by Sandra Hill
“Really?” she asked in a shaky voice. “Why would they bother with one Viking?”
Father Bernard shrugged. “’Tis what I thought as well. Have the soldiers naught better to do than scour the city for one heathen? But of course, I did not say such. King Athelstan has been good to the holy church. In fact, he founded this hospitium just last year. So if the king wants the pitiful Dane, far be it from me to protest. They can hang the outlaw from his toes and skin him alive, for all I care.”
Rain cringed, barely aware of thanking the unfeeling Father Bernard for his hospitality and declining his offer of lodging during their stay in Jorvik. As they headed toward the doorway, Rain noticed a commotion. A shrieking man pushed against the large priest whose frame barred his entrance. He begged for a healer to come help his wife, who’d been laboring for three days with the birth of their first child.
“Go home, Uhtred,” the priest ordered sternly. “I have told you afore to get a midwife. We do God’s work here. ’Tis unseemly for a priest to place his hands on a woman’s parts in childbirth.”
“But Hilde is dying. The midwife will not come without the coins to pay her, and—”
“Begone!” the priest shouted, pulling the man’s grimy hands off his cassock sleeve with distaste. “Guard, come and remove this wretch from the holy church.”
“Damn you, damn you to bloody hell,” Uhtred cursed as he saw the church guards approaching.
“Wait,” Rain intervened. “I’ll come with you. Perhaps I can help.”
She heard Selik groan at her side.
The man turned eyes of such thanks to her that Rain knew she would help, no matter what Selik said. But surprisingly, he didn’t protest when she started to follow the distraught husband. The priest made a rude sound behind them and remarked, “Foreign priests! Always thinking they know more than anyone else!”
When they opened the front doors of the church, however, they were unable to move. Hundreds of people, many of them children, mobbed the minster steps, screaming and pushing for the loaves of dark bread being handed out by the clerics.
“’Tis alms day,” Selik explained. “The poor line up for their pittance of food, and the priests pat themselves on the back for their great beneficence.”
“You’re very cynical, Selik.”
“You are too softhearted,” he countered as they progressed slowly through the crowd, following Uhtred.
Rain stopped suddenly as she caught sight of a little boy and girl, about seven and four years old, who stood nearby. That they were brother and sister was obvious, even in the filth that covered them from bare feet to lice-infested heads. The little girl stood with thumb firmly planted in her mouth, listening intently to everything her brother told her.
“Now, ye mus’ stand right here, Adela, whilst I try to get us sum bread. Do ye promise not to move?”
“Yea, Adam.” She nodded her head up and down, eyes wide with fright as she watched her brother make his way craftily to the front of the mob, pinching a buttock here, darting between legs there, finally pulling a small loaf out of the priest’s fingers just as he was about to hand it to an elderly woman in rags.
“Come back, ye bloody toad,” the woman screeched, to no avail. Many in the crowd turned to watch Adam’s progress, some trying to snatch his precious booty. But there was no way in the world that the imp would give up his hard-won food. He shoved it down the front of his dirty tunic and ran for his life toward his sister.
As Rain moved closer to the children, ignoring Selik’s angry protest as the crowd separated them and Uhtred cried out in dismay over their delay, Rain saw the boy break the loaf in half, and the two children gobbled down the meager loaf of moldy bread ravenously. Obviously, they hadn’t eaten for days.
Rain bent to her haunches before the pair and asked the little girl, “What’s your name, honey?”
Frightened blue eyes turned for help to her brother. “Adam,” she called, reaching for him with one hand, while the thumb of the other hand shot immediately into her mouth.
“Why do ye want to know?” the little boy demanded with narrowed eyes, putting his hands belligerently on his hips. Rain felt Selik’s presence behind her, but he didn’t speak.
“You two shouldn’t be out on the streets like this. Where are your parents?”
“Got none.”
“Did they…die?”
“Yea. What does it matter to such as you? Ye priests care only fer yer own comforts. Ye would not even come to bury me mother.”
Rain inhaled sharply. “When was that?”
The little boy shrugged dismissively with bravado, hitching up the loose waistband of his breeches. Rain thought she saw a brief flash of pain and fear in his eyes. “Last winter.”
