Page 111 of My Fair Viking

Equally surprised, the emperor turned to his wife. "She did not tell us she was betrothed, did she, Theo?"

"She does not know yet," Adam admitted, feeling his face heat up with embarrassment.

Romanus and Theophano both smiled, while Thorvald, Tykir, and Bolthor chuckled on either side of him.

"Where is she?" Adam asked bluntly

The emperor narrowed his eyes at him and replied with equal bluntness. "Serving with the Army of the East."

Theophano put a hand on her husband's sleeve, a crafty expression sweeping over her face. "Did I forget to tell you, husband? The Stoneheim soldiers are serving with the Varangian Guard under General Leo Phocas, but the warrior princess known as Tyra... " She shrugged, and said no more.

"What of Tyra?" Adam and Thorvald both prodded at the same time.

"Alas, she is missing," Theophano explained.

A bull-like roar emerged from Thorvald's chest, and Adam saw for the first time where the king had got his reputation as the Wolf of the North. In truth, Adam was as angry as the king over the empress's seemingly indifferent attitude about Tyra's fate.

The emperor was clearly shocked at his wife's words, but not about to challenge her in such a public forum. He gave his wife a long look which made it clear that there were explanations to be made on her part later. For now, he stood behind her by proclaiming, "There you have it, then, My wife has told you… Tyra is somewhere in the East missing."

Adam and Thorvald exchanged worried glances then. Thorvald had warned him of the dangers of court intrigue. Now he was experiencing them firsthand. He would bet his bag of herbs that the empress knew more than she was saying.

The king's face was red with suppressed fury and his hands were clenched into tight fists, but Thorvald, to his credit, spoke in an even tone when he addressed the emperor "Romanus, I am the king of a small section of a small country, but I am ruler there, just as you are here .And my daughter Tyra is a princess in her own right, no matter how she may portray herself. You have not shown the proper respect for a daughter of Norway. And I can tell you this for a certainty. Not only do I take umbrage at your lack of concern, but my fellow kings of Vestland and all the Norse countries would join in my outrage if they learned of this. We protect our own."

Romanus sat up on his divan, then stood abruptly. His Imperial Guard behind him drew their weapons, ready for any command. Romanus's face was as red as Thorvald's when he asked, "Do you threaten me, Viking?"

Thorvald said nothing, just held his chin high as he held the gaze of the equally arrogant emperor.

Adam stepped in then "Let me add this, Romanus My uncle Tykir, Jarl of Dragonstead, is a warrior of great repute in Norway, and my uncle Eirik is Lord of Ravenshire in Britain. Both of them would join me in a trice if I called on them to help recover this woman."

Romanus waved a hand airily. "You would still be far outnumbered."

Adam shrugged. "Yea, we would be. But do you really want to risk a war over a mere woman?"

Several of the Byzantine advisers of high rank rushed up to the emperor and engaged him in hasty conversation, too low to be heard from their position at the bottom of the steps. Soon Romanus announced, reluctantly, "I apologize for the treatment of Tyra, Warrior Princess, whilst in my land. I put my troops at your disposal to help recover her."

The empress looked as if she might be choking on her tongue as her husband spoke. She must take his words as an indirect slap at her.

Adam and Thorvald nodded their acceptance of Romanus's apology and his pledge of help. What else could they do?

"Well, it would seem we are off to the Eastlands," the king pronounced in a voice that brooked no argument, not even from an upstart emperor half his age, nor from a devious empress.

Oh, Tyra, where are you?

Tyra was in a harem. A harem, for the love of God!

Adam didn't know whether to laugh, or cry, or both.

"I'll tell you one thing," he told Rashid, "if that tandy desert sheik has dared to lay a hand on her, I will cut it off."

"Best you drop your anger and concentrate on getting inside the harem compound," his assistant advised him.

" 'Tis said that only a man without balls may enter a harem."

Adam was about to snarl something sarcastic to Rashid, but really, the man had been invaluable to him with his Arab contacts. He had arranged for Adam—and Adam alone—to enter the sacred confines of the women's quarters with a contingent of physicians who would be giving the houris their annual examinations. The examinations would involve checks for continued virginity in some, resulting in a death sentence if it was missing; sexual diseases in others, which also resulted in a death sentence since it indicated adultery; and various everyday complaints, like rashes, which could also mean death, depending on how they had been contracted.

Thorvald and a troop of one hundred Norse soldiers—both Varangians and regular everyday mercenaries—would be waiting for him and Tyra a half-mile away from the palace. Assuming they were able to escape, that is. Among the men-at-arms were the guilt-ridden Gunter and Egil and the Stoneheim troop, who suffered much personal regret that they had not protected Tyra better. General Phocas had been forced to help them in every way possible on orders from the emperor.

Adam donned his Arab robe, pulled up the hood, and tugged one side across his face so that only his eyes were visible. Under his robes, he was fully armed with sword and dagger. He mounted his horse then and was about to ride over to join the five other physicians, who were similarly attired.