The Red Wolf's Prize (18 page)

The girl dropped to the ground as the Norman mercenary
turned and fled.

With a shriek, Serena crouched at Cassie’s side. “Cassie!”
Moving her hands over the place where the blade had entered the handmaiden’s
chest, Serena thanked God it was lodged near the girl’s shoulder, and not in
her heart. The wound poured forth blood as Serena withdrew the blade. Tearing
the hem of her undertunic, Serena wadded the cloth and pressed it to the wound.

Cassie opened her eyes, dazed, and looked down at her chest.
“He…he hit me.” Then lowering her head, she added in stilted words, “I thought
he had…something else…in mind.”

“Likely he did. The man is evil. But we were lucky. He fled
when he heard riders coming.” Cassie shut her eyes, moaning in pain. Serena
kept the pressure on the wound. “Stay with me, Cassie.”

From a few feet away, Rhodri began to stir as mounted
knights rode into the clearing in a flurry. Serena was alarmed until she saw
the Red Wolf led them. Her heart leapt in her chest.

He came!

Serena experienced both joy and relief at seeing the Red
Wolf on his magnificent stallion, but her spirits fell when she saw the anger
in his eyes as he looked down upon her.

He dismounted and strode toward her. “What have you done
now, my lady?” His words dripped sarcasm.

“I can explain,” she offered.

“Indeed you will,” he said with a stern look.

Sir Geoffroi and Sir Niel slid from their saddles. Sir
Maurin had already dismounted and rushed to Cassie’s side where he knelt,
taking her hand.

“Cassie, my love,” he said in accented English. “
Qu'est-il
arrivé
?”

Cassie’s green eyes filled with tears at the sight of the
knight’s anxious face. It was clear to Serena that Sir Maurin was as enamored
with Cassie as she was with him.

Rhodri sat up and rubbed the back of his head.

The Red Wolf stood over the small group. His fierce gray
eyes held Serena’s gaze for a long moment, then glancing at her handmaiden, he
said to his knight, “Geoff, get the bandages from my bag before the girl bleeds
to death.”

“Aye,” Sir Geoffroi acknowledged, and strode to their
horses.

“Sir Niel,” said the Red Wolf to the younger knight, “make
yourself useful and find some water to clean the wound.”

Without a word, Sir Niel took a skin from his saddle and
headed for the stream.

“What has happened here?” the Red Wolf demanded of Serena.
There was more than anger in his eyes now. Was it a look of concern? Knowing he
was close made her feel safe, no matter he was displeased. Relieved at seeing
him returned from Exeter a whole man, she wanted to fly into his arms but his
forbidding manner kept her still.

“We were attacked by the mercenary you sent away from
Talisand, the one called Sir Hugue.”

“Sir Hugue?” asked Sir Geoffroi, incredulous as he handed
Serena an oilcloth containing fresh bandages.

“What was the mercenary doing with you in the woods,
Serena?” the Red Wolf asked.

Serena felt the cold chill in his voice. “He followed me,”
said Serena, realizing that told him little.

Rhodri, still rubbing his head, asked, “Who hit me?”

“Sir Hugue, the Norman mercenary,” said Serena, shooting a
glance at the Red Wolf.

“There will be time later to hear the full tale,” said the
Red Wolf. “We must get your handmaiden back to Talisand.”

“First, let me try and stop the bleeding,” pleaded Serena.
Asking the men to turn their backs, Serena stripped the top of Cassie’s tunic
and undertunic from her, and with the water Sir Niel handed her, cleaned the
wound.

Cassie moaned.

Rhodri spoke from where he was rising. “Serena, Cassie had
some herbs with her. Agrimony was one of them. It will stop the bleeding.”

“I’ll get it,” said Sir Maurin. He rose from Cassie’s side
and hurried to the horse Rhodri directed him to.

When the knight returned, Serena lifted the cloth she had
used to cover Cassie’s chest and sprinkled the dried herb over the wound.

Still conscious, Cassie winced.

