“Perrin told you this?”
“Yea, he comes to see me often and tells me much.”
“Does Perrin know that Sheldon is his child?” Brenna questioned.
“Of course.”
“Then why doesn’t he marry you?”
Both girls looked at Brenna as if she were daft. Maudya answered, “A Viking cannot marry a slave. ’Tis not allowed.”
“What if the slave were freed?”
“Freedom will not come to me here, Brenna. There is only one way I know of that a slave can gain his freedom, and that is to help during a feud, to kill an enemy of the clan. Even then, freedom can be denied. ’Tis only a generous master who gives it. Perrin has thought to buy me from Garrick; he is waiting for the right time to make the offer, when Garrick’s hardness mellows somewhat.”
“Garrick was a cheerful young man when first we came, kind and gentle to all. Perrin’s sister changed that three years past. Now he scorns all women and would scoff at Perrin for loving me. Perrin’s sister has caused us much anguish, especially Garrick.”
Brenna’s interest was aroused. “Is this the Morna I have heard mentioned with distaste?”
Janie looked to the doorways to be sure they were alone before she answered. “She is surely the one. A cold bitch if you ask me—nothing like Perrin. Well, Garrick fell in love with Morna and thought she returned that love. They were to be married, in fact. But then a rich merchant came through here and Morna ran off with him, preferring wealth to love, so it seems. Garrick has not been the same since. He has vowed to scorn all women and never marry. He rants and raves about the smallest thing. He became cold-hearted and cruel and picked fights, and lost many friends.
“For two winters he took to the forests and sailed north to hunt, driving himself to exhaustion to accumulate hundreds of furs. These he sold with the slaves when he went east the spring before last. His quest for sudden wealth was intense. At least he has accomplished that. Perrin says he is a rich man now. And he is also not so violently harsh with us as he was before he left. But he is still cold and distrustful.”
“Do you think he means to win Morna back with these new riches?” Brenna asked.
“Mayhaps,” Janie replied. “I have no understanding of his mind. I only know what Perrin tells me, and that is that Garrick will never lose his heart to another woman. He guards it carefully. The only woman who has his love is his mother. That woman can do no wrong in his eyes.”
“Yea, I saw the respect he gave her in the hall,” Brenna remarked. “Tell me, why did she teach Garrick our language, and not her other son?”
“Hugh was her first born and is the heir, so he must be a Viking true. She could not show her love for him in public, for this is frowned upon, and he was always watched by the clan. She gave him up to them. Garrick was her second son, and she doted on him as only a mother can. He speaks our language and knows of our god, as well as his own. His kind and gentle ways came from that love she poured on him, until Morna killed it.”
“I find it hard to believe that a broken heart can do so much damage,” Brenna said thoughtfully.
“’Tis easy to see you have never lost your heart, Brenna, or you would know of the devils that can wreak vengeance on a grieving mind. In Garrick they turned him mean. ’Tis not in jest they nicknamed him Garrick the Hardhearted.”
Brenna braided her hair as she walked up the path to the stable, then entered to find Erin busy applying a poultice to a mare’s injured leg.
“I was beginning to wonder if you had lost interest in the stable, lass,” he said as she approached him. “I could have used your help this morning to quiet this filly after that beastly stallion kicked her in his eagerness to be off.”
Brenna rubbed the mare’s nose gently. “I thought you would not accept my help unless Garrick gave his permission.”
“He did that, last eventide.”
“Really?” Brenna asked in surprise, then she laughed heartily. “So I have won!”
“I don’t know about winning,” Erin replied with an amused chuckle. “He said I was to work you till you dropped.”
“Well, I did not think he would lose gracefully,” Brenna grinned, feeling thoroughly pleased with herself. “I am willing to work hard, however. Here, let me finish that for you.”
Erin stood up slowly and she dropped to her knees to take his place beside the mare. He watched her with a critical eye as she worked, but she did not mind. She knew it would take a while to prove to the old man that she was capable.
“Winter is fast approaching,” Brenna speculated. “The wind was chill on my bare arms as I came up the hill.”
Erin chuckled. “You will be pleased with this fair weather, lassie, after you have had a taste of winter here. But aye, ’twill soon be upon us. The crops were harvested a fortnight past, and the sun sinks lower on the horizon. Before long, you will wish for the fires of Hell to warm you.”
“Never that,” Brenna admonished. “Mayhaps I can sleep here with the horses once the snow comes.”
“Humph!” he grunted. “The notions you get, lass. Master Garrick would never allow that.”
