Harlequin Historical May 2014 - Bundle 1 of 2: Notorious in the West\Yield to the Highlander\Return of the Viking Warrior (50 page)

‘A threat?' Kara concentrated on undoing her braid. ‘I react badly to threats.'

‘Threats have no meaning. Actions do. My father taught me that. Either you come with me when I go or you make your own way back to Jaarlshiem.'

She bit back a retort and concentrated on plaiting her hair and twisting it up as her hands trembled with anger. Thankfully she didn't like the over-complex plaits that were so popular at court.

‘Do you always enter a house like that?' she asked as she re-entered the main room. ‘Knocking the front door down? A Viken custom, I presume.'

‘My house. My door. I dislike having it barred against me.' He bowed low to the servant and put a gold piece on the table. ‘To pay for the door. Are the servants capable of looking after this house?'

Kara rolled her eyes. As if she'd have untrustworthy servants! ‘There would not be the need to fix the door, if you had waited.'

Ash tapped his finger against his lips. ‘Valdar failed to arrive at court this morning. Along with my uncle. Both were conspicuous by their absence.'

Kara wet her lips and deliberately ignored the Valdar remark. ‘You've seen the king?'

‘First thing. The king is sympathetic with my plight and gave me leave to see my son. I wanted to inform Valdar, as well, in case he felt the need to say goodbye.'

‘Valdar wouldn't expect me to say goodbye,' Kara retorted. ‘He'll approve in any case. He likes Rurik. And he has never been in allegiance with your uncle, if that is what you are implying.'

Ash's face hardened. ‘Yes, you did say what an excellent person he is.'

A tiny flutter developed in the pit of Kara's stomach. Ash was jealous. She quashed it as wishful thinking. Ash didn't care about her. He did want to meet Rurik and that was all she asked.

Ignoring Ash's glower, Kara issued a few final instructions to the servants, including delivering a message to Valdar of her leaving. The youngest kitchen maid volunteered to run over to Valdar's house straight away. Kara shook her head and told her that it could wait until after she'd gone.

‘Have you finished?' Ash slapped his gloves against his wrist. ‘Or do you need to instruct the maids on how to spin wool?'

‘The servants need to know what to do. I take my responsibilities seriously, but all is sorted now.' Kara walked past him and out into the street.

She stopped in surprise. Rather than two or three men as an escort, a host of twenty men sat on horses, with their weapons clearly displayed as if they expected trouble. One held her horse, saddled. The back of her neck prickled. Despite his earlier assurance, Ash expected trouble.

Various townspeople gathered, staring open-mouthed at the number of outriders.

‘No cart?' she asked, frowning.

‘As you can ride a horse, a cart is unnecessary. If you need one for your dignity, you'll have to employ your own escort. I intend to travel swiftly.'

‘I've ridden to Jaarlshiem before. Bring my horse here and I'll mount.' Kara sent a silent prayer up thanking various goddesses that her skirt was full enough to allow her to ride a horse without displaying her limbs. But even if they had showed, she'd have refused the cart. Silently she vowed that she would be there when Ash met Rurik. She wanted to make sure Ash didn't reject Rurik once he saw him. It would absolutely devastate Rurik. Hring's vicious remarks about how she was lucky that Ash had died as he'd never have accepted the boy resounded in her brain.

She mounted swiftly.

‘Kara!' Valdar strode down the street with about fifteen friends. Their hands hovered above their undrawn swords, ready for battle. As they neared her horse, they spread out, taking up the street's entire width. The message was abundantly clear—if Ash wanted to go to Jaarlshiem, he'd have to pass through them.

Kara struggled to control her horse, which had reared up at the noise. Men! She hated violent posturing, ever since her father used to pick fights just to prove he was the stronger. One day he hadn't been and he'd died of the infected wound.

‘Valdar.' Kara inclined her head when she had her horse under control. ‘I return to Jaarlshiem. What brings you here?'

‘Willingly?'

‘You will let us pass, Valdar the Unwed!' Ash manoeuvred his horse so that it pawed the ground directly in front of Valdar.

‘Not until I hear from the Lady Kara. Do you go willingly, my lady?'

‘Of course she does! Do you see any chains?' Ash swung down from his horse. In unison, his men followed suit.

Two armies facing each other. One wrong word and blood would spill. Kara's head thumped. In an odd way she was certain both enjoyed the confrontation, but it ended here.

‘I go willingly to Jaarlshiem. Ash Hringson speaks the truth. As you know, I am more than capable of speaking for myself.' She gave Valdar a hard look and then Ash, who looked unapologetic. ‘Allow us to pass. Next time, Ash, allow me to answer questions directed towards me.'

