Page 29 of Come the Morning

He rose and looked down at her. “My lady, I don’t think so.”

He reached out a hand to her. She stared at him in absolute amazement. Refusing to accept his offer of assistance to rise, she inched her way to her knees. Watching him distrustfully, she then scrambled to her feet on her own.

His eyes raked over her in the daylight. She felt her face flood hot and red with color. She was now sorry for the fact that she’d cast off all but her linen shift, for she knew that the thin, wet material clung to her flesh, exposing much more than it concealed. In fact, the mud that clung to her in various places was probably far more concealing than the remnants of her rich clothing. The way he studied her was strange and unnerving; shefelt as if she were a prize cow on the block, and that any minute he would ask to look at her teeth. There was no warmth in his gaze, just appraisal and assessment. She felt again the power of his size, and she was tempted to inch away from him, then run again for all that she was worth. But he would catch her, and she’d be thrown back into the mud again. There had to be another way to escape him.

“Let’s go, shall we?” he said.

“Let’s go?”

“That’s right.”

“Where?”

“Why, to the king, of course. So that you can have me disemboweled, hanged, and drawn and quartered, in that order, then burned and my ashes cast to the wind.”

He was taunting her, of course. He was an outlaw, she was suddenly certain. Or, perhaps he was a disgruntled chieftain. One way or the other, he intended to abduct her, take her to some hiding place, and use her as a hostage in his own negotiations with the king.

“Come on!” he said impatiently. He started toward her and she backed away, very wary.

“You really haven’t begun to imagine what lies at stake here. I can help you, or hurt you. If you’re in trouble, I can help you. Daro will reward you richly if you deliver me safely to him. He can give you money, he can take you far away on one of his ships. He—”

“He can also disembowel, hang, and draw and quarter me, right?” he inquired.

She shook her head. “No. You must believe me, the Vikings are no more vicious than any other men in our world. They will do as I ask, and in truth, I detest violence—”

“Indeed, m’lady, you most certainly could have fooled me!”

“Sometimes threats are necessary when—”

“Dealing with lesser men?” he inquired.

She shook her head. “Damn you, I said nothing like that at all—”

“Ah, but you implied.”

“I did not.”

“Lady, your vessel awaits.”

He pointed to the boat. It had now drifted to where it was just a few feet from the shore, not twenty feet away from them.

She shook her head. “I’m not moving until you tell me the truth regarding your destination.”

“Fine. I told you, I’m taking you to the king.”

She didn’t believe it for a minute. “What king?” she inquired suspiciously.

He crossed his muscled arms over his chest. “There is only one, m’lady,” he said with such deep passion that she was suddenly very afraid. He meant it. He wasn’t taunting her. He meant to take her back to David.

“No …” she gasped. “Oh, my God, you do mean to take me back to the king, to betray me to him! You are taking me back to David for whatever reward you think that you can get from him. You left me, deserted me on this river, just to find out how much I might be worth to him. You are the worst kind of mercenary outlaw, how can you be so cruel and callous and traitorous—”

“You are the traitor, m’lady,” he reminded her.

“Never! You don’t understand, you won’t understand—yourefuseto understand! I’m not betraying the king, I’m only seeking ways to negotiate—”

“To defy the king, to refuse the rightful lord to whom he intends to give you—”

“Me—and my property!” she said sharply.