She looked down at the man half-asleep in her arms. Idly stroking his thick, bright hair, she wondered just what was in his mind and heart. He gave few clues to his inner thoughts and feelings. She knew she would never be completely certain of her judgments if she based them solely on his actions.
Nevertheless, the look upon his face when she had been presented as his bride was seared into her mind. It was a large part of the worry that nibbled at her, of the doubts that could rise up to plague her at times. She could almost wish she had not seen it. There was something about marriage to her that bothered Thayer despite the passion he showed, despite how well he treated her. Somehow she would have to root out the problem. She prayed the discovery would not be too painful, nor the problem prove too hard to solve.
Chapter Six
“Riverfall is beyond the next rise.”
Gytha breathed a sigh of relief at Thayer’s announcement. She was more than ready to end the journey. It was too hot if they rolled the hide siding of their cart down and too dusty when they left it up. They endured the latter at the moment, and she felt as if she carried her own weight in road dust. Frowning in the direction of Riverfall, she could barely make out the rise Thayer had to be referring to. She turned her frown on Thayer, who rode beside the cart.
“That rise looms a fair distance away, Thayer.”
“A day’s ride, no more. We will camp up ahead. There is a small clearing and water for the horses.”
As she watched him ride back to the front of the group she wished she had something to hurl at his broad back. His announcement had hinted that their journey was near an end. She did not consider a full day more near enough. Sighing, she tried to make herself more comfortable, praying there would be enough water at their campsite for a bath.
Dusk was well advanced before they halted. Gytha spoke as little as possible until Thayer’s tent was up. Then, with Bek’s help and making use of one of the empty water barrels, she indulged in the much needed luxury of a bath. As she washed the sweat and dust from her body, she felt her mood improve. It did not surprise her when, the moment she climbed out, Margaret hastened to take her place. Dressing quickly in the clean gown Edna set out for her and loosely tying back her still damp hair, she went in search of Thayer. She found him seated around a fire with Roger, Merlion, Torr, and Reve.
Thayer watched Gytha a little warily as she sat beside him. He had watched her usual cheerful mood fade with each dusty mile they covered. The sensible part of him said anyone’s mood would sour on such a journey. No matter how he tried to scorn it, another part of him wondered if her silent, dark mood stemmed from other causes, perhaps from a weariness with him. They had been married long enough for the newness to wane some. Now that she had traveled, now that she had tasted passion, she could be finding that there was little else to hold her interest. Struggling to shake away the worries he saw as a dangerous weakness, he told himself he had more important things to worry about than a woman’s fickle moods. When he saw her smile pleasantly as Torr served her some stew, he felt a wave of relief that her mood had improved.
“I would never have thought there was that much dust in all of England.” Gytha shook her head. “And I think nearly every grain landed on me.” After a few hearty spoonfuls of the stew, she murmured her approval.
“’Tis dry,” Thayer agreed. “Even some of the men less inclined towards cleanliness felt a need for a wash this time.”
“Aye.” Roger briefly grinned. “The stream is naught but a mudhole now.”
“Some of us,” Thayer drawled as he accepted the wineskin being passed around, “are not so soft we must heat our bathing water first.” He hid his smile by taking a drink.
“There are those who might say ’tis slightly mad to leap into icy water when there is a way to heat it first.” Gytha met her husband’s look with a sweet smile, took a brief sip from the wineskin he handed her, then passed it along. “I, of course, would never malign my husband so.”
“Nay, of course not.” He laughed and ran a hand through his still damp hair. “T’was brisk.”
“So I gathered from the howls that followed each splash.” She grinned when the men laughed.
“By day’s end tomorrow we will be at Riverfall,” Thayer promised when the laughter stilled.
“Have any of those who rode ahead caught a glimpse of the place?” she asked.
“One. He said it looked a fine, sturdy place. Set well for defense.”
“That is good, but”—she smiled faintly—“t’was not the sort of knowledge I was seeking.”
“I know but he did not think to look for much else. Nor did he draw close enough to see anything else.”
“Oh? He did not tell them of our impending arrival?”
“Nay. I sent another ahead yesterday to tend to that. He stays there to be sure all is readied for us.”
“I wish I had taken the time to ask Papa more about the place.”
“It cannot be worse than Saitun Manor.”
“Please, God, I hope not.”
As the ensuing, rather idle conversation hummed around him, Thayer found his thoughts wandering. Since the first night of their tedious journey, he had done little more than sleep at Gytha’s side. Weariness had forced her into a deep sleep each night before he could join her in their bed. Her bath had obviously refreshed her. He suspected the news that they were near the end of their travels also helped revive her. His thoughts began to center on getting her to his cot before her renewed spirits were lost to weariness again.
Just as he grasped her arm, thinking to get her back to their tent as quickly as possible, a cry of alarm sounded from the surrounding wood. Even as he leapt to his feet, dragging Gytha up with him and shoving her towards shelter, one of the guards he had stationed in the forest staggered into the camp. Bloodied and weak, the man barely managed to cry out a warning of attack before collapsing.
Gytha stumbled along for a few steps before fully regaining her balance. She understood what was happening, yet hesitated to run and cower in the tent. She ached to help, to be active in fighting off the attackers, yet could think of nothing she could do. Then Thayer glanced her way. Despite bellowing orders to his scrambling men, he managed to command her as well. With one jab of his finger towards the tent, he made clear his wishes. She decided to obey and raced for that shelter.
