Vali’s head raised as he approached and he stood up. ‘Good morning, Your Highness.’
‘You don’t need to call me that.’
Vali shrugged. ‘It might be best that I do. At least until things are settled here. The people are uneasy around us…unsurprisingly.’
Agnar grunted in agreement.
‘Shall I get a table set up for you?’ Vali asked cheerfully, gesturing towards the dais and its thrones.
‘Odin’s teeth, no! That throne is damn uncomfortable!’
Vali grinned. ‘One of the servants mentioned that Skadi usually takes her meals at a table in front of the thrones. It seemed strange to me, but now it makes sense.’
Agnar looked around the hall thoughtfully. ‘Remove my banners, but add the wolf’s head to the Thrudheim colours.’
Vali inclined his head. ‘A wise choice.’
A serving woman hurried over with a bowl of porridge for him and he recognised her as the same girl from last night who had cleaned up the broken chalice. He inspected her for a long moment, to be certain she didn’t show any sign of illness.
Unfortunately, she misunderstood his staring for suspicion, because with a gulp, she hurried to explain, ‘The porridge is fresh, Your Highness! Straight from the cauldron, look!’ She pointed to a large pot suspended over the fire pit, a long line of people waiting to be served from it, his own men as well as Thrudheim folk.
‘Are you well?’ he asked and was surprised when she jumped at the sound of his voice.
She nodded quickly. ‘Yes, Your Highness. I… I did everything the Queen asked of me.’
‘She should have scrubbed the floor herself!’ he grumbled, taking the bowl from the servant’s trembling hands.
To his irritation and surprise, she said, ‘Our Queen is wise. I would gladly do anything she asked of me.’ Then, with a respectful bob of her head, she hurried away. He sat down beside Vali, who had returned to eating his own porridge.
Agnar ran through all of his tasks for the day. ‘We need to order the silversmiths to change Thrudheim’s coin mark to that of a wolf. No one is to accept Heimdall’s likeness in payment. I do not want to see that man’s profile ever again!’
Vali looked up and nodded with agreement.
‘And order a new bed made for me. I want it as soon as possible… something whimsical and intricate like the pottery the Queen favours. But also matching our new banner of Thrudheim… Skadi will be pleased with that if nothing else.’
Vali nodded again, this time with a small quirk of his lips. ‘You didn’t sleep well?’
‘I slept fine.’ To avoid further conversation Agnar began to eat his porridge.
‘I have that perfume seller here, if you wish to speak with her?’
‘Did she tell you anything?’
‘No, but I learned a little about her from some of the men in the taverns.’
Agnar waved his spoon. ‘Go on…’
‘Gudrun has provided the settlement with medicines, soaps and perfumes for years. A family trade I believe passed on from her mother. A few years ago, she had a husband called Kar. He used to beat her daily and spent her silver in the taverns. One day, he beat their little boy instead of Gudrun—broke his nose and arm. Apparently, it was the first time Kar had turned on anyone other than her. Within two days he was dead.’
‘I see,’ Agnar replied grimly, losing his appetite for the porridge and stirring it absently.
‘There were mutters of poison from some of his friends and Heimdall almost ordered a trial. But Queen Skadi said that she had been visited by the Goddess Frigg in a dream. She was told by the Goddess that Frigg herself had struck him down for his cruelty and bad behaviour. Gudrun hadn’t been present with him at the time of his illness and none of the friends he’d been drinking with had become ill—despite being with him at the tavern all day and night.So, how could he have been poisoned?Skadi then called for witnesses—and there were several who had heard him drunkenly cursing the gods and his wife.’
‘So, Heimdall pardoned her, because of his wife’s pleading?’
Vali shook his head. ‘Skadi declared her innocent. It seems Heimdall did not rule at home.’
‘That explains his constant need to go raiding. Either that, or he was trying to avoid being poisoned himself,’ Agnar replied, an odd relief and satisfaction easing the tension in his shoulders. ‘Release Gudrun. Punishing her for my wife’s crime is pointless and will only encourage further resentment among the people. But keep an eye on her and her son. Any moreperfumesor medicines are forbidden from entering this hall without my permission.’
