Dream of Me/Believe in Me

manner. Just that morning, a fight had almost broken out when one of Wolf's men claimed he could
piss
farther than any Saxon.
    It had to end soon, Cymbra thought wearily. Some of the older, more experienced women had said this was just how men got to know each other and it had to be tolerated because it was their way. But she was worn out with waiting to discover whether they would decide they were good friends or deadly enemies.
    Moreover, there were ripples, undercurrents she sensed but could not seize. Some of the Saxons—her brother's lieutenants in particular—seemed to be exerting themselves to be friendly. They were down in the town frequently, spreading their coin about, talking to people.
    “Very nice men,” Nadia had pronounced them whenCymbra came to visit her and the baby. “Mikal says everything will be all right. He says not to worry.”
    Cymbra wished she could feel the same way but she knew Hawk too well. He had not risen to be one of the mightiest lords in England, sworn directly to the great King Alfred himself, by leaving anything to chance.
    Several times now he had tried to get her alone but always Wolf or Dragon intervened. When her brother was about, she was watched constantly. Even when she asked Hawk simple, innocent questions about people at Holyhood—Miriam, for instance, who thankfully was well—she could feel her husband listening to every word they exchanged.
    She resented that, knowing it to be completely unnecessary, yet she was hardly about to challenge her husband's will just when she was trying to convince everyone of how very
happy
she was. Worse yet, Wolf seemed to realize her quandary and didn't hesitate to take advantage ofit.
    Only the preceding evening, as they all sat at table, he had announced that more Norse should consider acquiring Saxon brides because Saxon women were so amenable, so agreeable, so—and here she had almost choked—
biddable.
He'd all but congratulated Hawk on raising a sister who knew her proper place. Worse yet, she'd been forced to smile through it all rather than upturn a vat of ale over his head as she more properly should have done.
    And Hawk had just sat there nodding at this apparent bit of male wisdom. Cymbra snorted scornfully. If for one moment they would try thinking with what was between their ears rather than between their legs, perhaps they would—
    But no, that wasn't fair. The problem was that Wolf and Hawk—and Dragon too—all thought far too keenly and deliberately. Soon now, very soon, they would cometo conclusions about each other. She could only pray that the outcome would be as she wished.
    Pray and seek to do everything she could to bring about the alliance they all claimed to want.
    That evening, as they supped, Cymbra waited for the lull in the conversation that came inevitably when the men were feeling well fed and content. It was always about then that Wolf summoned the skald to weave his tales. Before he could do so, Cymbra asked innocently, “Do you think you might be done with hunting for a while?” She glanced around at the men, as though the thought had just occurred to her.
    Wolf leaned back in his chair, surveyed her tolerantly, and voiced their mutual puzzlement. “Is there any reason why we should be?”
    “Only that we have enough food to feed everyone here and in the town many times over throughout the winter and beyond. I just thought you might like to do something different.”
    “Such as?” Hawk asked.
    Such as decide to stop continually testing and provoking each other, but it wouldn't do to say that. Instead, she suggested brightly, “I thought we might go sailing.”
    “Sailing?” Dragon repeated as though he had never heard the word.
    “Sailing,” she said firmly. “Hawk loves boats and so do all of you. I thought it would be nice to see more of the coast. Coming here, I was struck by how beautiful it is and I thought—”
    “A race,” Wolf said as though he had finally understood what she meant.
    Hawk nodded. “My vessel against yours. Excellent.”
    “No!” Cymbra protested. “That isn't what I intended. Haven't you tested each other enough by now? Wouldn't it be possible to just relax a little and enjoy yourselves?”
    Husband and brother both looked at her as though she'd spoken in some foreign tongue neither understood.
    Dragon laughed. “Give it up, sweet sister. Testing each other
is
how we relax and enjoy ourselves. But a race is a splendid idea.” He grinned at Hawk.