Valdar raised his hand and his men cleared a path. ‘If that is what you truly desire, my lady, it will be done without question. I...that is, we...aim to serve you.'

She pulled the cloak tighter about her shoulders and wished that she had deserved the loyalty. ‘It is.'

The warrior's face fell. ‘And you need no assistance. Send word, any time, if you need me.'

‘I trust my husband will see to my safety, if not my comfort. He has more than enough men. Perhaps it is because he is used to travelling in Viken rather than in Raumerike. The roads are far quieter here.'

Kara glanced at Ash, who stood jaw set and hands clenched. Her heart hammered. She spoke the truth. In his own way, Ash had always looked after her...when he had been here.

Valdar nodded, accepting her words. ‘Hringson, will I be welcome at Jaarlshiem?'

‘I've no quarrel with you, Valdar. Never did,' Ash proclaimed. ‘I've no quarrel with any man. I simply claim what is lawfully mine. The king understands. You would know this if you had been at court this morning.'

‘I will take your word for it. I had other matters to attend to.' Valdar's cheek flushed slightly and Kara wondered where he'd been. He never missed court when he was in Sand.

Kara made a little clicking noise in the back of her throat. Her horse started forward. ‘Shall we go before anything else happens?'

‘Are you expecting more trouble, my lady?' Ash made no attempt to mount his horse.

‘You always have to make a scene, Ash,' she said. ‘There was no cause to do that. And there is no reason except simple extravagance to have this many men accompanying us. You would think we were riding off to battle, rather than returning to Jaarlshiem to see our son.'

A muscle jumped in his jaw. ‘Hardly extravagant. Prudent. What is mine stays mine. I trust Valdar the Steady and everyone else understands that now.'

Kara's mouth went dry. ‘Does that include people?'

‘I look after my own.'

Kara straightened her back and dug her heels into her horse's flank. ‘Then I was never yours. Seven years, Ash, seven long years.'

Chapter Six

K
ara had never belonged to him.

Kara's words resounded in Ash's head with every step his horse took. Once he had thought she was his without question. Kara had always been there with her ready smile and hero worship. He'd failed to appreciate her and her potential.

This trip was about more than meeting his son. It was about protecting Kara, even though he was certain she'd claim that she didn't need protection. With each encounter, her steely strength and clear head impressed him more.

Kara might have thought Valdar the right man for her, but he was not. Ash knew this in his heart. All he wanted was a chance to prove that he could be the sort of husband she'd longed for all those years ago—brave, steady in battle and valiant—a true hero.

He wrenched his mind away from his circling thoughts and concentrated on the road ahead.

The twilight drenched the road to Jaarlshiem in shadow. The air bore a distinct chill of winter as a bone-chilling drizzle began to fall.

‘Were you listening and watching, Uncle? Did you understand my message was meant for you, as well?' Ash muttered under his breath. ‘When are you going to make your move? On this journey or against my ship as it moves slowly up the river towards Jaarlshiem? Or are you a spider, willing to sit and wait for me to make a mistake? I no longer make them. You have now become the hunted.'

He glanced back. Kara's head nodded. She jerked awake, making her horse start, but then her eyes began to flutter again.

‘I'm fine,' she muttered. ‘Keep going.'

‘Did I say anything?'

He glanced about them to judge where they were and smiled. Tension flowed out of his shoulders. The gods were with him today. His younger self would never have noticed her exhaustion.

The gods favoured those who noticed small details.
He'd learnt that lesson in the mud of his first victory, six months after he had escaped the dungeon. It should have been a defeat, but he'd noticed the Franks had not bothered to defend their western flank and had forded a river. After that, he had started to win other men's respect. The lesson had stayed with him ever since.

‘We stop for the night.' Ash pulled his horse up as the rain intensified. ‘A woodcutter's hut sits in the clearing up ahead. I used it years ago. Shelter on a night like this. No one will dare refuse us. I carry the king's rune, promising safe passage.'

At his words, Kara scrubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. ‘I'm prepared to go on. All night should see us to Jaarlshiem's boundary.'

‘You have regained your tongue, my lady. That is news worth celebrating!'

‘When the occasion calls for it.' Her look flung daggers at him.

He shifted uncomfortably in his saddle. Maybe his earlier choice of words had been lacking in subtlety, but he wanted Valdar to take a message to his uncle.

If Kara had remained, there was every chance she'd be taken hostage and he couldn't allow that.

‘Do you have a problem, Kara? I'm not prepared to play guessing games.'

