Read Online The Silver Wolf by Alice Borchardt - Free Book Online

Christ,” he continued in a soft, astounded voice. “She’s just like her father.”
    Regeane was on her feet—swaying a bit, but standing.
    “Twice,” Gundabald said. “I hit her as hard as I could with my fist. A normal woman would be dead or at least unconscious.”
    “Tell me about my father?” Regeane asked.
    Gundabald shrugged.
    “You want this man to die very suddenly. The same way my father did. He was hard to kill, wasn’t he?” Regeane asked.
    “Nearly impossible. In fact, we wouldn’t have succeeded with him if your mother hadn’t taken a hand.”
    “No!” Regeane shouted. “Not my mother!”
    “Oh, yes,” Gundabald said cynically, “the saintly Gisela.”
    “It’s not true,” Regeane said, shaking her head from side to side like a tormented beast. “I don’t believe you. I won’t believe you. I can’t believe you. She loved him.”
    Gundabald sheathed his sword, sat down, and poured himself a cup of wine. Gundabald was smiling again. He loved inflicting pain and he was succeeding beyond his wildest dreams with Regeane. “Oh, yes, we tried twice. His constitution defied poison. He had the wolf’s ability to vomit immediately anything that disturbed him. We sent paid assassins. They didn’t return. I can’t think of what he did with them.”
    Gundabald looked baffled for a moment. “We never foundany trace. Not clothing, weapons, bones, not even skulls or—damnation on it—teeth. They simply vanished. It wasn’t until we convinced your mother that his powers were demonic, and he would carry her off with him, that she took a hand. She was difficult to persuade. I believe they may have had that sexual intensity between them that passes for love. At any rate, he fell victim to her wiles.
    “They had a place near his stronghold—a love nest where they crept away alone to engage in private dalliance. We all rode out on a hunt party—you must understand ordinary hunts bored him—she enticed him to their special bower and I—” Gundabald paused for effect and simply beamed upon Regeane. “I put a crossbow bolt through his heart. He died instantly before his alter ego had time to heal him.”
    Regeane bowed her head and rested her forehead against the back of the chair. She wondered for how long she had refused to see, refused to understand.
    She’d spent her life burdened with her mother’s sorrow, long nights of weeping, self-accusation. Her mother’s despair had been their constant companion as Gisela dragged Regeane from church to church, shrine to shrine. Gisela spent the remainder of her life on her knees, begging God’s forgiveness for the one sin she didn’t dare admit, even to Regeane: the murder of the man she loved.
    “Those Saxons,” Gundabald continued. “I was afraid of them, but there again, your mother was invaluable. Her grief was so terrible we had to set a watch over her lest she do herself some harm. So his people were convinced we couldn’t have had any part in his death. When they understood his line failed—their sorrow was nearly as great as your mother’s. They departed for their northern forests. Unfortunately, as I found out later, they also took the greater part of his wealth with them. Your mother retained only what was bestowed on her on the morning after the wedding. A very generous sum. A handsome endowment for a woman, but not nearly enough for a family’s needs. Now you have a chance to repair our fortunes. And you’re playing the fool!”
    “I’m sorry,” Regeane said quietly. The wolf gritted her teeth, but the woman really tried to sound penitent. “You had notheretofore fully explained the situation. My mother understood her duty to her family. I’m sure I will understand mine.”
    A crossbow bolt through the heart. She’d never seen a human shot with a crossbow, but they were common weapons. Mostly used on large animals, wild cattle, boar, or bear. She had once seen a stag brought down by one. Though not hit in a vital spot,