Yarmille stood by the opening, gowned in soft blue linen, a gold band securing her straw-colored hair in a tight bun at the nape of her neck, “I did not know Anselm had returned.”
“Just this day,” Ogden replied. “The feast is in progress now.”
“Really?” Yarmille raised a tawny brow. This woman had been a beauty in her day, but no traces remained now that she neared two score and ten years. It was a wonder that this was so, since she had not led an overly hard life. “I trust the raid went well?”
Ogden grunted and released his hold on Brenna. “As well as any. There was treasure for all, and seven captives returned with us. One man went to Valhalla, praise his luck! My brother was wounded, though not badly.” Ogden did not say how. “I believe Anselm will give him one of the captives, and one will go to the widow of the dead warrior.”
“And this one?” Yarmile nodded toward Brenna, who stood erect, her raven locks falling about her shoulders in disarray. “He gave her to you?”
Ogden shook his head. “To Garrick. She was the one offered to him as bride.”
That story had traveled far. “The Lady Brenna? Well, well. So Anselm kept his promise.” At the Viking’s questioning look, she explained, “I was there after that fool arranger left. I believe Anselm’s words were, ‘A bride is offered, a bride Garrick will get, though no wedding will take place.’”
Ogden laughed, for he knew of Anselm’s hatred for the Celts, and that he would never allow such an alliance. “A bride with no wedding vows—I like that. But I doubt Garrick will.”
“How so? She looks pretty enough. In something other than those awful leggings, she should be quite beautiful.”
“Mayhaps, mistress. But her beauty does not disguise her loathing.”
Yarmille moved to the girl and turned her face toward the door to see better in the light, but Brenna snapped her head away, not even deigning to meet the woman’s eyes.
Yarmille frowned disapprovingly. “A stubborn one, eh?”
“To be sure,” Ogden answered sourly. “She has the look of a runaway, and will no doubt try to bolt at first chance. She is a fighter too, this one; in truth, she is trained in warfare. So be careful, mistress.”
“What amIsupposed to do with her?”
Ogden shrugged. “I have done as instructed by Mistress Heloise. I have delivered the girl to you. She is in your care now, since you run Garrick’s house in his absence.”
“This I do not need,” Yarmille snapped irritably. “When Garrick left he took almost all of his slaves to sell, leaving me with only a few to care for this iceberg of a house. And now I have this one who will have to be closely watched.”
“Mistress Heloise suggested you leave the girl be until Garrick returns and decides how he will handle her. She will come herself in a week’s time to see if theladyhas accepted her lot.”
“Heloise come here? Ha!” Yarmille laughed. “She must be most concerned about the girl if she will venture here when Garrick is not home.”
Ogden knew of the dislike the two women had for each other. Both had given Anselm a son. “My task is completed. Will you return with me to the feast, mistress? You have been invited by Anselm.”
Yarmile’s light blue eyes lit up with pleasure. “I will.” She walked to the opening which led to the cooking area and the stairs. “Janie, come here.”
A moment later, a tiny young woman dressed in a rough woolen shift appeared. “Mistress?”
“Janie, take this girl with you. Bathe her, feed her, then put her to bed in the master’s chamber—for now. Later I will decide where to put her permanently.”
“Yea, mistress,” the woman answered, looking curiously at Brenna.
“Now, Ogden, if you will take this girl up to Garrick’s chamber and watch her until a slave comes to guard her, I would be grateful.”
For Brenna, the week slipped by like the flight of a butterfly, ever so slowly. She had no awareness of time. The room she was kept in was large and cold, with no windows, and two doors that remained closed. Her anger reached an unholy state when she was tied to the large bed in her room after the first day, for the haughty Yarmille decided it was a waste of manpower for a slave to guard her.
Brenna was untied from the bed only to eat, bathe and relieve herself, but at these times a male slave accompanied Janie, though he was left outside the room. For the first two days Brenna refused to eat, knocking the tray of food to the floor in a burst of rage. She finally spoke, screaming curses of the devil that made Janie turn pale and sent her fleeing from the room, leaving the young male slave to tie Brenna to the bed. She fought and cursed him, too, but could do little with her wrists still bound.
After the third day, Brenna felt weak from lack of food and began to eat again, though grudgingly. She continued to be withdrawn, and ignored Janie when the girl came. The two meals she received daily were widely spaced. One was served before Janie began her duties; the other after she was finished for the day. During this long interval, Brenna was frustrated nearly to tears with her inability to move; her fury was not helped by her hunger, which grew as the day wore on.
She felt guilty, then maddened, because she was such a burden to poor Janie, who had to wait on her. She knew the girl worked hard the whole day long, and since Brenna’s arrival toiled even harder. Janie had kind words for her in the morning, but by the end of the day she was exhausted and as silent as Brenna. Brenna could hardly blame the girl for her abruptness at the day’s end. Though she had yet to make any overtures to Janie, she felt pity for her, an unusual emotion for Brenna.
Janie spoke Brenna’s tongue, but had also, by necessity, taught herself Norwegian. She had not mastered it fully yet, but knew enough to understand her orders without having to receive a beating. Brenna assumed Janie had also been taken captive, though how long ago she couldn’t guess and wouldn’t ask, for she resented the girl even though she knew Janie was only following Yarmille’s orders that Brenna be kept bound. That her own fate was destined to be the same as Janie’s was a certainty. She could never adjust to a life of servitude—she knew that. She would deal with that when the time came. If only it would come and she would be released!
Her thoughts turned to Garrick Haardrad—once her betrothed, now her master. She had often wondered about him in the past. She knew that he was young, having seen but twenty-five winters. That he had not married yet was her misfortune, for it drew Fergus to his clan to arrange a wedding that was never meant to be. She also knew now, after listening to his brother Hugh, that for some reason he hated women. This she could count as a blessing, she hoped. It might mean that he would leave her be, or he might cruelly mistreat her. She prayed for the first possibility, that his hatred would make him shun her. But if it was the other way, what then? Bound as she was now, she would be completely at his mercy. Beaten, unable to protect herself, perhaps killed. Damn Yarmille for her precautions!
