‘What good? All the saints and angels preserve me!’ Rand thundered. ‘Where did you leave your brains? My cousin is injured or possibly dead.’
Svanna put her hand on her hip. ‘I’m trying to help. The corpse is important. If we can work out who he is, we might be able to figure out where your cousin and his bride are.’
‘I didn’t mean you, Svanna. This lot bring my cousin’s cloak but leave this corpse.’
The man flushed. The other men still shuffled their feet. ‘We wanted to get back here as quickly as we could. If there were bandits about, we didn’t want to stay. We had a quick look round, like, but no other bodies, no nothing.’
Rand’s scar throbbed and he appeared to be clinging onto his temper. ‘You found a Northern sword, but didn’t think to bring that?’
‘We brought the sword.’ The man gestured to one of the others, who proudly carried it over.
Rand turned it over. ‘Kaupang or Agthir, Svanna?’
‘Did this corpse have any markings on his face?’ Svanna asked, trying to keep some sort of order. ‘Can you remember that much?’
The man’s mouth dropped open. ‘What sort of markings, my lady?’
‘Hatchet marks on both sides of the face, for example. Or filed teeth?’
The man’s brow furrowed. ‘Come to think of it, there were markings but I didn’t look in his mouth.’
‘Who do you think it is, Svanna?’ Rand asked in an undertone.
‘I’ve seen a sword like that before,’ she said. ‘It belonged to the eldest of Drengr’s sons, purchased two warring seasons before in Kaupang. When I last saw him, he was heavyset and sported a series of hatchet marks on his face. He had filed his teeth as well.’
Rand put his hands on the top of his head. ‘Why would he be this far North? Why would he and his brothers risk a war with Máel Sechnaill? Outlandish tales help no one.’
‘There is my theory…about Rhiannon and Turgeis.’ She concentrated on the sword’s hilt, trying to keep a smooth face. ‘Go and retrieve the corpse and have a look around. Maybe the pair are hiding.’
‘You read my mind.’
‘Take plenty of well-armed men,’ she said. ‘We’ll be fine here.’
He rolled his eyes. ‘The day I can’t handle myself…’
‘Is the day you flee from Agthir,’ she said, concentrating on keeping her hands from shaking. She hated that the pressure to get this right kept increasing because the possibility of Rand looking at her with disgust or disdain if she was wrong was too terrible to contemplate.
Rand started laughing as his men watched open-mouthed. ‘You’re going to ensure I always remember that.’
‘Any reason to forget?’
‘The intervening years have increased my expertise.’
Svanna made a noise in the back of her throat. ‘They and their father bested you once, Rand. Don’t allow your arrogance to get the better of your caution.’
She waited, knowing that she risked provoking his temper when she had little idea of how he’d react.
‘What are you going to be doing?’
She tilted her chin upwards. Her fingers itched to demonstrate her value. A small part of her wanted him to be proud of her, even if he’d never love her or want more than a strategic marriage from her.
‘Ensuring this household is ready in case Turgeis arrives in your absence.’
‘Turgeis doesn’t have a death wish.’
Svanna kept her smile firmly in place. ‘When you return, Birdie and I will accompany you to Tara and you can personally ensure our safety. The high king must know of this outrage without delay.’ She willed him to agree with her. ‘Unless you have a better idea.’
He gave a sudden smile, one which demanded a true smile in return from her. ‘When I return, we need to speak. There is much I want to discuss…about us. About Birdie.’