‘I'm no man's possession. Shall we get that clear? You need not make any concession for me either.'

He opted for a smile. ‘We were able to leave Sand without being molested.'

‘Why should anyone want to stop you? Is there something you are keeping from me?'

A single drop of rain ran down her cheek, shimmering in the half-light like a tear and highlighting the circles under her eyes. ‘When did you last sleep properly?'

‘I could ask you the same thing! It takes time to organise a journey like this.'

‘Not as much time as you might think. I'm used to getting by with little sleep. When you've sold your service, you have to be prepared to reach the battle on time.'

‘Are you going to battle? I thought you were going home.'

‘Have you ever travelled all night?' he asked rather than answering her question. Going home for him was a matter of facing his demons, but she didn't want to know about his suffering. Kara wanted an invincible hero. ‘You seem more than half-asleep.'

Kara reached up and pulled her cloak's hood more firmly over her head. ‘My horse and I can go many miles yet.'

‘You and your horse can, but I require rest. This place is good ground for a battle. I've learnt to always camp where you are sure of the ground,' he said, pulling his horse to a halt. ‘Good ground about this hut.'

‘Who is going to attack here in Raumerike?'

‘I want to be prepared in case of the unexpected,' he said lightly. Maybe he was wrong and Kara was right. His uncle might use the law instead, but he doubted it. Maybe he had lived far too long with war and he'd seen the look in his uncle's eye before his uncle had stormed out of the temple. ‘Tonight mainly I want my rest. I hope I get it.'

‘Perhaps if we had started later, you wouldn't be so tired.'

‘Tomorrow I meet my son. I want to do that fully alive rather than half-dead.'

She pushed her hood back and he caught a glimpse of her expressive eyes. ‘You truly want to stop? You aren't simply being kind because you think me weak?'

‘Why would I ever consider you weak?'

‘You used to get impatient when I couldn't keep up. Even on our wedding night, you kept going when I begged you to stop.'

‘I was younger then.' He instinctively rubbed the knot in his leg. The hours of riding had caused it to seize up. ‘When you are older, you learn the value of respecting your body. I've learnt the value of conserving my energy until the battle begins.'

‘You plan to do battle with our son?'

‘Hardly...unless he wishes to do battle with me. Sons have a habit of doing that with their fathers.'

Ash waited for an answering smile. Her eyes drooped further and her hands went slack on the reins.

‘You never fought your father,' she murmured, her head nodding. ‘Rurik dreams of being a warrior. Your father encouraged it.'

Ash slid off his horse. His father. He knew all about that sort of encouragement. And his father had always said that he wasn't ready to fight, that he'd never make a true warrior.

‘Down you come. Stop protesting. When did you last have a proper sleep?'

He put his hands about her slender waist and lifted her down. She weighed less than he imagined, but there was an inner strength in her back.

‘I know how to dismount.' She gave a half-hearted push against his chest. ‘You try planning a wedding which gets interrupted as well as running a large estate. Hardly any time to breathe, let alone sleep.'

He gave in to temptation and held her for another heartbeat, drinking in the soft floral scent.

Something stirred deep within his memory. No other woman he'd ever encountered smelled like Kara. It had been one of the biggest mistakes he'd ever made, leaving her in the way he had. He had to hope he wasn't making another one coming back and turning her life upside down. But now he was here, he had to try.

‘Were you always this independent?' he murmured against her hair, making a new memory. ‘In my mind, you always agreed to my suggestions, no matter how outlandish.'

‘I learnt the value of independence and using my mind.' She wriggled and he set her on her feet. ‘It means the only person you have to blame is yourself.'

‘The only thing you do tonight is sleep. Orders. In there. Sleep with no one to disturb you. Know you are safe.'

She shook her head. ‘There is a lot to be done before I sleep. The men will need food for a start. Someone will need to make certain the horses are secure and fed. The fire will have to be started. Food cooked.'

‘My men look after their own needs. It is understood.' He straightened her hood. ‘You will do no one any favours if you try to keep awake. It is when accidents happen, Kara. The last thing we need is you getting injured. You look half-dead.'

She made an annoyed noise. ‘You know how to make a woman feel special.'

Ash regarded her soft hair and creamy skin. She looked exhausted, but utterly delectable. It was all he could do to keep from gathering her into his arms again and kissing her thoroughly. Patience, rather than force. He had to prove himself to her. ‘I was under the impression that you preferred the unvarnished truth these days. Shall I pay compliments instead?'

‘The truth is preferable to compliments which you've paid to a hundred other women.'