A year! “And who do you live with now?”
“Huh?”
“Rain, leave off. We have lingered here overlong,” Selik said, taking her arm. “Remember the woman in childbirth.”
“Oh, I forgot,” she said, shooting a look of apology at Uhtred. But first she turned back to the little boy. “Who did you say was taking care of you?”
He raised his head defiantly and snarled, “I take care of me sister and meself. We do not need any meddlin’ priest to interfere.”
“I just wanted to help—”
“Hah! Just like Aslam—”
“The slave trader?” Selik asked with surprise.
“Yea, the slave trader. Keeps tryin’ to ketch us, he does. But I be too fast fer the fat old codsucker. Says he knows of a sultan in a faraway land that wants ter have us fer his very own children, to give us a home and good food, but I know what he wants. Yea, I know.”
“What?” Rain asked, even as she heard Selik say a foul word behind her.
“He wants to bugger us both, he does, to stick his cock up our arses,” the filthy urchin declared with innocent, streetwise explicitness. “Jist like you bloody priests,” the little boy declared, spitting at her feet; then he grabbed his sister’s hand and disappeared into the crowd.
“Oh, Selik,” Rain cried out, when the children were no longer in sight. “We should help them.”
“You are out of your bloody mind. I want no children of my own, and for certain I will not care for anyone else’s bothersome get. Get that through your thick head.”
“But, Selik, did you see that little girl’s eyes when she looked back at us over her shoulder? They were pleading for help.”
“You see and hear only what you want, wench. Did you hear the coarse-mouthed, filthy pup? He wants no help, and I daresay the tough little whelp could survive on a battlefield, let alone the streets of a market city.”
“Please, please,” Uhtred begged, pulling on Rain’s sleeve. “My wife is dying, and you stand here prattling about worthless street children.”
Rain turned on the distressed man then with anger. “And what makes you think your unborn child is worth more than those two precious children?”
Uhtred blanched, realizing that his hasty words might have jeopardized any chances that the healer would help him. “’Tis sorry I am. But I am so worried about my Hilde…”
Rain nodded her head in acceptance of his apology, and she and Selik followed quickly after him. Rain was surprised a short time later when they were about to enter a crude hut. She turned at the last moment and saw that Adam and Adela had followed them. They stood leaning against a nearby tree, watching as Rain bent her head to fit under the low doorway. She waved.
She could have sworn Adam gave her the finger.
Chapter Thirteen
Several hours later, when Rain and Selik emerged from the stifling atmosphere of the little cottage, the children were gone. And Selik’s face was drained bloodless of all color.
“What’s wrong?” Rain asked, putting a hand on his arm in concern.
“Truly, woman, you amaze me. You just stuck your hand inside a woman’s womb, turned a babe, and brought it to life—and you ask me what’s wrong?” He shook his head with disbelie
f. “Do you oft perform such miracles?”
Rain smiled at his backhanded compliment. “A lot of times. Not miracles—births. Obstetrics isn’t my specialty, but I’ve delivered at least fifty babies.” She looked at Selik fondly. “It is a wonderful experience, isn’t it?”
“Wonderful! There is naught wonderful about all that screaming and blood.”
Rain clucked disapprovingly, but she could tell that Selik wasn’t being truthful. Witnessing the birth of the tiny baby boy had moved him deeply. She wondered if he’d been with Astrid when she birthed their child and if this event had reminded him once again of all he’d lost.
And, for the first time in her thirty years, Rain yearned for a baby of her own. What would it feel like to have a life growing inside her, to watch the contractions of her muscles pushing an unborn child forward to life, to touch her own baby for the first time, fresh from the womb?
And what if—oh, God, what if the baby was a living, breathing manifestation of love? How would the child look if it was formed from the blood and genes of both her and Selik? What a wonder that would be!
The yearning grew so strong that Rain had to look away lest Selik read her exposed emotions. This is dangerous territory you’re entering, lady, wishing for something that cannot ever be.
Ask, and you shall receive.
