Read Online The Silken Cord by Leigh Bale - Free Book Online

be able to
walk away from you so easily.”
    She swiveled toward the sea and let out a
shriek of delight. “Look!”
    Wulfgar jerked his head around.
    “Jenkin,” Ariana cried.
    The tall frame of Raulf stood at the tiller
of Wulfgar’s ship with Jenkin nearby. Ariana’s men accompanied the
Normans. They must have been forced to abandon her father’s damaged
ship.
    Ariana ran to the beach. Wulfgar picked up
his spear and followed more slowly. It appeared that God had
answered her prayers after all.
    The men waded through the splashing sea to
the shell beach. Evan reached Ariana first, followed by Jenkin.
Raulf and Arnulf secured the moorings of the ship to large rocks,
then joined them. The Welsh shouted joyous greetings, but each man
carried a sword or battle-ax, ready to fight.
    Jenkin wasted no time with niceties. He
stormed over to Wulfgar, a snarl on his lips. “Did you touch
her?”
    Raulf drew his blade. Both the Welsh and
Norman warriors faced off against one another. They would fight
again! After all that had happened, after all they’d been through,
they would still fight.
    Ariana inhaled a sharp breath. If they
killed each other, it could jeopardize her brother’s life. More and
more, she saw her plans vanishing with the tide.
    She stood between them, tired of dealing
with this nonsense. How she hated death and killing. “Stop this
bickering, you fools.”
    Clutching her jeweled dagger, she pushed
herself in front of Wulfgar and faced them all like a mother bear
protecting her cub. In her tattered clothing, she waved her weapon
in front of them. The men’s eyes rounded as they caught the gleam
of her bare ankles. Fury covered Jenkin’s face as he glared at
Wulfgar. Austin flushed and gripped his sword with hardened
knuckles.
    “Did you touch her?” Jenkin bellowed.
    Callum stood near his hut with Gara and
their baby behind him. With these angry voices, he’d picked up his
spear, looking confused. No wonder why. The strangers were both
friend and foe. The child cried and Gara comforted him.
    Wulfgar’s dark eyes blazed. “Why don’t you
ask her?”
    Everyone stared at Ariana. She grit her
teeth and pulled the ragged skirt of her hem over her bare feet.
“No, he hasn’t harmed me. Some Viking fishermen ripped my dress,
but they fled after Wulfgar taught them a lesson. He defended me.
He saved my life.”
    No one moved. No one said a word. They gaped
at her in astonishment.
    Jenkin’s frown eased slightly. “Have you
told the Norman slave what we want from him?”
    Dear Jenkin. He was as delicate as a bull
trapped in the kitchen.
    “He knows some of it, but I’ve waited for
your arrival to tell him everything.” Ariana rounded on Wulfgar.
“You and I must speak privately.”
    “My lady?” Jenkin called in a pleading
tone.
    She looked at her trusted friend, her body
tense, her mind resolved to what must be done. “Jenkin, he saved my
life twice when it would have served him better to let me die. He
has seen to my welfare and I’m unharmed. The plan hasn’t changed.
Please don’t fight me on this.”
    Jenkin sighed deeply and kept his silence.
It was obvious from the disgusted expression on his face that he
wasn’t happy about the situation.
    Ariana licked her dry lips, fighting off the
knots of tension in her stomach.
    Wulfgar inclined his head. “What do you want
from me?”
    “Come.” She indicated he should follow as
she moved away from their men.
    The others appeared reluctant to let the two
of them move off alone together. It was almost amusing the way they
fought one another. If it weren’t so serious, Ariana would have
laughed. They were like little children fighting over the attention
of a choice playmate.
    As Wulfgar followed her, Ariana lowered her
dagger and sighed with resignation. If Wulfgar refused to do her
bidding, she was in a dangerous predicament. Their men would fight.
All her plans could be destroyed.
    Her brother would die.
    Ariana’s hands trembled as she