De Warenne Dynasty 01 - The Conquerer (9 page)

His words struck her and she could not move. Fierce ... unpredictable ... exciting. She was pinned by his bold regard. He released her, and she felt the lack of his touch. He looked at her mouth, his gaze lingering, hungry and wistful. Then he turned very abruptly and strode up the stairs, leaving her alone and bewildered. And feeling the desperate urge to cry.

Chapter 12

"Wake up."

Ceidre had fallen asleep before she could sneak upstairs to discuss withAlice her imminent marriage. It was a heavy sleep, dreamless, the oblivion she so badly needed.

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"Wake up!"

Ceidre was rudely awakened asAlice pulled mercilessly upon her hair. She gasped, rising up on one elbow. She slept on a pallet on the floor of the hall with all the others. "What?Alice , what is it?"

"Get up,"Alice hissed. "We are going to talk, you and L"

It was the middle of the night. The snore of theNorman 's men and Aelfgar's own surrounded them.

Ceidre got to her feet, reaching for a mantle to cover her long undertunic. "Couldn't it have waited?"

Alicetook her hand and pulled her, until they were outside near the kitchens. The light of the moon was just enough to see by, and as sleep left, Ceidre saw thatAlice was angry.

"I am warning you, Ceidre, I am going to marry him and nothing you can do will stop met"

Ceidre stared.

"You stay away from him with your whore's tricks,"Alice whispered. "Do you understand?"

"You can't want to marry him!"

"I do! He is mine! He might dally with you-as our father did with your mother-but he will never make you his true wife!"

It hurt. It shouldn't, but it was God's truth, and for that reason the pain was overwhelming. "I hate him,"

Ceidre said. "He is a killer, the enemy, aNorman . He is stealing our brothers' land. I would not marry him if I were truly you, or even if he wanted me."

"Good."

"Alice, are you mad? How can you even think to marry him-the enemy-the usurper ofEdwin 's patrimony?"

"Williamis now king,"Alice said. "And I do not care. Nor do I care ifEdwin be eaorl or not. In all, 'tis better this way, with the Norman lord of Aelfgar and me the lady." She smiled, triumphant.

"I would help you," Ceidre offered. "To run away. We could go together-findEdwin . He would protect us from theNorman !"

"No! Did you not hear? I am marrying him-gladly! But you-you stay away from him. You flaunt your witch's unholy beauty in front of him and he pants after you like a stud. I will not have you enticing him into your bed. I will not have you his leman, as your mother was our father's. I mean it, Ceidre, I warn you!"

"I would never be his mistress," Ceidre snapped. "Good."Alice drew herself up straight. "Now, the next matter. Your place here."

"What?"

"I am the lady here of Aelfgar. I am tired of your ways. With our father dead, our brothers gone, many
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men lost, 'tis time you did your share."

"What are you talking about?"

"At dawn you will go to the kitchens,"Alice ordered. "You will work as cook's assistant to replace Jess.

And, Ceidre, you will take your meals with the rest of the serfs as well."

Ceidre stared.Alice was the lady of Aelfgar and had been since the widowedJane remarried last year.

Never had she ordered her to a station. In the past she would not have dared-Edwin would not have allowed it. Yet she had the authority to do so. "Surely you jest."

"No. TheNorman agrees, there shall be no slack hands here."

Shock assaulted her. "He agrees to this?"

"Yes, of course. You are his serf, Ceidre, just like any other."

"I am a free woman," Ceidre said, "and you know it. You know Father gave me and my mother our freedom."

Alicegrinned. "Can you prove it?"

"Everyone knows."

"Do you have the papers?"

"There were never any papers."

"Then you cannot prove it."

She could not believe the wicked intention ofAlice 's game. "Everyone knows!"

"Who will swear on the Bible-or in the shire court? You? Your witch-grandmother? The villagers?Athelstan ? You are a bastard brat, Ceidre, nothing more. Whose word will the lord accept, yours, a commoner's, or mine?"

"Our brothers know the truth!"

"Do they? But, Ceidre they are not here!"

"What are you trying to do?"

"It does not matter. You live in this household, Aelfgar is your master, whether you are serf or no. If you leave, I will have you hunted down as serf. If you stay, you do as I command. Is that clear?"

