‘You spent the night with him?’ Cedric had barely waited for her to settle herself at the table before he asked the question.
Despite his harsh tone, the smile on Annis’s face refused to fade away. What should have been a very strange night, and had been in many respects, had not resulted in her losing any sleep. If anything, she had slept very soundly, better than she had since they had learned the Norseman was in the village asking questions.
‘Good morning, Cedric. How is Wilfrid this morning?’
‘He is overly tired. He was awake much of the night. Last evening was a task for him.’
She nodded. Those details were what she had expected. Wilfrid rarely joined them for their meals any more and, when he did, he usually took to his bed the next day. Last night would have proven even more trying for him, especially since Rurik had decided to break the news about Maerr. Any bit of upset seemed to send Wilfrid into a decline that took him several days to overcome.
She waited for the serving girl to fill her cup, before she said, ‘Thank you, Leofe. You may leave us alone now.’ She had no desire to have this discussion before the servants. They must all be talking as it was.
The girl gave her a nod and set her pitcher down among the others before taking her leave. Cedric heaved an impatient sigh as he waited, though Annis assumed the sigh was meant for her and not the girl. When the door closed with a soft echo, Annis finally allowed herself to meet his gaze. His brows were drawn together in a scowl she recognised all too well.
‘I spent the night in his chamber, if you must know,’ she said and found that she could not meet his gaze after all. While the night had passed innocently enough, she could not understand her response to Rurik this morning. There was a peacefulness about her that had not been there before sleeping beside him. Until she could figure out exactly what it meant, she did not want Cedric to root out the information with his all-knowing gaze. Instead of meeting his eyes, she focused all her attention on her food. Honey cakes always made her feel better anyway.
‘He was concerned that someone might attempt to bring him harm in the middle of the night,’ she added.
Cedric huffed across from her. ‘He does not trust our hospitality.’
‘Would you? He has been chained in a cage and then reluctantly given a chamber. He does not believe that you do not mean him harm.’
‘The Norseman is wiser than I gave him credit for.’
‘Why would you not believe him to be wise?’ she asked, mildly annoyed on Rurik’s behalf though she could not understand why she would care one way or the other for Cedric’s opinion of the man.
Holding his spoon poised above his porridge, Cedric said, ‘Primarily because he arrived in Glannoventa to face us alone. He should have brought an army.’
‘Perhaps he has no army. Had you seen the massacre you would know that dozens of warriors were killed. I do not know the details of the aftermath, but it seems that the kingdom is in chaos.’ There was no reason for her to try to get Cedric to understand Rurik, but she could not seem to stop herself.
Cedric harrumphed and took another bite. ‘Perhaps. I still say it was a foolish decision.’
‘The alternative would be to give up the search for justice.’
He nodded. ‘Sometimes wise men know that justice is not worth the risk.’
That message had been meant for her. Her eyes jumped to his and he met her gaze briefly before going back to his food. She understood then that this was why she was so determined to defend Rurik from Cedric. His search for justice was so much like her own, perhaps she was defending herself in the process. Her own search had come to an end, but it had brought her no peace. Would Rurik’s search be the same?
Deciding not to comment, she took another bite as the doors were suddenly flung open. Alder hurried into the room with a stranger at his back. The man was unkempt and dirty, and he had clearly been riding for several days. Cedric rushed to his feet.
‘Apologies for interrupting, but a messenger has arrived,’ said Alder.
The man rushed forward, hardly waiting for Alder to finish speaking before he said, ‘I would speak with Lord Wilfrid.’ His gaze flitted back and forth from Annis to Cedric, seeming uncertain upon whom he should focus his attention.
Annis rose to her feet. ‘Lord Wilfrid is indisposed this morning. I am Lady Annis, his daughter by marriage. You may speak to me in his stead.’
The man gave one last look to Cedric, waiting for his nod before turning his full attention to her. Although the man’s need for confirmation was not unexpected, it still made her grit her teeth in consternation. It was more proof that she would never be completely accepted as a leader here.
‘You have my apologies and condolences, my lady. It is my sad duty to inform you that King Ricsige of Northumbria has died.’
Cedric cursed and crossed himself all in the same breath. Annis was too stunned to respond right away. King Ricsige was the last true Saxon King of the North. Jarl Eirik had gained an uneasy truce with him and they had found peace for the last few years. However, with his death, the future was even more uncertain and unstable. Either the Danes would take over all of Northumbria, or the Saxons would install their own leader. Any uncertainty for Northumbria meant uncertainty for Glannoventa. Uncertainty for her.
