‘What do you mean?’ She went very still suddenly.
‘De Quincey is the Baron she’s supposed to marry. You said she left Redbourn in the spring?’
‘Yes, she wanted to come home.’
‘The King’s soldiers arrived in Redbourn only a few weeks after Hastings—in the autumn, when she was still here. De Quincey was with them.’
‘No.’ She shook her head in bewilderment. ‘You must be mistaken. If Cille was here when the Normans arrived, why didn’t she tell me about them?’
She looked so confused that for a moment he almost felt sorry for her. He had to stamp the feeling down quickly.
‘How long do you think it takes to build a fortress?’ He paused significantly, but her expression didn’t alter. ‘Even the King’s masons couldn’t have done all this in five months. They’ve had to work night and day to do it in nine.’
‘But...’
‘Think of the baby.’
‘Leofric’s baby...?’ Her voice wavered slightly.
‘No.’ Did he really have to spell it out? ‘Leofric wasn’t here nine months ago. De Quincey was.’
Her lips parted. The truth was dawning at last. ‘But the babe was late!’
‘By two months?’
‘No!’ She backed away from him as if she might run from his words. ‘It’s not true!’
‘Why not? Because he’s Norman?’ His voice hardened again. ‘Aediva, whether you want to believe it or not, de Quincey didn’t just meet your sister, he conceived a child with her too. That’s why I was sent to find her—because he wants to marry her.’
‘You said it was for FitzOsbern!’ She glowered at him accusingly.
‘He rules half of Normandy! He doesn’t need one English fortress!’
‘But...but what about Leofric?’
‘I don’t know.’ He shook his head. ‘Things happen in war...people act differently. You’ll need to ask your sister. But she has a child with de Quincey. Isn’t it possible that she cares for him too?’
‘No!’
‘You think it impossible to love a Norman?’ He couldn’t keep the bitterness out of his voice.
‘He must have forced her!’
Svend clenched his jaw. Apparently her opinion of Normans was even lower than he’d thought. ‘I wouldn’t throw such accusations around lightly.’
She ignored the warning. ‘She must have been afraid of him! Why else would she have run away?’
‘Aediva...’
‘Why would she have come back to Etton if she was in love with a Norman?’ She spat the word like an insult. ‘Why call the babe Leofric if not after his father?’
‘Maybe because she knew you wouldn’t understand. You’ve said that you hate Normans often enough. Maybe she thought you’d hate your nephew too!’
‘No!’ She looked stricken. ‘I would never...!’
‘Wouldn’t you? If I’m right then he’s half-Norman.’
‘She could have told me!’