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“You are a whore. My father is furious. He wanted to buy you from Merrik.”
“Now that is humorous. Listen, your father can take Deglin with him. I doubt he wishes to stay here.”
“Deglin is a whining pig. I don’t want him. All he will do is complain. He hates you more than I do.”
“You can clout him, Letta. Under your tender care he will improve. There is no reason to hate me.”
“Ha! You have Merrik. Once he knew that you were Duke Rollo’s niece, he had to have you.”
“No, he asked me to wed with me before I told him who I was.”
“That’s a lie. All know that it is your family that has turned him from thoughts of revenge for your murdering his brother to marriage and a more mighty alliance than with the Thoragassons. I no longer want him. He has no honor. He turns from his obligations too easily. He is not a man to trust or to follow.”
“You will be quiet, Letta. I will allow no such words to be spoken about Merrik.”
“It is true! He is an oath breaker and there is no more vile a thing.”
“I could have held my temper had you only insulted me. But you spew your venom on Merrik
and that I will not tolerate. He never agreed to marry you. He would never break his oath.” Very calmly, Laren set her hands around Letta’s neck and shook her. “No more. Your father has accepted Merrik’s decision. You will as well and you will keep you mouth shut. Do you understand me, Letta?”
She felt his strong hands close over her wrists, gently tugging her fingers away from Letta’s throat. She didn’t let go.
“You defend me well,” Merrik said close to her ear. “Release her. She must oversee preparations for their departure on the morrow.”
But Laren felt rage still boiling in her and she said to Letta, “You will never speak of Merrik again, do you hear me? I will kill you if you dare to insult him thus.”
Letta very slowly nodded, her own fury momentarily tamped down because of her aching throat. Laren saw Merrik’s face, saw the stern set of his mouth. But she also saw the near laughter in his eyes. She wanted to kill both him and this miserable slut with her too strong fingers.
“Nod your head again, damn you, for I won’t release you until you do.” Laren shook her again for good measure.
Letta nodded again, her eyes dark with anger. Slowly Laren eased the pressure of her fingers. There would be marks on Letta’s white neck, she saw with satisfaction.
17
“IWON’T BE your guardian, but I will be your brother, just as Laren is your sister. Surely that binds us just as close or even closer.”
Taby looked from Laren back to Merrik. “Why do you sound sad, then?”
Merrik wanted to smile, but he couldn’t find it inside him to do so. “There will be changes, Taby. You know you are something of a prince, don’t you?”
The child nodded his head slowly. Suddenly he looked scared. “I don’t have to be, Merrik. I can just be me and your little brother.”
“Sometimes,” Merrik said very slowly, “there are circumstances that we cannot change. You are a prince, Taby, actually you could become the heir to the duke of Normandy, the illustrious Rollo. Do you remember him? No? Well, you will probably recognize him when you see him again. If you don’t recognize him, it won’t matter, for you will come to love him and respect him. Laren tells me that he spent hours with you before you and she were taken away.”
“I don’t like this man Rollo.”
“Taby, one day you will be a man and a very important man at that, even if you don’t become the duke of Normandy. When that day comes, why, I will bow down before you and kiss your hand. If you are not pleased with me, you can make me eat with the pigs. What do you think of that?”
“I know you, Merrik. You love me but you wouldn’t ever want to bow down to me or anyone.”
Merrik ran his fingers through Taby’s hair, a rich, thick thatch of deep reddish brown. He was a beautiful child. He would be a handsome man. He felt pain deep and deeper still. Still, it was right that the child take his place, that he become the man he was meant to be. After all, Merrik thought, he had the sister. He said, “It won’t be for a while yet. First your sister will wed with me and then I will go see your uncle Rollo. Perhaps I will also meet your cousin, William Longsword. Laren tells me she trusts him and that he is honorable. How old is he, Laren?”
“William is only twenty-two, nay, now he is twenty-five, about your age, Merrik.”
“And he has been wedded for five years?”
“Aye. Heirs are important.”
