She confirmed it, having heard Godstan say something to that effect earlier that morning. “From a wool merchant, if I understand correctly.”
He turned to Ealawynne, who still hadn’t moved, as if wary of his reaction. It was clear she would wait until they were gone to do anything. “It goes without saying that we will take the cart and horse and bring them back to their owner.”
“So I’m to walk the rest of the way in the snow?”
His answer was terribly blunt. “Walk, crawl, stay where you are even, I care not. Neither Eahlswith nor I are wasting another moment on you.”
19
After retracing their steps to the forest where he had spent the night, Sven brought the cart to a halt in a sheltered meadow. Gulltoppr, who was following them as faithfully as a dog would, stopped also.
“We need to rest,” he declared. “I didn’t get much sleep last night.”
Eahlswith could only agree that a rest was needed. She hadn’t slept well the previous night either, which was little wonder. Being abducted and threatened with rape and murder tended to do that to a person.
Sven alighted and let the horse loose from his harness. Eahlswith was so weary she remained where she was, watching his every move. He was so strong, so dependable… He had come for her, freed her from her tormentors, saved her from certain death and he was acting as if there was nothing extraordinary in the fact. How could she ever repay him for what he’d done?
Once the horses were tethered, he held out his hand to help her dismount. Eahlswith gasped, shaken out of her torpor by what she saw.
“But…your wrist! You’re bleeding.” How had she not noticed it before?
Sven did not even spare a glance at his arm, he just shrugged. “I probably bled but it’s stopped now.”
“How did you get hurt?” She didn’t think Ealawynne would have been strong enough to injure him and he doubted he would have been clumsy enough to let an oaf like Godstan cut him.
“I had to cut at the rope to free myself and come after you,” he explained. “Considering how tightly it was bound, I suppose it was inevitable I should cut myself as well in the process. ’Tis no problem.”
No problem? To think only a moment ago she had congratulated herself on the fact that he was whole. He was not. He’d been hurt. Worse, it was through her fault. Had she not tied him in the first place he would never have had to cut himself.
“I’m so sorry.” She lifted his wrist to her mouth and kissed the place just next to the raw skin. “I promise I will never do that ag?—”
“No, Alva,” he said, eyes aglow with lust. “Don’t make any promises I will force you to break sooner or later. We will definitely finish what we started last night and for that I will need to be tied up and at your mercy. I can’t wait.”
Eahlswith felt herself grow crimson. He still wanted her, even after what he had gone through . He still wanted her to tie him up to use as she saw fit.
“Yes. We will finish what we started,” she murmured. “In the meantime, we need to clean your wound.”
Not giving him the opportunity to protest, she tore a strip from the piece of cloth she was wearing as a cloak and crunched it in a patch of fresh snow. When it was soaked, she used it to wash the blood away, being careful not to rub too hard. Once his skin was clean, she ripped another piece of cloth and wet it thesame way, before wrapping it around his wrist and covering it with snow. The cold would help numb the pain, or so she hoped.
“Better?”
“Yes.” He had not taken his gaze from her during the whole proceedings, not throwing a single glance at his wrist. He either wasn’t interested or it did not pain him at all. “Finally, it is my turn to thank you.”
“Don’t. And now, we’ll get that rest we need,” she declared. “We’ll sleep in the cart, it will be warmer than the frozen ground.”
Mercifully, Ealawynne and her lover had stolen a wool merchant’s cart, not a blacksmith’s, which meant they had everything they needed to cover themselves up and create a comfortable bed. Eahlswith nestled in Sven’s arms, doing her best to forget that the last time she had lain in the cart next to a man, that man had wanted to rape her.
It was over. She could relax.
It was over. He could relax. Sven tightened his hold around Eahlswith, inhaling her familiar scent. He had made it. Finally, he could breathe.
“You see, Alva, I think there is a lesson to be learned from this,” he said, speaking with his mouth in her hair. “If you hadn’t relented and allowed me back into your bed, you would have been alone when you were abducted.”
Against him, he felt Eahlswith shiver. “Yes,” she whispered. “And I would have been dead before the week was over.”
Sven kicked himself for his clumsiness. Why did he have to tell her that? He hadn’t meant to frighten her or make her think of the ordeal she had escaped. Just to show her that she was better staying with him. He would always protect her.
He placed his forehead against hers. “Forgive me. That was not well done of me. I didn’t mean to?—”
