Viking Love Beyond Time (Time Travel Romance) (22 page)

             
“This is my little brother, Rorik” announced Guthrum “I prize him more than life itself”

             
Alfred allowed himself a smile.  “I will take your sword and axe little brother” he said.  Rorik nodded, and unstrapping his weapons and lifting them one in each hand he passed them to King Alfred who immediately collapsed to the floor under the weight.  This drew a howl of laughter from the Vikings.

             
Guthrum, fighting back a smile, said “Then it is settled.  Alfred, you take little Rorik here and collect the brass whilst we stock our ships with enough food to see us on our way, we will swear on the Holy Ring and then leave Wessex in peace”

             
“Forever” cut in Alfred.

             
“Forever” agreed Guthrum without hesitation.

             
Alfred twisted a heavy gold ring on his finger “the swearing is to be done now, before I leave and you will have the money a fortnight from today, it will be handed over at Winchester” he announced “you, Guthrum, will come, unarmed, with no more than fifty men to collect it”

             
Guthrum held out his huge hand, Alfred took it tentatively “Done.....and I can have my little brother back!  Now we’ll just wait for the Lady Emma and you can be on your way to
Winchester
”

             
Oswy ground his teeth, then turned on his heel “keep the bitch!” he snapped, and stormed out of the tent.

************************

             
Alodie was in Aehlswith’s quarters.  She and the queen had grown very fond of each other during the last few days.  The room was, Alodie had to admit, very pleasing, with a large comfortable looking skin covered bed and a fire to warm the tapestry covered walls on cold days.  The main object of beauty however, was the large glass mirror in the corner of the room which, Alodie was informed, had been brought from
Byzantium
.  The back was covered with real silver and polished daily.

             
They were both jostling good naturedly for position in front of it in order to prepare for the feast being held in honour of the truce.

             
“I am so glad there was no fighting, Alodie” said Aehlswith “I fear for Alfred so”.  Alodie smiled, Aehlswith was the only woman, apart from Godgyth, to whom she had ever been close in her adult life and Godgyth had fulfilled a more maternal role.  Aehlswith was her friend and confidante and she found the experience very enjoyable.

             
“You love him, don’t you?”

             
Aehlswith pulled a brush through her thick hair and nodded.  “I do, yes.  He is a strong man, not in body but strong of mind, he is a leader.  His word can be trusted.”

             
“Strong in a way Luke could never be, for all his brawn” added Alodie.

             
Aehlswith glanced at her friend “Will you marry him?”

             
Alodie took up her own brush, a present from Oswy, and began to brush her hair, she had washed it earlier and it was almost dry, every brush stroke brought out the smell of honeysuckle and lemon.  “I dread the thought of it Aehlswith, but I am in a cleft stick - if I don’t marry Luke I will have nowhere to go, he lives with Oswy, his lands adjoin Oswy’s - I have nothing and nobody”

             
Aehlswith placed her hand over Alodie’s and gave it s squeeze “Don’t worry about that, dear, if you really will not marry Luke I would be delighted to  make you my chief lady in waiting and I’ll wager that within half an hour of the news that you are no longer betrothed to Luke there will be twenty or thirty other offers of marriage from men far more wealthy than Luke, although none as handsome I’m afraid” She licked her finger and ran it along her eyebrow.  “Take Edric of Lamporth, now” she continued “he is almost as handsome and according to gossip I’ve overheard he is supposed to be - er, very skilled at - er, pleasing a lady in the er............” Aehlswith blushed and, looking at her reflection in the mirror, straightened her veil slightly.

             
Alodie laughed, “Aehlswith, dear, we are both grown women, if you mean Edric’s good in bed just say so!”

             
Aehlswith’s blush deepened.  “Alodie, the things you say! You must be very free with your tongues in
Bohemia
! But as for Edric, he would marry you tomorrow I am sure but he has the misfortune - is that the right word - to be Luke’s friend - now, do you think I look good enough?”

             
Alodie took a step back and examined her friend.  She was dressed in an emerald green shot silk gunna with a kirtle of white satin.  Her rich red-brown hair was entwined in braids round her head and topped with a gauzy veil. “Beautiful” said Alodie “one look at you and the Vikings will decide to break faith and attack
Winchester
with the sole intention of capturing you!”

             
Aehlswith crossed herself “Don’t joke about things like that, Alodie, for Jesu’s sake, they have broken truce too often - I must admit though I am curious to see them - I have met a few but mainly friends of my father’s - merchants.”

             
“They are huge and terrifying.  My husband is the biggest man I have ever seen in my life” replied Alodie.  Aehlswith suppressed a shudder.  “Now your Grace” she continued “will I pass muster?”

             
The queen smiled, “the mirror tells you all you need to know madam, suffice it to say that Winchester Great Hall has never seen anything like it!”

             
Alodie turned and examined herself in the glass.  She was in silk also, her favourite blue, a deep sapphire blue which almost exactly matched her eyes, with open sleeves caught at intervals down her arms with opals.  The dress opened at the front to reveal a white silk undergown with a slightly low décolletage, around her slim hips was a gold belt, her hair was bound in a single plait over her right shoulder, intertwined with flowers and a blue filmy veil was secured on her hair with a gold circlet.

             
“I’m glad you suggested that I bathed before I got ready Alodie” continued the queen “you are right, it does set one up for the evening.  You are changing the bathing habits of the whole court you know - all the ladies want to be like you and are bathing sometimes two or three times a week.  We have had to employ ten more servants”

             
Alodie laughed and gave her veil a final twitch “well, if nothing else then I’ve given employment to people, I feel quite virtuous.”