To Sir Maurin, who stood looking grief-stricken, Serena
said, “’Tis not good, Sir Maurin, but hopefully not so grievous as to take her
life.”

Cassie’s eyes fluttered and then closed.

Sir Maurin stared fixedly at the redhead, then dropped to
her side to hold her hand once again. The Red Wolf hovered above them like a
dark threatening angel.

When the flow of blood slowed, at Serena’s signal, Sir Niel
and Sir Geoffroi gently lifted Cassie into the arms of Sir Maurin where he sat
upon his horse. The knight balanced her on his lap, one arm around her
shoulders and the other on the reins, allowing her body to rest against his
chest.

Watching Sir Maurin’s embrace of the handmaiden, the Red
Wolf said, “We’ll have to travel more slowly.” Then looking at Serena and
Rhodri, “There will be time for the tale.”

They mounted their horses, Sir Niel leading, followed by Sir
Maurin holding Cassie. Next came Serena and the Red Wolf riding abreast. Sir
Geoffroi and Rhodri brought up the rear.

Aware of the Red Wolf’s anger, she managed to say, “I am
glad to see you safely returned, my lord.”

“Are you, indeed, my lady?” The tone of his voice told her
he was unconvinced. “As you must have discerned, I came from Talisand where I
found you missing once again. It seems you have a penchant for stealing away.”
He did not hide his displeasure.

“I only escaped this morning,” she explained.

“Escaped? I was told you left Talisand days ago.”

“I was
abducted
days ago. Surely you do not think I
left on my own?”

She could plainly see that is just what he thought.

“
Abducted?
Do you expect me to believe such a story
when Sir Niel was given a sleeping potion? Surely it was your doing, my lady,
or someone aiding you, mayhap the Welshman.”

Serena knew he had not trusted her, and with good reason. He
could not know her heart had changed. Before the abduction, she had decided to
accept her duty and take her place at his side as the Lady of Talisand, but now
it was more. It had taken an English earl to show her she wanted only the
Norman knight.

His jaw flexed, as if barely suppressing his wrath. She
desperately wanted to make him understand. “I, too, must have been given a
potion, my lord.”

“By Sir Hugue? What was his role in all of this?”

“He was working for my abductor. I thank you for sparing us
the mercenary’s wrath. Cassie threw her knife into his shoulder, but he pulled
it out and sent it into Cassie’s flesh. He was very angry when he fled at
hearing your horses.”

“What about your handmaiden and the bard? Were they a part
of this?”

“Nay. They went in search of me and only crossed my path a
short while before you did.”

“Surely they aided your escape.”

“They did not. Ask Rhodri for yourself.”

The Red Wolf turned in his saddle to glance back at the
Welshman. “She speaks the truth, my lord,” said Rhodri. “Cassie was eager to go
in search of Lady Serena and I insisted on joining in the hunt.”

“Mayhap they do speak the truth,” offered Sir Geoffroi from
where he rode next to Rhodri.

The Red Wolf huffed, and turned back to Serena. Beneath his
anger she saw a weariness she had not observed before. Likely, he had not
rested when he returned to Talisand.

“Go on then, out with the rest of your story,” he said,
appearing resigned to hearing it.

“I will tell you if you promise not to take revenge on the
one who took me.”

“And why should I make such a promise, my lady? If, indeed,
you were taken against your will, and Sir Hugue had a hand in it, such a crime
would be deserving of the severest punishment.”

She knew he meant death. But Serena could not let him kill
Morcar and his brother. “Because the ones who took me were of my own people and
believed they acted in accordance with my wishes and my father’s.”

“I will shelter no traitors at Talisand!” the Red Wolf
declared.

“I know of none, my lord.” But even as she said the words,
Aethel’s face came unbidden to her mind. Still she could not think of the herb
woman as a traitor. Instead, she was sorry for what the woman’s life had
become. “Tell me you will not take revenge and I will tell you from whom I
escaped only this morning.”

“Did he touch you?” the Red Wolf asked, his gray eyes
clouded, his voice stern. “That I could never forgive no matter his motive.”

