‘Well, it wasn’t. I might have let them deceive themselves, but I never promised them anything.’ He winced and muttered an oath. ‘Which maybe isn’t much better. Perhaps I’m even more like my father than I realised. Hilda said I was empty and shallow, that I had inherited the very worst of his qualities.’
‘Maybe that’s the reason she disliked you.’
‘Are you siding with her now, too?’ He glowered across the fire pit. ‘But the fact that she hated my behaviour only spurred me on. There was no love lost between her and my father by that point, but they both seemed to have the best interests of Maerr at heart. Then, about three years ago, I noticed her acting differently. Joarr, too. I knew enough about conducting secret affairs to guess what was happening.’
‘Did you tell your father?’
‘That he was a cuckold? No.’
‘Why not? Especially if you disliked her so much?’
‘I’m not sure. Maybe because I didn’t entirely blame her for betraying my father. Maybe because I didn’t want him to kill Joarr in retaliation. I knew that if it carried on then he’d find out sooner or later, but I’d hoped Joarr would come to his senses before then.’
‘But he didn’t?’
‘No. Then a little while afterwards, my father arranged my brother Alarr’s betrothal. It was a good match, one that would have made Maerr more powerful than ever. Guests came from all over for the wedding and there was going to be a great feast, followed by days of celebration. Then a few hours before the ceremony was about to begin, a messenger came with news of trouble to the north. Brandt and Rurik went to deal with it, leaving me and Sandulf behind.’ He stood up, too agitated to keep still now that the words were flowing. ‘It seemed a much better alternative at the time, even though there was a strange atmosphere in the air, too. I couldn’t place my finger on what it was exactly, but it was a kind of tension, as if people were waiting for something to happen. I put it down to the excitement of the wedding.’ He realised that he’d paced to the far side of the clearing and turned around again. ‘The ceremony had barely started before the assassins struck. Our father didn’t stand a chance. Alarr was badly injured and his betrothed Gilla and Brandt’s wife Ingrid were slain in cold blood. Ingrid was carrying a babe at the time.’
He stopped pacing to look at her. Her skin had turned a deathly shade of pale and her expression was even more horrified than he’d expected. For a moment he wondered whether he should have told her his story after all.
‘Go on.’ Even her voice sounded different, as if she were forcing the words through clenched teeth.
‘It was a massacre. They burnt half our boats and houses. By the end, almost our whole village was destroyed.’
‘I’m sorry.’ The words were oddly clipped. ‘But what about you? Were you injured as well?’
‘No.’ He flinched even though he’d been waiting for the question. ‘When the attack started I was...elsewhere.’
‘You mean you were lured away like your brothers?’
‘Something like that.’ He felt bile rise in his throat. Perhaps he ought to tell her the whole truth, but just the thought of it made him feel sick. ‘By the time I realised what was happening it was too late to save my family. I helped to put out fires and did what I could, but...’ He curled his hands into fists. ‘It wasn’t enough, not even close to enough. I should have been there.’
‘Do you think you could have stopped what happened?’
‘No.’ He shook his head. ‘There were too many of them and they were too well organised, but the assassins must have come for my father, not Ingrid or Gilla. Maybe I could have saved them. I would have given my life if it could have saved either of them.’
She was silent for a few moments. ‘And you really think your stepmother was behind it?’
‘I think she’s involved somehow, though I admit it took me a while to see it. She seemed as distraught as anyone to begin with. It never occurred to any of us to suspect her.’ He sat down on the stump again. ‘But we’ve been following clues, my brothers and I. Alarr and Rurik went to Eireann, Brandt and I pursued leads in Alba, and Sandulf travelled all the way to Constantinople where he came upon some of the assassins. Gradually the clues all pointed towards Hilda. That’s why I’ve come here, to discover the truth once and for all.’ He sighed regretfully. ‘I just wasn’t very tactful about it.’
‘You mean you just asked her outright?’ Her brow furrowed again. ‘That doesn’t sound like a very good plan, especially if she’s as ruthless as she sounds.’
‘It wasn’t.’
‘And why were you the one sent to confront her? If she hates you so much, wouldn’t it have been safer for one of her own sons to do it?’
‘Probably, but Rurik and I are the only ones she can’t manipulate. Besides, there wasn’t much choice. Sandulf discovered the evidence that implicated her, but he had to go to Eireann. I’m supposed to join him and our other brothers there before winter to tell them what I discover.’ He made a wry face. ‘I’m usually the best at making plans.’
‘You?’
‘I said usually, not always.’ He scowled as her gaze flickered to his arm. ‘You don’t have to look so surprised. I had a lapse in judgement, but in my defence, I intended to go to the village first, to pretend that I was just passing through and then speak to Joarr before I confronted Hilda. Only when I arrived she was all alone and it seemed too good an opportunity to miss. My temper got the better of me. When Joarr found us I was pointing my sword at her throat.’ He spread his hands out. ‘You can see why he was angry.’
‘Don’t you think he might have been involved, too? If he could betray your father’s trust with his wife, then maybe he might have betrayed him in other ways?’
‘No.’ Danr shook his head adamantly. ‘I saw Joarr fighting on our side that day. He would never have murdered our people. Unfortunately, he’s blind when it comes to Hilda. No doubt she’s lied to him and he believes her.’ He sighed. ‘So that’s my story, the reason I’m here.’
‘Mmm.’
‘That’s all you have to say?’ He lifted an eyebrow in surprise. Considering what he’d just told her it seemed a somewhat lukewarm response... No words of sympathy or condolence, just mmm, almost as if she doubted the truth of his words. ‘What do you mean, “mmm”?’