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“Brecc, until your leg is sufficiently healed, I wish you to remain on Athelney with two others of your choosing. You shall guard the queen and those others who remain here as well as maintain our supplies and gather the reports as they come in.” He turned to look at the group as a whole. “Gentlemen, if we each do our jobs correctly, six weeks hence, my call to arms shall reach every able-bodied man in Wessex, with the Vikings none the wiser.”

“What of our raids on Viking encampments, Sire? Do you wish those to continue?” Lufian asked.

“The invaders would likely wonder what had become of us if we halted those completely,” the king said. “And I daresay an occasional well-targeted raid would be a good diversion from your fact-finding missions.” He rose to his feet, and the men followed. “Do what you must to increase Saxon confidence and to leave the Vikings in a quandary.” He strode across the room and into the small chamber.

The door had barely closed behind him before the room erupted with unrestrained exclamations and weighty discussions. Brecc situated his crutch more comfortably beneath his arm. He’d been glad of its assistance in helping him rise when the king had come and gone, and now he was ready to have it assist in his escape.

He’d traveled only three steps when Rheged appeared before him, his expression grave.

“This was the other burden she carried.” He shook his head. “I suppose I should not be surprised since the marriage arrangement Wulfhere made for Aisley was so cruel, but this . . . this absolving of all that a king’s thegn stands for . . .” He stopped, seemingly realizing that Brecc had no desire to revisit the king’s damning revelation about Aisley’s brother. “I have not spoken to Aisley since she met with the king. Did he direct his anger . . . ?” He stumblingly changed his approach. “Is she well?”

“Well enough, I believe. The king’s initial fury had diminished by the time he spoke with her.”

Understanding filled Rheged’s face. “Your private conversation beforehand.”

“Aye. I am sorry I was unable to tell you more at the time.”

“No matter. It was a judicious move, and I am glad I could help facilitate it.”

Brecc set his hand on Rheged’s shoulder. “You are a good friend, and I am almost sorry that I cannot accompany you to Trowbridge.”

Rheged’s eyebrow rose. “Almost sorry? I did not think you would take kindly to playing nursemaid to the queen.”

“Aisley will also be here. The king all but ordered her to stay on Athelney.”

“Is that so?” A hint of humor replaced the worry in Rheged’s eyes. “Well then, I shall offer you no pity whatsoever.”

With a chuckle, Brecc shifted his crutch and took another step toward the door. “Good day, Rheged. I shall leave you to your planning.”

CHAPTER 29

AISLEY PEERED INTO THE DARK corner where the roof met the wall. There had to be a spiderweb there. She was sure she’d seen one the evening before, when her candle had illuminated the spot directly above her pallet far better than this morning’s overcast daylight was doing. Hopping off the stool she was using, she dragged it a little closer to the wall and climbed up again. There. From this angle, the gossamer threads were clearly visible. Offering a silent prayer that the spiderweb’s resident was gone for the morning, she reached up and swiped at it with her hand. The hairlike threads clung to her fingers. Pleased, she climbed off the stool and held her hand over the stout crock she’d placed on the floor.

As carefully as she could, she scraped the cobwebs into the crock and replaced the lid. Few people would believe that spiderwebs could save a life, but Aisley knew full well how effective they were with healing wounds. The more she could collect, the more she would have at her disposal when the king’s men needed them. She carried the crock to the small shelf Brecc had built for her behind the partition. The pouches of dried herbs that she’d brought from Trowbridge lay in a tidy row beside a pot of honey and three strips of rolled-up linen. She frowned. It was not nearly enough for what was undoubtedly ahead. The next time one of the men went to market, she would request more honey, garlic, and linen.

Setting down the crock of spiderwebs, she picked up her cloak and set it around her shoulders. It had been over four weeks since she’d arrived at Athelney, and despite the frequent coming and going of the thegns, her life had fallen into a comfortable pattern. On most days, she divided her time between caring for any who had made their way back to the island with an injury, conversing with the queen, assisting with a few of the household chores, and spending time with Brecc.

She glanced at the position of the sun coming in through the shutters and smiled. It was coming on noon, and that meant Bertwin would be relieving Brecc from his guard duty at the shoreline. A quick look over her shoulder told her that the door to the small chamber remained closed. The queen’s newest needlework project had been consuming a great deal of the lady’s time. Aisley did not mind. She had much to keep her busy, and although she had come to admire the monarch’s wife very much and enjoyed their time together, their discussions—no matter how interesting—could not compare with the joy she experienced when she was with Brecc.

Slipping out of the cottage, she closed the door behind her and hastened across the grass toward the portion of the shore where the thegns docked the punts. She passed the small grove of trees that blocked the view of the dock from the cottage and caught sight of two men—one dark and one fair—standing at the shoreline. Bertwin had reached Brecc before her.

She slowed her steps, giving the men time to pass along whatever information needed to be shared and allowing herself the luxury of admiring Brecc’s tall, handsome figure. It had taken several days for his nasty cut to fully lose its angry appearance and at least a week more before it had not pained him at night, but he had set aside his crutch two weeks ago, and was now walking with only a slight limp. To her immense gratitude, his leg looked to be on the path to a full recovery.

As though he sensed her approach, Brecc turned his head and greeted her with a warm smile. “Good day, Aisley.”

“Good day,” she replied.

Bertwin gave her a friendly nod. They had spoken not long ago in the cottage.

“I was just telling Bertwin here that if you are willing, I should like to take you out on one of the punts.”

Aisley blinked. She had not left the island since the day she’d set foot on it. “May I, really?”

“Most certainly.”

With the thegns’ loathing of Wulfhere permanently fixed, Aisley had lost her fear of being discovered by her brother. She knew that he would not survive an attempt to reach her. Her dread of re-encountering Rangvald, however, had been more difficult to shake. There was something about the shrewd Viking that unsettled her still.

“Will we see anyone else?”