Page 105 of The Viking’s Captive

Adam had no idea what to do.

“I am going with you,” Alrek declared.

“You are not,” Adam said. And he meant it.

“Me, too,” Kristin blubbered, echoed by, “Me, too. Me, too,” from Tunni and Besji. He hadn’t even been aware that Besji could talk, though he supposed at two years she should be able to.

Aaarrgh! What am I to do?

“I am sorry to disappoint you, my lord, but I cannot obey your orders this time,” Alrek said. “You told me I must think before I act … start behaving as a man. Well, that is what I am doing. I have thought, and now I am acting. I am going with you to Byz … Byz … that place where Lady Tyra went.”

“How many times do I have to tell you that I am not a lord? And, really, Alrek, this is impossible. You cannot bring all these children with you.”

“Actually, we have a perfect solution,” Vana announced brightly. She and the other sisters seemed to appear out of nowhere. “While you are off to Byzantium, taking Alrek with you, we can take the other children back to your home in Britain. Tyra told me what a dirty mess it was. We will prettify it for you … make it a home for you to bring Tyra back to.”

Prettify? She says that as if it is an attribute to be desired. “We? What we?”

“Us. Tyra’s sisters,” Vana answered. “Well, except for Breanne, who wants to go to the ‘Great City’ to study the buildings there.” All four of Tyra’s sisters were staring at him expectantly, as if they’d just offered him a gift for which he should thank them profusely.

“You are not going to Byzantium with us,” King Thorvald told Breanne. “‘Tis too dangerous.”

There it was, that danger business again.

Breanne burst into tears and shouted at her father … something he was clearly unaccustomed to, if his wide eyes were any indication. “‘Tis not fair. Tyra gets to do everything. I am going, I tell you. I am going.” Now she was stamping her foot petulantly.

Adam put a hand to his throbbing forehead … not an easy task with Kristin still clinging to him as if her very life depended on it. Were these people actually suggesting that they all invade his home? The children. The sisters. Probably an army of servants. By the rood! The possibilities were horrifying. At the least, his peace and privacy would be a thing of the past.

He had to pry Kristin’s fingers from his neck in order to disengage himself from her embrace. With much relief, he set her on the ground next to Alrek. Her thumb shot immediately into her mouth as she gazed up at him, reproachfully. He inhaled and exhaled to calm himself. He could not bear to look at the little girl, so he didn’t.

“Now, Vana,” he said, trying for a reasonable tone, hoping he didn’t sound as panicked as he felt. “‘Tis true that I have dirt aplenty in my keep, but it would be asking too much of you to straighten out my household back in Britain. After all, you have much to do here at Stoneheim, preparing for your wedding to Rafn.”

“That is the best part,” she said with much cheeriness. “Rafn will be especially busy protecting Stoneheim while Father is gone, and we must wait till Father’s return for the wedding anyhow.”

“Furthermore,” Thorvald declared wheezily, “‘tis best to keep the prospective bride away from the randy groom afore the wedding, lest I come home to a big-bellied daughter.”

“Faaa-tther!” Vana exclaimed, her white face turning bright red.

Rafn, in true man-fashion, just nodded his head.

“Everyone, be quiet!” Adam practically shouted. “Let me make myself perfectly clear. I do not want my castle cleaned. I do not want flowers planted in my moat. I do not want my cook to learn how to prepare myriad menus. This may surprise you all, but I like my home the way it is, rusty drawbridge and all.”

“You have a rusty drawbridge?” Breanne asked with sudden interest. Clearly, she was now pulled in two directions. Should she go to Byzantium and study new building methods? Or should she go to Britain and take on a rebuilding project? “Oh, all right, I will not go to Byzantium this time. But next time I am definitely going.”

“Aaarrgh!” he said with as much brilliance as he could muster.

“That is all well and good,” Rashid remarked, coming up from God only knew where. He’d probably been hiding. “But what about the children?”

You Judas, you!Adam thought. Out loud he said, “They are not my responsibility.” He did not look at the children as he spoke. He could not. But he was the one who felt like a traitor … which was ridiculous.

Rashid shrugged. “If you say so, master.”

Adam bristled. “What is that supposed to mean?”

Rashid shrugged again. “With all due respect, my lord, there is a famous proverb that says, ‘Love and commitment are two sides of the same coin.’”

Adam’s jaw dropped open. “Who said anything about love?” He slanted a quick look at the children, and all four of them looked as if he’d just stabbed them, even Besji, who couldn’t possibly have understood what he’d said.

It was an absurd situation, and he was sick of having these people foisted on himself. With a snarl, he turned on his heel and began to stomp up the hill to gather the last of his belongings. He had no intention of returning to Stoneheim … leastways not in the next decade or so.