The Viking Takes a Knight by Sandra Hill

telling me that he will not marry, ever. And he does not want children, ever.”
    â€œHmmmm. Now that is strange. Still, if you really want him, there is no way he could resist.”
    â€œHah! That is just what he is doing. Resisting me. I must confess, I asked him to make love with me…without the benefit of marriage…and he refused.”
    Katherine’s eyes went wide with surprise. She set down her small knife and shoved the bowl of cherries aside. “You need a plan.”
    â€œA plan?”
    â€œA temptation plan.”
    â€œOh, my gods!”
    â€œAre you interested?”
    â€œOh, my gods!” She braced herself. “Absolutely.”
    â€œYou must think of yourself as a spider, and Lord John as the hapless fly. What you must do is lure the man into your web.”
    She moaned at the prospect. A web of deceit, she feared.
    â€œHere is what you should do,” Katherine advised, “Number One…” She began to detail a series of ploys that Ingrith could try to lure John to her bed furs.
    By the time Katherine got to Number Twelve, Ingrith’s jaw was nigh touching her chest.
    â€œDost think you have the nerve?” Katherine inquired. “Do you dare?”
    Ingrith had her answer then. “My father always said, ‘Never dare a Viking.’ And I am Viking to the core.”
    â€œLord Hawk does not stand a chance,” Katherine declared with a hoot of laughter.
    Ingrith could only hope.
    Â 
    Oh, honey!
    It was late the next afternoon before Ingrith was able to put her plan into action.
    There had been several crises to handle before that. Henry was becoming increasingly distraught as he realized he was in some danger. He was too small, at five, to understand kings and power plays, but someone must have told him that bad men wanted to kill him. As a result, he was behaving in a clinging manner that would only call attention to himself when Loncaster finally arrived.
    And Hamr had already sent word that the Saxon commander would be there within days. Loncaster was currently harassing the folks atLarkspur in the far north, where Ingrith’s sister Breanne resided with her husband, Caedmon.
    After much soothing and patient explanation, Henry settled down. He and the other children were made to understand how important it was that they keep their secrets, and that included the two girls from the brothel, who had been calling attention to themselves with some of the men.
    Then there was Ubbi. Really, the little man was becoming more than protective of not just the children but also of Ingrith herself.
    â€œI see ye eyein’ Lord Hawk like a sweetmeat. Doan be thinkin’ the troll is fer you,” Ubbi advised, hitching his child-size pants with self-importance.
    â€œWhat is it that you have against Lord Hawk?” she’d asked, which had been a mistake. It only gave Ubbi the reason to launch into a tirade.
    â€œThe troll is full of himself. All this nonsense about bees and such is jist a cover fer his licentious nature.”
    Not so licentious if he will not accept my offer. “Really, Ubbi! How would you know that?”
    â€œUs men have ways,” he assured her. “In any case, didst know he has some of his people engaging in perverted sex acts, all fer the sake of preventin’ babies from bein’ born?”
    â€œ What? I have never heard of anything so outrageous.”
    â€œâ€™Tis true.” Ubbi was nodding his head withconviction. “He has these couples tuppin’ like rabbits, with honey coatin’ the men’s cocks.”
    â€œUbbi!”
    â€œFergive the coarse words, m’lady, but ’tis a fact. Lord Hawk calls ’em ex-parry-mens to prevent a man’s seed from takin’ root in his bed partner, but I say it is jist bloody damn wicked.”
    Ubbi expected her to be outraged, but Ingrith wondered if there must be a connection between these experiments and his assertion