Aife had only nodded. The man who hated Norsemen and wanted them dead would not create havoc again. It was hard to feel anything other than relief at the news, and Torsten had not appeared distraught either.
“I’ll see you later, by the boulder,” she called out before he could walk out the door.
“You definitely will. There will be no escaping me, lovely.”
Lovely. Her heart wobbled even more than usual. “No need to worry. I don’t want to escape. Why would I? I’m right where I want to be.”
After one last kiss, Torsten left.
In the silent hut, Aife smiled as she fastened the brooches holding her dress in place. How many times had she gone to weddings, seen radiant brides and proud grooms stare at one another with awe, and worried she would never know that joy? Dozens. Well, today was her turn. The moment seemed so significant that she’d asked to be allowed to get ready on her own. Usually friends and family helped the bride-to-be, but since Hedda was not here anyway, Aife had wanted this time to absorb the enormity of what was happening to her.
She was marrying the love of her life, a man who, up until recently, had only been a friend, a man who had showed her that she, too, could be desired and cherished. Now she wanted nothing more than to love and cherish him in turn.
Once she was dressed, Aife brushed her hair with her new comb, relishing the feel of the fine teeth gliding through the strands like spread fingers weaving through the rapid waters of a stream. Torsten’s creation was a lot smoother than her old wooden comb had been, untangling the knots without oncepulling at her scalp. Edita was welcome to the one she had stolen, this one carved of antler was a thousand times better and infinitely more precious. Finally, she placed on her head the crown of flowers she had fashioned the evening before with her friend Cwenthryth.
When she opened the door, Torsten was there, waiting for her. He had put on a tunic of dark blue wool she’d never seen before, and he looked utterly mouthwatering. This time, instead of wobbling, her heart sped its rhythm up to an impossible drumbeat. To think that this man would be married to her before the day was over…
“Aife. You look ravishing,” he breathed, wrenching a smile out of her.
“I was about to tell you the same thing.” Ravishing, and soon to be ravished.
“Come.”
Taking her hand in his, he led her back into the hut, after checking they hadn’t been seen by some old person set in their ways who would no doubt protest at this breach of tradition. It was better to avoid any problem.
“What are you doing?” she asked, once they were hidden from view. Did he mean to steal one last scandalous kiss? If so, she would be more than amenable.
“I know I shouldn’t be here, but there is one thing I wanted to give you before our wedding, in private.”
Delight and curiosity caused Aife to clasp her hands together. “What is it?”
“Close your eyes.”
She did as she was told and Torsten took her hand in his. A moment later she felt him slide a ring on her middle finger. When he asked her to open her eyes and she glanced at the hand he was still holding, she dissolved into tears. On the ring,encased in gold, was the amber-color stone he had found for her that day on the beach.
The day he had saved her life.
The day she had realized she was in love with him.
She’d dropped it because of the wretched seagull and thought it lost forever. It had pained her at the time, but in the aftermath of what had happened by the cliff she had quite forgotten about it. And now Torsten was restoring it to her in a nest of precious metal. It was too good to be true.
“But… What… How did you?—”
He shrugged. “After you dropped the stone, I looked for it instead of looking for cockles. I thought you were doing a better job than me anyway, so there would be little loss.” Yes, especially that in the end they had never even had the chance to eat the cockles. His time had been better spent trying to retrieve the little rock she had meant to keep as a souvenir. It was irreplaceable, whereas the sea was full of the shells. “I’d seen how upset you were when you lost it, so I thought it was worth trying to retrieve it. I had only just put it in my purse when you called me to come to the cliff. I asked Caedmon to put it on a ring as soon as we got back to the village.”
The day they had come back here? This meant that, even incapacitated and fearing for his recovery, he had thought of the surprise he wanted to give her. She was more touched than she could say. Touched and more than a little surprised.
“But I don’t understand… We didn’t know we were going to marry then. We had even decided to stop, you know, kissing and everything.” There would have been no reason for him to have a ring, or indeed anything else, made for her, especially considering that he had already decided to give her the comb.
“It doesn’t matter. This wasn’t about me, or even us. I just wanted you to have the stone as a souvenir, because I had seen how much you loved it.”
Aife thought she might choke with emotion. This was true love, there was no mistaking it. If she’d had doubts that they were rushing into this union, they would have disappeared there and then.
“I don’t know what to say.”
Torsten lifted her hand to his lips and kissed the stone lightly. “Easy. Say you’ll wear it always. On a different finger if it fits better. Or if you prefer, we could have it made into something else, a pendant or a brooch. I don’t mind.”
“No. It’s perfect like this. I will wear it until I die,” she vowed, closing her fingers into a fist as if to make the ring become part of her. “I love it. Thank you. This is the most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me.” Overcome by emotion, she placed her hand over Torsten’s cheek. “Do you know why I fell in love with this stone?”
