Ellan stood rooted to the floor. Her palms sweated and her heart tried to beat a path out of her chest. Henrik had left her and there was nothing she could do to make him stay. She even understood why he would leave her and she could not blame him. She had asked too much of him.
‘Who is this Dane, Ellan?’ said Lord Vidar.
Making her voice strong, because she refused to appear weak before Desmond and Tolan, she said, ‘There is no one, Lord.’
Lord Vidar gave her a hard stare and glanced towards where Henrik had sat. Somehow, he must have known. Finding the space on the bench empty, his jaw tightened and he said, ‘Then I’m afraid that I have no choice but to enforce this agreement your father made.’
She had expected the words, but they still fell heavily on her. A part of her had hoped that Aevir might intervene, but he sat there, a silent observer. ‘I know.’
Tolan stood and came towards her, giving her the first clear sight of his face. His nose was prominent and his features were strong. It was the sort of face that could be considered handsome if his bearing made up for the prominence. A kind demeanour would work wonders in softening the harsh countenance. Would he have that kindness within him?
He stopped before her and Aevir sat straighter as if he wanted to intervene, a scowl turning his eyes thunderous. ‘I am pleased to meet you, Ellan.’
She made no move other than to dip her head. There was no way out of the arrangement at the moment, so she had decided that it was best to appear meek. The time to stand her ground would come later and she didn’t want Tolan to know what she was capable of until she struck, even though she currently had no idea the form that action might take. She would not marry this stranger.
‘This is good,’ Desmond said. ‘We can start the arrangements in the morning. You can be wed soon.’
Tolan shook his head. ‘Actually, Cousin, I would prefer to go home to my village to wed. My mother and sisters have made much of the wedding. They would feel cheated if they weren’t allowed to take part.’
‘That’s out of the question,’ said Lord Vidar. ‘I won’t send her off alone and unmarried.’
‘Send an escort, then,’ Tolan replied easily.
Lord Vidar shook his head. ‘I’m told you plan to leave in the morning. It’s impossible to make arrangements that quickly. I have men at the northern border. To send men now would leave us too defenceless.’
‘How long would you need to prepare an escort?’ Tolan asked.
‘A few days. Rolfe is due back any day. Once he returns we could accommodate you with an escort.’
‘The low-hanging clouds promise a storm on the way. I’ll have to send some of my men home while we wait so that Stapleham can be prepared. With your permission, Lord, we’ll accept your offer of escort.’
Ellan calmly listened to the men discuss her fate. It was decided that many of the Saxons would return home while the rest waited for Rolfe’s arrival. Only then would Ellan be forced to leave with Tolan. Rolfe and his men would accompany them south.
When all was decided, Tolan smiled at her, a smile that hinted of victory and made her shiver. One way or the other she would be free, even if it meant running away to her freedom. She would come up with a plan before she left with her betrothed.
Conversation droned on around him, but Aevir could only watch as Ellan made her way from the hall to return home. Her back and shoulders were rigid and he could imagine her displeasure with the way events had unfolded. He wanted to go to her and reassure her, but he could not allow anyone to know the plans forming in his head. Plans that were only vague suggestions, hastily discarded as inadequate as soon as they formed.
It would not be easy to stop this marriage without further decay to the relations between the Saxons and the Jarl who ruled them, but Aevir was determined to find a way. Unable to sit still a moment longer, he started to rise to go find Henrik, but a strong hand on his wrist stayed him. He followed the arm to Jarl Vidar’s impassive face and then to the man’s vivid blue eyes which were alive with fury.
‘There will be no bloodshed in Banford.’ The Jarl’s voice was low so that it wouldn’t carry to the others while still sharp with authority.
Aevir swallowed, fighting the warrior instincts that urged him to fight. ‘She should not be forced to marry this coward.’
‘It is as her father has arranged. The only reason I am in the middle of such an agreement is because the girl has been my ward for several months. Had this betrothal come to pass last summer she would be wed and round with the Saxon’s child by now.’
The mere suggestion of that had Aevir gnashing his teeth. He wanted to say that she was his, but she wasn’t. How could he feel this nearly uncontrollable need to claim her? Was it too late? Had he already lost his heart to her? All this time he had been hedging, thinking he could walk right up to the precipice without going over. Had she already lured him in?
‘Nevertheless, we can stop it now,’ Aevir said.
‘We?’ Jarl Vidar raised a brow, but Aevir did not back down and stared him straight in his eyes.
‘Tolan is conspiring with Godric. You know it as well as I do.’
The Jarl sat back and allowed his gaze to roam over the Saxons who were busy congratulating Tolan on the beauty of his bride and drinking Dane mead. Finally, he said, ‘Aye, I suspect it. But it doesn’t change anything without proof.’
‘You will have your proof.’ Aevir’s words were so resolute that the Jarl leaned towards him again.
‘No bloodshed, Aevir. For the proof to work, we need Tolan alive to answer to it.’
Aevir gave a stiff nod. ‘I am going to Stapleham as part of the escort. You can say we are waiting for Rolfe, but I will replace him when the time comes.’
The Jarl sucked in a sharp breath. ‘Nay. You are compromised. I can no longer tell if this is about finding justice for the men we’ve lost or because you want Ellan for yourself.’
‘It doesn’t matter. The result will be the same. You will have your traitors brought to justice and I will have Ellan.’
He rose before the Jarl could stay him again. Without bidding anyone goodnight, he left the hall before he did something regrettable.
Ellan awoke later that night to a knock on her door. She sat bolt upright, surprised that she had managed to fall asleep at all after spending so much time tossing and turning and thinking of Aevir. Bleary-eyed, she looked around the hearth to find Elswyth’s place empty. Had she gone back out into the night to relieve herself?
