'Do not be fooled by her dignity and manners, girl,' he told her. 'Beneath it all she is a woman, and a fiery woman, I will wager.'
The sleepy and surprised inhabitants of Cadda-wic were roused and brought before Ragnar Strongspear. Outside, the men-at-arms were rounded up, subdued, and marched into the hall, including the half-conscious Bran- hard.
'This place is now mine by right of conquest,' Ragnar said in a sonorous voice. 'No harm will come to you if you obey my wishes. If you try to rebel, you will be killed. Now start your day as you normally would, and someone bring me some food. I am fair starved!'
For a moment they looked at him, still but half awake, and totally unaware of what they should do. How had this happened? How had Ragnar Strongspear gained entry to Cadda-wic? It was a common thought.
'You will obey Ragnar Strongspear for now,' Cailin said as she came into their midst. 'I want none of you harmed.' She was very beautiful in a dark green tunic dress decorated with gold threads. Cailin turned to Ragnar and demanded in proud tones, 'How came you here?'
His eyes devoured her. By Woden, she was a beauty, and he would have her this night beneath him! 'By means of a Trojan horse,' he answered her. 'Do you know the story? Antonia told it me.'
Cailin nodded. 'I know the tale well,' she said, and then a light of understanding dawned in her eyes. Her gaze swept the room and found what it was seeking. 'Aelfa,' she said. 'Aelfa was your Trojan horse, was she not, Ragnar Strongspear? Who is she?'
'My brother Gunnar's eldest daughter. She is fifteen, and very wily,' he said, chuckling.
'The girl, Aelfa, has betrayed us,' Cailin told the gathering of her people. 'She is Ragnar Strongspear's niece.'
A terrible groan arose from Bran-hard. 'Bitch!' he cried, and then flung himself before Cailin. 'Lady, you must forgive me! I desired her, and she knew it. She came to me last night as I kept watch and offered herself to me. Then she fed me drugged wine to render me unconscious. It is my fault that the hall is taken! Forgive me!'
'You are a fool, Bran-hard, but get up and go about your duties. What is done is done, although you are not likely to escape some punishment from my husband when he returns,' Cailin told him.
Bran-hard scrambled to his feet. His complexion had a decidedly yellow-green tinge to it. He looked as if he would be sick at any moment. 'Thank you, lady,' he managed to gasp.
Cailin realized now that the reason Aelfa had fixed her attentions on poor Bran-hard and the hapless Albert was that they were the two men assigned to the gatehouse. Each took his turn in rotation, keeping the watch through the night. Aelfa did not care for either of them, and poor Albert could have just as easily been her victim had he been on duty last night. It was only bad luck for Bran-hard that it had been his turn.
'How did Aelfa communicate with you?' Cailin asked Ragnar as they seated themselves at the high board and the hall regained some semblance of normalcy. 'I sensed something wrong, but did not know what.'
He looked eagerly toward the end of the hall for the servants who would soon be coming from the cook house with the morning meal. Ragnar well remembered the good table Cailin kept. 'I had a man on the hill watching from the day you found her at your gates,' he told Cailin, and then he gulped down the good brown ale poured into his cup. 'I've never tasted better,' he complimented her with a grin.
'Yesterday,' Cailin said slowly. 'She contacted the man yesterday afternoon when she slipped out, ostensibly to berry, but she took no basket with her. I knew it a lie, but not the reason for the lie.'
The food was now beginning to arrive. Ragnar took his knife from his belt and cut himself two thick slabs of ham. He helped himself to several hard-boiled eggs and a small loaf of bread. 'More ale!' he commanded the attending servant, then he asked Cailin, 'Where are your children, lady? I hear you had a son but a few weeks back. That bitch Antonia lost my child after the solstice. It was a son, too. She is a bad breeder, but you will be a good breeder for me. Did you know that I am going to make you my wife, Cailin?. The first time I ever laid eyes on you, I knew that I wanted you. My Saxon women are good creatures, loyal and hardworking, like milk cows. Antonia is a viper, but sometimes a little poison is sweet. You, however, my little fox vixen with your russet curls, will give me the greatest pleasure of all.'
'I have a husband,' Cailin said quietly. She was not afraid of this braggart. He could not have taken Cadda-wic without treachery, and he would be driven out.
'I will kill Wulf Ironfist,' Ragnar bragged.
'I think rather he will kill you,' Cailin replied quietly.
'Your children?' he demanded again. 'Where are they?'
'They are gone,' she said with a small smile.
'That cannot be!' he roared angrily, furious, for her children were the weapon he intended to use against her. 'How can they be gone?' The veins in his thick neck stood out clearly, and they were throbbing.
'You gained entry to Cadda-wic by means of a ruse, Ragnar Strongspear,' she said. 'I was already awake when you entered the hall. At first I believed my husband had returned. I opened the door to look down, and saw you. My son was newly fed, and so I awoke my daughter. I dressed both children, and while you were bragging and bellowing and attempting to put the fear of the gods into my people, I brought my children down into the hall, gave them into the keeping of my servant, Nellwyn, and watched while she walked through the gates with them. Your men were so busy trying to bully mine that they never even noticed Nellwyn pass them by. She is now well on her way to Braleah. You will not catch her, I think,' Cailin concluded, laughing lightly.
'One of the villages belonging to Cadda-wic,' she told him. 'Surely you did not think we were alone but for a few of my Dobunni kin? Cadda-wic has four villages belonging to it. You will be unable to hold them, if you can even find them. Nellwyn will raise the alarm against you, and Wulf Ironfist will come with many men to drive you out. If I were you, I should finish my meal and hurry home.'
'What a woman you are!' he answered her, grinning. 'Even if I were to take your advice, I should take you with me, Cailin. You are not simply strong and beautiful, you think like a warrior. I do not believe I should like such a trait in any other woman, but it becomes you, my fox vixen. By Woden, it becomes you well!'
Cailin sipped her watered wine and ate heartily of bread, ham, and hard cheese. She had nothing more to say to Ragnar Strongspear. Finally she stood up and strode from the high board.
'Should I stop her, lord?' Harald asked nervously.
'Are the gates
'Aye, lord!' Harald said.
'Then let her be, you fool. Where will she go that I cannot find her? She is, I suspect, about her daily duties, and nothing more.'
Cailin was, but she also made the rounds of Cadda-wic reassuring each and every member of the household with her calm manner.
'What shall we do, my lady?' Albert asked her nervously. He was more than well aware how close to disaster he himself had come.
'Do not resist,' she told him, as she had the others, 'unless, of course, your very life is threatened. Go about your daily duties as you normally do. Wulf Ironfist will come soon, and he will drive Ragnar Strongspear back to his own lands. Do not fear. Nellwyn will raise the alarm, and Ragnar Strongspear's only advantage was in surprise. He no longer has that advantage.'
Cailin moved on. In early afternoon she gathered the women about her, telling them, 'I will not allow anyone to abuse you. Hide yourselves in the cellar beneath the largest grain barn. Do it as soon as you can, and remember to bring water skins. Do not come out until morning, when I shall come to fetch you. Hurry now!'
'But what of you, lady?' one of the serving women asked.
'I will not be harmed,' Cailin assured them. She had already decided what she must do. If she could not deter Ragnar Strongspear from his lustful intent, then she must kill him.
Her breasts were beginning to ache dreadfully, and looking down, she grimaced with irritation. Her milk was beginning to leak through her nipples and stain her tunic dress. Royse last nursed in the early morning. Nellwyn