“Nay, he did not. He intended to wed me and that is why I
left, and why I must ask for your word that you will not seek to harm him. He
was a friend of my father.”

The Red Wolf stared at her as if weighing her request.
Finally, he said, “You have my word. Now tell me, who would dare steal from the
Red Wolf? Tell me, and I will decide if you can be believed.”

Knowing him to be a man of honor, Serena trusted him not to
seek vengeance for her disappearance. “’Twas Earl Morcar.”

The Red Wolf’s frown deepened. “…the English earl?”

“Aye. When my father still lived, the earl asked for my hand.
Morcar believed he was doing what my father wanted. What I wanted.”

“It matters little.”

“I suppose you are right, and anyway, there was no contract.
But Morcar had spoken to my father and had hoped one would follow.” She looked
into the Red Wolf’s gray eyes. The anger she had seen only moments before
seemed to soften. “He could not have known that I wished to wed a Norman, that
my heart had changed. And I did not tell him. He would not have believed me any
more than you do. Instead, I sought to escape and return to Talisand.”

“You are practiced at escape, my lady.” The Red Wolf’s gaze
lowered to her lips, still stained, she knew, with the juice of the red
berries. “Mayhap I believe you,” he said. “Or mayhap I merely want to. How were
you taken from Talisand?”

“I know not, though I suspect Sir Hugue played a role. He
now serves Morcar. I went to sleep in my chamber and awoke in another, one I
came to learn was in Earl Edwin’s manor in Mercia.”

“Earl Edwin had a part in this treachery?” he asked with a
look of surprise.

“You must understand,” she said, trying to convince him of
the truth. “The earls feel betrayed by your Norman duke who would be England’s
king. He demanded their fealty and then broke his promises, taking his daughter
from Edwin and Northumbria from Morcar. Then, as if that were not enough, he
built castles on the Welsh border of Mercia and gave his abbot control over
some of Mercia’s shires.” Looking directly at the Red Wolf, she said, “It seems
your king does not keep his word, my lord.”

“Enough of this!” he shouted. “I’ll not listen to you
criticize William and defend the English who defy him. The king has had enough
of such treachery.” Then looking away, he added, “After Exeter, he will show no
mercy.”

Ignoring his disparagement of her people, she asked, “Did
all those you took with you to Exeter return?” She had to know if any had been
lost. She could not bear to see any killed, particularly not Jamie.

“They did.”

She breathed a sigh of relief. Despite his anger and
mistrust, Serena was comforted by his presence and glad he had found her,
especially with Cassie bleeding from a knife wound. She needed the Red Wolf’s
strength. Although she trusted him, she had purposely not spoken of Morcar’s
intention to travel to York. It might only draw the Red Wolf into what could
become another battle, this time one involving her brother.

Trying to appease his lingering anger, she said, “Thank you,
my lord. I was worried about Jamie especially.”

From behind her, Sir Geoffroi said, “You have his lordship to
thank for the lad’s health, my lady. He took an arrow for the boy.”

Alarmed, Serena turned to face the Red Wolf. “You are
wounded?”

“Yea,” he said looking down at his left arm, “but not
grievously.”

She could see no bandage but she remembered his wince when
he mounted his stallion, and he now held the reins in his right hand. “You
protected the lad. And you have spared me the wrath of Sir Hugue. For both, I
am most grateful.”

“What about the mercenary?” he inquired. “You cannot tell me
it was chance he encountered you and the others in the woods.”

“Nay, it was not. As I said, he has pledged his sword to
Morcar and his words to us suggested he was sent to find me.”

By the time their cavalcade arrived at Talisand, a host of
people had gathered to meet them.

Maggie was one of the first to approach, a worried look on
her face. Her eyes scanned the horses crowding the yard. Alighting on her
daughter, carried in Sir Maurin’s arms, she screamed, “Cassie!”

Sir Maurin gently handed the girl to the waiting Sir
Geoffroi and Sir Niel, who had dismounted and come to his aid.

