‘How could you be if you’re your father’s daughter?’ Svanna said with a smile that lit up her whole face.
The muscles in Rand’s neck eased. He’d worried that Birdie had made a bad first impression and Svanna might react against the little girl, but she appeared to take everything in her stride.
Birdie narrowed her gaze and concentrated on her thumb. ‘Uncle Thorarinn said I was just like my aunt.’
Rand kept his face still. That there was trouble in paradise was no surprise to him. The pair had the combined attention span of a gnat.
‘Quarrels happen when people are first married,’ Svanna said in a low voice.
Birdie tugged at his sleeve to get his attention. ‘I want to be part of a family with a mother. And I wanted to go with Auntie. You might be sad for a while, but we could still see each other.’
‘I brought you a mother, Birdie.’ Rand clung onto his temper. Birdie sometimes found it difficult to let a notion go and the whole situation could spiral out of control.
‘Some boys tease me and say you found me under a cabbage leaf. How can I ever have a mother, if she is dead? If she died just after I was born?’
Rand set the child down and tried to think of a logical answer for her. When Birdie was in this sort of mood, he always deferred to others. ‘Maybe your nurse is right. You’re too tired. You are a very important part of my family, Birdie.’
‘I can’t replace your mother, but I am willing to be the mother you tell the boys about,’ Svanna said slowly. She hunkered down until her face was level with Birdie’s again. ‘My own mother died when I was young, a little older than you. Now I have a foster-mother.’ She held up two fingers. ‘Two mothers…’
Rand’s scar stopped pulling. Svanna appeared able to handle the situation. He dreaded to think how Bridget would have coped. She’d hated rejection of any sort.
Birdie considered Svanna afresh. ‘A foster-mother? What’s that?’
‘Like a real mother, but different. I can teach you things like spinning and weaving. I bet you are nearly old enough to learn.’
Birdie’s eyes grew as big as the brooches Svanna wore on her apron. ‘Truly? Auntie left her loom for me to practice on. She was teaching me. Back and forth, forth and back.’
‘Was she indeed?’ Svanna said with a frown. ‘How do your hands manage with the shuttle?’
‘Easy—it is little, little.’ Birdie demonstrated with her hands. ‘For making braid. Auntie left some for me to practice because she doesn’t want it any more.’
Svanna tapped the side of her nose. ‘Ah, I understand. I like doing that sort of weaving. Maybe I can help you.’
Birdie gave a drawn-out sigh. ‘I doubt you will be staying that long. Papa never does. But maybe.’
‘Time for your nap,’ Birdie’s nurse called and patted her side.
‘Not tired!’ Birdie gave Rand an appealing glance.
Rand shook his head. ‘You know the rules. No gainsaying your nurse. We will spend time together later, I promise.’
Birdie sighed and gave him a tight hug before she allowed her nurse to lead her off. Rand watched his daughter go, again inwardly marvelling at how much she’d grown in the few short weeks since he’d seen her last. But Birdie was here because it was the safest place for her. Keeping her safe had to be his priority, as it now had to be with Svanna.
‘My daughter…’ he said, trying to smooth things over. ‘My daughter can be a handful.’
Svanna’s face became wreathed in a genuine smile. ‘Your daughter is lovely. I am sure we will become friends in time.’
‘Her reaction didn’t annoy you?’
‘She is little still.’ She shook her head. ‘I was about her age when I first learned to weave. I was all thumbs, but in time I became decent. Now, I find it helps me to think. Hopefully, as we do things together, we will find a bond. Trying to rush things will frustrate us both.’
‘I would like that,’ Rand said, capturing her hand, bringing it to his lips and knowing within his heart that the angels had smiled on him when he’d taken Svanna for his wife.
Her cheeks flushed.
The temptation to haul her off to his chamber nearly overwhelmed him. He knew precisely why they’d had a late start this morning, but he also knew that he had enjoyed every heartbeat of it.
‘But more importantly, what are we going to do about your cousin and his bride?’ Svanna said, putting her hands behind her back. ‘We can’t remain here, waiting for word.’
