“What?”
Björn stared at him, clearly uncomfortable. “Should we challenge Lord Cadell?”
“No,” Tormod said after some thought. “For now, let us pretend these actions have had little effect upon us. I will speak to my wife, see if she has any knowledge of these attacks. Our marriage was hasty—perhaps Cadell has merely not had time to inform all his men of our alliance.”
“Or he is choosing to dishonour it already,” Björn retorted. “There were no attacks of this type before on our eastern shore.”
Tormod placed a hand on Björn’s shoulder. “Go and search the area. Mount a better watch. Let us give Cadell some time. However, if I find out he was behind this…”
Björn nodded. Tormod knew that while he was a good friend, he was an even more formidable enemy. “And your wife?”
Tormod stiffened, then relaxed, slapping Björn’s shoulder before he chuckled. “One thing I know for sure is she was not the who was out there setting the fire. I know exactly where she was. All night. And it is where she will stay.” He met his friend’s gaze straight on and held it. “Aoife is my wife now.”
“But she is still Cadell’s daughter.”
“Then we must make sure she feels this is her home,” Tormod said frostily. “She is one of us now.”
Björn glanced away, then met Tormod’s gaze. “And if she acts otherwise? Ulf—”
“Ulf is suspicious of everyone and everything. He may be right in this case, although he may not. If he is, then I will deal with her the way I would deal with any traitor.” Tormod found it easier to say than he’d expected. The sight of the marks on her body flickered through his memory. Surely they proved Aoife owed little loyalty to her father’s family, so he hoped it was a promise he would never have to keep.
“I thought you might have reason to confront her father now anyway,” Björn said. “Once you had seen her bruises.”
“You know she was beaten?”
“Yes, my mother told me. It reassures me she may well have no great loyalty to her father. No matter what Ulf says.”
“You seem to underestimate my own charms,” Tormod said.
Björn shook his head and laughed.
Tormod grinned and put a hand on his cousin’s shoulder. “If the opportunity arises, I will punish him for allowing someone to hurt her. And if we ever pass by the abbey…”
Björn slapped him on the back, then strode outside.
Tormod returned to his room to find the half-barrel had been filled and Ragna was helping Aoife to wash. His wife squealed and covered herself when he let the door bang shut behind him. Ragna looked at him as if expecting him to take the hint and leave, but he wanted to be in his own room just now to give himself time to think. He shook his head and sat down on the far side of the bed. Ragna knew better than to argue with him.
Fresh clothing for both himself and Aoife was laid out. As soon as his wife got out of the bath, he’d wash and dress. He grinned, thinking that the amount of time he would stay dressed would depend only on how fast he was able to persuade his wife back into bed. The words she had uttered when asleep still niggled at him. Although, no matter what, she had not set the fire. Someone else was to blame for that.
Chapter Eleven
Aoife was relieved Ragnawas in the room when Tormod returned. She’d never been so intimate with anyone before and her stomach was in knots, wondering how she was now expected to behave towards him. The warm water she stood in had soothed most of the aches from the night before, however a deeper ache made her keenly aware she had changed, had been changed, by what they had done together.
She glanced towards the bed, only to find Tormod staring at her. His gaze was intense, and for a fleeting instant, she fancied that she could see deep into his very soul. Last night she had felt such a strong physical connection between them — a connection that left her hoping for more. She had been alone since her mother’s death, both in her father’s house and at the abbey. She yearned for something more from her life here. Her husband would not have changed physically the way she had, although still she searched his face for some evidence of a deeper connection between them, but there was nothing.
She was fooling herself. The only connection between them was physical. They barely knew each other, and he had made it clear last night he did not want to give her a child. She bit her lip. What did that mean? Perhaps he did not want to sully his bloodline with foreign blood. So why had he married her? If she wasn’t to fulfil such an important role for a wife, then what did he want fromher? Maybe she was destined to never truly belong anywhere and her curse would always set her apart.
Ragna picked that moment to tip a bucket full of water over her head and begin to rub her hair with soap. Gratefully, Aoife closed her eyes, forcing herself to keep breathing in and out, in and out. Hands scrubbed her hair and then more water was poured over her.
“Out you get now,” said Ragna.
Aoife waited, her eyes still closed. A large cloth was wrapped around her, then two things happened. She heard the door click shut, and she was lifted off her feet into a pair of strong arms. She opened her eyes to find Tormod looking down at her as they moved towards the bed. He set her down on its edge and she pulled the cloth around herself more tightly. He stared at her for a moment and then took a comb from his belt and began to comb out her long hair.
“I…I can do that myself.”
“I know,” was all he said as he continued.
Gradually she relaxed and her eyes drifted shut as he combed through the long, wet lengths. For now, she could pretend that he might care for her — if not now, then perhaps in the future. A future she could only pray they would have. His other hand caressed her head and then stroked the back of her neck and around her shoulders. His lips touched her own just an instant after he stopped combing her hair. She opened her eyes, looking at this man who she barely knew and yet who knew her more intimately than any other person had ever known her.
