She couldn’t even bring herself to think it. Piecing together the things Arne had told her, she thought it was true. She needed time to think without his presence influencing her thoughts, so she put her arm around Caelin and pulled him close, trying to decide whether she resented Arne more or less for judging her against Ingrid now she knew this.
The sun set behind them as they sailed upriver, a good breeze taking them swiftly towards their destination. The river was busier than it had been last year when she had escaped from Alt Clut. With the threat from Marcant gone for now, the fishermen and traders had resumed their normal routines. Alt Clut remained deserted when they passed—two forbidding peaks, black against the evening sky.
Gemma pulled her cloak around her and shivered. Although she had tried to sound confident, her stomach was in knots thinking about her return to Perthawc, and she wished she could talk to Arne about what she had learned. Ulf’s warning that morning continued to chill her. Rhun would kill Arne if he found out and his death would benefit no one.
Arne was brave and loyal, a good father to his foster sons, and a good influence on her son. And now her heart ached for him, knowing he watched his own son grow up as another man’s. Why had he not told Tormod the truth? But did it matter to her now? She was leaving, would probably never see him again. Her breath caught, but she forced herself to breathe. It was his life, his choice, and she had no part to play in his life anymore nomatter how much that hurt. As the river narrowed on the approach to Perthawc, however, she worried more and more that she was making the wrong decision. The journey had been made in almost total silence apart from Ulf’s shouts to the men to trim the sails.
All too soon the longship approached the dock.
Six heavily armed guardsmen stood waiting on the pier as they docked on the north bank of the river. The captain stood up and shouted to them, explaining the nature of their journey. Gemma closed her eyes and prayed she was doing the right thing. It no longer mattered why Arne had been suspicious of her. She was leaving him behind and taking Caelin back to the life he should always have had. It was for the best. She stood up. It was time to become the woman she had been born to be once more.
“Princess Maithgemm,” a guard said, bowing low. The other guards followed his lead. The captain disembarked as one of the Norsemen came up behind her. Her heart raced a little when she thought it was Arne, but it was Ulf who took her hand as she crossed the deck, then climbed out first and helped her onto the pier. Arne passed Caelin to Ulf, then the cubs, without so much as a glance in her direction.
“The Norsemen will return home now,” Gemma said to the guards. Then she turned to Ulf. “Thank you for finding me and returning me to my people.” She didn’t look at Arne, couldn’t. Despite his change of attitude, walking away from him and the sense of security and, dare she say it, love, she had felt when she had been with him was one of the hardest things she had ever done. But it was better this way. No one must ever know how she truly felt about Arne. Rhun would use her feelings to punish either her or Arne, she was sure of that.
“We are not leaving without the reward promised by the king,” Arne stated, climbing onto the dock beside Ulf.
She swallowed past the lump in her throat. How could she have forgotten? All the Norsemen were interested in now was theirreward. Ulf stepped up beside her and placed his hand on her arm. The nearest guard reacted, but Ulf simply glared at him and reached for his sword, forcing the guard to take a step back.
“My orders from Jarl Tormod are to accompany you to an audience with King Rhun, and only when your safety is assured, and we have received the promised reward, will we return to Kirkjaster.”
“King Rhun will not be granting an audience to any Norsemen today,” the lead guard announced. “He is meeting with his nobles.”
“I am sure the king will wish to speak with them,” the captain said, frowning. “His sister’s return was of the utmost importance to him only yesterday when we left in search of her.”
“He has gathered his nobles since then—” the guard began.
“I have orders to take… to accompany Princess Maithgemm to the king as soon as I arrive,” said the captain. “I see no reason for the Norsemen not to accompany her and claim their reward. The jarl was most insistent on ensuring the princess’s safety before his kinsmen returned to the settlement.”
Gemma straightened her spine, gathering her anger, then glared haughtily at the guard. “Take us to see my brother. Now. He must make time. We received word he was looking for us and was concerned enough to offer a reward for our safety. I am sure it will not take long for Rhun to assure the Norsemen of my safety and pay them their due. The sooner they leave, the better, surely?”
She didn’t look at Arne as she spoke, as she didn’t want to see him agree with her. Inside she was shaking and wishing she was not committed to this course of action. The attitude of the guard was not reassuring and her second thoughts were fast becoming third, fourth and fifth thoughts, but she refused to let anyone see her fear.
The guard’s eyes narrowed, but he nodded curtly. “Very well. But I will say it was at your insistence.”
Gemma inclined her head regally, took Caelin’s hand and moved towards the royal residence.
Chapter Twenty-Three
As Arne and Ulfstrode along behind Gemma to the great hall, he noted the strange atmosphere in the royal residence. For a building filled with so many people, it was oddly quiet and the few people they encountered on the way stopped and waited in silence until they passed. What worried him was that he didn’t think it was only their presence causing the atmosphere. It felt as if the whole place was holding its breath, fearful something was about to happen. The Britons stared at them, suspicion on their faces, and in front of them, Caelin looked up at Gemma often for reassurance. Gemma may have decided to return here, and Arne agreed with her decision, but now he was here, he was worried.
The tapestries and furnishings were luxurious and suggested a much higher standard of living than he’d seen at their last visit after Marcant’s trial. Rhun was clearly trying to restore his fortunes after the destruction of Alt Clut and, by all accounts, he was succeeding. No wonder the people were struggling to pay taxes. Everything was new, as nothing had survived the sacking of Alt Clut after the siege.
Arne could never offer Gemma this standard of living. But the atmosphere was far from pleasant. He remembered the way he had felt in the shieling. As if the rest of the world had ceased to exist and the two of them could simply be themselves and be happy. She had gifted him with the knowledge he was stillphysically capable of bedding a woman, and now he found the only woman he wanted there was her. But it would never be.
When the doors to the great hall swung open and the guard announced them, Arne watched as she swept forward into the hall and all the men except the king stood. He was glad she had changed into her Brythonic clothes. The shocked look on her brother’s face would have been so much greater had she approached him now dressed as a Norse woman. But even though she looked like a Briton, with every step she took, Arne couldn’t shake the feeling she didn’t belong here.
The captain preceded them and bowed low to the king. “King Rhun. We have been successful in our quest and discovered your sister, Princess Maithgemm, at the Norse settlement in Kirkjaster.”
“You are dismissed,” the king said to the captain. There was silence for a few moments as the man bowed and left the hall. Arne took the time to observe those present and see if the reason for this meeting became apparent.
Rhun was, indeed, meeting with many of his nobles and their advisors, but Arne’s breath caught at the sight of only one. One who should not have been there.
Lord Marcant.
Arne sensed his brother had seen the man at the same moment and reached for him, then gripped Ulf’s sword arm tightly to prevent him from drawing his weapon. Behind him, he heard the door thud shut, and the guards draw their swords. It seemed like everyone in the great hall held their breath, waiting for someone to make the next move. After a moment, Rhun waved at his guards and the tension eased.
“There is no need for bloodshed today, Norseman,” said King Rhun. Then, to Gemma, “Welcome, sister.” He waited for her to approach him. To do so, she had to move past Marcant, and Arne had to resist the urge to grab her and take her away from this place, this life full of traitors and deception and murderers.
