‘You look very well, Sister. Still in great beauty, I see.’
‘What are you doing here?’
‘Passing through, on my way north.’
Wulfgar’s eyebrow lifted a little. If the man was going north he had come a considerable distance out of his way. Either he had a mighty poor sense of direction or he was being disingenuous.
‘It is good of you to call upon us,’ replied Anwyn.
‘I told you I’d be back.’
‘Yes, so you did.’
He smiled rather awkwardly. ‘I trust that Drakensburgh prospers, Sister.’
‘It prospers.’
‘These past months must have been hard for you.’
‘I have managed well enough,’ she replied. ‘I have good men to help me.’
‘Ah.’
‘You haven’t met Lord Wulfgar, have you?’
‘No.’ For the first time, Osric became aware of the other man’s presence and surveyed him now with a critical eye.
‘Lord Wulfgar is in charge of Drakensburgh’s defensive force,’ Anwyn went on.
‘Indeed.’ He favoured Wulfgar with a nod. ‘I’m sure you’re doing a good job.’
Wulfgar ignored the patronising tone and returned the nod. ‘That is what I am paid for.’
For a moment Osric seemed taken aback and he threw a quizzical look at Anwyn. She ignored it.
‘Well, you must be tired after your long ride, Brother. Perhaps you and your companions would care for some refreshment.’
‘Thank you, yes.’
She looked at Wulfgar. ‘Will you excuse us, please? My brother and I need to talk.’
He inclined his head in acquiescence and with that she led Osric and his companions within doors. Wulfgar surveyed them thoughtfully. The tension between brother and sister had been almost palpable.
‘Not much love lost there, my lord,’ said a voice at his shoulder.
He glanced round to see Asulf, who had approached unnoticed. ‘Apparently not.’
‘Might not be a barrel of laughs at table tonight, then.’
‘I seriously doubt it.’
Having provided her guests with ale, Anwyn took her brother aside. ‘Now, tell me what you’re really doing here, Osric.’
‘I told you. We’re just—’
‘Passing through? Hardly.’
He eyed her curiously. ‘You’ve changed since I saw you last, Anwyn. You’ve become…’
‘Older?’
‘That, of course, but also more…poised, more self-assured.’
‘More like a grown woman, in fact.’
‘Yes.’
‘Oh, I grew up quickly, Osric, believe me.’
‘We all grow up, Sister.’
‘What was it you came to say?’
‘I bring news from home,’ he replied.
Anwyn tensed, waiting. ‘The family are all well?’
‘Our brothers and sisters are quite well.’
‘That’s good to hear.’
‘Mother sends her warmest greetings.’
‘And Father?’ she asked.
‘Ah, yes, Father.’
The knot in her stomach tightened. Now they would come to it.
‘He has been unwell these last months.’
‘I am grieved to hear it.’
‘In consequence, I have undertaken many of the responsibilities that fell to him in the past.’
‘I am sure that he is grateful for the assistance.’
‘It is no more than my duty.’ Osric paused. ‘Speaking of which, have you thought further upon the matter we touched on when last I visited?’
‘The wealthy northern earl?’
‘Just so.’
‘Of course.’
Misreading her response, he nodded. ‘Such an alliance would increase our family’s standing greatly, to say nothing of wealth.’
‘I have no doubt it would,’ she replied. ‘There’s only one problem.’
‘What’s that?’
‘It isn’t going to happen.’
His jaw dropped. ‘You can’t be serious.’
‘I was never more serious in my life.’
‘Look, Anwyn, I know that your first marriage was not happy, but…’
‘My first marriage was a living hell—a hell that you were instrumental in making.’
‘I meant it for the best. Torstein—’
‘Torstein was a brute and you knew it, yet still you sided with Father.’ Her gaze raked him. ‘I begged you, Osric, but you ignored me.’
‘Father would have insisted on the match anyway. My intervention would have made no difference,’ he replied. ‘Besides, it’s water under the bridge now. We cannot change the past.’
‘True, but we can shape the future. I am not a child any more, and I will not be treated like a chattel. If I marry again it will be to a man of my choosing, not yours.’
‘Don’t be a fool, Anwyn. This is a wonderful chance. You can’t just throw it away.’
‘Watch me.’
For a moment he was silent, regarding her resentfully. ‘You really mean it, don’t you?’
‘Don’t be in any doubt about that.’
‘Father won’t like it.’
‘I’m sorry. I’ll just have to live with that.’
‘He will compel your obedience.’
‘No, he won’t and neither will you, even if I have to barricade myself into Drakensburgh with an army.’
Wulfgar sent the game bag to the kitchens and then went to the carpenter’s shop. The new yard was almost ready. The repair to the rudder was complete. Had it not been for their current agreement he and his crew would have been on their way tomorrow. His men seemed content enough: the living was easy here. Apart from the promise of gold, they had good food to eat and slept dry. It sufficed, for now. In the end, though, it could never compete with the call of the sea or the feel of the ship beneath their feet. They would do what they had promised here, but eventually the Sea Wolf would reclaim her own.
‘So who was that with Lady Anwyn?’ asked Hermund.
Wulfgar returned abruptly to dry land. ‘Her brother, one Osric.’
‘Brother, eh? What does he want here?’
‘A social call,’ replied Wulfgar. ‘Says he’s on his way north.’
‘North? He’s well out of his road then, isn’t he?’
‘My thought exactly. It’s more than just a visit with family.’
‘Has to be.’
‘I expect we’ll find out soon enough.’
‘Aye, no doubt we—’ Hermund broke off, his attention on something beyond his companion’s shoulder.
Instinctively Wulfgar turned round, just in time to see Anwyn astride a horse and heading out of the gates.
‘She oughtn’t to go out alone,’ said Hermund. ‘It’s not safe.’
‘I told her that.’
‘Ah. Well, I expect she’s got a good reason for disregarding the advice.’
Wulfgar’s brows drew together. ‘She’d better have.’
Leaving his companion, he sprinted to the stables. Minutes later he was astride a horse and heading off in pursuit of the fugitive.
Anwyn had no clear idea of where she was going, only of the need to get out of Drakensburgh for a while. Her brain burned with the memory of that recent conversation with her brother, fuelling anger and resentment. Was she never to be free of the men who sought to control her life? Did they really imagine that she would bend meekly to their will once again? If so, they had another thing coming. Rage spilled over into tears. Damn Osric! Damn all of them! Leaning forwards she gave the horse its head, letting it out to a gallop.
The thudding hooves pounded like the blood in her veins, the pace bordering on reckless, but just then she didn’t care. The horse was fresh and keen, the wind in her face exhilarating, giving back a sensation of freedom. They sped on for more than a mile before she slowed a little, reining in to let the animal breathe. Only then did she hear the muffled thud of hoofbeats on turf and looked up sharply to see the advancing horseman. For a moment she tensed, but, realising he was alone, her anxiety faded a little. It wasn’t until he was within a hundred yards that she recognised the rider.
‘Wulfgar,’ she murmured.
Surprise mingled with vague unease as she watched the other horse pull up. Then she saw the expression on the rider’s face.
‘Is something wrong, my lord?’
The blue eyes were glacial. ‘Just what do you think you’re doing?’
The autocratic tone brought all her former ire bubbling to the surface. ‘What does it look like I’m doing?’
‘What it looks like is a total disregard for common sense. You little fool. Don’t you know better than to go off alone like that?’
Anwyn’s chin lifted. ‘I’ll go where I please.’
‘Not while I’m responsible for protecting you, you won’t.’