“Go inside, and I will speak with Valdr about the arrangements,” he told her. When he took her hand, her palm was cool within his, as if he’d made her nervous. Her face appeared flushed with embarrassment and perhaps a trace of fear. For all that Katarina was a Viking woman, she was not bold and aggressive, as he’d anticipated. Instead, there was a vulnerability about her.
He opened the door for her and thought back to the moment when she’d held a knife to his throat. It had been an act of fear, one with no true threat beneath it. She wouldn’t have killed him at all.
Nothing had infuriated him more than when he’d seen Leif try to hurt her. It made him eager to train, to be a better fighter so he could protect Katarina. But first, he had to take her away from Leif. And for that, he needed a ship.
When they were inside, Valdr was waiting, along with a female servant. The oldjarlregarded Katarina and said, “Go with Yrsa. She will give you a place to sleep.”
Eric waited until she had gone behind a partition with the female servant, and then he regarded Valdr. “We need to speak alone.”
Thejarlled him to the far end of the longhouse and brought over a chair for him. “I have already said that you cannot leave Rogaland. You must take your place here.”
He’d known the old man would say that. And yet, it was not possible. It was better to try a different tack.
“My strength is not what it was,” he said quietly. “I need to train.”
At that, some of the tension within Valdr dissipated. “You do.”
“And I cannot do that here, where men will judge me by my weakness.” He watched thejarlcarefully, noting that thus far, the man was responding to reason. “I also will not leave Katarina unprotected. I intend to give her my protection and wed her myself.”
He waited for the oldjarlto protest or give reasons why Katarina was not a suitable bride. Instead, the old man stood and poured wine into two silver goblets. “For the first time in your life, you are making wise decisions.” He offered Eric the wine, and he accepted it.
It surprised him that Valdr encouraged this marriage. Why? Had he wanted Thorgrim to wed Katarina in the past? Or did he have other reasons? None of it mattered, Eric supposed, for he intended to keep this woman safe. If he left Katarina behind, Leif would threaten her again.
“Tomorrow,” Eric told Valdr. “I will marry her then, and afterward I will sail to a place where I can train and regain my strength.” He watched the older man carefully, being careful not to reveal his intentions. The truth was, the moment he had a ship, he intended to sail for East Anglia.
Valdr thought a moment, and then added, “I will journey with you and oversee your training. We will travel to the north, where we will stay with my brother.”
He started to argue, but caught the look in the old man’s expression.He knows.And perhaps it was better to outwit the fox by playing his game—for now.
“Send word to her brother, Hrafn, about the wedding in the morning,” he told Valdr. “He will want to be there.”
With that, he took his leave from thejarland walked over to the partition where Katarina was staying. She was seated upon a pile of furs, her attention fixed upon the ground.
“May I come and speak with you?” he asked.
“Yes.” Her voice was quiet, and he stepped behind the hide covering and saw that she had removed her apron overdress and was wearing only a linen undertunic.
He hadn’t realized she would be in such a state of undress and started to apologize. “I did not mean to intrude.”
“What did you want to talk about?” She kept her back to him, her shoulders lowered. He knew he should remain where he was, but the dim oil lamp cast shadows over her nape. When he drew closer, he realized that her skin was marked and bruised from where Leif had seized her neck. It infuriated him that the Viking had done this to her, and he vowed that Leif would never again lay a hand upon Katarina.
“I have told Valdr that I will wed you in the morning. Then we will leave this settlement for a time.”
She gave no indication that she’d heard him, no response at all. Her silence made him wonder if she had changed her mind.
“Is that acceptable to you?” he prompted.
When she did not speak, he suspected that something else was wrong. Slowly, he walked to the other side, and she kept her face turned from him.
“What do you want, Katarina?” Gently, he touched her chin and lifted it so she would meet his gaze.
“It does not matter what I want.” Her voice came out flat, emotionless. “On the morrow, I will belong to you, and I will go where you tell me to.” She was behaving as if she were property with no freedom of her own. Was that truly the way she felt?
“You are not a slave in this.” He took her hand and gently pulled her to a standing position. “But you must know that it is not safe for you to remain here. Leif will not give up.”
She nodded. Yet there was no sense of relief in her eyes, only wariness.
“Tell me what troubles you.” He held her hand, squeezing it gently.
