Captive Heart (33 page)

“I have little once I am dressed.” Celiese picked up the gown she’d removed several hours earlier and explained, “Olgrethe has always lent me her clothing, will there be time for me to borrow something more and bid her farewell?”

“No more than a moment.” Mylan began to pace nervously, too preoccupied to notice then how lovely Celiese looked as she dressed. Her cheeks were filled with a delicate blush and her eyes sparkled with excitement as she gave him her full attention when he spoke. “The ship Hagen and Andrick command is a
knarr,
a merchant vessel, as is mine. Since theirs is ready to sail and mine is not, I will simply make them a trade. I should have returned long before they wish to set sail in the spring, so that they will again have their own vessel when next they wish to trade goods.”

“Yes I understand. I have my cloak, but I would like to have an extra dress and another pair of slippers. I will speak with Olgrethe about that while you talk with Andrick.” Ready to leave, Celiese preceded him to the door, but he put out his hand to stop her and looked out again to see if the corridor was unoccupied.

“Mylan, this is your own house, but you act as though we were trespassing,” Celiese said, puzzled.
 

“Just stay behind me, Celiese, my caution is not foolish no matter what you might think. Now the way is clear, and we must go.” He took her hand again as they walked to the quarters Andrick shared with his bride, At the door he knocked softly, and his brother soon came to see who might wish to see him at that early hour.

“I have little time, Andrick, you must lend me your ship and permit Olgrethe to give Celiese a few articles of clothing. We are leaving for her homeland now and have no time to search for apparel to supplement her wardrobe,” Mylan told his brother urgently.

Andrick wore no more than a towel knotted low upon his hips. Having been awakened from his dreams, he was clearly astonished by both of Mylan’s requests. “You may have the ship, of course, and anything Olgrethe can spare, but is this not a peculiar time to depart?” He yawned loudly then, and rubbed his hand over his eyes to keep them open.

“I will explain when I return. Please keep Celiese here with you while I talk to Hagen.” Giving her a stern glance, he insisted, “Do not leave these rooms, Celiese, for it is far too dangerous for you to be walking about the house without me.”

He was so serious in his demand that for once Celiese did not question his motives, but nodded agreeably. “I will wait here, you needn’t worry I will wander off and become lost.”

“See that you don’t!” With that spirited parting remark Mylan left them alone and walking with a long stride disappeared down the hall in the direction of Hagen’s room.

Embarrassed to have disturbed Andrick, Celiese apologized as best she could. “Mylan seems determined to depart swiftly; I am sorry that I cannot provide a lucid explanation for what he is doing, but he did not give one to me.” She held her few belongings wrapped in-a silk scarf and was afraid she presented so pathetic a picture that Andrick would simply pity her rather than being curious about her unexpected appearance in his rooms.

Andrick had spent little time with Celiese, but he knew his wife valued her friendship greatly and offered to awaken her. “Olgrethe did not spend the best of nights, but she will want to get up to help you find whatever you need. Please wait here while I call her, for I don’t want to face Mylan in the mood he is in if he should return in a moment and find you gone.”

Seeing his teasing smile, Celiese reached up to kiss his cheek lightly. “Thank you, Andrick. Olgrethe is fortunate to have so understanding a husband as you.”

“Rather than Mylan, you mean?” the handsome man teased playfully.

“No, that wasn’t what I meant at all!” Celiese denied quickly, her face flooding with color, her embarrassment was so acute. “Will none of you ever forget that deception? Am I never to be forgiven for it?”

Andrick watched the sudden rush of tears fill her eyes and realized his joke had been in very poor taste. “I am sorry, Celiese, all I meant was that Olgrethe and I are a far better match than she and Mylan would have been. I did not even think that remark would insult you, and I am sorry that it did.”

Celiese turned away, ashamed she had been so ill-tempered when Andrick had been so nice to her. “I do not think you should tease me about something so important as marriage, nor Olgrethe either, as she might as easily misunderstand as I did.”

