“Your mother must have someone who can serve as her maid, or why not Thulyn herself? She was willing to help me, will she not assist Olgrethe as well?” she argued as she caught her breath and shook the shower of sand from her hair.
Andrick shook his head emphatically. “She will not do, it is you Olgrethe wants, and it’s you I’ll bring.”
His stern tone and hostile glance offered no other choice but to comply, and Celiese took his hand to mount his powerful chestnut horse. When she was comfortably seated behind him she wrapped her arms around his waist and asked shyly, “Was Mylan pleased with Olgrethe?”
Amused, the blond man turned his horse toward his home as he gave a noncommittal reply, “Ask him yourself, if you are so curious as to his opinion.”
Her cheeks burned with a bright blush at that teasing rebuff. She would probably never have an opportunity to speak with Mylan alone ever again, nor would she seek it. How could she inquire as to whether he preferred his second wife to his first, the real Olgrethe to her? The wind whipped her hair and stung her eyes, but she shed no tears. Her situation had been hopeless from the moment they had met, and she had been a great fool to believe Mylan could have grown to love her as swiftly as she had come to adore him.
When they reached the house she slipped from the horse’s back and ran inside before Andrick noticed she was gone, but she soon realized she was uncertain as to where Olgrethe might be waiting. She climbed the stairs, believing Mylan’s room was the most logical choice. Hearing no sound as she approached the door, she opened it slightly to peer inside.
“You!” Mylan turned, an oath upon his lips. He stood stripped to the waist, clutching his left side as he attempted to stem the flow of bright red blood that oozed from between his fingers. “As long as you’ve seen so much, you might as well come in and help me. Bolt the door so I am not disturbed again.”
Celiese entered the room quickly, shoved the bolt into place, and rushed to his side. “Why did no one tell me you had been wounded? Oh, Mylan, this is dreadful, you might bleed to death!”
She placed her hands over his to add more pressure in hopes of stopping the flow of blood. His flesh felt warm to her touch and filled her with a longing that the severity of his injury did not quell. She had no right, she told herself, no right to want him so badly when he now belonged to Olgrethe, as indeed he had from the very beginning, but that realization did not lessen the force of her desire. She wanted to hug him tightly, to kiss him again and again and tell him how desperately she had missed him, but she dared not speak a word. His greeting could not have been more insulting, and she knew that no matter how she felt he was obviously not pleased to see her.
“The Torgvalds got the worst of it. This is nothing, a mere scratch from a blow deflected off my ribs, but when I stepped out of my bath just now I tore it open again and cannot make the bleeding stop. I am expected to appear in the best of health tonight, not as a damn invalid!”
Celiese looked up, unable to comment upon how he would be spending his evening. “I did not mean to disturb you, please forgive me, I was looking for Olgrethe, as she wants me to help her dress.”
He continued in the same volatile mood, ignoring her apology as if he had not heard it, “You will help me instead. There is linen in my chest. Tear enough into strips to bind my side, and make haste to do it before Andrick comes seeking my company and discovers this bloody mess.”
She rinsed her hands in the tub of water he had used to bathe, and searched through the contents of the chest for the clean fabric. When she turned with the cloth in her grasp she was startled by Mylan’s insolent gaze, for his golden eyes raked over her slowly with a disapproval so scathing she could scarcely bear it.
“You are a sorry sight, Celiese, I am amazed Andrick was willing to pay so much for you. I would have given no more than…”
“Hush!” she insisted angrily. “My appearance is of no consequence, it is you who needs immediate care.” She ripped the cloth with vicious tears, and pushed his hands aside to inspect the gruesome gash more closely. “You call this no more than a scratch? Who did this to you, do you know the man’s name?”
“What? You expect me to reveal the brute’s name so you may avenge it yourself? My battles are of no concern to you, girl, I do not ne
ed your assistance to seek revenge, for I’ll not risk another of your tricks.” He drew his breath in sharply as Celiese began to wrap the linen around his ribs. “Your touch was tender when last we met, why is it so brutal today?”
“I am never brutal,” she denied heatedly and choked back her tears. Did the man think her devoid of feelings, incapable of offering the devotion he inspired? “I am merely attempting to bind your side securely so you’ll lose no more blood.” Satisfied with her handiwork, she tied the end of the last linen strip in a firm knot, and stepped back.
“There, that should hold for the night, and tomorrow you may find another to apply a fresh bandage, someone whose touch pleases you far more.” She began to move toward the door, thinking her task completed, but Mylan stepped quickly to block her way.
“I want no others to know of this, you must promise your silence. If the dressing needs changing, then you will be the one to do it.”
She thought his demand unreasonable, for surely Olgrethe ought to be the one to tend him. She would be his wife and his care one of her rightful duties, but she had no desire to point out so painful a point to him if he did not see it. “I must go, Olgrethe sent for me.”
Mylan moved closer still, forcing her against his door, where he held her captive between his outstretched arms. “You have kept not one of your promises, but I’ll see you keep this one. No one must learn I have been harmed, no one.”
The lovely blonde’s eyes filled with a curious glow as she stared up at the man who had been her husband so briefly. “I have broken none of the promises I made to you.” He inclined his head, his intentions clear but a surprise all the same, and his kiss ended her protest with a soft sigh of surrender. She made no move to resist his forceful embrace, but lifted her arms to encircle his neck as she returned his deep kiss, unable to stifle the need his loving touch created within her heart. This kiss was as marvelous as all his others, soft and slow. It swept her ordeal from her mind, the days they had been apart disappearing from her memory, and she was again his bride. Then as suddenly as he had drawn her near he released her, shoving her aside as he backed away.
“Did you really think I’d be fool enough to wait at that door for you? Did you truly think you could hand me over to Raktor so easily as that?” His eyes grew dark with disgust. “Is there no end to your treachery?”
“I did not meet you because I couldn’t!” Celiese grabbed his arm, imploring him to listen. “Raktor locked me up with those he had taken prisoner the moment I stepped through the door. Did none of your kinsmen tell you I was with them, or that later they had seen me taken aboard the ship for the voyage to Kaupang?”
Mylan brushed her aside, turning his back upon her as he began to sort through the clothing laid out upon his bed for what he wished to wear. “Another of Raktor’s schemes, no doubt. My kin were too clever to believe anything you said after what you had done to them. That he sold you is not surprising, for he knew you would betray him as swiftly as you had betrayed me.”
“Why is it you continually choose to ignore the truth in my words? I tried only to help you.”
“With any more such help I’d soon be dead! Now go and find your mistress, and spin your lies together with her, as you always have.”
She dared not leave when he understood nothing about either her or the proud young woman who would soon be his bride. “Olgrethe is not like her father, Mylan. She is spoiled, for she has been pampered all her life, but she is kind, her heart is filled with goodness. Please do not think ill of her simply because you despise me.”
He snarled through clenched teeth, “She sent you to me, did she not? You said it was her idea. Was that a lie also?”