Rain’s eyes shot upward. Now you say that. How about when I wanted to go back to the future? And are you really saying that if I want Selik, I can have him? And his baby? Rain closed her eyes momentarily to savor that enticing image.
The answer is in yourself. Search your heart.
“Give me a break,” Rain muttered.
“What kind of break?” Selik asked, then added, “Do babies always put such a dreamy expression on your face?”
“Yes.” Especially when I’m thinking of having one with you. Then she decided to change the subject to a safer topic. “Do you think Uhtred will clean that hut as I advised?”
“Advised? You understate yourself, wench,” Selik said with a dry laugh. “You give orders like a seasoned warrior. He would not dare to disobey.”
“Well, I was really angry. After going to all that trouble to save his baby’s life, it could die in a few weeks living in that filth. How can people live like that?”
Selik was about to speak when he stopped abruptly, pushing Rain behind him. They were about a half-block from Gyda’s house, but she could see the Saxon soldiers surrounding it.
“I will kill the bastards if they harm Gyda or Tyra,” he said in an icy tone of voice.
“Pssst!”
They turned to see a hissing Ubbi hidden between two houses, motioning for them to come closer. When they backtracked without attracting the attention of the soldiers, Selik shoved her and Ubbi farther back between the houses so they were totally out of sight.
“The soldiers search for you on King Athelstan’s orders,” Ubbi said in a rush. “Sore angry he is over the number of Saxon warriors lost at Brunanburh to your blade, especially his cousin Elwinus. Dozens of them roam the city and harbor area. The king offers a hundred gold mancuses for you alive. Only twenty-five if dead.”
Selik’s jaw tightened. “Have they harmed Gyda or Tyra?”
“Nay. They ransack the house and outbuildings in their usual fashion, but do not touch the women. Tostir, one of Gyda’s servants, suffers a broken nose ’cause he did not respond quickly enough to one soldier’s orders, and the commander threatens to slit Gyda’s tongue if she does not stop haranguing him. But I think they be safe.”
“And my men and horses?”
“All out of sight. Gorm got a warning jist in time.”
“Take Rain to Ella’s shop. She should be safe there. Then meet me back here. Do not—do not—go to Gyda’s house. They will surely watch it closely from now on.”
“No, I don’t want to leave you,” Rain protested.
Selik’s face was steely with determination. “Do not think to gainsay me on this. Your safety and that of Gyda’s family could be jeopardized by a foolish move on your part. You will obey me or suffer the consequences.”
“But what about your safety?”
Eyes flashing angrily, Selik snapped, “My life is my concern, and only mine. Best you understand that now.” He turned to Ubbi. “Take her to Ella’s and make sure she stays.”
Selik disappeared before she had a chance to tell him to take care, to tell him that she loved him.
With dragging feet, Rain followed Ubbi through the city until they reached the street where the shops displayed lengths of fabric in a rainbow of colors and textures, everything from coarse wool to the finest silk. Some were even fashioned into ready-made garments—tunics and mantles and braies.
Finally, he stopped at one building that seemed more prosperous than the others. Although a young girl worked at the stall in front, Ubbi led Rain around the side to a back door. Knocking loudly, he waited until an elderly male servant answered, then demanded importantly, “We must needs speak with your mistress, Ella. Is she in?” The servant nodded and motioned them into a large hall where a number of workers were cutting and sewing various garments.
“Rhoda!” Rain exclaimed as she recognized the middle-aged woman who approached. “How did you get here?” Without waiting for a reaction, she grabbed her mother’s long-time cleaning lady and hugged her warmly. “You have no idea how good it is to see someone from home.”
“M’god, not the Rhoda nonsense agin! I thought I was done with that foolishness when Ruby disappeared a decade or so past. Me name is Ella, not Rhoda.”
Rain continued to embrace Rhoda, despite her squirming protests.
“Gawd! A bloody priest is caressin’ me. I will have to go to confession now, prob’ly get twenty Paternosters fer penance. Be on me bloody knees fer a whole day,” Rhoda complained.
Laughing, Rain realized that she still wore the monk’s disguise and released the nervous woman from her bear hold. Throwing back the cowl, she exposed her long blond braid and feminine features.