Perplexed to have caused such a disastrous scene when he had only meant to make Celiese smile, Andrick apologized again, hoping he would be able to soothe the distracted young woman’s feelings, since he had hurt her unintentionally. When he heard his wife approaching he grew silent, not wanting her to know he had insulted her friend, but she could tell by his sheepish expression that something was wrong.

Awakened by the sounds of their voices, Olgrethe walked slowly into the room. She was dressed in a robe of yellow silk, her eyes red and swollen from the tears she’d shed for her brother. “Why, Andrick, were you and Celiese fighting? Has the entire house gone mad?”

Andrick went quickly to her side, and gave Olgrethe a reassuring hug. “Of course not, beloved, we were merely talking, and I was just coming to wake you. Mylan and Celiese are leaving, she wanted to bid you farewell, that is all we were discussing.” Looking over her head at Celiese, he was pleased to see she understood the cause of that lie and would not dispute him.

“You are leaving me now?” Olgrethe’s already pained expression grew even more woebegone as she pleaded, “Oh, Celiese, how can you leave me now?”

Mylan slipped through the door in time to respond to that question. “If she is not gone before sunrise your grief will be compounded tenfold, Olgrethe. Do not try and influence her to stay, for such a choice is impossible.” Mylan leaned back against the door to catch his breath; he’d run all the way back from Hagen’s room and. felt dizzy, his strength impaired by pain.

“Mylan?” Celiese regarded him closely, surprised she’d not noticed the deep purple bruise that marred the lid of his left eye. It looked very painful, but she’d not call attention to it when she knew how little he enjoyed sympathy. “Is everything all right? What did Hagen say?”

“Why didn’t you tell me he had offered to take you home? He is not at all pleased I am to be the one to do it.”

Celiese knew he had a good point, for she had let Hagen think she would make the voyage with him when she’d not known what else to say. “The situation is a confusing one, I agree, but you and I have had no time to talk, Mylan, so there was really no opportunity for me to tell you of Hagen’s plans.”

His glance suspicious, Mylan continued, “Of course, you would have told me, you are always so prompt to tell the truth that I don’t doubt your sincerity one bit!”

Not understanding why his brother was behaving so badly, Andrick was quick to send his wife from the room so he might question him. “Olgrethe, Celiese needs a gown or two, have you anything to offer?” Since he frequently teased her about the extensive size of her wardrobe, he was certain she did.

“Of course, you may take whatever you wish, Celiese. Come, let us look to see what we can find.” Apparently resigned to losing her, Olgrethe led Celiese into her bedroom where her clothing was kept.

Waiting to be certain they could not be overheard, Andrick spoke in a low whisper. “What is wrong that you must flee with such haste? Do you expect the Torgvalds to give pursuit? Their warships are far more fleet than our
knarrs,
so it may be impossible to escape them.”

Mylan closed his eyes as he sighed deeply. Never had he spent such an exciting night, and it was not yet over. “Our father made some kind of a bargain with Jens; he meant to hand over Celiese, and I think Jens must have promised his family would not attack us again to avenge Oluf’s death.”

Aghast, Andrick shouted hoarsely, “That cannot be true!” He was appalled at that bit of treachery and found it unthinkable. “It simply cannot be the truth, Mylan. Where did you hear of this bargain, from Jens himself?”

Straightening up to his full height, Mylan was surprised to realize Andrick was now nearly his equal in size. He was still slightly taller and considered that an advantage when he wished to make a point. “I saw Father lead Jens to her room and instruct him to hurry with the abduction. Is that evidence enough for you?”

“Does she know?” Andrick looked hurriedly toward the room where the two women had gone, fearing they might return in the middle of Mylan’s explanation.

“No.” Mylan’s expression gave no encouragement to that question. “She is not to know, either. It is a betrayal I cannot disclose, for she would hate us all for it.”

“Mylan, her love for you is painfully obvious. She saw nothing all day but you. She would not hate you for our father’s treachery.” That Estrid had been on his brother’s arm all day was not a subject he wished to mention, for he was certain Mylan had only used the attractive young woman to make Celiese jealous and he thought such a trick incredibly foolish.

