She’d made up the Viking warrior. She felt tears sting her eyes. She’d given a child a hero and now, because they lived not in a skald’s tale but in the real world, the hero would leave him, and so would she. She couldn’t bear it.
“I don’t know,” she said against his soft hair. “I don’t know, but we will do something.”
She saw Merrik then, standing close to them, watching, saying nothing.
“I don’t want to leave you or Merrik,” Taby said against her neck. “I don’t care about being a prince.”
Merrik came down beside her, lightly stroking the child’s arm. Taby turned, his eyes still dulled with sleep, but there was a quiver at his mouth that made Merrik’s gut cramp. He drew in his breath and said slowly, “Taby, you remember I told you that who you are means many things have to happen that none of us can change.”
Taby nodded, but said, “I don’t care.”
“I know, but I have to do the caring for you. I cannot allow you to be other than what you are meant to be. It is possible that you will someday be the duke of Normandy. There is no choice.”
The child drew up, jerking out of Laren’s arms. “I hate you, I hate both of you! You just want to get rid of me!” He turned and ran back to the children’s sleeping chamber, this night filled with at least eight small bodies all pressed together in the single box bed.
Laren jumped to her feet, but Merrik held her still. “No, let him go. He is very young, Laren, but he must realize that there are duties, endless responsibilities, that direct each of us.”
“He is very young, too young to remember. The last two years have been very hard for him. He’s not known kindness or stability. He fears the unknown, for it is all he’s had for far too long.”
“And his sister as well. Now, we will go see him in a little while. Tell me what you think of Rorik and Mirana.”
“She is more beautiful than Caylis or Megot.”
He laughed at that. “Once I hated her, believed her evil, for her half brother, Einar, was a more black-hearted scoundrel than the Christians’ devil. All that black hair of hers and her white flesh, aye, I believed her a witch. I was wrong. By all the gods, it is difficult to be young. Nothing appears as it really is, and your mind twists and bends and sees snakes where there are rainbows. And what do you think of my brother?”
“Rorik is like all Viking men. He is beautiful, well formed, stout-hearted.”
Merrik just stared down at her, a dark blond eyebrow cocked. “And?”
“And his dog is going to sleep in our bed with us tonight, I doubt not. He has discovered that I’m not as strong as Mirana and thus he can lie on me and lick me until his tongue is dry.”
Merrik grabbed her about her neck, leaned down and kissed her hard.
They planned to set sail for Normandy when the moon had reached its half phase some fourteen days later. Merrik would leave Oleg in charge of both the men and Malverne’s defense. Sarla would continue as mistress of the household. Taby was sullen. He had been sullen since his outburst. On the morning of their departure, he allowed Laren to hug and kiss him, but when Merrik went down on his haunches in front of the child, Taby turned away from him.
Laren saw the pain on Merrik’s face. Raw anger shot through her. She grabbed Taby’s arm and jerked him back to face her. “How can you act so to the man who saved your life? The man who also saved my life? The man who will restore you to your proper position?”
He kept his head down, scuffing his bare toes into the hard earth.
“Answer me, Taby! You are of royal lineage and yet you behave like a thrall’s get! What is the matter with you?”
“He doesn’t love me, Laren.”
She jerked back, momentarily stunned. “What did you say?”
“He doesn’t love me. If he did, he wouldn’t leave me, he wouldn’t go tell Uncle Rollo where I was.”
“That is quite enough. Listen to me, Merrik loves you more than he loves anyone on this earth.”
Taby shook his head. “No he doesn’t. If he did, he wouldn’t leave me. He’s even taking you with him.”
“Well, that is different. He finally came to realize that without me, he would have a difficult time convincing Uncle Rollo of anything. I know all the people in Uncle Rollo’s court. I can help him. He needs me. He’s leaving you here so he can be certain you’ll be safe, nothing more. He can’t be worried about you, else he would endanger himself.”
“He doesn’t worry about you?”
“Not overmuch. I have proved I can survive.”
“So have I, Laren.”
