To Love Again

Cadda-wic. He thought about it as he methpdically pumped her. The lands were good, the hall sound, and Cailin would be an extra bonus. He had seen her several times, but he could not dismiss her from his mind. What fire and spirit she had! He imagined she would be as strong and sweet as his Saxon wives, and as lustful as Antonia. It was a perfect combination, and he meant to have her. There was time, however. Neither she nor Wulf Ironfist were going anywhere. They had made it abundantly clear that the land meant everything to them. He would have more than enough time to take the lands to the south. To settle his brother and his family on a nearby holding. To find Gunnar a second wife with a good dowry. Oh, yes, there was plenty of time.

***

The autumn came, and Nuala bore Winefrith a fine, big son, who was called Barre. It meant a gateway between two places. Nuala thought it appropriate, for Barre was indeed a bridge between the Britain of old and the new Britain. Cailin was present at the birth, and afterward marveled at the child's size and how strongly he tugged upon his mother's breast when he was put there to nurse.

'You'll have a son of your own soon enough,' Nuala teased her. 'Surely you and Wulf do not spend all that time in the solar just talking, cousin.' She giggled. 'I know I wouldn't!'

'Fresh from childbirth, and totally shameless,' Cailin said, pretending to be scandalized. 'For your information, Wulf enjoys watching me at my loom, Nuala. And then, of course, we sing together.'

Nuala looked thunderstruck. 'You jest!' she said.

'I assure you it is quite true,' Cailin replied sweetly.

'Indeed it is,' Wulf said, agreeing with his wife, whom he had overheard spinning her mischievous tale. 'Cailin weaves a most marvelous spell about me when we are in the solar together, and sings passion's song far better than any I have ever known.'

Nuala burst out laughing, realizing that they were teasing her. The infant at her breast hiccuped, and began to wail. 'Ohh, see what you have done to Barre!' she scolded them, suddenly all maternal concern and caring. 'There, my little sweetheart. Do not fuss.'

By the Winterfest, the lady of Cadda-wic was beginning to swell with another child, much to everyone's delight. It would be born, Cailin told them, after Beltane.

'And it is a son, I am certain,' she assured Wulf.

'How can you tell?' he asked her, smiling.

She shrugged. 'I just can,' she said. 'A woman senses such things. Is that not so?' She turned to the other women in the hall for support, and they all nodded in agreement. 'You see!'

The winter set in, and the land around them grew white and silent. The days were short, and quick. In the long nights the wolves could be heard howling about Cadda-wic, their eerie cries answered by the mournful howls of the hounds in the hall who grew restless at the knowledge of the predators prowling beyond the strong iron and oak gates.

Wulf and Cailin were alone, for the others had returned to their own villages after the Winterfest. Cailin missed Nuala. Nellwyn, though sweet and loyal, was not particularly interesting to chat with by the fire. Aurora, however, adored her, and without anything being said, Cailin's former slave became the child's nursemaid. It was just as well, for Cailin did not need a personal servant. Her mother had raised her to be a useful person who could do for herself. Now, as mistress of Cadda-wic, Cailin found herself responsible for the well-being of all those in her charge.

Finally the days began to grow discernibly longer. The air felt milder. Patches of earth became visible, and the snow cover shrank rapidly as the earth began to grow warmer with the coming spring. Snowdrops, narcissi, and violets began to make their appearance. Cailin was pleased to find several large clumps growing near the graves of her family. The marble marker had never been finished, and it was now unlikely that it ever would be. It simply read: The Family of Gaius Drusus Corinium. Looking down at it, Cailin sighed, her hand moving to her swollen belly in a protective gesture. How her family would have spoiled her children!

'This child I carry is a son,' she assured them aloud. 'How I wish you could be here to see him when he is born. He is to be called Royse. Aurora is very excited about the new baby. Ohh!' Cailin looked up as an arm went about her shoulders. 'Wulf, how you startled me!'

'You miss your family, don't you?' he replied. 'I cannot even remember my mother. I often wonder what she was like.'

'Until they were murdered,' Cailin answered him, 'they were my whole life. I cannot help but wonder what it would have been like if they had not died. My parents, of course, would not be much changed, but my brothers would. They would truly be men now, with families. How my grandmother would have enjoyed those great- grandchildren. I think, perhaps, it is Brenna I miss the most. How strange that must sound to you.'

'I am sorry that I did not know them,' he told her. Then together they returned to the hall, where their daughter ran to greet them.

***

The spring was well under way and the plowing started when the gates were opened one morning to reveal a young girl crumpled upon the earth before them. Wulf and Cailin were summoned from the hall.

'The gods!' Cailin exclaimed. 'The child has been beaten cruelly! Is she dead? How came she here to Cadda- wic?'

The girl moaned as if in answer, and rolled over just enough to reveal a form more mature than they had thought. She was small and slender, but obviously older than they had originally believed.

Cailin knelt and gently touched the maiden's arm. 'Can you hear me, lass?' she asked her. 'What has happened to you?'

The girl opened her eyes slowly. They were a pale green in color, and the look in them was one of total confusion. 'Where am I?' she whispered so low that Cailin had to bend closer to hear her.

'You are at Cadda-wic, the holding of Wulf Ironfist,' she replied. 'Who are you? Where have you come from, and who has mistreated you so cruelly?' She shifted herself, uncomfortable in this position, as she was within a month of bearing her child.

The girl looked uncertain as to what to answer, and her eyes filled with tears that spilled down her very pretty face.

'What is your name?' Cailin gently pressed her.

The girl appeared to think a moment, and then she said, 'Aelfa. Aelfa is my name! I remember! I am called Aelfa!'

'Where have you come from?' Cailin asked.

Again the girl appeared.to consider, and then said, 'I do not know, lady.' The tears slipped silently down her face again.

'Poor little thing,' Wulf said. 'The beating she has received has obviously addled her wits. She will remember in time.'

'I will carry her into the hall,' said Corio, who had come but the day before from Braleah. Gently, he lifted the girl into his arms, and when her head fell against his shoulder, a strange look crossed the young man's face. No woman had yet captured Corio's heart.

The girl was brought to the hall, where Cailin carefully examined her. Other than her bruises, she seemed fine, but for her loss of memory. Cailin had the tub brought and bathed the girl herself. Aelfa's hair was like cornsilk, a pale, almost silvery gold in color. A tunica and camisa were quickly found to fit her dainty stature. As she was brought to the high board, everyone in the hall could see that Aelfa was not simply a pretty girl. She was a beautiful one. Corio appeared besotted as he watched her eating, picking sparingly at the food.