Chapter Six
Svanna stood down beside the bay, watching the waves lap the shore.
Behind her, the feast to celebrate Sigmund becoming high king echoed.
She’d done it, but her safe life was going to alter.
She simply needed to figure out a way to get Rand to agree to a platonic marriage.
In theory, it should be easy as his heart lay with his dead wife, but she wondered what she’d do if he refused and how she’d explain that the marriage bed frightened her.
‘Amazing how something like that turns the tide,’ Rand said, coming to stand beside her. ‘Quick thinking on your part.’
‘Once one started to leave, the rest would have rapidly followed. Trickles become floods if not dealt with promptly,’ Svanna said, trying to keep her gaze on the bay and not on the frowning man she was now betrothed to, with a marriage looming.
Several kings had openly stated their intention to stay until it happened.
‘One must always act decisively to ensure the best possible outcome. Something the Queen taught me years ago.’
‘There is more to peace-weaving hospitality than I considered.’ Said in such a way that it could mean absolutely anything. ‘But there again, my sword ensures my point is understood. Too many years serving as Máel Sechnaill’s enforcer now to make a change.’
She glanced up at him and saw that his face was carefully blank.
He was the high king’s brute enforcer, but he’d been chosen for this delicate mission even though the woman in question had appeared reluctant in the extreme and the chosen bridegroom unlikely to immediately agree.
Why? The high king must have had a reason.
‘Peace-weaving may seem like working in the shadows, but well-presented hospitality is vital if alliances are to be maintained. Ties of friendship are stronger than drums of war to my mind.’ Svanna knew she needed to explain the basic principles to make Rand understand what she’d bring to their marriage.
It wasn’t simply the act of union, but a dedication to ensuring the alliance was strong and benefited both sides against Turgeis and his followers. ‘A well-run household enables harmony.’
‘I will admit to not having thought much about it.’ He picked up a stone and tossed it far out into the bay. ‘Something women do instead of making their point with their sword arm.’
‘Understanding how diplomacy works is important for men as well. And once you do, you are less inclined to dismiss it or the way peace-weavers work. When alliances turn tricky, they often lose everything.’ She shrugged.
‘However, I also insisted the late usurper teach me about strategy and the arts of war. He thought me to have a level head.’
‘The late King thought that? Have you ever fought in a proper battle?’
‘Besides the one we endured and the fall of Agthir?’
‘You did well then.’
She put her hand on her stomach and bade the tight knots to ease.
She’d trained for many years for her level of diplomacy, not to serve simply as the Queen’s handmaiden.
At long last she was going to do something positive with all her training, all the late-night conversations she’d had with the Queen, and indeed sometimes with the usurper, about how one woman could change a country’s destiny.
And she’d have a little girl to look after and mould, just as Astrid had done with her, except she would ensure Birdie knew she had value.
‘We need to speak about the marriage and our expectations.’
He picked up another stone and tossed it into the bay, making it skip. ‘What are you saying?’
She swallowed hard. This was far harder than when she had practiced it.
‘Ours will be a strategic marriage, Rand, not a runaway love match like your cousin’s.
I wanted to let you know that I am not looking for more than to be useful.
I will run the household and serve as a foster-mother for your daughter. ’
‘Birdie’s mother is dead. Her nurse looked after my late wife and her sisters.’
‘A difference exists between a nurse and a mother.’
He raised a brow. ‘And you know all about it?’
‘Before Astrid, I suffered with a stepmother. I endured my nurse, who had once been Astrid’s. I would see your daughter right.’ Svanna shrugged. ‘All I require in return is respect in public.’
A small part of her willed him to take her in his arms, kiss her senseless and tell her that he wanted her.
That even the smallest part of her remained enthralled by the romance of him, despite everything she’d witnessed and endured, disconcerted her.
He was never going to care for her. He’d made that quite plain, and that bit of her kept hoping, even though she didn’t want to.
He reached out and lifted her chin. In the starlit darkness, he examined her face. His thumb traced the outline of her mouth, sending warm pulses coursing through her. ‘A platonic strategic marriage is what you envisage. Or are you trying to put words in my mouth again?’