Ella put a widespread palm to her chest. “Lord, me heart feels like ’tis jumpin’ up me throat. Who be you, girl? A barmy comrade of Ruby’s, no doubt. She was the only lackwit to ever call me Rhoda.”
“Her daughter. Ruby is my mother, and Thork was my father,” Rain explained, crossing her fingers behind her back.
“Nay, it could not be so,” the woman said, looking to Ubbi who threw out his hands in a “don’t ask me” attitude.
“She sez God sent her to save Selik.”
The Rhoda person’s jaw dropped. “A guardian angel?” she asked Ubbi in a marveling voice.
Good Lord! Rhoda and Ubbi were two of a kind. Rain could imagine Ubbi devouring Rhoda’s National Enquirers in the future and sharing her insatiable appetite for gossip.
“Yea, and I even found a feather in her bed furs one day,” Ubbi disclosed with self-importance.
“Would you two stop talking about me as if I’m not here? I am not an angel. I am a human being, just like you two baboons.”
“Babe-oons?” they asked simultaneously, and Rain snorted with disgust, refusing to expound.
Ubbi explained the dangerous situation at Gyda’s house. Ella agreed readily to have Rain stay with her until the danger passed.
“Please, please come back as soon as possible and tell me what’s happening,” Rain urged Ubbi as he departed. “I’m so worried about Selik. His hatred of the Saxons may cause him to be careless.”
“Do not fear, m’lady. This paltry troop of Saxon whelps pose no real danger to the master. Now, Steven of Gravely, that is another barrel of mead. He follows the devil’s own rules of deceit. In the end, Gravely and his loathsome trickery will, no doubt, cause my lord’s downfall.”
Shivering with apprehension, Rain recalled Gyda’s words of warning as Ubbi scurried off. Gyda had said that Selik intended to go into the heart of Saxon territory to Gravely’s estate, hoping to finally kill his hated enemy. Now that she heard firsthand from Ubbi how imm
inent Selik’s danger was from Steven, Rain began to seriously consider Gyda’s outrageous plan to kidnap Selik until the despicable lord once again went into hiding.
“Rhoda—I mean, Ella, I want to tell you about this plan Gyda has for saving Selik—”
“Plan? Nay, nay, nay!” Ella exclaimed, putting her hands over her ears. “Jist like yer mother, ye are, tryin’ to enlist me in her ‘master plan’ to snare yer father.”
“She did?” Rain asked with a smile. Really, she was beginning to see her mother as even more outrageous than she’d ever dreamed.
But Ella ignored her question, rambling on, “Do not be tellin’ me of yer barmy plots. Next ye will be tryin’ to involve me, I jist know it.”
“Well, actually, I do need your advice.”
Ella groaned with a resigned sigh and sank down onto a bench against the wall as Rain launched into Gyda’s preposterous plan. When she finished, Ella exclaimed, “Blessed Lord, the whole lot of ye have lost yer wits. Unless I disremember, Selik weighs as much as a small horse. How were ye plannin’ on overcomin’ such a big lout?”
“Herbs.”
“And how would ye restrain him?”
“Tied to a bed.”
Ella shot her a look of disbelief. “Fer how long?”
Rain flushed and shifted uncomfortably under Ella’s too perceptive questioning. “I’m not sure. About two weeks or so, I suppose.” Her last words came out in a bare whisper, but Gyda heard her.
“Barmy! I told ye afore, the whole bunch of ye ought to be locked up in a house of halfwits.”
“I know it sounds crazy, but what else can we do? I’ve tried talking to him, but it does no good. He’s so stubborn and determined to go after Steven. Even Ubbi believes that if he goes onto the Gravely estate now, he’ll be captured and probably—and probably killed.” Rain’s voice broke, and her eyes filled with tears as she plopped down next to Ella on the bench.
“Love the lackwit, do ye?”
Rain nodded her head with a sob, wiping her nose on her sleeve.
“Well, let me think on it a bit. Where were ye plannin’ on keepin’ the lad, even if ye were able to kidnap him—not that I think ’tis possible?”