Aliceknew she would never leave her home, it was in her blood. Had she convinced theNormanCeidre was his serf? She was stunned. "You are very clear,Alice ."

"Good."Alice smiled.

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While one crew felled timber for the new palisade, another was given the task of digging the huge ditch that would surround the keep. There was a natural moundRolfe would build upon, and this pleased him greatly. Unfortunately, the village would have to be razed to make room for the bailey, but once reconstructed, it would be in a more defensible position just south of the bailey's palisade.Rolfe himself, once certain all the tasks were being carried out correctly, stripped off his hauberk and joined those digging the ditch. He relished the use of his powerful muscles, sweat streaming down his body.

The villagers had been recruited for labor as well, their usual seasonal tasks of mowing the fields of hay postponed until after the keep was erected. Atnoon everyone halted for repast, the villagers fed bread, cheese, and ale on the site, andRolfe and his men returning to the hall for mutton pies. He washed briefly outside, then took his place besideAlice . Instantly he found himself looking for Ceidre, but she was nowhere to be seen. This annoyed him.

"Why does your sister not join us?"

Alicesmiled sweetly. "She has undertaken the supervision of the kitchens, my lord. And as you can see, the fare is already vastly improved."

Rolfehad not noticed, but he was satisfied that she had not defied his edict of the night before, and he commenced his meal.

Because of the fear of fire, the kitchens were outside in a separate building behind the manor. The huge stone hearths, large enough for Ceidre to stand in, emitted vast heat, for they were constantly kept fired, day and night. Here all meats were spitted and roasted, turned by hand by a young serf, who stood naked, sweating. Here too vast cauldrons of stew simmered. Adjacent were the ovens, mostly used for baking bread, but also for baking cakes and even poultry and pheasant. In a small, separate enclosure were the pantries, where the butter was churned, and the alehouse, where the beverage was brewed.

There were no windows, just one open doorway. The smoke escaped through a hole in the roof.

Everyone worked in their undertunics because of the heat, barefoot, hair pinned up. Ceidre was no exception. As she shoveled yet another loaf of dough into an oven, the heat scorching her red, flushed face, which was shining with perspiration, she wished she could go naked like Teddy, who was young enough not to care. Her undertunic, the thinnest wool because of the season, clung from her shoulders to her ankles like a second skin. In addition to the heat there was the problem of the smoke, which billowed inside in huge, thick clouds. For the hundredth time that morning, Ceidre was seized with a fit of coughing.

If only it would rain.

She fantasized a sudden downpour. She would run outside and let herself become drenched. It would be heaven.

She was no longer angry atAlice . She decided she could not blame her sister.Alice felt threatened, and Ceidre understood. TheNorman did lust after her. Ceidre still found it unbelievable, and a frisson swept her, a combination of fear and something else unidentifiable. She felt the charge of some powerful emotion that she refused to comprehend. YetAlice should have been reassured when Ceidre told her she absolutely did not want theNorman and would not have him, much less seduce him. And although Ceidre was rightly upset thatAlice would try to regulate her as a serf,Alice was her sister. Ceidre forgave her.

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TheNorman was another matter.

She could not shake his golden pagan image out of her thoughts. He dismayed her-he angered her. His confining her to manor and village infuriated her. She would not obey. She certainly would not ask his permission when, in truth, she was free and could go as she pleased!And. if he chose to beat her, she would bear it without a tear, without a cry. He was not her master, and he never would be. Just as he never would be lord of Aelfgar.

She knew, of course, that his agreeing to her new station in the kitchen was punishment for the deception of her identity. This was his punishment, thus she would pull her weight in the kitchens along with Tildie andTeddy and the others. This was the strongest reason she had for working hard, without complaint, head held high. Working harder than everyone. And after all, she was no better than any of them. In fact,Teddy was her cousin. And her mother had worked here after Ceidre was born until she had become sick. It didn't matter that it was in a supervisory capacity.

No, she would work harder than anyone. If he thought he could make her beg for forgiveness, beg for mercy, then he was wrong. She would die before she begged him for anything. She would show theNorman she was as relentless as he. As relentless an enemy.

