“You are the kindest of mistresses, Olgrethe, but I was free in my own land before your father slaughtered my family.”
“Please, let’s not relive the past while our futures remain so grave. Oluf looked at you as though you were a tasty morsel he couldn’t wait to bite. He won’t dare touch you if you’re with me. You will sleep in my bed and remain by my side. Should I be sent to Aldred’s house, you will go with me.”
“As you wish.” Celiese brushed out Olgrethe’s curling tresses as she did every night. Her hands shook badly, but she completed her task without complaint. She had felt safe and secure with Olgrethe, but tonight such foolish complacency had come to a jarring end. She longed for the blissful life she’d once known, with a dear father and mother she would mourn until her last breath.
Chapter 2
Raktor intended to settle the matter of his daughter’s marriage with minimal aggravation, and he readily agreed when Olgrethe begged him to send for his younger sister. He trusted Helga to be a practical woman who would provide sensible counsel. Each day the hours of sunlight were growing longer, and he was anxious to leave his farm to begin the eagerly anticipated summer raids. When Helga arrived he sent her to Olgrethe with clear instructions to influence the young woman to wed Mylan Vandahl, and soon, so he could turn his mind to the sea and the riches that lay beyond, but well within his grasp.
After hearing Aldred’s proposal, Helga gave it her full attention. She was an ambitious woman, keen of mind and still quite beautiful, for the Torgvald women were fortunate in that they in no way resembled the men. While her brother was large-boned and coarse-featured, she was a voluptuous beauty. She had seen her own daughters married into fine families and considered her niece’s predicament thoughtfully.
“Your father is right to be attracted to this match, dear child, for Mylan was well known for his handsome appearance as well as his heroic deeds.” She turned slowly as she spoke. “He has not been seen in the last two years. In fact, until you spoke of him today, I thought he’d been slain by a bear.”
Celiese followed Helga’s comments closely and seeing Olgrethe’s confusion, asked her own a question, “Is it not possible that he is?”
“What?” Helga’s bright blue eyes widened in surprise. “How can that be?”
“Olgrethe believes this proposal is a trick of some sort. A marriage to a dead man would be the ultimate betrayal, would it not?”
Helga dismissed Celiese’s suggestion with a flutter of her hand. “Aldred’s reputation with those not of our family is most favorable. Despite our suspicions, this appears to be a true proposal of marriage, one you might be foolish to refuse, Olgrethe. The Vandahls are wealthy, extremely so, prosperous traders, adventurers who sail far and wide in search of the finest wares. Yet I am confused as to why no word has been heard of Mylan for so long.” Helga pursed her lips, her puzzlement clear.
Her aunt had been her only hope, and Olgrethe was near tears as she described her fears. “He must be grotesquely scarred, hideous to behold no matter how fine he might have looked years ago. He must have been cut to shreds by the bearâ??perhaps he lost an arm or a leg. Oh, Aunt Helga, I cannot marry such an ugly man, I cannot!”
Helga sighed regretfully. “Since he did not come to you with his proposal himself, I am inclined to agree. It seems likely he has suffered some impairment, but we cannot know if it is so considerable as you imagine. If you remain against the marriage, then I can be of no further service and will return home. I had hoped to remain to plan your wedding, but if there is to be none, I shan’t stay.”
Celiese had a calm request, “Please do not leave yet, Helga. Olgrethe may change her mind in a day or two. Give her time to consider this more fully.”
“Never!” Olgrethe screamed defiantly, yet as soon as she and Celiese were alone she had no such courage and paced her room nervously, wiping away her tears.
When she could no longer bear to see her mistress in such distress, Celiese asked a question that had been weighing heavily upon her mind. “What prompted you to suggest that I go to Mylan in your place?”
“We are so much alike I was certain he would never know he had been fooled. I suppose it was a wicked thing to do when you have always been so loyal to me, but I was desperate that night, Celiese, as I am still.”
Nodding sympathetically, Celiese drew in a deep breath to propose a plan of her own. “If your father insists upon this match, I will go willingly in your place.”
Olgrethe’s expression grew bright with excitement. “You would do that for me?”
“It would be to my own advantage. I would be free, and the bride of a respected man, even if he is no longer handsome. In marrying Mylan, I’ll protect my own future, as well as yours in the bargain.”
“But what if Mylan truly is ugly, horribly disfigured, what ifâ???”
“Enough, Olgrethe, the poor creature may be hideous, but I will not despise him for his misfortune. I will ask only that he be kind, and if he believes me to be Raktor’s daughter, he will not dare be otherwise.”
Olgrethe rushed to Celiese’s side and hugged her warmly. “Thank you, thank you, for I have none of your sweet compassion and would make Mylan the worst of wives.”
Celiese accepted Olgrethe’s gratitude ca
lmly, but in truth she was far more frightened of becoming a bed slave passed among her menacing brothers than of marrying the man Mylan Vandahl might be. Appearance was not the only consideration in a person; he could still be a fine man, no matter how severely he had been injured. She could be fooling only herself, regardless of the extent of his injuries he would be a Viking still, so what chance was there his heart would be a kind one?
Pushing her mistress away gently, Celiese turned their conversation to the practical aspects of their plan. “We must prepare identical gowns. If your father sees you clearly the morning of the journey to the Vandahls’ home, he will not think it odd that we wear cloaks and cover our heads in his ship. The wind would disturb you greatly, and you would not want to appear in front of his crew in full view.”
Celiese smiled slyly as she saw her mistress nod with approval. “We can trade places at the last possible moment. I will wear a veil for the ceremony, and it will be too late by the time your father realizes what we have doneâ??I will be Mylan’s bride by then, and he will never tell his enemy how he has been tricked. He will have to keep the secret as well as we do, for his own reputation will be at stake.”
“Yes, that is the perfect plan.” Olgrethe was so delighted to avoid such a disastrous marriage she would have agreed to anything. “I will go to Helga’s, for a long visit if need be, and if ever I decide to marry, people can be told my father had two daughters rather than only one, and none will dare dispute him.”
“That is true.” Celiese hugged Olgrethe this time. They made their preparations carefully, considering each and every detail, every aspect of the deception, and they were far too clever to miss any necessary step. Olgrethe would be expected to be attended by her own maid for her wedding, but then she would simply send the servant back to her father’s home when the guests departed, and it would be Celiese who had wed Mylan and Olgrethe who returned to her father’s home.
They hoped all would go well for them both, until the afternoon Olgrethe was summoned and told she was to become the bride of Aldred’s eldest son, but that she would be sent to his home alone, without the company of her pretty slave. She accepted her father’s order demurely and returned to her room to give Celiese the startling news.