Chapter 10

"Good morning, Afra." I closed the door behind me and immediately felt my face burn. She looked at me and her eyes widened.

"Did you—?"

I put my hands to my hot cheeks and bit my lip to stop the delighted laughter that suddenly bubbled up inside me.

"Oh, Lady!" Afra gaped more in shock.

"Please, do not look so horrified. It was going to happen soon enough." I sat down on the bed and looked up at her. "He cares for me, and I him. I know what is said about him, but he is different with me. I will not go back to Winchester now."

"But the King will send his army."

"I know. It will not make any difference. I want you to know that should you prefer to return, I will accept that, although of course I would rather you were with me."

"I will always be by your side, as long as I am needed. If you wish to stay, I will stay too."

"Very well." I rose again as someone knocked on the door.

Afra opened the door to reveal Magnar carrying a bathtub, and Elflyn with a bundle of clothing and a tray of breakfast. Magnar placed the tub in the room, then took his leave.

"Would you like to bathe now, Lady?" Elflyn asked.

"That would be wonderful."

"I will help fetch water." Afra left the room with Elflyn.

I looked through the clothing and discovered trousers made to fit a female form, a thick coarse shirt, a heavy coat, an animal skin shoulder cape, and boots. Beaming, I spread them out on the bed ready to put on after I bathed.

Afra and Elflyn came and went with buckets of steaming water until the tub was half-filled. Then Elflyn left us and Afra tied up my hair to keep it dry while I soaked in the water. I rested my head on the edge of the tub and closed my eyes, unable to keep the smile off my face. This seemed like heaven—so different when I soaked in my tub at my father's castle to let the hot water ease the pain of Aethelbert's assaults.

"You look happy," Afra ventured quietly.

"I am." I smiled more.

"Then I have to admit, perhaps he is good for you."

"I think so." Reluctantly, I pulled myself upright so Afra could wash my back. "Remember how I used to say I wished I would be carried off by a prince or a warrior in one of those romantic stories you used to tell me?"

Afra giggled. "I am sure you dreamed more of a prince. But you were carried off by the scariest man anyone has ever heard of."

"He is not scary to me." I stood up and took the cloth from her to wash my lower regions. Then I climbed out of the tub and dried myself on a blanket, before putting on the clothing to go riding. The outfit was warm and comfortable, and much less restrictive than a long gown. Afra braided my hair and secured it with a leather thong. We ate breakfast, and when I was done, I went to the door. "You should make use of the water while it is still warm," I told Afra. "It is barely used."

"I will, Lady."

I sighed. I doubted she would ever call me by my name again. I left the room and went to Skorpa's door. There was silence within. I knocked and waited. He did not answer and when I tried the door, I found it locked. I glanced down into the large room below but could not see him there amongst the crowd of men eating and drinking. Reluctantly, I began to walk down the stairs. A couple of the men spotted me and drew the attention of the others. All of their eyes followed me, and a few of them muttered things that I could not make out. I kept my head down as I made my way around the edge of the room, but even this path brought me close to one of the tables.

Suddenly, an arm reached out, blocking my path, and I was snatched from my feet into the lap of a stocky Dane with blond hair and a beard tied in two little tails with thongs. "About time I had a lady on my cock," he said and laughed. Several others laughed raucously, but many glanced around anxiously.

"Let me go, you animal!" I cried, struggling, but his arms around my waist prevented me. I delivered a slap to his face, so hard that it made my palm sting.

"Bork, let her go, you fool!" Magnar hissed from the next table.

The outer door crashed open to admit Skorpa, and all eyes turned on him. "What did I say about touching my property?!" he bellowed.

Immediately, Bork let go of me. I jumped to my feet and backed up against the wall.

"I was only fooling, Lord," Bork said, reddening.

Skorpa strode towards him, his face so angry that he looked more terrifying than when he had his eyes painted black and blood around his mouth. I watched, wide-eyed, as he grabbed Bork by the throat and hauled him to his feet. "What did I say?" Skorpa hissed in his face.

"N-not to touch her or t-t-to insult her," Bork stammered.

