Page 48 of Haakon's Fate
Gytha nodded. Indeed, she could see that the troop was as wealthy as they could be. The rabbit stew she’d been served boasted the addition of salt and costly spices. These people were traveling in conditions such as not many villagers, never mind wandering musicians, could afford.
“Where are you headed?”
“I don’t know. The next big town?” The girl shrugged, as if uninterested. “What about you?”
Should she reveal their destination? Though she thought it unlikely that it would matter, Gytha thought it better not to. “We are going to London.”
This distant destination did not seem to surprise the girl, who had been on the roads all her life. “Is your husband a Norseman?” she whispered, leaning in to speak in her ear.
“He is, but he’s not. My husband, I mean,” she specified, when it became clear her answer had confused the girl. “We are not married.”
“Oh. Well, I’d better go see if my grandmother needs anything.”
Haakon was relieved when the dancing resumed but Gytha stayed where she was, eating the rest of her stew. He didn’t think he would have survived another of her sensual performances.
Soon, an old man sat down next to him and winked.
“Such activities are no longer for me, alas.” His voice was full of regret. “But I see you are not dancing either, my friend?”
“No.” Haakon didn’t feel like explaining why. What could he say? That dancing would never give him as much pleasure as watching Gytha move to the rhythm of the music? That he was hard as a poker and loath to have everyone see it?
“Fine. Let us drink instead.” The man handed him a rough-hewn cup filled with a liquid of an unusual and rather unappetising murky color.
“I’d rather keep a clear head, if you don’t mind,” Haakon said after one sniff of the suspicious brew. Gytha was dancing again. Amidst these strangers who could not have failed to see her sensual appeal, it would not do to lose the ability to think clearly.
Her safety was his responsibility.
The man chuckled, not having missed the darkening of his brow. “Want to keep an eye on your woman, hey? See that no one tries to entice her into more than a dance? I understand.A rare beauty, that one. Were I young and strapping myself, I would?—”
“I’m not thirsty but I am rather hungry if I’m honest,” Haakon interrupted, having no wish to hear what the man would have done had he been younger. He could all too easily guess. He had been dreaming about it himself all evening. And the problem was, hewasyoung and strapping, and he knew Gytha might well answer favorably to his advances if he was foolish enough to approach her. “And your son was generous enough to offer us some food earlier.”
The man with the gold earring had to be related to the one in front of him. In fact, Haakon was starting to suspect that the troop was nothing less than a big family, complete with cousins and uncles, spreading over three or four generations.
“Of course, I should have thought. Here. Have a slice of bread. And try some of the rabbit stew. It’s Gertrude’s special recipe and the best I’ve ever had.”
“My thanks.” Indeed, as suspicious as the drink had been, the stew looked—and smelled—wonderful. And after a whole day of riding, he was hungrier than he’d thought. The cheese and dried meat they’d eaten before leaving the village this morning had long been forgotten.
Eyes glued on Gytha who, once again had joined the line of people weaving their way through the meadow, Haakon devoured the contents of the wooden bowl. At least she was laughing and running now, no longer undulating like the goddess of temptation.
“You don’t want another man to touch your woman, understood,” the old musician said after a while. “But if you are after some well-earned relaxation yourself, I can send my youngest daughter to you. She has always liked Norsemen and is very talented with her mouth. You won’t have to do a thing to reach the best release of your life. How does that sound?”
This declaration was so unwelcome and inappropriate in so many ways that Haakon just stared, not sure what to answer. The man had just assumed that, though he didn’t want Gytha to be unfaithful to him, Haakon himself was looking for another woman to bed. He had then offered to send his own daughter to suck his cock, and this without even checking whether she would be amenable. How did he even know about her supposed “talent” at pleasuring men? As if all that were not enough, he had made it clear she would do it, not because of who he was, but because of what he was. A Norseman.
It was offensive, sickening and maddening all at once. Typical of the Saxon women he’d met.
“Thank you,” he said rather stiffly. “But I think I had better get some sleep tonight. We’ll be riding hard tomorrow.”
“Of course. Of course. So are we.”
To his relief, it wasn’t long before the music stopped altogether and the old man declared it was time for everyone to go to sleep as they would have a long day on the morrow. At last.
Haakon headed over to where Gytha was catching her breath and sharing a drink with the other women. Had she been offered some of the murky brew? He doubted it, as she seemed to drink whatever was in the cup with relish. Before he could reach her, a woman planted herself in front of him. The old man’s youngest daughter, no doubt. There was a gleam in her dark eyes that could all too easily be lust.
“Good evening. Haakon, is it? I heard your friend call you earlier.”
Friend. Damnation, he and Gytha really should have pretended to be husband and wife, for herandhis protection. Next time they met someone, they would. He would have to warn her.
“Yes,” he told the musician curtly.
