”

Eric nodded. He had figured as much himself. But he could not wait. William was deep in the cliff, with Garth and Rhiannon. Rhiannon would not let him harm the babe.

And so he would harm her ….

He whirled about, his hand upon his sword hilt, and he heard the sound of horse’s hooves behind them. Daria rode into view, and he swore vehemently. “I told you to stay home.”

Daria dismounted, tossing back the hood of her mantle. “I thought that I could help—”

“Help!” Jon interrupted. “You should take a switch to her, Eric!”

Daria ignored him, walking toward the trees. “I
can
help!” she whispered. “Eric, please, I can! If you
walk in, that man will sound an alarm. If I wander up, I may take him off-guard.”

“’Tis too risky,” Eric began, but Daria smiled, and then flew past them all with such speed that they had no choice but to prepare to follow her with all haste.

Daria walked calmly toward the cave, calling out when she saw Allen at the entrance, “Dear sir! Could you help me, please? I am so afraid that I am endlessly lost in this forest.” She continued to speak, but they could hear no more as she approached Allen. He stood there, clearly fascinated and perhaps mesmerized by her beauty. As she spoke, she moved and, in her movement, enchanted Allen from the entrance to the cave. “Now,” Eric murmured. “By God, but she has given us a clear entry! Jon, see that he does not harm my sister. Edward, I implore you, see to my child.”

Yet even as he started out across the clearing before the cave, Allen seemed to realize that something was afoot. “William!” he cried. “William, we’ve company!”

Eric straightened and started across the clearing, his sword drawn. Allen saw him and his eyes widened with alarm. He thrust Daria before him as a shield. “I’ll kill her, Viking. So help me, I’ll kill her.” Daria kicked him with a vengeance, and he loosed his hold upon her, backing toward the cave.

“Daria, get out!” Eric warned. Jon, behind him, caught hold of Daria’s arm and sent her whirling to safety behind them. Then they entered the cave.

Something had happened, something to save her, Rhiannon thought. Just as William had descended
upon her, just as she screamed with horror as his fingers brushed her naked flesh, something happened. The world was still spinning, and she did not know what had occurred; she was only aware that William was rising, that he was racing forward.