Rand frowned. He wasn’t certain of anything right now, but he knew he needed to be doing something. He also knew staying here was not going to solve any problem. Too many people like the dowager Queen about. Giving Svanna a choice was necessary. Time apart might allow them both to decide what they wanted next, even if he hoped she’d choose to travel with them. ‘What I asked for last night.’
The helmsman shrugged. ‘Men ask for a lot of things before their wedding night. You’d be surprised.’
‘The sooner we return to Eire, the sooner we get to the bottom of the mystery.’
‘Will our new lady be joining us?’ The helmsman scratched his head. ‘I mean, her mother was quite injured.’
‘Up to Svanna. I would hardly like to prejudge,’ he said around the ash-taste in his mouth. ‘We have the alliance now.’
‘What will be up to me?’ Svanna asked, slipping her arm through his and smiling up at him while his helmsman suddenly discovered he was required elsewhere. ‘Surely you can’t be thinking of leaving the peace-weaver behind.’
He inwardly thanked the saints and angels. For some reason, she’d returned to his side. He suspected Astrid had sent her, but right now, he didn’t care. The tight place in his chest had eased.
‘My men and I need to return to Tara and explain about the unprovoked attack, but your foster-mother remains unwell. I’ve no wish to cause you distress.’
She gave him a hooded look. ‘How would it look to the high king if you claim a marriage to a princess of Agthir but fail to produce the bride? Particularly as you were supposed to be ensuring a different marriage altogether.’
‘Máel Sechnaill would understand…if it was explained properly. In the end, he cares for the result, not the means for that result. Pragmatic to his toes.’ Rand winced at his words. He had no idea what Máel Sechnaill would do or what game he was playing, but he had to give Svanna the option. She had to make her choice freely. He silently prayed she would choose him. ‘He would understand your devotion to your foster-mother.’
‘He might say that he does, but I wish to discuss aspects of the raid with him.’ Svanna peeked up at him from under her lashes. ‘I must assume Turgeis knew Astrid was involved in the preparations. We extended our stay. He sought to strike at Agthir. Agthir needs this alliance, Rand, as much as Tara does.’
‘I’ve no idea,’ Rand confessed. ‘I was unaware of the possibility. I didn’t know until I arrived that anyone from Agthir was here.’
‘Would you have travelled here if you had?’
He hated that the answer was complicated and one he didn’t want to fully examine right now. ‘Speculation serves no good purpose as I am here now. What came to pass cannot be altered. We go forward.’
She tapped the side of her nose. ‘Possibly best if we leave the conversation until we reach Tara and have spoken to King Máel Sechnaill. It remains of vital interest to me and my foster-mother. That knowledge must form part of any fight back.’
The heaviness vanished from his chest. His clumsiness had not destroyed everything. She wanted the marriage to continue for strategic reasons.
‘Then you intend to travel with me?’
Her face became inscrutable. ‘Impossible to peace-weave if I remain on Islay. I doubt my words will carry very far over the water.’
He tightened his hold on her arm and resolved that he would find a way to seduce her properly. To demonstrate to her how delightful sex could truly be. ‘You make a fair observation.’
She inclined her head. ‘Astrid pointed out that the reasons for the marriage had not altered for either of us. I intend to hold that thought in the forefront of my mind.’
‘Does Astrid call the tune?’
‘She made suggestions.’ She made a curtsey. ‘Apparently, the sheets have been examined and found to be satisfactory.’
‘I’m aware of Gaelic custom. But I intend our consummation to last longer than one night. Provided the bride is willing.’
A light breeze pushed tendrils of her hair across her face, obscuring her expression. Her face suddenly became heart-stoppingly beautiful. He wanted to capture a tendril and twine it about his fingers, but he kept his hands rigidly down at his sides and waited.
Eventually, she nodded. ‘When shall we depart? I look forward to meeting my new daughter. I plan to be a good mother, Rand.’
Rand hated the sudden lump in his throat at the thought of Birdie having a gentle hand to guide her. ‘When the tide turns, if the terms are acceptable.’
‘They will have to be. I’ll arrange for my trunks to be delivered.’ She paused. ‘I’ve served Agthir’s interests for most of my life and I intend to keep serving with our marriage.’
* * *
Svanna watched her trunks disappear into Rand’s longship. Her brave words to Rand earlier seemed to have little substance and signified less. She wanted to curl up small and hide somewhere until it was safe to come out.
Her few trunks seemed such a small sum of a life. Absurdly, she wished she could take her small loom, the one she’d used to create the intricate braids that adorned hers and Astrid’s gowns, but she’d left it back in Agthir. Her idea that she wouldn’t need weaving to calm her mind was laughable now. She always found that weaving allowed her to concentrate on what was important. Maybe she could teach Birdie how to weave and calm her mind that way.
