It was odd to threaten a woman with murder, but he would have done much worse for Eahlswith. She had done nothing to deserve what her sister had done to her.
His words had the desired effect and Ealawynne stopped struggling.
A moment later, they were back on Gulltoppr, and her hands were tied behind her back with a strip of cloth he’d torn from her dress. It would be uncomfortable to travel thus but Sven didn’t care. He had not asked her to assault her sister, injure an innocent man or try to kill him with a rock. His priority was to reach the reeve in the allocated time, not her comfort, and he was not going to waste another moment.
“So you’re fucking my sister, I take it?” she said much later, as they dismounted for the night. Allowing her gaze to wander over him, she licked her lips. “Lucky her. I wouldn’t mind having a man like you between my?—”
“Shut your mouth,” Sven growled, settling himself on the mossy ground, gesturing that she should do the same. It was dry at least, if rather cold. “What I do or don’t do with her is none of your concern. We’ll get some sleep.”
Her question had made him uncomfortable, not that he would admit it to the vile woman. Yes, he and Eahlswith were fucking, as she’d said. Would it ever lead to anything more, as he hoped? There had been a moment in the storeroom when he’d thought it might. But so much had happened since then… What was she thinking, alone in her cell for days on end? Would she regret a decision taken in the heat of the moment? Would she prefer to leave town once this was over, and place herself out of her sister’s reach? What would it mean for them? Would he be ready to follow her wherever she wanted to go, leave his village and his family?
He didn’t know.
“I’m cold, Norseman,” said a voice in the darkness. A voice that was eerily similar to his Alva’s. His body responded to it before his mind reminded him who was really talking. “Why don’t you come over here to warm me up with your big body?”
Unable to resist, Sven turned toward Ealawynne by his side. She was lying on her back, arching her spine, looking at him through heavy lidded eyes, a conquest ready for the taking. Though he knew she was not really the woman he wanted in his arms, he couldn’t help a moment of confusion. His reason knew he should not respond, but his senses were fooled by the sight in front of him. Dark hair spilling over the ground, luscious hips undulating in invitation, the woman in front of him, doing her best to entice him, resembled the one he was desperate for so much that he almost reached out to her.
No, by the gods, no! He could not.
Sven ran a hand over his face. Had any man ever been subjected to such torture?
Finally, he stood over her, watching dispassionately. Her wrists and ankles were tied, to prevent her from escaping in the night. “You’re cold, you say?”
“Yes. I need you.”
“If you’re cold, I can dump you into that ditch over there. You will be protected from the wind that way. I can even pile dead leaves over you if you wish.” Her wide eyes made clear what she thought of this idea. He smirked. “No? Then I suggest you stop talking and just go to sleep.”
The rest of the journey was just as hellish. Ealawynne alternated between throwing insults at him and trying to entice him into her arms. He did his best to ignore the former and resist the latter. Not that he was tempted any longer. It had been confusing at first but the woman was so unbearable that it didn’t take long for his body to align with his reason and stop responding.
At long last they reached the town. Unfortunately, they arrived too late to pass through the gate, so once again he had to prevail on Gedla’s family’s generosity for the night. The girl was only too happy to help, even if she was shocked to discover that her friend had a twin, a twin that looked very much like her but was her opposite in every other way.
This time Sven made sure to prepare two nests in the hay loft, one as far away from the other as possible.
The following morning they were amongst the first people stationed outside the walls. Sven had to wait longer than he would have liked for the gate to open but he trotted straight through it as soon as it did. A moment later he was outside the reeve’s house.
“Here,” he said, bringing Ealawynne in front of the man. “As you can see. Eahlswith’s twin sister, and her perfect replica.”
The reeve nodded, taking in the extraordinary sight. “I didn’t doubt you for one moment, you know. But this is incredible.”
Sven nodded. Indeed the resemblance between the two women was frightening. “She’s the one who injured the poor lad, as I told you. I trust you will explain it to the Saxons and they will leave Eahlswith alone.”
“Yes. They will be sent for forthwith.”
“Good. Now, take me to Eahlswith.” It was all he had been able to think about this last week.
“This way, the room at the end of the corridor.”
As they neared the door, Sven’s heart started to beat a fierce drum. Finally, the ordeal was over, finally he was going to be reunited with Eahlswith, finally he would be able to reassure her, show her he had made it, tell her she wouldn’t have to endure a punishment she didn’t deserve. He had raised his hand to the handle when he heard the unmistakable sound of someone retching. It was coming from inside. From Eahlswith.
No! What was happening in there?
The reeve was just behind him. He seized him by the collar and barely resisted the urge to pin him against the wall. The wretched man had been supposed to protect her and he had left her here alone for almost two weeks. Had she taken ill, left in a cold, dank cell? Was she retching from hunger cramps?
“I told you to keep her safe!” he roared, his face an inch away from the reeve’s. “I trusted you. I thought you’d look after her. What have you done to her, you maggot?”
“I haven’t done anything to her. I thinkyoumight have, though.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” he growled. “I haven’t seen her for more than a week, as you well know.”
