“He lost his head, and all for a taste of your cunt,” Enguerrand roared, cutting through her protests. “He was a good man, but lustier than most. You played on his weakness, you whore! If you hadn’t lured him in while he tied you up, he wouldn’t have come back to have a go at you. He would still be alive.”
“I didn’t ‘lure him in,’ as you say. I could not. I was unconscious while he tied me up to my friend and you know it!” Outrage had now replaced fear. How dare the man blame her for his cousin’s decision to come back and rape her! How dare he call him a good man after all he’d done—and all he’d wanted to do! How dare he call the man’s lack of honor a weakness and her a whore! “It’s not my fault Geoffroi killed him. If Hugues wantedto live, he should have thought twice before raping an innocent woman.”
“You mean he actually had you?” Enguerrand asked, his lips curling into a snarl.
Why did he want to know that? She ignored the question. “My friend and I were innocent, and you attacked us, with the intention of handing us over to?—”
“We did not attack you. You fell from your horse if you recall, right in front of us.”
This blatant demonstration of bad faith had Aife’s blood boiling but she tried to control herself because it served her purpose. She was not here to convince the two men they had acted like despicable pigs, but to prove to the reeve and his man that Wolf had not lied. Let the Normans give as many details as possible.
“I did take a tumble when my horse was spooked by your sudden appearance. It couldn’t be helped. That didn’t mean you had to take me hostage. And what about my friend?Hedidn’t fall from his horse, did he, yet you attacked him three to one, like the cowards you are! Well, not you,” she spat, nodding at the second man, Girard, who still hadn’t uttered a single useful word. He didn’t appear to have the sharpest mind. “You twisted your ankle when your own horse bolted, didn’t you?”
Would he admit to it? He didn’t seem injured, which went against what Wolf would have told the reeve. She needed to get him talking, establish he was indeed the right man.
“’Twas nothing. I recovered quickly.” He lifted his left leg to show he had recovered from the injury. Yes. That would do. “Why are you here in town anyway?”
“Why shouldn’t I be?” she countered, relieved. Surely by now the two men’s ability to speak the English tongue and their complicity in the crime they had been accused of had been well established. “I am free to go where I want. Or do you mean forus Norse people to remain in our village. Is that what your friend Ranulf wants to do? Park us like animals, use the men for sport and the women for his pleasure?”
“Well, you are barely civilized, so it’s hard to blame him. What else would you have us do?”
“Leave us alone?” she suggested, stealing a glance to the entrance of the alley in the hope of seeing Wolf appear.
All she saw was a stray dog lapping at some vile substance on the ground. Where were the three men who were supposed to help her? By now, the reeve would have heard enough to justify arresting the men a second time. Why was he not intervening? Surely she had not lost him during the chase earlier? That would be a disaster.
“Enough of this,” Enguerrand said, closing the space between him and her. “We just spent two days in a gaol doing our best to appear confused as to why we had been arrested. It paid off and the foolish reeve just freed us, so you will follow us. Before we hand you over to Ranulf, we’ll make sure you know your place.”
“Oui, under us,” the second man leered.
“Shut up, Girard!”
“I’m not going with you!” Aife protested, starting to panic. Damnation, wherewasWolf? She had not seen nor heard anything to indicate his presence during the conversation with the Normans.
“You are coming, unless you want to find yourself with a broken limb. I bet you want to give yourself at least a chance to fight us off, don’t you?”
With those words, Enguerrand reached out to grab her by the arm. Before he could touch her, however, a blade had embedded itself in his hand. He screamed and fell to his knees cradling his wrist. Aife flattened herself against the wall while chaos descended into the alley. Wolf and the reeve’s man pounced,their faces contorted with rage, and soon the two Normans were brought under control.
“Are you now convinced these are the men who attacked my son and my friend’s daughter?” Wolf snarled. “I trust you heard enough to get Ranulf and Geoffroi the Norman punished for what they planned to do, what they no doubt did to others?”
“Indeed, I did hear plenty and so did John.” The reeve turned to her, concern etched over his face. She’d had chance to see before that he was an honorable man and she was glad to be proven right. “Are you all right? This wasn’t a pleasant confrontation.”
“I’m f-fine,” she stammered. This had been rather horrid, much more than she had expected. “Thank you. But I’d like to leave if I may. I don’t want to have to look at these two men a moment longer.”
“You won’t have to. I will escort you home immediately,” Wolf told her, before nodding to the Saxon who nodded in turn. “I’ll come back to see you tomorrow, when you’ve extracted all the information you need from those two bastards. We’ll talk then.”
Aife didn’t doubt the Icelander would make sure the men were suitably punished and the clan dismantled. She cared not, she just wanted to go, put this all behind her. An arm wrapped protectively around her shoulders, Wolf led her out of the alley and back into the busy street. Despite the acrid smell emanating from the various puddles, Aife took in a deep, steadying breath. Her plan had worked. It was over.
“So, you heard it all?” she asked, as they reached their horses.
“Yes. The alleyway was not so long. Placed where we were we heard it all.” He gritted his teeth as he tightened Grendel’s girth. “I’m sorry you had to go through this.”
It had been hard indeed. She’d been accused of murder, of having lured a man in, she’d been called a whore, compared toan animal only worth being good for rutting, she’d been told someone was dead because they had wanted a taste of her?—
Aife shook her head, determined to forget the vile men and what they had told her. She would be avenged, that was all that mattered now. To steady herself further, she gave Grendel a hug. Against her cheek, the horse’s coat was soft as silk. He nudged at her slightly, offering his reassurance. She wasn’t surprised. Horses were notoriously sensitive animals, and though she had not known him as long as she had known Imp, he would have felt her unease.
“Please don’t tell Torsten I met with the men,” she told Wolf suddenly. “I’m not sure he would like to hear it.”
“I’m sure he wouldn’t,” he grumbled, giving his own stallion a rub. “I didn’t either, to tell you the truth. But you were right, it was the quickest and easiest way to expose the Normans. And it worked.” With those words, he planted himself in front of her. “So can I now thank you for allowing me to avenge my son?”