             
Aehlswith patted her cheek and opened the door “by the sound of it the men have already started, we had better go down”.  Alodie picked up her skirts and followed the queen out onto the landing.  At the top of the stairs Aehlswith turned to her.  “By the way, you look good enough to eat.  Poor Luke”

             
Alodie smiled “So do you your Grace, lucky Alfred”

****************

             
As Aehlswith and Alodie descended the stairs the hall fell silent and as they walked to their seats the men got to their feet and bowed.  At last, after what seemed an eternity they reached the head of the table, Aehlswith bobbed a curtsey to Alfred, as did Alodie.   The queen then took the seat next to her husband whilst Alodie sat to her right, Luke being seated next to Oswy further down the table.  Alodie, as an unwed maiden and one of Aehlswith’s ladies, was not expected to sit with the men, much to her relief.

             
“Our Danish friend has not joined us I see Alfred?” observed Aehlswith, nibbling a piece of chicken. 

             
“The last I heard he was getting ready, having a bath” he looked up at Alodie “your bathing habits seem to have rubbed off on the Vikings milady” he said, smiling.

             
Aehlswith turned to Alodie “I must admit, I am looking forward to seeing this Danish hostage” she whispered “I shall be vastly disappointed if he looks just like those fat merchants who used to wait on father when I was a girl in Mercia, however, according to Elfwin of Warchester, who caught sight of him this afternoon, he is absolutely.....................oh Jesu, will you look at that!” 
             
The hall had fallen silent one more as the Viking walked in. “Lord” continued Aehlswith “pinch me, Alodie!”

             
Reddening madly, Alodie gave her attention to her plate, terrified of looking up at the man in case he recognised her from the auction.

             
The Norseman walked up to the king and, going down on one knee, touched his forehead to Alfred’s hand “Peace, Rorik, be seated” said the king softly.

             
Alodie was conscious of a seat being pulled out opposite her and her heart sank
Lord, that’s torn it
she thought
if he recognises me Herger will be round here faster than a Quaglan stratocruiser.

             
Alfred ostentatiously cleared his throat. “Rorik, this is my wife, Aehlswith, and this shy lady is Alodie, her lady in waiting and the betrothed of my housecarle, Luke Edmundson”

             
Deciding to brazen it out Alodie lifted her head to meet the Viking’s gaze and her heart stood still.  The voices around her seemed to fade into silence and, as she looked at him, she felt as if she had been sucked into a whirling vortex where no one and nothing else existed.

             
The eyes looking into hers were a deep piercing shade of emerald green set in the most handsome face she had ever seen.  His long dark brown curly hair was pulled behind his head with a strip of leather and in his left ear was a gold stud.  He was clean shaven, with a cleft in his chin and had a straight nose, sensuous mouth, massive shoulders and a broad chest covered with thick black hair which crowded out of the front of his white silk shirt, whilst round his neck was an animal claw of some description on a leather thong.  The rest of his attire seemed to consist of black leather trousers, fastened around his waist by a thick belt embossed with a gold buckle and a sleeveless jerkin.  Alodie took in all this in less than a heartbeat.

             
“Lady Alodie” continued Alfred “this is Rorik, brother to King Guthrum” Alodie came down from orbit and forced a smile.

             
“Charmed, milady” he said, then leaning over the table and taking her hand in his he drew it to his lips.  He spoke in slightly accented Saxon with a deep timbre in his voice which sent shivers down Alodie’s spine and raised goose bumps on her arms.

             
As Alfred completed the introductions Alodie surreptitiously examined the Viking, wondering why he had had this effect on her.  It was terrifying, a whole new vista of emotions which she had no idea she even possessed were opening up in front of her.  What on Earth was she thinking of?  She decided to take a hold of herself and examine him properly, figure these terrifying feelings out and dismiss them, logically.

             
With a shudder Alodie realised that Rorik the Viking could probably crush the life out of her in an instant, and in all her travels she had rarely seen anyone with such shoulders, chest and arms and yet, for all his bulk, he was not ungainly or muscle-bound.  Magnificent was an inadequate word to describe him, power oozed from his very being, he was a man used to giving orders and having them obeyed - instantly.  Alodie realised that this was someone she could not under any circumstances control, and strangely enough, would not want to.

             
“Well, what do you think of THAT?” whispered Aehlswith “I, for one am speechless - he seems to have noticed you anyway, as usual, and Jesu look at the way Luke is glaring at him!”

             
Alodie took a sip of wine, her hand was trembling, she forced herself to speak. “Well, he’s certainly large, they must be a race of giants” she said, inanely.

             
Rorik was talking with the man in the next seat and as she glanced up she found him staring at her. “We are, my lady” he said in his deep, accented Saxon, “it comes of careful breeding, we choose only tall, beautiful women” Alodie felt the colour once again rush to her cheeks, the man must have exceptional hearing to add to all his other undoubted qualities.
Come on girl
she scolded herself
come back to Earth, he’s only a man, a barbarian to boot, you’re immune, remember! For God’s sake don’t let that lump of beefcake get to you!!

             
Herger was looking at Alodie like a man who had been lost in the desert and  had found a cool clear spring.
Loki’s balls, she’s beautiful
he thought.  
Just to look at her makes me feel happy - what sons she will give me
.

             
“That is a strange ornament round your neck Rorik, what is it?” Alfred’s voice intruded into his thoughts.

             
“Ah, you have noticed my bear’s claw” he picked it up on the thong.