Serena dropped from her horse and watched the knights.
Maggie ran to Serena as the men carried the handmaiden into the manor. “I will
tend her myself, Maggie. Fetch Aethel and tell her to bring the herbs.”

“Cassie was supposed to be at the west manor,” Maggie said,
her voice desperate. “What happened?”

“She and Rhodri came after me. She was stabbed with a
knife.”

“Who would do such a thing to me lass?” The cook’s green
gaze followed the knights as they carried Cassie through the front door of the
manor. “Will she recover?”

“’Tis serious, Maggie, but I pray not fatal. I can explain
later what happened. Right now I must make sure the bleeding has not begun
again.”

Serena followed the knights into the manor and directed them
to take Cassie to Serena’s bedchamber. Sir Maurin followed and now stood by the
bed looking down on the unconscious girl. Cassie’s skin, usually glowing with
health, was nearly colorless, a stark contrast to her flaming red hair.

“Sir Maurin, I ask you to leave us alone for a time. I must
undress her and see to the wound. I will call you when I have finished.”

He nodded. “I will be waiting downstairs, my lady.” He
turned to go. Serena had never seen the knight looking so forlorn.

As he reached the door, she said, “I will do my best, Sir
Maurin. I know you care for her, as do I.”

“Aye, I do,” he said and left, closing the door behind him.

Aethel came in after the knight departed, her satchel of
medicines and herbs with her. “Maggie is half out of her wits,” said Aethel.
Then seeing the handmaiden lying as still as death, she asked, “What happened
to her?”

Serena looked up from where she was carefully cutting away
Cassie’s tunic. “You are not the first to ask. We were in the woods, on our way
back to Talisand when the mercenary, Sir Hugue, found us.”

“The knight who attacked Eawyn did this?”

“Yea. He is now with Morcar, who I doubt is aware of the
snake he shelters.”

Aethel, Serena noted, did not looked surprised at the tidings.

Since Serena had worked with the herb woman before to tend
the sick and wounded, they now quickly fell into their prior routine. Serena
prepared the wound and Aethel took from her bag the herbs she would apply. As
they worked, they talked.

“Ye came back, m’lady,” Aethel said.

“Yea, I did. Did you doubt I would?”

“I thought ye wanted to leave.” Serena watched the herb
woman’s dark eyes carefully, noting the sincerity.

“Once that might have been true, Aethel, but no longer. I
meant what I told the people of Talisand. I am their lady and I will wed the
Red Wolf. Earl Morcar wanted to marry me but that was not my will. Were you not
aware I was resigned to becoming the Norman’s wife?”

“Nay, I thought ye would be happy to leave. Happy to wed the
English earl.”

“I know you were a part of it, Aethel.” Then looking down at
Cassie, “But you see where Morcar’s abduction has led.”

“I am deeply sorry,” said Aethel. The woman looked contrite.

“If you are, Aethel, then end your traitorous behavior and
help me to care for the people of Talisand.”

“Aye, m’lady, I will.” Her dark eyes filled with tears.

“Then I will protect your secret.”

While Serena would keep a careful watch on the woman, she
would give her the chance to change. How could she do less when her own heart
had changed from wanting to flee the Normans to wanting to wed one?

Before they finished, Maggie rushed in to check on her
daughter. Assured Cassie was doing well, she kissed her daughter’s forehead and
hurried out to see to the returning men.

Serena rose from Cassie’s bedside. “I must speak to Sir
Maurin.”

“I will sit vigil through the night,” Aethel volunteered.

* * *

“Can I believe her?” Renaud asked Geoff as they ate the
evening meal. He had watched Serena ascend the stairs, knowing she went to tend
her handmaiden, and he had wondered then if she was back to stay.

“Only time will tell,” said Geoff. “Her tale was plausible.
If Morcar and his brother seek vengeance on William, what better way to exact
it than to rob one of his knights of his bride, as Edwin claims he was robbed
of the king’s daughter?”

“A foolish thing for Edwin and Morcar to do if it happened
as she says,” replied Renaud, still angry at having to track his bride through
the woods.

