and all the beatings she and others had suffered, simply because Egbert’s temper was uncertain. But he’d been unable to take the gold, silver and jewels. Some day she’d retrieve them from the lord’s bedchamber, but for now they were safe, stored right under the Norseman’s nose. The thought buoyed her spirits no end.
‘You’ll have to be civil, Hilda. There is little point in antagonising them. One must be practical about such things,’ she said carefully.
‘Will you marry the new earl? Did it happen like you predicted?’ Hilda watched her with narrowed eyes. ‘Is that what is going on? You can tell me, cousin. I can imagine the Norseman’s king doing that, not giving you time to properly mourn and seeking to secure peace on the land that way.’
‘No, my fate is something else.’ She paused and gazed directly at Hilda, whose golden-blonde hair, pale blue eyes and petite frame ensured men’s eyes followed her wherever she went. Hilda would learn soon enough. No doubt the entire hall buzzed with the news. ‘I’ve agreed to be Brand Bjornson’s concubine. I suspect the Norseman thinks it is an honour. And, yes, I do know how people will react and what they will call me but I did it for them. I hope to soften his heart towards my people.’
Saying the words out loud helped.
A tiny tingle went through her. It might be different with Brand Bjornson. When their hands had accidentally brushed as he regarded the ledger, all her senses became aware of him. Something that had never happened to her before. She banished the thought as wishful thinking and false hope. She’d endured Egbert’s touch and the bruises he had given her. She could cope with this Norseman. She was a survivor.
Hilda stared at her with shocked eyes and gaping mouth.
‘Thank you, cousin, for your silence.’
‘You’re serious! That’s your scheme?’
‘Would I joke about such a thing?’ Edith folded her hands in her lap. ‘I have to remain here in order for my plans to work. Leaving would have meant that I had lost everything.’
Hilda’s mouth dropped open, making her resemble a fish. ‘I’d rather kill myself. Brand Bjornson is a monster. His very name causes grown men to quake in their boots. And he sports an ugly red scar about his neck. They say that even his own mother tried to kill him but failed. The man sups with the devil.’
‘Unfortunately I didn’t have that choice,’ Edith said with a steady voice. Hilda was always overly dramatic, even as a young girl. ‘If I die, who will speak for the people who till this land or work in the kitchens? And I dare say Brand Bjornson sups with whoever sits down at his table.’
‘Stop trying to turn it into a joke, Edith. Why did you agree to it? How could you?’ Hilda shook her head. ‘Sometimes I fail to understand you, cousin. You should have drawn a knife, bared your breast and plunged it in. That is what any true Northumbrian lady would have done.’
Edith bit back the words asking why Hilda had agreed to be Egbert’s mistress, then? Even now, she refused to stoop that low. There were some things which were better left unsaid. She accepted that Hilda had had her reasons and overall had behaved better than some of Egbert’s other women.
‘Why, Edith?’
‘There were others to think of,’ she said finally when Hilda’s horrified gaze became too great to bear. ‘I refuse to abandon everyone for the sake of my honour. In this way, perhaps I can tame the Norseman and prevent him from destroying all that I hold dear. Mayhap in time he will come to trust me and will install me as the steward.’
‘As you say, it is your choice, my cousin.’ Hilda stood up and made a brief curtsy. ‘I wish you well. I mean that. I hope you know what you have undertaken. These men...they are not quite human. You are gently bred. You haven’t had to suffer—’
‘I believe I understand the rudiments of the position I now occupy.’
Hilda flushed. ‘No offence meant, cousin. I want to be certain that you know what you are doing. When I was in the south—’
‘Thank you, Hilda.’ Edith inclined her head. The last thing she wanted to hear was a horror story about how Hilda had experienced the habits of the Norsemen. If she did, her courage might give out. Right now, not thinking about what the night might bring was the only way she’d survive. ‘We have a feast to prepare. Busy hands mean neither of us will have time to think or consider.’
‘A feast? How can you think about eating at a time like this?’
‘The Norsemen will expect to be fed,’ Edith retorted, touching the keys to remind herself that she still had control. He hadn’t taken that away from her! ‘We must show them true Northumbrian hospitality. Thus far they have not started looting, pillaging or worse—something to be celebrated, surely?’
Hilda rolled her eyes. ‘You can be such an innocent, Edith.’
‘I prefer a realist,’ Edith said between gritted teeth. She wasn’t going to lose her temper. ‘I prefer this hall with four walls and a roof. I prefer to have a place to lay my head.’
‘And that’s it, the end as far as you are concerned?’ Hilda snapped her fingers under Edith’s nose. ‘You are giving up without a fight? You should have allowed me to speak to them. I would have fought them with my bare hands before I allowed them to take this hall. I never took you for a coward.’
‘I can hardly fight.’ Edith’s jaw ached and she tried to force her muscles to relax. ‘Egbert took every able-bodied man with him and not one has returned. How many widows did he leave in his quest for glory?’
‘And you believe you will be able to tame this Norseman warrior of yours?’ Hilda looked her up and down. ‘Do you have the womanly skills, cousin? You would be happier amongst the vellum and ink or out riding and looking at how the crops are doing. What do you know of the art of love? What will happen when this Norseman discovers you prefer learning to the arts of love?’
‘You forget yourself, cousin.’ Edith slammed her fists together. ‘You’re a guest here and asked for my protection, protection which I have sought to give. Always. Your behaviour here was your own affair and I’ve never questioned it.’
Hilda flushed scarlet and dropped her gaze. ‘Forgive me, Edith, for speaking plainly, but you must not hold on to false hope that you will be able to hold on to this place for the long term. Did you have another choice? Something that might save us both?’
Edith clenched her fists. She didn’t want to think about the night or what would happen when Brand discovered all of her inadequacies. She had to hope that he had another purpose in mind when he made her his concubine. Or that if Hilda had been there, she might have been the one he chose. ‘I will face that when I have to. These Norsemen may have different expectations.’
‘I hope for all of our sakes that they do.’ Hilda put her hand on Edith’s sleeve. ‘I really do, cousin. I just hope this one is worth it. That’s all. For once I don’t envy you.’
‘Thank you. It will be.’ Edith bowed her head and concentrated on the keys. It had to be. The alternative wasn’t worth contemplating.
‘Where do you expect me to be during this proposed feast?’ Hilda put a hand to her head. ‘You know how those Norsemen unnerve me. My mind goes all to pieces, but I want to play my part. Give me a job and I will do it, something out of