‘The union was forced on you. We should discuss this sensibly before we go further.’ She was pleased that her voice did not become high-pitched, even though her stomach knotted.
‘Sensibly?’ His thumb traced the outline of her mouth again. More slowly this time. Her entire being tingled in anticipation. ‘You are the one who behaved in a rash fashion. You appear to do that quite a lot, Svanna. Rushing into burning buildings, heedless of the consequences to your life.’
‘Ask anyone,’ she whispered. ‘Those who know me say that I am cautious—too cautious.’
‘A platonic marriage is truly what you want? You don’t want this?’
His thumb traced the outline of her mouth a third time.
Her tongue darted out to wet her lips and encountered the edge of his thumb.
She rapidly retreated, taking two steps backwards and nearly stumbling over.
She put out a hand to steady herself and encountered his tunic.
What did it say about her that the thought didn’t repel her as much as she’d imagined it would?
That rebelliously hopeful part of her kept whispering that the possibilities were there. ‘Unnecessary in the circumstances.’
He hauled her against his hard chest. ‘We can’t have you twisting your ankle before the marriage.’
‘I’ve no intention of twisting my ankle.’
‘If people had the intention they would never get hurt, but, my fair lady, to put your mind at ease, I’ve little intention of having a platonic marriage with you.’ A hearty laugh made his frame shake. She wished she could interpret the expression in his eyes.
‘Why are you doing this?’
‘Because, Ice Maiden, our marriage mustn’t be in name only. Alliances are always strengthened with blood and that means children—our children. I assume you know how children are made.’
She wrapped her arms about her waist. Ice Maiden was what he thought she was.
She had heard the term before and embraced it.
But since encountering him again, he’d penetrated that hard shell which had kept her feelings and her desire at bay since Turgeis’s assault in the garden all those years ago.
That fact terrified and intrigued her in equal measure.
What was it about him that made her long for his touch?
‘I’m unafraid of the physical,’ she said, choosing her words with care.
Confessing now what Turgeis had tried to do to her and how she’d kept herself apart from such things ever after solved nothing.
She had to put the past fear behind her.
With Rand, she’d never felt frightened, but she also didn’t want to ask for more than he was prepared to give. ‘I wanted to give you the option.’
‘Know that all my women have been willing. I’ve no intention of changing. Where would the pleasure be taken from an unwilling one?’
‘You want your women to enjoy you,’ she said slowly. ‘Men say that and then things get out of hand. I have seen much of that in Agthir. The usurper’s feasts were notorious in the end. Astrid always made certain that we left early.’
‘You would know more about that than I.’ His voice held a note of hesitancy, as if he had not intended to put it that way.
She waved her hand. ‘We proceed at my pace. Good. I’ll let you know when our marriage may alter from the platonic.’
His thumb and forefinger captured her chin.
Her lips parted, giving a lie to her words.
Her body protested that she wanted his mouth on hers now.
She wanted him to erase all memory of the pawing she’d received from Turgeis, but she feared he wouldn’t and that would make things harder to bear.
What if Turgeis had spoilt her for ever and her reaction to Rand was merely wishful thinking?
‘Are you trying to get me to wager? I’ll admit the chase adds spice.’
‘I explained the necessity of a quick marriage, but we need time to get to know each other. We will have a working partnership for many years. As my foster-mother had with both her husbands. Trust builds over time,’ she said, her words tripping over each other.
‘I pulled you from a burning building.’
‘I’m willing to learn to trust. Are you used to women falling into your bed simply because you crook your little finger? Lord Sigmund’s assessment.’
He stepped away from her and ran a hand through his hair. ‘Yes… I mean no. I haven’t thought that women will simply fall into my arms. Life doesn’t work like that.’
‘Somehow, I doubt that.’
‘Has Sigmund been telling tall tales? I apologise once again for the behaviour of my younger and unwise self, but my memory differs to his.’
‘Don’t worry. Maer never really mentioned you either.’ She waited a beat and knew she was treading a very fine line, bantering with him in this way. ‘I simply know the type from what little I’ve gleaned. I’ve encountered men like you before and resisted them all.’