10 #2
a??You think not? Well, perhaps youa??re right. We will see, wona??t we?a??
He felt slender fingers lightly stroking his inner leg.
He leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes again, and said nothing.
But he thought, Were Mirana here I couldna??t have allowed this.
There was something about her that always stayed him, something in her eyes, the way she looked at him.
But that would change now. When she returned, he would do as he pleased, for she would be gone again from Clontarf soon enough.
He looked up now and caught several looks from his men, furtive looks that held surprise and a goodly measure of disgust. Shea??d never looked at him with disgust, no, it was something else, something deeper, more powerful.
But shea??d never said anything; hea??d always reined himself in when she was about.
As for his men, theya??d said nothing before, theya??d kept their silence. Of course they wouldna??t dare say anything. He felt his power over them and was pleased. The soft hand continued upward on his thigh.
Hawkfell Island
Rorik was furious. He stared from Sculla to Askhold. Finally, when he had himself well under control, he said, teeth clenched, a??Why did you not tell me what you intended? She is my prisoner, my burden, and yet you send her to the mainland to collect herbs with the women?a??
a??Rorik,a?? Askhold said patiently, wondering at him, for surely this was absurd, this worry of his. a??Old Alna said she should do some work. Chaining her in your sleeping chamber gains us nothing. Let her be useful. She is a slavea??less than a slave. An enemy, a prisoner. Aye, let her work.a??
Rorik cursed. a??Neither of you realize that she is skilled with a knife and doubtless other weapons as well?a??
Sculla, bent over to protect his head from a thick fir branch, looked fit to burst with laughter, which he did, loud guffaws that made his lean belly shake.
Rorik just looked at him, waiting for him to be silent.
When his laughter died down, Rorik said, a??Listen, both of you.
You underestimate her. It is a mistake.a??
a??Shea??s a small girl,a?? Sculla said. a??She could do nothing against Hafter. Hea??s a powerful warrior, nearly as skilled as I am.a??
a??Every female is small compared to you,a?? Askhold said, and slapped Sculla on his broad back.
Rorik said nothing. He wanted to believe what Sculla said was true, but Mirana was smart. And her hatred probably made her even more cunning. He didna??t trust her. a??How many women went to the salt marsh?a??
a??Asta, Old Alna, and Entti. Hafter rowed them over, cursing the entire time that it was his lot to do it, but he knew that he had to watch the prisoner. He knew you would be displeased had he allowed another to take his place.a??
Rorik shook his head, for a moment distracted. a??I pray that Entti understands what it is she is to gather. I fear death at her hands, all a mistake, naturally.a??
a??Now you will cease to worry,a?? Askhold said. a??The girl is an enemy. I dislike having my enemies lying about doing nothing, just as the women apparently do as well. You whipped her for insolence, and now she will work or she wona??t eat. Old Alna was right to make her work for her food.a??
But Rorik was gazing toward the mainland, bathed this afternoon in thick low-lying clouds.
Mallards and oystercatchers suddenly burst from the gray clouds, as if flung from a slingshot.
The clouds would soon become dense, impenetrable fog, he knew the signs.
Theya??d been gone for three hours. He was worried, though he knew it wasna??t at all likely she could do anything.
Still, he couldna??t help it. Something bothered him, something that wasna??t right, that had nagged at him for the past two days.
He realized in that moment what it was. It was the women and how they had treated Mirana, how they behaved when they came near her.
It was as if she were one with them and they looked up to her, which was ridiculous, for hea??d kept her chained and alone.
But Sculla had said that Old Alna agreed with him, that she considered the woman an enemy.
He was creating difficulties where none existed.
It was late afternoon. Rorik knew his men were eyeing him with some amusement, but he didna??t care. Finally, he lowered his axe to the ground, wiped the sweat from his face with his discarded tunic, and said, a?? a??Tis time to go to the mainland. She has done something. I feel it.a??
None of the men argued with him, not even Askhold, who appeared to dislike her heartily, or Sculla, who simply believed that since she was small and female, she was thus of little consequence, since he could, naturally, crush her easily with one hand.
There were eight men, all of them rowing the second longboat.
All of them were armed. There were always outlaws lurking about in East Anglia, just beyond the salt marshes.
They always took care. There was only the sound of the water slapping against the sides of the warship and the raucous cries of the black-headed gulls overhead.
They rowed into the estuary, strokes strong and steady.
They were silent, concentrating on their task.
From the thick clouds overhead, dunlin wheeled in tight flocks, disturbed by their presence.
There were more animals and birds here than on the island, the salt marshes on either side of the estuary pulsing with life and movement, and sudden shrieks of death as well.
Rorik listened, trying to block out all the animal and bird sounds.
He heard no sounds of people. They drew alongside the other warship, tied to a tree trunk alongside the trail they normally traveled to hunt. It was deserted.
The men were silent, but they still held no doubts that Hafter would crush the girl were she to try to escape or avoid the work, aye, and the women would help him, for she was a prisoner, an enemy.
Rorik doubted mightily. He led the men quietly through the salt marsh, knowing from long experience where to find the firmer ground. Suddenly there was the muted yell, a womana??s yell.
They burst through a dense cover of tangled overgrowth into a small clearing. There was Old Alna, bound to a straggly fir tree, shrieking again around a wad of wool shea??d managed to work to the side of her mouth. Beside her, bound to a large yew bush was Asta, her gag firmly in place.
There was no sign of Entti or Hafter.
The men rushed forward to untie the two women.
Rorik remained standing, his hands on his hips. He said to Old Alna, a??This was your idea, was it not? You wanted her to work and look what has happened. Tell me quickly. Where is she? Where are Hafter and Entti?a??
It was Asta, Gurd the blacksmitha??s wife, who said quickly, working her mouth to regain moisture and feeling, a??Nay, my lord, do not blame Alna. She wanted the girl to have some exercise. She was growing weak chained to your bed. We saw no dangera??a??
a??You are fools,a?? Rorik said shortly. He watched Asta rub her arms, numb, he imagined, from being bound for so long. He waited, then said, a??Tell me and be quick about it.a??
Asta shrugged. a??Hafter took Entti with him to dally away the afternoon.
He said he feared letting her collect roots and herbs; he said none of the men wanted their bellies to cramp or their bowels to convulse, but he was looking at her as would a hungry wolf at a boar steak.
It was after they left that the girl Mirana managed to get a rock without Alna or me seeing her.
She hit me on the head and knocked me down. Then she tied up Alna and then me.a??
Rorik felt no surprise at all. Why did none of the others see her as he did? He cursed low and long. a??How long ago?a?? he asked finally.
a??Three hours at least.a??
He cursed again, infuriated with himself and with Old Alna and with his damned arrogant men who couldna??t imagine a woman besting them at anything.
He would find her, he didna??t doubt that, but he did doubt he would find her alive.
She was a woman and she was young and comely, and that thought froze his blood.
If outlaws or Saxon raiders or other Vikings found her, theya??d rape her in turn, abuse her endlessly, and probably kill her.
He didna??t want her dead. Damnation. He raised his voice and yelled, a??Hafter! Come to me now!a??
But there was no answer from Hafter. They found him ten minutes later barely conscious, a large lump just over his right ear, tied securely to a tree with long strips from a womana??s tunic.
Entti was nowhere to be found. Nor was Mirana.