"And yet you dare to treat her like a whore." Skorpa slammed Bork back into his seat. "Be thankful I am in a good mood today, or your head would be rolling across this floor." He took a step back and stared at all of the men. "The next one of you to disrespect the Lady, or her maid, will not live to see the next day. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Lord," many of them responded quietly.

"Y-y-yes, Lord," Bork said, his face scarlet and eyes bulging.

"Come, Editha." Skorpa's voice softened as he spoke to me and took my hand. I walked quickly with him out of the building. "Did he hurt you?"

"No. He only grabbed me and then you appeared."

"I apologise for my men. Many of them are pigs. I intended to be back before now, but I thought you may take longer getting ready."

"I hurried," I said with a smile. "I was excited to try on these clothes and go riding."

Skorpa smiled. "They suit you very well. The horses are ready for us—I checked on them myself."

Silver and Cherry stood side by side, tethered to a post outside the stalls. Before Skorpa could assist me, I went to Cherry, stuck my foot in the stirrup, and pulled myself up onto her back. "I have always wanted to wear trousers for riding," I said with a smile. "It is so much easier."

"I suppose your father and husband would not have allowed that."

"Definitely not."

Skorpa grinned, and quickly mounted Silver. "Where would you like to go?"

"Could we ride by the camp where you found me? Perhaps I could find some more things for Afra."

"Of course. This way." Outside the gates, he turned Silver in the opposite direction to that we had ridden previously. "It is not far if we gallop."

"Race you." I dug my heels into Cherry's sides and she eagerly sprang forward.

We rode side by side, putting the horses through their paces until the camp came into view. Many of the tents had collapsed into sodden piles, but a few, including the one I had used, remained standing. I guided Cherry towards it and dismounted. Inside, I found a few items of clothing that had not been collected by Skorpa and gathered them up. They were damp, but otherwise fine. Skorpa wrapped them into a bundle and secured them to Silver's back.

"Are you warm enough?" he asked me.

"Yes, thank you. This clothing is much thicker than my usual attire."

He drew me closer and slid his arms around me, then tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "You tease me with this hair arrangement. I want to pull it free and run my fingers through it."

I shivered. "It is more practical for riding." Blushing a little, I added, "You can run your fingers through it later."

He brought our lips together in a searing kiss. I clung to him as his tongue invaded my mouth, and his arms crushed me against his body. It was not long before I felt his excitement and rather than pull away in discomfort, I pressed myself harder against him. He broke the kiss and brushed his lips against my ear. "What you do to me," he groaned. "I do not know how I will ever get enough."

I lost track of time as we stood holding each other, exchanging little kisses, but not talking. Eventually, when I looked away from him for a second, I spotted the horses some distance away, reins trailing as they nibbled at the grass. "Cherry and Silver have abandoned us."

Skorpa released me reluctantly and looked up at the sky. "We had better go back. It will rain soon."

We captured the horses and mounted again. Dark clouds were rolling in, and we headed back to the fort at a gallop. The rain came before we were halfway there, and we were quickly soaked through. We kept up the pace and once we reached the stalls, Magnar came to take the horses from us. Skorpa grabbed my hand and hurried me inside and up to his room. "Let us get out of these wet things." He began unfastening my coat.

It did not seem strange or uncomfortable as we removed each other's clothing, laughing a little as we fumbled with buttons and buckles, dropping each wet garment onto the floor. Suddenly, we were both naked, standing in the middle of the room in broad daylight. Skorpa rested his hands on my waist and let his gaze travel down my body. I refused to allow myself to be embarrassed and instead, looked at him in return. When we had been together the last night, it had been mostly dark and although I had touched his chest and his back, I had not seen him.

He stood several inches taller than me, and I was not a short woman. He was not particularly stocky but lean with taut skin and tight muscles. The sprinkling of hair on his chest was mostly grey like that in his beard. It tapered to a narrow line that led down over his flat belly to a thicker light brown patch of hair surrounding his half erect organ. I gasped as I remembered that had been inside me less than one day ago and would be again.

"You are setting me on fire with your eyes, woman," he growled suddenly. Before I could respond, he scooped me up into his arms and carried me to his bed.