thirties perhaps, leaned on the saddle pommel and looked around, stony-faced, impassive, cold eyes taking in the details. Sound died as the crew returned the attention. For several moments both groups weighed each other up.
‘Part of somebody’s war band or I miss my guess,’ murmured Hermund.
Wulfgar nodded almost imperceptibly. ‘My thought exactly. The question is, where are the others and how many?’
The leader of the horsemen broke the surrounding silence. ‘Who is chief of this rabble crew?’
‘That would be me.’ Wulfgar strolled forwards. ‘Was there something you wanted?’
The stranger’s lip curled in a sneer. ‘You’re trespassing.’
‘The shore belongs to no man,’ replied Hermund.
‘Not this bit of shore.’
‘Unfortunately my ship was damaged in the storm last night,’ explained Wulfgar. ‘We need to carry out repairs.’
‘Well, go and do them somewhere else. You’re not wanted here, Viking.’
Wulfgar held his temper. ‘The work will only take a few days. When it’s complete we’ll leave.’
‘You’ll go now if you know what’s good for you. Lord Ingvar doesn’t like intruders, especially not pirates.’
‘That is unfortunate.’
‘Unfortunate for you right enough.’ He smiled nastily, an expression mirrored in the faces of his five companions.
‘That remains to be seen.’
‘So you’re telling me you’re not leaving?’
Wulfgar nodded. ‘That’s about the size of it.’
For a moment the other met and held his gaze. Then he shrugged and turned his horse’s head. ‘Don’t say you weren’t warned.’
With that the mounted group turned and cantered away.
‘Nice,’ said Hermund. ‘I reckon we can expect another visit quite soon, and with reinforcements.’
‘They could have been bluffing,’ replied Thrand.
Hermund shook his head. ‘Not a chance. He’d never have made the threat unless he knew he could back it up.’
‘Hermund’s right,’ said Wulfgar.
Thrand grinned. ‘Do we get ready for a fight then, my lord?’
‘We do.’
The men around them exchanged anticipatory glances. Thrand’s fist closed on the hilt of his dagger.
‘I’ll look forward to silencing Big Mouth myself.’
‘Don’t count your chickens,’ said Hermund. ‘We don’t know how many friends Big Mouth has got yet.’
‘Just so,’ replied Wulfgar, ‘which is why we need to be ready for them. Arm yourselves.’
Chapter Two
Anwyn held her mount to a steady walk, her gaze on the horizon where the grey sea formed a darker smudge against the sky. White caps chased across the bay and even from this distance she could hear the roar of surf along the strand. The breeze was cool and smelled of salt and damp earth, a reminder of last night’s storm. Even so, it was good to be out of doors again. Good to have the choice.
‘The clouds will soon be gone now, my lady.’ She glanced at her maid riding alongside her and smiled faintly. ‘I hope so, Jodis.’ Privately she wondered if the clouds were not gathering about them rather than dissipating. However, to have said so just then would have been to destroy her companion’s cheerful mood.
The girl had accompanied her when, five years earlier, Anwyn had been sent by her father to wed Earl Torstein. In those dark days she had acted more as friend and confidante than personal maid. At twenty Jodis was much of an age with her mistress, too, though taller and more sturdily built. Now she gestured towards the older man and child who rode a little way ahead.
‘Eyvind has taken well to horsemanship,’ the maid observed.
‘Yes, he has.’
‘He used to be such a quiet child but he’s gained more confidence since—’ Jodis broke off and amended hastily, ‘gained more confidence now.’
‘It’s all right. You can say it. He has gained confidence since his father died.’ Anwyn’s green eyes deepened with contained emotion. ‘Of late he has really begun to come out of his shell.’
Jodis nodded. ‘That he has.’
‘Ina has played a large part in that. He is a good mentor for the child.’ Anwyn smiled faintly. ‘Eyvind looks up to him. These days almost every sentence starts with “Ina says …”’
‘Aye, it does. I think if Ina told him to stand on his head in the midden, Eyvind would do it.’
‘That he would. For all his gruff ways, Ina has been more of a father-figure than Torstein ever was.’
‘You are both free now, my lady. Torstein cannot hurt you more.’
‘He cannot.’
Jodis heard the inflection and understood at once. ‘But Lord Ingvar could.’
‘His reputation is well known.’
Jodis shuddered. ‘And well earned, too, as we have proof.’
‘No solid proof; he’s too clever for that. The loss of livestock or the burning of a rick might easily be attributed to other causes.’
‘That’s a lot of unexplained mishaps.’
‘Too many, and yet I dare not openly accuse him. In any case it is his men who carry out these deeds, not he himself. Thus he can pretend innocence. By keeping up the pressure he thinks that I’ll give in eventually.’
‘How does he dare to face you?’
‘Pretence comes naturally to him. The man is a predator. One only needs to be in his company for ten minutes to know it.’
The maid looked up quickly. ‘He has not taken liberties, my lady?’
‘No, he’s not that stupid. He hides cruelty behind a smooth manner and honeyed words. I will never deliver myself or my son into his clutches, nor my people, neither.’
‘No-one could blame you for that. All the same, he grows more importunate.’
Anwyn sighed. ‘Don’t I know it?’
Lord Ingvar’s face loomed large
