made a movement as though to come to her aid. Hastily, Katerina shook her head.
‘This way, my lady,’ Commander Ashfirth spoke through gritted teeth.
Strong fingers bit into her as she was hauled towards the pavilion and unceremoniously bundled inside.
Chapter Four
He paused in the entrance, and for a brief moment the glare of light from the deck made a silhouette of him. Time seemed to stop, and for a heart-stopping moment he was stripped of his individuality. This was not Ashfirth Saxon, Commander of the Varangian Guard, but a broad-shouldered, powerful man such as she had seen striding across the side of an antique vase. A man with no face. He was invincible, one of the heroes of myth, and she was entirely in his power.
Katerina’s hands began to shake. No, no, no. Not now. I am no longer a slave forced to do every man’s bidding.
Bile rushed to her mouth and she was swept back in time to the moment when Vukan—a fellow slave—had pushed her into a storeroom and issued her with an ultimatum.
‘Bed with me,’ Vukan had said, ‘and I will keep you safe from the others. No one else will come near you.’
Outside, the gulls were screeching in Dyrrachion’s harbour.
I am no longer in Rascia. Think about the gulls scrabbling for leftovers from a fisherman’s haul; think about anything, but do not let the old fears take hold. You must act at all times as though you are the Princess.
Ashfirth Saxon stepped towards her and the instant the light fell on his face—proving beyond doubt that this was the Commander—the blind terror left her. Her pulse remained jumpy, she was still afraid, but this was a different type of fear; she had battled with it before and had survived. This was the fear of a woman when confronted by a strong man. Thank God, she had kept her head high, she did not think he had noticed her moment of abject terror.
‘Really, sir! How dare you manhandle me in such a way? And how dare you come in here? Toki assured me this shelter was for my personal use.’ Her voice did not tremble, the blind fear was entirely gone.
He towers over me, but then he would tower over most men. He cannot hurt me, I am the Princess.
Ashfirth Saxon was furious. It had been there in the hard grip of his fingers and it was still there in the set of those wide shoulders. Katerina put her chin up. It was most strange though, because even though she knew this man was angry her terror had quite gone. Men, yes, she remained wary of men in general, but not this particular one. It was incredible. Was it because she had finally met one who could control himself? She had begun to think no such man existed.
Don’t be a fool! The only reason this man will not harm you is because he believes you to be the Princess.
With an impatient noise, he turned away to close the tent-flaps. The shadows deepened, and Katerina was alone with a man as she had not been since the dark days of her slavery.
And the abject terror did not return, though her heart thudded like a drum.
‘My lady, explain yourself, if you please.’ His voice was strained, his fist clenched and unclenched on the parchment.
He is angry but he will not hurt me. He is not Vukan. He will not demand sexual submission as the price of his protection. If she repeated this to herself often enough, she would believe it. He will not hurt me, he is not Vukan …
‘What do you mean by sending this frivolous piece of nonsense—’ he waved the letter under her nose ‘—to the other ship?’
‘Frivolous nonsense? Sir, I do not care for your tone.’ A glint in his eyes warned her that she was testing his patience. She gave a careless shrug. ‘Some of my belongings were packed in the wrong coffer. I asked one of my women to bring them over.’
‘You were missing some belongings? Oh, dear, Lady Theodora, that will not do.’
His tone was blistering; she squirmed inside.
Unrolling the parchment, he started to read. Holy Virgin, the man could read Greek! ‘"To Katerina, my body servant. Greetings, “ it says. “I have discovered my favourite ivory comb is not with me, the one engraved with Celtic patterns. It is in the holly-wood box, along with my silver hairpins and tortoise-shell comb. I need those too. Anna says we will need them to dress my hair properly. Please be so good as to find them. I order you to bring them to my ship at once. I cannot sail without them. “’ His lip curled. ‘"A comb…hairpins…I cannot sail without them. ” Lord, my lady, I thought I made it plain. We cannot be seen to communicate with the other ship.’ His blue eyes burned like flame. ‘It was not a light request. This is no palace game. Your person—’ a long finger stabbed at her breastbone ‘—is at risk here, your person.’
Again his hand came towards her, but before he touched her a second time, his fingers curled and the hand was lowered. It came to her that he had not intended to touch her and that he had startled himself by so doing. He glared at her. ‘Do you understand, my lady?’
‘Thank you, sir, you have made your views plain. I shall not attempt a second communication with my woman.’
‘No, my lady, you will not. I have seen to that.’
At her puzzled expression, Ashfirth Saxon lifted an eyebrow. Opening the canvas door-flap, he pointed outside.
They were moving! Their ship was sliding slowly by the large vessel, indeed, it had almost reached the edge of the dock. She saw the bright flash of silk, a burst of female laughter, the flash of a silver bangle. Close to hand, a rope creaked; a sailor shouted an order. A deckhand ran past the entrance to the pavilion. Another shout. The ship gave a slight jolt.
‘We have cast off!’
‘Yes, we are underway. That should put paid to any further attempts to communicate with the other ship.’ He leaned towards her. ‘Tell my, my lady, do you usually ignore advice when it is offered? Or only when it suits you?’
‘Sir?’
He spoke through clenched teeth. ‘I am the Emperor’s right hand. His sword arm. When I command you, it is your Emperor who commands you. Is that clear?’
Katerina tried to look down her nose at him which, given his height, proved impossible. ‘Perfectly.’
‘Good. I am going to give you some more advice, and this time you are going to heed it.’
‘Oh?’
‘You are remain in this tent for the rest of the day. Sergeant Toki will be posted outside.’
She drew in a breath. ‘You would confine a princess?’
‘Until I know she will do as she is told, yes. As I said, this is no game. I have my orders. I shall send Lady Anna to join you, and you will both remain in here until all chances of bribing one of the sailors is past.’ He let the tent-flap fall back into place and the shadows closed in again, creating an illusion of intimacy. He sighed. ‘I am sorry if you consider that I have violated your privacy, my lady, but we could hardly have this conversation out on the deck. With the exception of the captain, the
