Free The Silken Cord by Leigh Bale Page A

her no choice.
“When I was a young child, I was often naughty. I hid in the soft
hay of the barn so my father couldn’t find and punish me. I was
there one day when you and your brother came in to check your
horses. I overheard you speaking of your plans to build a fine,
strong castle. On that day, you spoke of the secret passage, but
you didn’t say where its entrance would be.”
    Ariana could well remember the day. Wulfgar
had been young. Barely eighteen years old, handsome and fearless.
He had come to her father’s home at Powys for peace talks. She was
so small, only a girl. But her heart had sped up every time she saw
him and she’d dreamed of having such a man for her own one day.
    Even then, Wulfgar’s men had followed him
willingly to war. He was a leader. Would they be so loyal if
Wulfgar were really a traitor? Of course not. But what if they
didn’t know for certain? Perhaps they were misguided fools. She
couldn’t allow herself to be tricked by him.
    Of course, Wulfgar had denied the
accusations. His mother had pleaded with the king on behalf of her
son. William had sentenced Wulfgar to be sold as a slave to
foreigners.
    Now, Ariana looked at Wulfgar, remembering
that day years ago when she’d watched the fearsome knight speak of
plans for his castle. After all that time, he was still lean, still
strong. But he was no longer naïve. He was a mature man, and she
was a woman. It wouldn’t be easy to get him to do her bidding.
    His brows lowered in a thoughtful frown and
his gaze rested on her face. Tilting his head to one side, he
considered her carefully, studying her features. Then his mouth
dropped open and his eyes narrowed.
    She groaned. He knew. He’d figured it out.
Why should she be surprised? He was keenly intelligent. Of course,
he had guessed who she was.
    “Ariana, Princess of Wales.” He whispered
her name. “I should have known. How could I have been so
stupid?”
    Holding her head high, she met his gaze with
boldness.
    “You’ve changed from when I saw you last
when your father agreed to our marriage. You were a child then, all
gangly arms and wild hair. I wasn’t interested in wedding you,
then.”
    And what about now?
    A smile pulled at the corners of his mouth,
but there was a sharp edge to his features. Like a feline who had
just trapped a mouse.
    Ariana felt her chin quiver as she tried to
scowl at him. In truth, she felt the burn of tears. But she would
die before letting him see her cry.
    “Why did you come to buy me? Why didn’t your
father come instead?” he asked. “I find it difficult to believe
King Rhys would send his daughter on such a dangerous errand.”
    “My father is…he had to stay with our
people, to fight against Edwin’s mercenaries.” She jutted her chin.
“Besides, I’m no child.”
    “Aye, you’re a beautiful, deceiving woman.”
His hot gaze devoured her.
    His words seemed so final. A deathblow to
her senses. She loved God and hated that Wulfgar thought her
deceitful. Bitter remorse coiled in the pit of her stomach. Regret
for all she’d lost rested on her heart like a load of rocks. “Will
you help me?”
    Her plea was a frantic whisper. She’d beg
him if she had to.
    The silence lengthened between them, except
for the constant roar of the ocean and the twittering of birds
pecking at a dead fish lying on the beach.
    She opened her hands in supplication. “Edwin
is a slovenly man who loves food and strong drink. His people call
him The Barbarian. Even his own men fear him and he hires
mercenaries to slaughter my people. He is given to brutality and
overindulgence, a crude man whose manners and habits keep him far
from William’s Court. When a grievance is brought before him, he
often tortures those who dare complain. People say that’s why your
king gave him your earldom. Though he doesn’t have your political
acumen, Edwin is barbaric enough to hold the march against my
people.”
    The thought of Dafydd in the hands of such a
man made