Regaining her senses, she asked, ‘What has happened?’
‘He became ill. It was a natural death, I am told, my lady.’ What he did not say was that poison often seemed natural because there was no trace of it. No one would know for certain which would lead to bitterness and betrayal.
‘Thank you for bringing this message to us.’ He inclined his head in answer. ‘Would you stay with us?’
‘I am sorry, my lady, but I must continue on. I have many more to tell.’
Nodding, she said to Alder, ‘See that he is given food and a fresh horse. He may rest before continuing onwards.’
She waited until the door closed before sinking down into her seat. Cedric took his as well, though neither of them seemed inclined to finish eating.
‘You know what this means, Annis.’ He whispered it, as if to say it too loudly would bring the devil himself down upon them.
She could not answer him immediately. It was as if the blood in her veins had grown too cold to flow and sat pounding in her head. Only when she could rouse herself did she say, ‘It might not mean that, if King Ricsige has named a—’
Cedric shoved back from the table, impatient with her. ‘You know that it means you must marry now. Annis, this wavering has gone on for too long. Wilfrid is dying and he has no successor. If you do not marry, then Glannoventa and Mulcasterhas can be taken from us. Someone else will be brought in and God only knows how inept he might be. These people need you.’
She shook her head. Even knowing that he was right, she could not allow herself to believe it. ‘Wilfrid is still alive. No one, not even Jarl Eirik, will allow him to be removed from his position.’
Scratching his jaw in frustration, Cedric said, ‘That might be true, but that was when the King still lived. What do you think will happen when Jarl Eirik comes to our door? What do you think will happen when he sees Wilfrid with his own eyes? We have been fortunate to have kept Wilfrid’s state quiet for the past year, but when Jarl Eirik sees for himself that he is little more than an invalid—’
‘He is not an invalid!’
‘Isn’t he? God knows that I love him more than my own family, but we cannot continue in this vein. Wilfrid cannot make sound decisions as he once could. You and I have been working on his behalf. If it were just us, then I would say that we could continue.’ He paused and the slight wobble in his voice had gone when he spoke again. ‘But it is not only about us. We have all Glannoventa to consider. The people—farmers, fisherman, even children, Annis. Think of them, if no one else. You have the responsibility to make certain that their futures are secure.’
Flushed with anger, she rose. ‘Of course I am thinking of the children, and their parents, and the barren, and the very old, and even the criminals. All of them matter to me. Glannoventa has thrived in recent years. Our fields are fertile and our lakes are bountiful. No one is hungry.’
‘That is precisely why we must act now.’
‘Why? I am perfectly capable. Glannoventa is thriving because of me.’
Cedric shook his head. ‘But it will not matter. You will not be allowed to rule alone. Jarl Eirik has made this clear. Whoever this new King is, he will almost certainly not agree to you ruling alone. Glannoventa is ripe and, while we have been left alone in the past, we will not be left alone now. One side will claim Glannoventa, which means that one side will claim you. Now is your chance. You will either have a husband forced upon you, or you can choose your husband now and pre-empt them.
‘Which will it be?’
‘That will not happen, Cedric.’ She shook her head emphatically, as if that would help make her words true. ‘We can make an arrangement with the Danes. If Jarl Eirik comes—’
‘When, child, not if. Jarl Eirik has likely already heard of King Ricsige’s death. Make no mistake. He may even now be on his way.’
A shiver of unease ran through her, but she held her shoulders straight anyway. ‘When he comes, I will explain to him. He cannot deny success when it is right before his eyes.’
Cedric struck the table with the flat of his hand, but he did not refute her.
‘I must go and see to the messenger’s care. Excuse me.’ Angry and hurt that Cedric would give her advice that would betray everything she had worked for during Wilfrid’s illness, she left the room.
It was strange how the morning had started with such a feeling of well-being and peace, only to disintegrate in less than an hour. The King’s death was ominous, but it was not as dire as Cedric made it seem. Annis was certain that Jarl Eirik would be content to allow her to rule. The alternative was unthinkable.
To Rurik’s frustration, he had been largely ignored for the day. The accommodations were vastly improved from the cage, but with no access to Annis, he was making no progress towards his goal. At least he was left with the run of his chamber and someone brought him meals, but he was greeted with stony silence when he demanded to see Annis.
He was perplexed to admit that he was a bit hurt by her absence. Their night together had seemed to have forged a connection, at least in his mind, but apparently not hers. He told himself that it was not the connection he missed, but the progress he had made in gaining her trust and co-operation, except even he did not believe the lie.