Oh, aye, she had almost forgotten. Ellan had insisted that she take the alcove after Aevir had left. It was only right since Rolfe would be back soon and they could use the precious privacy it would give them. A quick glance confirmed the blanket was closed against the night.
The insistent knock came again, heavy and determined. Dragging her fur over her shoulders, she rose from her mat and hurried to the door. A cold wind nearly forced it back against the wall when she opened it.
‘Tolan?’ It was all she could think to say to the tall Saxon who stood before her. Perhaps she had imbibed too much mead at the evening meal, but she was having trouble making sense of what was happening.
‘May I come in?’ His voice was friendly and in no way threatening, but she was weary. It was the middle of the night.
‘I...I don’t—’
‘Please. It’s rather urgent.’
The icy wind howled and the door shook in her hands. She stepped back as much to avoid the cold as to accommodate him and he followed her inside.
‘Thank you,’ he said. ‘I am afraid that we have been advised to alter our plans. The weather is turning quickly, faster than anyone anticipated, and we must leave now to stay ahead of the storm. If the snow falls before we leave then we might be stranded here in Banford for weeks. I cannot be away from my business for so long.’
‘But Lord Vidar said—’
‘Aye, he did say, but that was hours ago and the weather is not holding.’ As if to emphasise his words, the wind chose that moment to beat against the side of the house.
The house was solid enough that it did not reach them inside, but she still pulled the blanket tighter around her. ‘Then we must leave now?’
She knew it, but it wasn’t until he confirmed it that her heart sank into her stomach. Hours that could have been spent planning, she had wasted thinking of Aevir and sleeping.
‘Hurry, girl, we must leave now.’ His voice urged her. ‘Gather your belongings.’
‘Ellan!’ Elswyth called from the alcove.
Ellan stared at her sister as she realised that this could be the last time she saw her. She could not imagine Tolan allowing her to travel to see her. Nay, she could not think that way. They were not married yet. She still had time to plan something.
The next several moments were a blur as she packed her few belongings into the leather satchel she had brought to Banford with her and then changed her clothes in the alcove with Elswyth’s help.
‘Are you certain he speaks the truth?’ Elswyth whispered as she plaited Ellan’s hair.
‘I think so,’ Ellan whispered back.
‘I’ll go to the hall to check with Lord Vidar to be sure.’
When Elswyth tied off the end, Ellan turned and pulled her into a hard hug. Elswyth hugged her back and then pulled away to look down into her face. ‘None of that.’ Elswyth forced a smile. ‘We will see each other again soon. Rolfe will bring me to Stapleham in the spring.’
Ellan nodded, but the future was too uncertain to take anything for granted. ‘Know that I love you and am thankful every day to have you as my sister.’
To her surprise, tears filled Elswyth’s eyes and she held her tight again. ‘I cannot believe that Father did this and that Lord Vidar did not stop it.’
Ellan could not believe it either. Neither could she believe that she had managed to hold out hope that Aevir might intervene. Her heart had been soundly crushed when he had sat at the table in the hall and said nothing to stop Tolan. But it would do no good to ruminate over those things now.
‘We must hurry!’ Tolan’s voice came from the other side of the curtain. ‘The weather will not hold.’
Pulling the blanket back, she stared up into the face of the man who would be her husband. Nay! She could not think of him that way. Not yet. Not while there was still hope. She managed to grab her satchel of belongings as Tolan ushered her out the door. Instead of taking her to the village, she was surprised to see a Saxon on horseback holding the leads of two horses waiting for them just outside the door. Certainly Tolan didn’t mean for the three of them to travel alone overland with the potential for Scots lurking in the forest.
‘Where are the rest of your men?’ she asked as he helped her to mount.
Coming around to mount his own horse, he said, ‘We will catch up to the group who left after the meal to return to Stapleham.’
‘What of the rest?’ By her estimate, a group of around ten had stayed behind with Tolan to wait for Rolfe’s return.
‘They’re about,’ he said, taking the reins of her horse and leading her into the night. ‘You’ll see them once we’re clear of Banford.’
She glanced around, seeing nothing but the forbidding trees in the distance and the flicker of Banford’s lights behind her. There was a glimpse of movement far off in the village. A watchman here and there, but none of them seemed to notice their small group leaving.
‘What of the escort Lord Vidar demanded?’ she asked, as the darkness of the forest welcomed them within its folds.
‘You certainly ask a lot of questions.’ Tolan’s voice was brittle as it drifted back to her. ‘I hope that will change once we are wed.’
A chill ran down her spine, but she raised her chin and said, ‘It is my right to know. He is my guardian and you are not yet my husband.’
There was a silence, but he finally answered. ‘He regrets that the situation turned out as it has, but he cannot spare men to see us home.’ They walked the length of five horses before he added with a glance back over his shoulder, ‘Perhaps we should wed on the way to Stapleham if that’s what it will take to quiet you.’
She gritted her teeth to keep her retort to herself. It wasn’t worth it to get into a war of words with this man. Besides, a lump had formed in her throat and she would die before she allowed him to hear weakness in her voice. One look back over her shoulder confirmed that no one followed them. Aevir had not come to her earlier in the evening and he would not come to her now. He had chosen to wed Annis in the spring.
Not Ellan.
She swallowed hard and refused to allow the tears to come even as she indulged in a brief moment of self-pity. No one she loved ever chose her. Not Mother who had loved her Dane more. Not Father who had loved his hatred more. Not Aevir who loved...nothing.
Aevir loved nothing more than he cared for her and he still had not chosen her.