And if she spoke true, she was going to be his wife. He stood speechless, unable to form a coherent thought, much less a sentence.
Eirik held up his right hand in greeting, though he kept his sword at the ready in his left hand behind his shield. ‘Gwendolyn of Alvey, I am Jarl Eirik of the Danes to the south. Your father and I struck a bargain and we’re here to deliver your husband.’
Her posture stiffened. Vidar gathered that the information was displeasing to her and he nearly grinned. At least his nights might be pleasantly occupied if they involved taming the wench.
‘I have no need for a husband,’ she surprised them all by saying.
Vidar smiled at her impertinence. In all his days of dreading this marriage, he’d never once assumed the woman didn’t want to be wed to him. From what he knew of women, they bartered their bodies for position and status all the time. Although he had to admit that this particular woman seemed very different than the ones he generally kept time with. He might have sympathised with her plight had he not been so amused at the turn of events.
For his part, it appeared that Eirik hadn’t anticipated this response, because he was a moment in responding. Vidar filled in the silence. ‘Perhaps a husband is exactly what you need.’
Her gaze swept over the boats until she found him standing at the prow of his ship. She cast him a scathing glare before turning her attention back to his brother. ‘I regret you’ve come all this way, but my father was mistaken.’
‘Where is your father? I’d discuss this with him,’ Eirik said.
‘My father is dead. He died of natural causes in the autumn.’
Vidar frowned. That only partially explained why she was greeting them herself, but it didn’t explain why or how she’d earned the men’s respect. They stood as if awaiting her command. A few months wouldn’t be enough to solidify her leadership with them.
‘I regret to hear of your father’s passing. You have our condolences.’ Eirik called out. ‘The betrothal still stands, however. The agreement was signed by your father and brought back to me by messenger. I’m told by your father’s own man that this was as good as a marriage to your people. We must only now go through the formality of a ceremony.’
The woman thought that over for a moment, her brow furrowing with dismay. She was clearly not any happier with this marriage arrangement than Vidar. ‘Where is this man?’ She looked over the boats. Some of the shields had lowered so that the men were peeking out with interest at the events unfolding.
‘I am here,’ Vidar called out with some amusement. He felt the power of her gaze in his gut when it locked on his. The realisation hit him that this woman would be in his life from this day forward. Whether he ultimately decided to go back to fighting rather than stay and manage the manor, she would be there like a shadow in the back of his mind. His responsibility. His burden. His.
‘You are Magnus.’ Her expression was unfathomable. She looked like a queen and he felt the first stirrings of respect well within him.
‘I am Vidar. Jarl Eirik’s younger brother.’
She didn’t waste a moment in arguing the replacement. ‘The agreement was for a warrior named Magnus. I won’t accept a proxy or a substitution.’ She looked at Vidar as if he were a poor substitute at that.
The woman was stunning in her audacity. Vidar couldn’t stop the laughter that rolled out of his chest. He nearly doubled over as it tore through him. He’d never seen anyone like her. For all his anger over the winter, the woman didn’t want to wed him any more than he’d wanted to wed her. He’d welcome her refusal if he wasn’t so certain that Eirik wouldn’t stand for it.
‘It appears you don’t have a choice,’ he said when he could finally draw a breath.
* * *
Gwendolyn tightened her hands into fists around the wooden frame of the crossbow. Every instinct she possessed urged her to put an arrow through the black heart of the Dane who was laughing at her so hard that he nearly fell out of his ship. Perhaps she should have aimed for him sooner, instead of that grotesque beast of a mast head. If she shot him now, it would no doubt lead to an outright battle. Aside from that, the men would never forgive her taking a life in cold blood, no matter that he was a threat to her in ways she was afraid to face.
She’d been preparing for this day—along with dreading it—ever since her father had confessed on his deathbed to this secret arrangement he’d made with the Danes who controlled the land to the south. Despite her hope that somehow the Danes had forgotten her over the winter, she’d had the men on alert for their arrival since the earth had thawed earlier in the month. When the lookout had come with the news that boats had been spotted that morning, she knew that her time had come and her prayers to be delivered from this unwanted marriage had gone unanswered. She’d actually hoped that these men were not part of Jarl Eirik’s fleet and had instead come bent on battle. A fight she could handle. A new husband was a different beast altogether.
Now she had to face the fact that only one of them had come to do battle and it appeared it would be with her. With that in mind she seized on the only piece of information that might save her from the marriage. Turning her gaze back to Jarl Eirik, she said, ‘My father told me that Magnus was your second in command and the only man worthy of wedding into our family. If this Magnus has chosen not to honour this agreement, then I am afraid that I will not honour a replacement.’
The Jarl did not answer for a moment. Instead, he gave a long slow look at the men in the seven other boats that had pulled up next to his. There were at least twenty men on each one, while the two in back held a few horses. She allowed herself the tiny sliver of hope that she had saved herself. But then he spoke. ‘The agreement called for my most trusted warrior. Magnus was named verbally, but his name was not recorded in the document. Just as your name was not recorded. The text only states that my most trusted warrior is to marry the daughter of Alvey. I have the scroll if you’ll allow me to show you.’
She opened her mouth to refuse him, but Rodor stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. She met his shrewd gaze and noted the displeasure there. He’d been her father’s man from long before her birth—if anyone knew what her father’s wishes had been, it was he. He’d probably even seen the document her father had signed.
‘Do not do this thing you’re planning, Gwendolyn. If you antagonise your husband now, think of the consequences to yourself later. Think of the consequences to our people. A true leader must put everyone else before himself...or herself.’
Her heart plummeted to land with a thud in her stomach. All this time she had been so certain that something would change, but she realised now that she’d only been fooling herself. It hadn’t been certainty at all, but a childish indulgence. Nothing would save her from her fate. Her father had made sure of that before he’d passed by making his wishes known to all the men. They followed her now because she’d earned their respect, but she knew how tenuous that respect was. If she openly thwarted her beloved father’s wishes, they’d turn on her. If Jarl Eirik had chosen not to honour the agreement, then that would be one thing; but, if she were the cause of him baulking, that would be another altogether.
The men thought they needed these Danes for protection. Personally, she didn’t agree. Aye, the northern tribes were becoming bolder. That was compounded by the rebellious Northmen who’d fled the Danes pushing northward to take Alvey land. They were being squeezed from both sides, yet Gwendolyn was confident that her men could handle things alone. But Jarl Eirik had promised them gold and warriors in exchange for her hand and her father had thought the exchange