She interested him in a way no one ever had. He had never met anyone with her particular mix of boldness and vulnerability and he was not one to hide himself away from things that he did not understand. Only, in this case, the person in question seemed to be hiding from him.
Rurik rose to his feet when he heard the click of the door being unlocked. Even though it was early in the evening, his stomach grumbled in expectation of the evening meal, but he ignored it. He had already decided that he would refuse all food until Annis came to see him. It was either that or attack his guards and force his way out. While that option held its own allure, it would not tell him the names of the assassins he sought. Annis was strong, but her obvious guilt at keeping a prisoner was a weakness he planned to exploit. It was in his best interest to play the mild prisoner, for now.
Instead of food, the woman herself stepped inside. She was wearing a violet frock made of the finest wool he had ever seen. Despite himself, he took in the pleasing way the fabric clung to the curves of her hips.
‘Wilfrid has requested your presence.’
He met her gaze at that, but her eyes were hooded. Strange. There was something she was not saying. Experience had taught him that a direct question would not get him to the bottom of that mystery, so he simply nodded instead of asking why she had avoided him.
‘Good. Is he ill?’
A flash of pain crossed her features before it was quickly extinguished. ‘Not ill, but tired.’
‘Has something happened?’ The question was out before he could stop it. ‘I only ask because I thought I would be given more access to him.’ He did not want to remind her of their deal, but he could not deny the flicker of annoyance that threatened to become a full-blown fire within him. Even a day wasted was too much.
She opened her mouth to speak, gave a shake of her head and crossed her hands in front of her. He had noticed that she tended to do that when she felt uncertain. A wild need to go to her nearly made him move forward, but he held it in check.
‘King Ricsige has died.’
Rurik knew of the struggles Northumbria had faced to keep itself from falling entirely to the Danes and Norse, but he did not know precisely why this news seemed particularly disagreeable to her. To him it was inevitable that the Danes would install their own ruler who was not Saxon.
‘Did you know him well?’ he asked.
‘I had not met him.’
‘Did you—’
‘If you will come with me, I can take you to Wilfrid before we have our meal in the hall.’
This was obviously a subject she did not want to speak with him about, so Rurik kept silent and gave her a nod of assent. ‘Lead the way, Lady Annis.’
His tone was meant to provoke her and he was thrilled to get a slight roll of her eyes in response. She turned on her heel and headed out of the room, and his eyes had free rein to roam down the length of her strong and graceful back to the sway of her hips. In his abundant free time in the chamber, he had imagined that backside more than he wanted to admit.
She glanced over her shoulder, catching him, and her cheeks pinkened, but she did not reprimand his wandering eyes. The knowledge settled deep within his chest and warmed him. Perhaps she had stayed away because she had felt their connection. It was the first time he had allowed his thoughts to go in that direction and the result was too pleasing for him to allow them to linger there. He could not forget that this connection between them was only temporary and only to serve a purpose.
With that in mind, he forced himself to stop looking at her. Instead, he took in the wide corridor. More men were stationed here than last time. Aside from the two outside his door, there appeared to be two at either end of the corridor to block an escape attempt. There were also two at Wilfrid’s door. Rurik had no doubt there were others he could not see. He felt naked and exposed without his weapons, making him realise how much trust was implicit in this captor/captive relationship they had.
She paused outside the old man’s door and looked up at him. Her eyes were wide with uncertainty and a suspicious shimmer. ‘Please do not tell him who you are. I beg you.’
He put his hand on the door to disguise that he had almost touched her to comfort her. ‘I will adhere to our agreement, but I do need answers.’
She nodded, but then tilted her head to the side as she studied him more intently. ‘What do you think you will do with these answers once you have them?’
‘I will find the assassins and kill them,’ he answered, matter-of-factly.
‘And then what will you do?’
He paused, not quite certain what she meant.
His confusion must have shown on his face, because she elaborated. ‘If they are dead, your father will not be brought back to life, nor will the others.’
‘Ah, but my goal is not to bring them back. It is in part to punish those responsible.’
Her brow creased. ‘And what is the other part?’
‘To help clear the way for my brother Brandt to take back what should be his.’
‘And what if you find these people you are killing have families?’
‘I assume that most people have families of some sort. It did not stop these men from bringing terror and death to my home and family.’
She stared at him and he wasn’t certain how, but he got the distinct feeling that he had disappointed her. He did not like that feeling. It settled heavy on his shoulders and in the pit of his stomach.
‘The doors,’ she said to the guards and the doors to Wilfrid’s chamber were opened. ‘After you.’