The servants came back with the trunk, ending the conversation. Astrid sat up and fiddled with the complicated lock and withdrew a small whale-boned casket. Svanna spotted her mother’s name carved in runes on the top.
‘Here, let me put this on your head. I would see you married properly, like your mother was.’
Astrid withdrew the simple but elegant twisted strands of gold and semi-precious stones from the casket. ‘It will shimmer on your head like it did on hers. The Norns knew she deserved that little piece of happiness.’
When the weight hit her head, the import of what she was doing washed over her. She was going to marry a man who’d despise her if he learned the full truth about how she’d inadvertently been the cause of his scarring.
‘Oh, help,’ she whispered.
‘You will be fine,’ Astrid said, squeezing her hand. ‘I am grateful for your many years of service, but it is time you fulfilled your next role—a role you were born for. I sometimes wonder if I had Helga guard you too well. You never seemed to have flirtations with warriors, or maybe I’m not remembering properly.’
Svanna nodded, struggling to maintain her composure. ‘I had best see to the rest.’
‘If I can, I will be there. Inge… Maer would expect that of me.’ Astrid hesitated. ‘I promise, Svanna. For her sake and my own.’
Stumbling from the chamber, Svanna leant against the wall and allowed the trembling to overtake her. Another obstacle surmounted. Astrid would back her and would in time claim the idea of the quick marriage as her own. A future where she would no longer be required to walk on eggshells beckoned.
It took Svanna a little time to discover Rand in what appeared to be his favourite thinking spot—looking out over the bay. An unanticipated warm curl started at the base of her spine when she examined his jawline. She willed it go.
‘Is all well with you?’
‘Good news.’ She forced a bright smile. ‘Astrid has given permission for the ceremony to take place as soon as possible. Turns out that she brought my mother’s wedding finery with her. Amazing foresight.’
A smile lit his face from within, making it come alive, and she glimpsed the youth she’d once dreamt about. She tried to gather the remnants of her protective shell about her heart. That youth was long gone and would never return, if indeed he’d ever truly existed. ‘Did you anticipate a marriage?’
‘A knack exists to ensure the right outcome with my foster-mother. Years of close observation have taught me how to move the seemingly immovable,’ she said, pointedly ignoring the question.
‘A skill which will undoubtably prove useful in Eire.’
She forced a broad smile. ‘A Northern ceremony to save time was her sole suggestion.’
His scar appeared to relax. ‘And you will agree to that?’
‘If necessary, we can go through another form in Tara, but everyone should accept our marriage,’ she said, giving the same answer she’d given Astrid and willing him to see the necessity without her having to explain the ease with which a Northern marriage could be dissolved.
‘It has been a long time since I heard the words. My beliefs altered considerably after I left Agthir.’
She smiled back at him. ‘The words will return to you.’
‘Such confidence in my ability.’
‘Someone must believe.’ She gave a half-shrug. ‘It might as well be me.’
He tilted his head to one side. ‘Are you certain we never spoke in Agthir? Your words…’ He stopped. ‘The memory has slipped away. Forget I said anything.’
She blinked rapidly and ignored the sick feeling in her stomach. She had said something like that to him when they’d flirted all those years ago, complimenting him on his sword skill.
‘You say we didn’t, but I’ve had conversations with many people.’ He frowned. ‘An inkling I once had a similar conversation with a woman in Agthir.’
‘Were you planning to marry her?’
He gave his head a quick shake. ‘Marriage never entered my head back then. A scrap of conversation. A glimmer. No bearing on today.’
Svanna knew then she would have to confess, but not now when the stakes were so high.
* * *
Rand struggled to recall the words of the Northern marriage ceremony as he stood beside Svanna in the open air, listening to Sigmund intone his part.
