“He has yet to be told,” Alfred admitted. “I thought it best to see to the matter all at once, and I did not want to arouse his suspicionsby inviting him to ride ahead with me. An element of surprise would be helpful in this so he has no opportunity to device a defense if he has none, and ’twould be best if your brother-in-law springs it.”
“He will be glad to, but he may also challenge Durwyn at the same time.”
“Nay, you must prevent that.”
Royce had known Alfred would say that. But stopping a Viking intent on revenge was well nigh impossible, as he knew from firsthand experience.
Alfred considered that subject settled, however, and went on to the next. “I have tried to reason why Durwyn would do this. He hates the Danes, of course, nigh as much as you. He lost his only child to them. But I do not think that can be the only reason.”
“I agree,” Royce replied. “This attack was not against the Danes, but against you—or rather, against your plan to strengthen the peace.”
“Exactly,” Alfred said. “And if you consider the nature of that plan, then mayhap you can discern a logical reason for Durwyn’s interference.”
Royce frowned. “You know something I do not?”
“Something I wish I had recalled the sooner, that one of the offered heiresses is a neighbor of Durwyn’s, the very girl who would have wed his son, Edred, if the lad had not died beforehand.”
In Alfred’s defense, Royce said, “Lord Durwyn does not know you as well as he knew your brothers. ’Tis likely he assumed you would put the good of the peace before the concerns of one single lord.”
“He would have been wrong, inasmuch as wedding a Dane to that particular girl would have led to outright battles eventually, with neighbors such as Durwyn. How, then, would that have strengthened the peace? Nay, he should have come to me with his rancor. There are other heiresses who could have served in lieu of this one. Instead he took matters into his own hands and resorted to outright murder—assuming your brother-in-law has not made a mistake.”
“Aye, assuming that.”
Alfred sighed. “I fear he is not wrong, and this is a nasty business that I do not look forward to. I can only guess that Durwyn resides with the court now so he will have notice of the next delegation I would have sent, which he would have attacked as well. I was even informed that he came to court with a large party of men, but because he never presented them, I gave it no further thought—before this.”
“How many men?”
“Enough to attack a small number and be assured of leaving no survivors. And they do not travel with us directly, but they always camp near. I have grown lax in not suspecting vipers so close to home.”
“How could you know?”
Alfred was not as forgiving of himself. “That is no excuse. With so many losses to the Danes, Durwyn cannot be the only one who does not embrace the peace. But in his case, we will know for certes on the morrow, when he arrives with the rest of the court—or at least by the next day. Verily, I do not expect them all at once. How your wife ever rode to East Anglia and returned so quickly, I cannot imagine. It would have taken my entourage five, mayhap ten times as long.”
Ending on that lighter note put them both at ease, and no more was spoken of the matter that day, other than the questioning that Selig had to be put through. Alfred did, however, reiterate to Selig that if Durwyn was found to be guilty after the confrontation, then his disposition was a royal prerogative, though he relented enough to add, “If it comes down to your word against his, with no proof in the offing, I would not find it amiss if I heard a challenge issued,” which put Selig at ease on the matter.
While the men had their discussions, Kristen prepared for the return of the royal court, and Erika, with nothing to occupy her here as she had at home, offered to help. It was a mistake. This was the first time she had actually tried talking to Selig’s sister since the journey to Wyndhurst, and she quickly found that nothing had changed.
The clothes lent to her by Kristen were as she had thought, not for her sake, but forSelig’s. She herself was barely tolerated. In fact, Kristen’s manner toward her was an extension of the other women’s, purely hostile, but for a different reason.
Erika, however, was no longer as meekly accepting of circumstances as she had been. Her guilt had kept her from fighting back before, but she had exonerated herself of that. She was no longer willing to accept total blame, and besides, she was the man’s wife now. They had all seen to that.
So she did not hesitate to confront her sister-in-law’s frosty manner when she finally found a moment alone with her in the smokehouse. She didn’t even warm up to the subject, asking baldly, “If you still hate me, why did you not protest this marriage?”
Kristen was caught off guard, yet her manner was still stiff in her reply, and she didn’t mince words either. “I do not exactly…hate you. But I doubt me I can ever forgive what you did. Mayhap Selig can in time, since that is his nature, at least where women are concerned. But I cannot.”
“Has it not occurred to you that if my brother had been at Gronwood at the time, Selig would likely have been hanged instead of lashed? I am sick of feeling guilty for somethingheinstigated with his insults. Sweet Freya, I even suggested excuses that he could have used, so that I could simply let him go, but he ignored them, insisting on a truth that was highly suspect and only made him appear more guilty. And do not say again that itwasthe truth, because what he claimed wasnotbelievable at the time.”
“Are you finished?” Kristen asked frigidly.
Erika sighed. “Certainly, and as usual, what I say makes no difference.”
“Mayhap because the lashing was not what I referred to, is no longer even an issue, with him healed from it. What I find unforgivable is that you were so vindictive that you laughed at his suffering.”
“I didwhat?”
“Do not try and deny it, Erika. He has mentioned it more than once to me.” And Kristen repeated his words with rising anger. “‘It amused her to see me in pain. Her laughter I will never forget.’”
Erika gasped. “That is a lie! I never laughed during the interrogation. Ask Turgeis. He was there.”
