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‘I shall remind you of that later. Sometimes begging can be fun.’ His voice dropped to husky note and there was a distinct gleam in his eye.
Her gaze dropped and she saw the evidence of his arousal.
Her face flamed and she glanced over her shoulder. Two of Hrolf’s men hastily pretended to be doing something else. ‘You delight in speaking nonsense.’
He raised her hand to his lips. ‘Only when it brings colour to your cheeks.’
Her heart skipped a beat. She hated that she wanted the unpleasantness of this morning to go. He’d been right about her brother arriving here, but she knew in her heart Regin would never do anything to harm her. ‘Hrolf, trust me to do the right thing.’
Hrolf’s brow knitted. ‘Something is wrong. It is too much of a coincidence. First the sabotage on my ship and then your brother shows up here with a war band, expecting these lands to be undefended. He is the traitor, Sayrid. All the evidence points to it. I’m sorry.’
She pulled away from his grasp. All the heat leached out of her, leaving her cold. He was deliberately using her attraction to him to bend her to his will. As if a simple touch would make her forget her duty towards her family.
‘Trust you to jump to the wrong conclusion about my brother.’ She poured scorn into her voice. ‘This is all about Blodvin changing her mind about meeting my stepmother and getting cold feet. Blodvin can be very impetuous and only thinks afterwards.’
‘Indeed.’
‘I have some sympathy with her plight as my stepmother is a strong-minded woman and will be less than pleased that Regin married without a dowry.’ Sayrid gave a shrug. ‘I suspect she was trying to get Regin away before he actually caused problems and then realized what she was getting into, once Regin sobered up enough to remember what his mother can be like.’
‘I wonder what it will take before you see matters how they truly are. Your brother does you no favours.’
Sayrid’s mouth went dry. Here she had thought Hrolf might actually care for her, but in reality he had been trying to bind her to him.
The reason for leaving so quickly now became clear. He had expected Regin to behave in this fashion. She didn’t know who she wanted to shake more, Hrolf for being willing to believe the worst or Regin for falling into the trap.
‘My brother would never do anything to jeopardize the hall or these lands. They are in his blood.’
‘But they no longer belong to him. He had an expectation if you died without marrying, but now nothing.’
‘He would never make an alliance with Lavrans.’
‘Many men have done worse for less.’
‘He knows the vengeance Lavrans has sworn against this family. Why would he side with our sworn enemy?’
Hrolf’s eyes glittered. ‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend.’
‘Except in this case you are wrong. Regin knows you are far from the enemy. He knows you have an alliance with Kettil.’ Sayrid crossed her arms and stared at the pile of weapons. Hrolf was right. There were far too many for peaceable travellers. And even Regin would have been much more wary about picking up travellers. ‘He does have brains.’
Hrolf sighed. ‘Your brother has a history of doing ill-considered things which you then have to clean up. You are far too soft with him.’
‘I should have behaved more like my father?’ Sayrid enquired in a low voice, clinging to her temper. More than ever she wished that she had not hesitated. Hrolf had no right to lecture her in that way.
‘There comes a time when a man has to stand on his own two feet.’
Sayrid wanted to hit something hard. Hrolf knew nothing of the history of what Regin had suffered. He should have guessed from her scars.
‘You know much about my family.’
‘I know more than I did at this time yesterday. People will talk with the right persuasion.’
‘You bribed people to learn about my family?’ She blinked rapidly.
‘It is amazing how many people wanted to speak up. They all have the same sort of conclusion.’
‘Which is?’
‘You have done much to bring about the present prosperity this house currently enjoys and your brother rather less.’
‘There are reasons for it. I am…was the head of the house.’
‘Now I am. Obey me.’
Sayrid gestured towards one of the servants, instructing her to fetch more ale and make the travellers welcome before she exploded. Right now she wanted to shake the lot of them, starting with Hrolf, but continuing on to Blodvin and Regin.
Whatever had possessed the pair of them to behave in such a fashion? They were a couple of naive innocents.
Sayrid paused. Blodvin wasn’t that naive. She might pretend, but she knew more about what was going on and how people should behave. Her father, Bloodaxe, was one of the most devious men in the whole of Svear. Her stomach roiled. She’d been blind. Blodvin was up to something.