Swearing under his breath, Mylan replied in a hostile whisper, “The woman loves me so dearly she refused to be my wife in front of more than a dozen witnesses! You heard her yourself, Andrick, she’ll not have any of us for a husband!”

Laughing, Andrick reached out to touch Mylan’s shoulder with a good-natured slap. “You have not courted the woman with anything other than neglect. How can you expect her to want you when you have given her no evidence of your love?”

“I do not love her!” Mylan vowed hoarsely, incensed by his brother’s teasing, but as he turned he saw Celiese and Olgrethe at the doorway, and, knowing they had overheard that bitter remark, he was filled with remorse. Thinking his best option simply to ignore the comment rather than trying to explain it, he spoke quickly, “Have you all you need? The journey is a long one.”

Olgrethe had just finished reciting a nearly endless tale of woe. Her sorrow was deep at losing the company of her dearest friend when her brother had just died so tragically. If that had not depressed Celiese most thoroughly, here was Mylan screaming for all to hear that he did not love her. Trying to make the best of an extremely embarrassing situation, Celiese came forward with a smooth, graceful stride. “Yes, Olgrethe has always been most generous, and I will never forget her.” She kissed the young woman’s cheek sweetly, then gave Andrick a warm hug before carrying the things she had gathered through the door. She did not wait this time for Mylan to look for whatever danger he seemed to suspect awaited, for it mattered little to her what her fate might be if she did not have even the hope of winning his love. And from the fury of his denial, she knew she never would.

As she slipped past him, Mylan turned to look at Andrick, knowing he should have prepared some more formal farewell when—if luck were not with him—they might never meet again. “You will be the eldest, if—”

“I will be the eldest only after you die of old age, now go before Celiese takes command of our ship and leaves you behind!” Andrick drew Olgrethe into his arms with a joyful hug, grateful he was not the fool his brother was. Mylan was too proud by far, but he hoped his favorite brother would lose neither his life nor his love on a voyage that was sure to be filled with adventure.

Chapter Eighteen

Hagen met Celiese and Mylan on the path to the docks. He was out of breath and frowning apprehensively as he greeted them. “The Torgvalds have gone, but they were arguing so heatedly amongst themselves I do not see how they could give enough attention to sailing to reach their home.”

“Let us pray they do not, then,” Celiese remarked softly, the bitterness of her comment surprising the two men.

“We will not be rid of them so easily as a few rats we might toss into the sea, but should they sink from the weight of their own evil deeds, I shall not miss them.” Hagen turned to join the attractive couple on their way to the beach, his stride long and sure. “Most of our crew were near enough to summon. I had spoken with them of the possibility of this voyage, but they had not expected it to begin so soon.”

Mylan cast Celiese a sidelong glance, but she did not seem embarrassed by Hagen’s admission that he’d planned a voyage to France. That she would have sailed with his brother, simply gone away without once thinking of telling him they were making so dangerous a journey or bidding him farewell, pained Mylan greatly. Apparently she lived entirely for herself, without ever considering how her actions affected others. Why he could never seem to remember how faithless she was he did not know, but she knew how to bewitch him as no other woman ever had, and he found himself hurrying her along the path, still anxious to depart before any further danger overtook them.

“You found adequate provisions so quickly?” Mylan turned his attention from the distracting young woman at his side in an attempt to concentrate on the details of the voyage.

“I had gathered our stores, since I had not expected to spend the entire summer at home,” Hagen replied crossly. “We had other plans until Andrick found he could not bear to be away from his bride for more than half a day!”

Rather than remark upon his cynical view of marriage, since Mylan apparently felt the same way, Celiese kept still but she envied Olgrethe greatly for having married a man with so devoted a nature as Andrick had proved to have. She turned back to look at the Vandahl home then, knowing she would never return. She had been terrified when she’d arrived to become Mylan’s bride, and she felt no more confident now. The imposing stone structure was silhouetted against the rising sun. Although she could not see any of the inhabitants watching their departure, she was certain many were.