Blind Allegiance Read Online Free PDF Page A

muttered,spinning on his heels, and staring down at her.
    Stormy eyes threatened her sanity. She tried not to be deceived by his excellent features. Or drawn in by the smoothness of his bronzed complexion. The Viking seemed as harmless as the sharp end of an ice pick. And that voice—God help her.
    His baritone possessed the ferocity she’d fantasized God’s might have, thundering from the burning bush. It put the fear of The Divine in her. Blond hair hung well below his shoulders, tightly braided at the temples. His broad cheeks, aquiline nose, and shapely lips were perfectly symmetrical. She marveled at his savage beauty.Although she resented everything he represented, secretly, she was grateful for his sudden appearance. What kind of a barbarian invades a castle and offers terms of surrender to its inhabitants?
    She stared pensively at him. He wore a knee-length, chain mail shirt over leather. His boots were embossed with strange circular patterns and dyed a rich bluish-purple. Silver medallions were sewn around the toe line, very different from the rest of his men’s shoes. He had an air of regality about him. A chieftain, of that she had no doubt.
    The longer she stayed in the room with him, the more her sense of reason fragmented. Nothing would ever be the same again. Brian was guilty of more than cold-blooded murder. He abused his power. But even now, she knew he could do no wrong in her father’s eyes. Noelle hated him for that. And the fact that she found herself regrettably obligated to this barbarian for rescuing her crushed her spirit.
    What bleak future prospects. She folded her hands over her stomachand stared away as long as possible. Found her mind wandering back and forth between Ophelia and this arrangement that her brother spoke of. She didn’t care to add more weight to the burden she already carried. Mere speculation would only drive her crazy.
    Instead, she drifted around the room in a silent frenzy and watched as the Norsemen came and went. They carried away piles of loot, depositing them on their ships. She attempted to memorize the faces of her father’s soldiers, surmising which men had died in battle. Her father found little use for keeping formal ledgers. In a situation such as this, it would have proven much easier than merely guessing who the survivors were.
    She remembered the identities of the women easily. Thirty-three maids were grouped together. The children were obviously cloistered somewhere upstairs. And Brian wisely kept his place on the floor, probably too afraid to move. There was nothing more she could do here. It seemed a selfish way to think, but if she didn’t leave, she might do something she’d regret later. Like kill her brother . . . Noelle slipped away.

 
    Chapter 3
    Eyes of a Stranger
    Randvior halted as the beauty made her way to the doors. His men started after her, but he stopped them. No harm in letting her go, for now. Give her time to work through the torture and torment. Wherever she went, he knew he would eventually find her.
    The climate in northern England made him appreciate the place even less. He forbade his men from drinking more because he feared it might affect their already diminishing spirits. Nothing would have kept them from overindulging in food and drink, except for his direct command. And his men, like any, might resort to violence once their gullets were wetted. This place had a way of picking away at a man’s soul.
    The only light he had found within the suffocating darkness of Durham seemed to be the girl. Her unwavering allegiance to her kinsmen and servants restored his faith. It made him reconsider his long held opinion that women served only one true purpose. Pleasure . . . He remembered only a handful of accomplished females he’d met in his travels. They were spinsters and widows who had dedicated their lives to attaining wisdom. Although young and stubborn, Noelle was composed of the same commendable qualities. And she fascinated