Page 12 of Ulf's Destiny
Ylva bracedherself when the door to the small room opened. Who was coming? Walstan, back for more?
No. It was only Mildred. She allowed herself to relax marginally. At least Judith would not endure more abuse.
“Up,” the woman ordered, gesturing wildly. “We have to leave. Walstan just told me that he saw Wolf and his sons go into the reeve’s house, with a face like thunder. There is no prize for guessing why. I have no doubt he will ask his friend to seek vengeance for the murder of his son. We need to go.”
Though this was what she’d wanted to hear, as it established that she had not lied to Mildred, Ylva could not feel any relief. She was too worried for Judith, who was lying next to her, immobile, her head cradled on her lap. The lie had been created to keep her friend from harm and to free them. Neither of those goals had been achieved so there was little cause for rejoicing.
“We cannot go anywhere at present. Judith cannot stand, never mind walk. Walstan almost killed her last night!” she hissed. Her skull felt about to explode, courtesy of the blow she’d received, but she would not let that stop her. “Look at her, look what he did. It is all your fault, you let him do that to her!”
One look at Judith should be enough to horrify anyone. Her face was covered in blood, one of her eyes was swollen shut and her clothes were torn. But Mildred only shrugged.
“The man wanted some well-earned relief,” she said, as if that were enough to justify the assault. “She shouldn’t have fought him. It would have been better for her if she had remained still.”
Remained still. As if that had been an option. Since Ylva had been knocked cold at the time, Judith had told her all the man had done to her. It had made for horrific hearing.
“I’m sorry I could not help you,” Ylva had cried, holding her friend tight. “I should have been there to?—”
“You could not have helped. He’s just too strong. And he had hit you, too,” Judith had croaked. “It was better that way. At least you didn’t see…anything.”
Better. Yes, perhaps it was better, in a way. Still, she could not help but feel the guilt crushing her.
“Well, we have to leave,” Mildred decreed, looking suddenly very worried. “That damned Icelander knows everyone, he’s bound to have friends all over the place who will lead him to me. If Judith can’t walk, Walstan will just have to carry her.”
“No! This man is not to touch her ever again.”
A snort. “I doubt he will want to leave her alone now that he has had a taste of her. But all that can wait. First, we have to get out of here. I have a cart ready for us outside. Walstan! Get in here!” she called out.
“No. I’ll walk.” Judith’s voice was barely audible but there was no mistaking her intent. She would do what it took to ensure the man did not put a finger on her.
“Very well.”
Mildred did not hesitate in freeing them from the bonds holding them captive. There was no need to worry that they would try to flee. She knew that Judith was too weak to go anywhere and that Ylva would never leave without her.
The two women slowly made their way to the main room, supporting one another—just in time to see the door of the house burst open, sending splinters everywhere.
Under Ylva’s stupefied gaze, Ulf, with his grandfather and two men she assumed were his uncles, Sven and Torsten, stormed inside. Steinar was supposed to be dead, of course, so he wasn’t there.
Mildred recoiled while Walstan grabbed hold of his dagger.
By her side, Judith whimpered and fell into a heap. “Not again!” she managed to gasp, despite the state of her mouth. Not knowing the Norsemen, she had misread the situation and thought the intruders were ruffians about to assault them, not an unreasonable assumption given their attitude.
“No, not again,” Ylva assured her, holding her in her arms. “The Norsemen are here to rescue us.” They would not come toany harm with the men who had just irrupted so boldly into the house. Quite the contrary. They might finally be freed.
For good.
“Who are you?” Mildred had regained some composure and tried to behave as if she had no idea what this was about, as if she had done nothing wrong. “This is my house, you have no right to be here. Leave immediately.”
Instead of answering, Ulf took one look in the corner, where she and Judith were huddled and his whole demeanor changed. He became another man, an avenging angel, or an irate warrior.
“You will both pay for what you did,” he said in a menacing voice.
Mildred dropped all pretense. She ran behind her friend. “Walstan! Get them!”
The fool didn’t hesitate. Ignoring the fact that he was on his own and there were four formidable Norsemen against him, he lunged at the one nearer to him, the one who was an exact replica of his Icelandic father.
The fight didn’t last long. Soon, Walstan lay dead on the floor and Mildred was on her knees, with her hands bound behind her back. Foul words were spewing from her mouth. Unable to bear it a moment longer, Wolf silenced her with a piece of rag he’d found on the table. She glared at them, eyes bulging in powerless fury.
Ylva could not help a feeling of triumph from surging inside her. Finally, the woman had been stopped.