Maugris, who sat with them, leaned in to whisper. “Men behave
foolishly when it comes to beautiful women.” He sat back, his wizened face
crinkling in a smile.

“Indeed they do,” said Geoff with a chuckle, “especially if
they can cook.”

“The both of you too easily excuse a man’s folly that nearly
deprived me of my bride,” said Renaud impatiently. “And now I have the
mercenary to contend with again.”

“Aye,” agreed Maugris. “That one is worthy of your
vengeance.”

Renaud still seethed at the knowledge the mercenary had been
a part of stealing Serena. The bard had posed no obstacle to Sir Hugue’s evil
intent. Would Serena have been the mercenary’s next victim had he not run at
the sound of their horses?

He had mixed feelings about Serena’s sincerity. She seemed
firm in her conviction to wed him yet he knew from William’s court that
betrayal could come from one who feigned loyalty.

He had been eager to bed her when she was a mere servant
with dull brown hair and dressed in an ill-fitting tunic. Stripped of her
disguise, she was beautiful beyond compare. Standing in the woods in her green
tunic, her violet eyes blazing and her red lips beckoning, he had fought the
urge to take her into his arms and crush those lips beneath his. Had his men
not been with him, he might have done so. Yet he had also been tempted to shake
her for he had been maddened by the possibility she had lied once again.

Mathieu came to his side and whispered a message that
brought a smile to his face. Turning from his companions, Renaud said, “If you
will forgive me, I’ve a mind to be alone with my lady.”

Leaving Geoff and Maugris with startled faces, his gaze
drifted up to his chamber.

* * *

Serena sank into the steaming bath letting the water bring
relief to her aching muscles. The fight for Cassie’s life, which had only
begun, had taken much from her. She loved the girl like a sister and the
thought she could lose her weighed heavy on her mind.

Since Cassie was sleeping in Serena’s bed, Maggie had
arranged for Serena’s bath to be placed in the lord’s chamber. Seeing his
warrior things strewn about she was instantly uncomfortable and wondered if
Mathieu’s assurance that she would be left alone could be counted upon. There
was no guard at the door.

Thoughts of the knight who slept here plagued her. She knew
he was angry even after her explanation. During their brief exchange of words
on the way back to Talisand, his steel gray eyes, as threatening as the blade
secured at his waist, portended ill. Might he still believe she left Talisand
of her own accord? She had no desire to fight with him now, not when she had
finally accepted the truth of her feelings. She had wanted to explain all that
was in her heart, but the presence of his men and the concern for Cassie had
kept those thoughts locked within her.

By now, Sir Hugue would have made it back to Mercia, assuming
Cassie’s blade had not stopped him. If Morcar knew she was again in the hands
of the Red Wolf, mayhap he would not pursue her. He had said he would soon
leave for York. Was Steinar already there? She remembered the city, southeast
of Talisand, only a short distance from Stamford Bridge where Eawyn’s husband
Ulrich had fallen.

Picking up the rose scented soap, Serena scrubbed her body
and hair. Once the soap was rinsed from her hair, she wrung the water from it,
reached for the drying cloth and rose from her bath, wiping the water from her
wet skin.

The door opened with no warning knock.

Serena gasped and pulled the cloth over her breasts and
belly, keenly aware her legs were bare for anyone to see.

The Red Wolf stepped into the chamber, his piercing gray
gaze sliding over her body and coming to rest where her breasts strained
against the thin cloth. She could feel the heat of her blush as she looked to
see the drying cloth clinging to her wet skin.

Without saying a word, he turned to the side and took off
his belt. Then, with a grunt, he pulled his mail over his head and struggled
out of his tunic. She would have offered to help had she not been so scantily
clad. Had she not been so shy of his disrobing before her.

When his tunic slid to the floor, she nervously asked, “What
do you intend, my lord?”

“I should think that was obvious, my lady. I am claiming my
bride.”