Chapter 13

'Twas so hot.

Ceidre paused, feeling light-headed and weak. It was dim and smoky in the kitchen, and it became even darker. She gripped the bowl of peeled potatoes, taking a breath, fighting the need to faint.

"Get a goin'," cried Tildie. "No time to play slug-abug now, girl, the lord's already coming in from the village! "

The bowl went crashing out of her hand, shattering, the potatoes flying everywhere, into the dirt.

"You fool!" hissed Tildie. "You stupid fool! Now what will we put in the pie?"

The world became clear again and Ceidre focused on Tildie just as the woman delivered a sharp, hysterical slap to her cheek. Shocked, Ceidre drew back. Even more stunned, Tildie, realizing what she had done, gasped, her hand covering her mouth, her eyes widening into O's of horror. The two women stared at each other through the smoke. Tildie's full bosom, heavy with her fifth pregnancy, heaved over the mound of her belly.

"'Tis all right." Ceidre spoke first. Her face hurt now. "I know you did not mean it."

Tildie stepped back, and tears flooded her eyes. "I didn't!" She started to cry. "Oh, Ceidre, how could you spill the spuds? Now what will we do! Mayhap he'll whip us all, and me so gone with the babe!"

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Ceidre put her arm around the weeping woman. "Shh, Tildie, he will not harm you. I promise."

Ceidre was well aware that Tildie's sentiments were not unusual. In the past few days since she had been working in the kitchens, she had realized very quickly that the serfs were wary and afraid of their new master. He was so big, and he never smiled. His eyes were so cold-mean. They had heard all the stories ofRolfe the Relentless. He wasWilliam the Bastard's top commander. He was ruthless. AtHastings his men had slaughtered a hundred Saxon archers before they could break for the forest. He had been awarded Bramber, inSussex . A rebellion had been stopped before it had begun, its leaders publicly hanged. Just recently he had burnedYork to the ground, every cottage, every shop, every tree, and every garden, after they had finally routed the Saxon rebels. And on his way to Aelfgar he had razed Kesop, not even sparing the cornfields. This was their new lord and master.

"We will bake extra bread and 'twill suffice," Ceidre said firmly. "Hush, now, Tildie. Go and sit down outside. I'll make the bread."

Rolfewas smiling broadly. The ditch had been completed, the dirt removed tossed within, and now a small hill sat in the center, the foundation for the keep. Already half the palisade had been erected, the thick, stout timbered walls over twice his height-and he was very tall. In no time the new great hall of Aelfgar would be finished and the bailey would be begun.

Rolfewas only wearing his undertunic and chausses. The tunic was the thinnest wool, a rich beige that, wet with sweat, molded every rippling sinew it contained. His dark gold curls clung thickly to his head.

Wiping perspiration from his eyes, damning the day for the unusual heat, he mounted and rode back to the manor, approaching from the back because that was the side where he had been working.

Ahead of him were the kitchen and pantries. Smoke drifted in incessant puffs from the outbuildings. He could smell the pungent aroma of mutton, and his stomach growled. A maid was carrying butter from the pantry, another trenchers from the kitchen, both converging upon the manor. A boy drew water from the well, then he too disappeared. The area was momentarily deserted, andRolfe was about to ride past the yard. Then another serf stepped outside from the kitchens, heading toward the alehouse.

Rolfe's heart broke its rhythm.

Unconsciously he halted his mount. There was no mistaking who it was. It was Ceidre.

He hadn't seen her in days. This did not mean he hadn't thought of her-often. He had tried grimly and unsuccessfully not to think of the wench, but 'twas impossible. Every time a woman entered his line of vision, he had looked, to see if it was her. It never was.

His mood these past few days had been abrupt and even foul. He had been quick to find fault with his men and equally quick to demand new, faultless effort.Guy had openly remarked upon it.Rolfe had said nothing.Guy , trying not to laugh, had suggested that he ease himself with Lettie, a peasant wench his men were most fond of.Rolfe had ignored him, although he had considered the suggestion. He usually slaked his lust at will. However, his lust had not arisen upon the sight of any of these village women in the past few days, hence he had not bothered with a tumble. But nowoh, now there was no problem!