Read Online A Viking For The Viscountess by Michelle Willingham - Free Book Online Page B

Harry reached out his hand and the small fingers curled against his. “It’s all right. I’m here.”
    The gentle response was one Juliana had likely given Harry over the years, but this child’s simple trust rocked him to his very soul. They were strangers, and yet the boy was offering him comfort.
    He squeezed the child’s hand, and the boy added, “I’m glad you’re talking now. Do you want another blanket? I could give you mine.”
    Arik stood, still holding the boy’s hand. He wanted to push back at the foreign presence within his mind that comprehended these strange words. It was like having another spirit dwelling within him. He could not know if it was a benevolent god helping him or whether it was madness drawing him under.
    “Go back to sleep, boy,” he said quietly, guiding the child to the small bed that pulled out from beneath his mother’s. He helped the boy get under the covers and tucked him in, smoothing his hair back. Harry smiled at him, before closing his eyes.
    He understood why Juliana would fight for this child. Why she would sacrifice everything to give him a better home and a better life. He would do the same, were he in her position.
    Although he did not know what had summoned him across time, he believed their lives were intertwined with his.
    And somehow he would save them.

    Arik stared at the red stone fortress before him and it was clear why Juliana wanted it back. The structure was massive, a fortification that stood tall above the landscape with ivy curling up the side. There was no ditch to keep out invaders, nor were there guards posted—only a large gate to prevent enemies from attacking. The road led up the hillside and curved around the front of the fortress. It had taken them two days of traveling on horseback to reach it, and he was well pleased by the sight of the dwelling.
    “This is Hawthorne House,” she explained, still speaking in Norwegian. Arik had already decided not to tell her that he was beginning to understand her Anglo-Saxon words, for he hardly trusted the strange language. “I lived here after my marriage to William.” Upon Juliana’s face, he saw the wistful longing, as if she missed this place.
    “Was he a king, then?” Arik guessed.
    She smiled and shook her head. “No. Only a viscount, and he was never good with money. He inherited a large sum from his father and spent it as he pleased. He also traveled a great deal on the Continent.” A shadow crossed her face, and she folded her hands. “He never returned, and they searched for many years before declaring his brother guardian of the lands. Marcus is now the acting viscount, according to the law, unless William returns.”
    “Do you want your husband to be dead?”
    She crossed her arms, and tightened her cloak around her. “I don’t want him to come back, if that’s what you mean. But I want Harry to inherit what belongs to him. This property, along with another in London, should be entailed to him. Not Marcus, William’s younger brother.”
    “And this…Marcus…was the one who removed you from your home.”
    She nodded. “He told me that he’d allowed me to stay far longer than he should have, for the sake of my son. But once the lands were declared to be under his guardianship, he ordered me to go. I think it was because he will be married soon. His wife may wish to live here.”
    He didn’t miss the dismay upon her face. Whether or not she would admit it, Juliana missed this home. He could see it in the way she drank in her surroundings, and in the way she walked the land with a sense of ownership.
    Arik kept within the trees but moved toward the outer perimeter. “Where are the servants and guards for this place?”
    “There’s supposed to be a land steward and a small staff, but I don’t know where they are now. Until Marcus returns, most of his servants will remain with him in London.”
    “Then there are few people to defend it?”
    Her eyes narrowed, as if she could