“Now?” She gripped the drying cloth more tightly to her
still damp body. The long strands of her hair, wet from the bath, clung to her
skin. No man had ever seen her in such a state.

“Yes, now.” His eyes considered her carefully, and he shook
his head. “God knows I’ve left it overlong.”

While still staring at her, he shed his spurs and boots and
doffed his linen shirt, leaving his chest bare and his lower body clad in only
hosen and braies. He was a beautiful man with his bronze skin and muscled
chest. Her eyes were drawn to the white cloth circling his upper arm.

“Your wound,” she said, as she focused on the white bandage
around his upper arm. The wound from the arrow he took for Jamie. How could she
not love such a man?

“Aye.” He glanced down at the bandage. “My token from the
siege at Exeter.”

“Does it pain you?”

His gray eyes narrowed intently. “If you are asking if it
will impair my performance in our bed, nay.”

Serena could not take her eyes off his body as he peeled off
his hosen and unwound his braies, leaving his long lean form exposed and his
manhood rising from a thatch of dark chestnut hair at his groin.

She swallowed, her throat suddenly dry and her teeth biting
into her lower lip. She had never seen a man fully naked. Or one who
was…aroused.

Gingerly stepping out of the water, she thought to delay his
purpose. Maggie had told her his first taking would bring her pain. Serena
would postpone it if she could.

“Our marriage has yet to be blessed, my lord.”

“Maugris tells me the priest will return on the morrow,” he
said sternly. “There will be a blessing then. But I shall claim my bride now.
I’ll not risk you disappearing in the dark again while still a virgin another
man can claim. Come here, Serena.”

Seeing the desire in his eyes, Serena knew the time had
come. She would not shy from a fate she had come to accept. One she had chosen.

The pride of a thegn’s daughter rose within her as she
lifted her chin and slowly stepped toward him, her gaze ever steady. She
shivered as if his hands were already touching her.

Closing the distance between them, he pulled the cloth from
her, tossing it to the floor. The cool air against her bare skin caused her
nipples to pucker. She covered her breasts, crossing her arms over her chest.

“I would see all of you, Serena.” He pulled her hands away
from her chest. She met his gaze, determined not to cower before him. His eyes
raked her body from her breasts to the flaxen hair at the apex of her thighs.
“You are more alluring than any woman should be, bride or no.”

Serena was suddenly shy in the face of his devouring gaze.
She had known this moment would come, but it was all so new.

Pulling her against his powerful chest, their bodies met.
The heat from his naked skin was a welcome warmth causing her breasts to
tingle. She looked into his eyes, a darker gray than before, and saw his
intent. Nothing would stop him now.

He kissed her, a kiss of possession. Deeper than any he’d
given her before. Her breasts pressed into his muscled chest and she breathed
in his scent of horses, leather and sweat—the scent she recognized from his
first kiss. Sliding her hands up his arms, across the bandaged arm, she was
sharply reminded this man was a warrior who had known many battles, and mayhap
many women.

His tongue claimed her mouth as his hands roamed freely over
her buttocks. He gripped them and pulled her into his hardening flesh.

Grasping his shoulders, she steadied herself. Then she was
lost in his kiss, in his touch, in the feel of him surrounding her. A part of
her wanted to flee, but another, stronger part, wanted to stay.

This must happen
. It would be the end of her old life
and the beginning of a new one. And somewhere deep inside, Serena knew she had
wanted this man for a long while.

His aroused flesh grew more rigid against her belly, his
size frightening her at the thought of what she knew was to come. She would
soon know this man more intimately than any other. She would be the Red Wolf’s
wife in truth.

The kiss ended and his lips swept across her neck and to the
top of her shoulder, sending ripples of pleasure through her. She knew the man
who held her so tightly was one of the dreaded Normans, but all she could think
of was the passion his touch was stirring within her. It was a passion she had
wanted and only from him. She tilted her head back to allow him better access
to her throat and reveled in the enticing feel of his lips nibbling at the skin
at the base of her neck.

There was no enemy here, only a man whose every silent
question her body answered with “yea.”