Ash ignored the ‘hundred other women' remark. He couldn't remember any other women. He certainly had not had one while he'd been away. It had been easier to keep his focus that way. ‘I'll remember that, but you mustn't complain if the truth is not to your liking.'

She tilted her head to one side. ‘Are you certain your men know how to make a proper camp? Some of them appear quite desperate.'

Ash cast a practised eye over his men—a diverse bunch of men and not pretty to look at, but they were good men to have in a fight. ‘Warriors, pledged to me. If they didn't know their business, I wouldn't have them.'

‘But so many of them.'

‘Safety in numbers.' Over the years, he'd learnt that there was value in numbers. On his way to Sand, he'd laid careful plans—make his peace with his king and his father before going to the east and finding new trade routes. The money he planned to make there would have paid for another estate as he refused to live under the same roof as his father. But now with the problem with his uncle, he was glad of his men. They'd keep Kara and Rurik safe, should anything happen to him.

He had charged his best oarsmen and a handful of his men with the task of bringing the boat upriver. Right now, he wanted to see how his uncle would respond to the division. Would he chase after him or go after the ship?

The departure from Sand had gone far too smoothly. Ash distrusted smooth. His uncle would show his hand. Soon.

‘Viken warriors?' She put her hand over her mouth. ‘Does the king approve?'

‘Men without a country, but with strong sword arms and a keen will to fight. I know what it feels like to be without a country and we've fought together in the past.'

He waited for her to understand why he refused to leave these men behind and why he needed them now. But the last thing he wanted was to give Kara an excuse to leave him or bar him from Jaarlshiem. He would claim his son and he would keep his inheritance. And he would show Kara that he was the sort of hero whom she'd dreamt about.

‘Sell-swords.' Her lip curled about the word. ‘And you think our son will be safe with them?'

‘You say sell-sword like it is a dirty word. It is best to be honest about why you are fighting for a particular side. Coin is a wonderful motivator. Far better than glory.'

He looked over her shoulder at the darkened hut. Its door gaped open, but there was no one inside. All was silent. He forced his shoulders to relax. The ambush would not come from the hut.

‘Can you trust a sell-sword?'

‘I was a sell-sword until very recently,' he said bluntly. ‘I find such men to be pragmatic. The ones who pretend to fight for lofty ideals and principles or simply for the joy of killing are the ones you need to be wary of. Men who fight for money know what fills an empty belly. They also know when to stop. I'll have no berserkers under my command. You can't control them. I learnt it to my cost.'

The sleep fled from Kara. She looked at each of the men with new eyes. They were harder and more desperate than she had first considered. They fairly bristled with menace and scars. And Ash? Did he remain a hardened sell-sword? Or did the gentle boy she remembered lurk under everything? How would he react when he met Rurik? Rurik needed kindness and a steady hand rather than blows and harsh words.

Her hands curled into fists. One used hardened sell-swords to raid and to conquer. Earlier she'd overheard several of them complaining that they missed the sea and couldn't wait to get back to their ship. Proof if she needed it that Ash intended to go raiding again, rather than staying to farm.

She knew the heartbreak that came from loving a man who just went. Ash had broken her heart once. She refused to allow him the chance to do it a second time. She wanted a man who would share the burden of running the estate, rather than adding to that burden.

‘Loyalty which lasts as long as the gold in your pocket,' she whispered. ‘That is what hiring a sell-sword buys—temporary loyalty.'

‘Nobody truly buys a warrior. Ultimately a warrior fights because he wants to fight for a particular leader. My men trust me because I'm tried in battle, pay an honest wage and pick my fights.'

‘And some don't.'

‘It rarely happens twice.' Ash's face hardened to a furious stone mask. ‘Cheats and cowards tend to end their days with a knife in their back if they're lucky. Slow torture if they aren't. I can't abide such men. Death is far too good for them.'

A cold prickle crept down Kara's back. Ash had encountered someone like that. Had he been the one to plunge in the knife and buy his freedom that way? Did she want to know how many people he'd killed? Her mother used to say that the reason why her father had changed was that a man lost a little of himself with each man he slew. Kara wasn't sure if it was true, but the Ash who stood before her was very different from the boy who had left. Had he become empty in the same way her father had been in his final years?

‘Have you fought many battles?' she asked, putting the thought from her mind.

‘Enough to know that, given the choice, I never want to fight another one. I only fight when forced to these days. Luckily my reputation is such that few dare cross me.' He made a bow. ‘My days of fighting for someone else have vanished.'

‘What do you want?' she whispered, fingering her throat.

‘My needs are simple tonight—a warm fire and food in my belly. Tomorrow will take care of itself.'