Page 56 of Come the Morning

She hurried to Daro, coming down on her knees by his chair. “Daro, I’m so sorry, I was wrong, I shouldn’t have come to you for help—”

His eyes, blue and clear, fell on hers, and he shook his head, smiling. “We’re reckless, aren’t we? You and I, it’s part of what we are. You didn’t involve me, I involved myself. I don’t understand why we’re not engaged in battle now.”

“We’ve got to be ready. The king’s men could be riding now—”

“I’ve men watching the roads. No one is coming.”

“Then where is Anne?”

He sighed softly. “I’m assuming that it is Waryk who came riding alone, and seized her. He meant to take you, but I believe Anne is safely back at Stirling. Why David is not thirsting for my blood, I do not know.”

“I’ve got to go back, Daro. Tell the king that what has happened has been my fault—”

“No. That will solve nothing. Men are watching the roads, and the bridge. I’ll know if there is movement by so much as a gang of fishwives at Stirling. Get some rest. I plan to do the same.”

“How can we rest—”

“We have to rest, because we can’t reason intelligently if we don’t. Please, Mellyora, go and get some sleep.”

“I can’t.”

“You must.”

“Daro, I’ve dragged you into this madness, no matter what you say. I’ve hurt you—”

“I made my own choices.”

“I’m afraid,” she said softly. “More afraid than I’ve ever been. I don’t understand what’s happening, why no one has come thundering down upon us—”

“We wait,” he said, looking at her. “It’s all we can do.”

“All right.” She walked toward the room where the inviting pallet waited for her, then turned back to her uncle. “But I will not risk your life for mine, Daro. I defied the king, and dragged you into it, and if there is a price to pay, I will pay it. I thought tonight, that if I could reach you, he would want to talk, that he would see your strength. Well, the king knows your strength. I believed so fervently that he would have to barter. Now, I grow ever more afraid that there would just be slaughter on all sides.”

“Mellyora, you are my brother’s daughter, and that is something that the king forgot.”

“Great Adin was his ally. And I’m his godchild.”

“And I’m a Viking, while you’re a Viking’s daughter. Women are given, and that is the way of it, and once given, you are no longer a Viking threat. But I have been David’s ally,” Daro said passionately. “He has forgotten that as well.” He studied his niece sternly. “It wasn’t just my love for you that brought me into this, it was my outrage as well. Now we have begun this rebellion, and we can’t go back. But you tell me now, and truthfully, what caused you to defy the king in such a manner?”

“I’m not trying to defy him, I just want him to listen to me—”

“Is this over your young chieftain, Ewan?”

She hesitated, but only for a second. “Aye. He’s of that land, Daro. He’s a Scotsman, ardently loyal to the king. If David would just listen to me—”

“He can’t listen. Your Ewan may be all good things, but he isn’t a trained knight, and he hasn’t the strength to go against the king’s enemies. He couldn’t hold out against me if I chose to seize the isle.”

“You underestimate me, and him as well—”

“Nay, Mellyora, I beg your pardon. The lad is brave and wise and many good things. Don’t despair. Besides, I had heard that Laird Waryk was to marry elsewhere—perhaps he is no more eager for this match than you are. He has had a mistress for many years, a woman he enjoys and admires who, though not landed as you are, is of a good family. Maybe something can be done. I’m weary, and need rest. Please, go and get some sleep. There is nothing we can do until we receive some news from Stirling.”

She nodded, and went on into the room. The servingwoman who had helped her earlier, a plump, middle-aged woman named Inga, came to her with another glass of wine. “It will help you sleep,” the woman told her.

She lay down on the pallet, suddenly more afraid than she had been all night. She had believed in her own strength and will,and then she had believed in Daro’s. Her uncle was strong, and proud, and that might mean that he would die to defend her. Viking legends were rich with tales of warriors fighting to the death, berserkers heedless of all odds, running naked into battle, determined to win or die …

Her own determination had been one thing. She hadn’t the right to kill others, and she knew that the king could be kind, strong, and merciful—and she knew as well that he could be unforgiving.

How could she sleep?