Dream of Me/Believe in Me

any special treatment. Believe me,” he added hastily, “I mean that as a compliment.”
    “And to think people laud the Dragon of Landsende for his way with women. I'm amazed it isn't you they go on about instead.”
    “Well, that's nice of you to say but …”
    “I wasn't saying it!”
    “Now don't get upset. Just because I won't let you steer right now—”
    “I don't want to steer!”
    “You're getting emotional. It's probably from being cooped up. You'll feel better when we get to Winchester. You'll be in the company of other women, you can sit around and do needlework, gossip, that sort of thing.”
    “You know, I'd be willing to bet one of these oars could put a really big dent in your skull.”
    He raised an eyebrow. “You think so? I wouldn't be so sure. It's pretty thick.” He allowed her several moments to struggle against uttering the obvious response, then burst out laughing. The look he gave her was boldlymale and sent a shiver straight down to her toes. “On top of everything else, you're fun to tease.”
    “Everything else?” Disgruntled, she couldn't help adding, “You mean besides being just like one of your men?”
    Hawk grinned. He leaned over and dropped his voice to a gravelly murmur. “Sweetheart, if that's what you think, we need to find another nice, secluded beach. Or better yet a large bed someplace where no one will disturb us for a very long time.”
    The fiery red of her cheeks was due to the sun, Krysta told herself, nothing more. He did not have the power to make her blush with just a few well-chosen words. She was not some callow maiden overawed by the great Lord Hawk. No, she was some
callow former
maiden overawed by … She sighed and gave her attention to the sea. He watched her for a few moments, then chuckled and did the same.
    T HEY RODE INTO W INCHE STER AS THE SUN WAS SET -ting, their horses having come ashore from the longboat that accompanied them bearing the animals and more men from Hawk's personal guard. Krysta's first glimpse of the royal city stole her breath. Hawk had told her it was far larger than his own burgh but she hadn't really imagined what that meant. Now riding up the broadest, straightest road she had ever seen toward massive stone walls surrounded by a vast double ditch into which it looked whole armies of men could vanish, she struggled to absorb what she was seeing. By the fading glow of the sun added to the light of high torches set every few yards, everything appeared new or almost new, the stone of the walls still showing the sharp white marks of chisels, the heavy oak gates bearing the pale sheen of young wood. “Alfred rebuilt Winchester,” Hawk said. He rode byher side, garbed in black, adorned with gold, a figure of undoubted power and authority. Behind him, the men of his guard rode in strict formation, the hawk-emblazoned banners flying from their upright spears. “The Danes sacked the town during the reign of his father. It was left no more than a burned-out shell.”
    “He has done a great deal of building, hasn't he? Or inspired it.”
    “Alfred has many faces. War leader, to be sure, and king above all. But he loves to build, is fascinated by even the smallest details. He has a rare gift for organization and it shows in all he does.”
    A moment later, as they passed through the main gate, Krysta saw what Hawk meant. The city was laid out as though on a grid, with a long wide street running from the central gate all the way to the far end and the king's own residence. Along that road were side streets leading off in opposite directions. Around the inside of the great wall was another broad road linking all the gates. Everywhere she looked, she saw houses, some grand and some much simpler, jostled together along with shops of every description and stalls selling all manner of goods. Despite all this, it was the people who surprised her most. Even at that hour, there were so many of them out and about, thronging the roads, hurrying in and out of the houses and shops, haggling with the stall keepers. In a single glance, she saw men and woman of nobility as well as peasants, scholars, priests, and monks. Along with their animals, they created a din, not to mention an odor, unlike any she had ever encountered before.
    Hawk glimpsed her wrinkled nose and laughed. “You'll get used to it. Besides, Alfred's residence is generally downwind from the worst of this.”
    “I hope so,” Krysta murmured. Courtesy forbade her from