“Release me, you brute,” she hissed, squirming out of his hold.
He laughed mirthlessly. “You will come home with me now, wife,” Eirik said silkily and held out a hand to her. “I prefer to sup in my own hall.”
“Are you ordering me… again?” she asked testily, trying hard to ignore the tempting hand he offered to her.
“And if I am?”
His lips twitched with a condescending smile, and Eadyth was equally torn between wanting to wipe it away with a slap, or a kiss.
Oh, Lord.
“Then my answer is ‘nay,’ ” she declared, lifting her chin in defiance.
“A wife should obey her husband,” he noted in a cool voice, no longer amused. His hand was still extended to her.
“Says who?”
“The Holy Church, for one.”
“Which is made up of men,” Eadyth scoffed.
“Why do you fight that which is natural for a woman?”
“Woman surrendering to man is not my idea of nautural.”
“All I did was ask you to come home with me,” he said, shaking his head wearily from side to side.
“Nay, you did not. You ordered me.”
“Will it always be a contest of wills betwixt us?”
” ‘Tis up to you.”
Eirik studied her intently for a moment, rubbing his upper lip thoughtfully. “Will you come home with me?” he asked finally in concession.
“Of course,” she answered brightly and entwined her fingers with his.
She thought she heard him mutter under his breath, “Blessed Lord, spare me from a contrary woman.”
* * *
Eirik went to the pond to bathe with his men after dinner that evening, but Eadyth had a tub brought up to her chamber. She was just finishing her bath when he returned. With a small squeak of embarrassment, she sank deeper into the soapy water.
Eirik had not spoken with his wife since their return, other than small pleasantries during the evening meal. But he had much to say to her now, and she would not like the actions he felt compelled to take with her.
“Come,” he said to the two male housecarls who followed behind him.
Eadyth cried out with dismay, “Get those men out of here! Get yourself out of here, as well, you lackbrain. Can I not even bathe in private now?”
Eirik ignored her screeching protests and began to pile all of Eadyth’s garments onto the outstretched arms of the servants—her gunnas, undertunics, hose, mantles, every item of clothing he could find. Then he handed the men all of his own apparel and the bed linens. After telling the men to store the items in the adjacent bedchamber, he locked the door and deposited the key in a loop at his belt.
“Have you lost your bloody mind?” Eadyth shouted when they were alone.
“Nay,” Eirik said, drawing a low stool close to the tub. Putting his hands to his chin and elbows on his knees, he gazed at his wife, trying hard to ignore the sight of Eadyth’s damp curls cascading over the edge of the tub, and the curve of her breasts barely hidden by the murky water. Finally, he explained, “I am merely ensuring that you do not leave this room ’til we have come to an agreement, even if it takes a sennight. Or more.”
“A sennight!”
Eadyth scowled at him in disbelief. He saw the moment her confusion turned to hurt, then rage, at his domineering act. In that moment, Eirik saw the new, wonderful relationship that he had envisioned flowering between them being nipped in the bud.
“Do not do this, Eirik,” she pleaded softly, closing her eyes as if on a sudden wrenching pain. “I will never be able to forgive you, and I crave… harmony.”
“I must, Eadyth. You force me into this position,” he said, trying to make her understand. “From the day we met, you have challenged me, both in private and in front of my people. Your masquerade is just one example. Your flaunting my orders today and making decisions for me were just part of a series of acts I can no longer tolerate.”
And there was another reason, one which he could not disclose to Eadyth. One of his cotters had overheard Steven of Gravely this morn as he boasted of a plan to kidnap the Lady of Ravenshire and hold her hostage for his son. Even now, Eirik’s blood boiled and his fists clenched at the unspeakable acts Gravely had planned for Eadyth whilst in his snare.