He arched a brow. This was unexpected—and potentially problematic. Just what had the woman told her?
“Did she?” he started cautiously.
“Yes. It is clear she regrets leaving you.”
Well, this much he had already guessed from their own conversation. But it was too late for them. Years had passed, and he was now intent on wooing another woman, the most reluctant yet fascinating one he had ever met, as elusive as a fairy and just as beguiling.
“Unfortunately, Freydis is not the woman for me. But I know there must be one somewhere.”
“So you are ready to settle? Cwenthryth told me she suspected as much.”
He leaned against the bridge and crossed his arms over his chest. Yes, this was why he had asked Eahlswith to come fora walk, to make her understand the kind of man he was, and the kind of life he wanted. Whether that would be enough to sway her, he didn’t know. But he had to try, so he began his explanation.
“Steinar married Astrid, his first wife, when he was twenty. They married after having spent only one night together, the day they met at a feast organized by my father. They spent a fiery night together and never thought they would see one another again after that.” He stared at Eahlswith, willing her to see the similarities with their own situation. If the way she flushed was any indication, she did. Satisfied, he carried on. “A few days later, Astrid reappeared, explaining that her father was forcing her to marry a man who scared her and Steinar didn’t hesitate. He married her to spare her having to wed the man she was promised to. Less than a year later, he was welcoming his first child. I was fifteen years old then and, oddly enough, I got jealous. It seemed like the perfect story to me.”
“So, you tried to do the same.”
He shrugged. “Not tried, exactly. You keep the men you sleep with at bay because you’re afraid of losing your heart to them, while I sleep with the women I feel an attraction to in the hope that this promising start will lead to a more permanent arrangement. Ironic, is it not?”
Yes, that was one way of putting it.
Eahlswith blinked. “So you really are telling me that you sleep with the women who fire your desire in the hope that the lust you feel for them will turn into love and that the trysts will evolve into marriage?”
Unsurprisingly, she sounded dubious, but that was exactly what he was telling her.
“Can you blame me? I have seen that it is possible to find a life partner in that way. So when I do feel desire for a woman, why should I go against it? As long as she is willing, what harm isthere in trying? Besides, I am a man, with men’s urges. Bedding someone I desire seemed to be the best way to satisfy those urges while giving the two of us a chance to see what can happen.”
To his delight, she swallowed, betraying the fact that she was remembering the day they’d met. One look had been enough to persuade her to join him in bed. She had certainly not gone against the desire she’d felt for him either.
For a moment it looked as if she would tell him that she agreed his method had merit, and perhaps they should go to his hut to see if the heat between them was still burning as bright as it had in the summer. His groin tightened at the thought because he already knew the answer. But then she shook her head and seemed to change her mind.
“You are aware, of course, that this marriage you envied quickly became a nightmare?” she said instead.
He was not surprised she knew about the rift between his brother and Astrid. Cwenthryth would have told her all about Steinar’s first marriage and how it had ended.
“I am. But marriages where the couple court for months and take their time deciding can also end up that way. I can give you half a dozen examples just here in the village. There is no guarantee that being overly cautious will ensure the success of a union.” She nodded but he had no idea if she agreed or not. “Love and dedication can spring from many a source. My parents’ story proves it. They are probably the strongest couple I know, yet they met whenFaðirbought my mother at a slave auction.”
“I’m sorry?” Eahlswith’s eyes went as round as coins, just as he’d imagined they would. “Did you say that heboughther?”
“Yes. It’s a long story.”
He’d hoped to lure her into an even longer conversation with a retelling of the unusual meeting between the Icelander and theSaxon, but she resisted the temptation. Damnation. She really didn’t want to get involved with him.
“Another time, perhaps. I think it is time for me to go back into town. That’s what I came to tell you.”
It was all too easy to read her mind. She had been in the village for a week already, longer than she had anticipated, and she was feeling things for him she didn’t want to feel. Desire, understanding. She needed to leave before she allowed these feelings to sway her. She wasn’t ready to let go of all her doubts. Unlike him, she was being overcautious.
“Steinar is not back yet.”
“I know, but he sent word that he would be there before the end of the day,” Eahlswith answered, already making her way back to the hut. “And Cwenthryth insists that she is back to her normal self.”
“I will accompany you then,” he declared, nodding toward the field where they could see Gulltoppr grazing next to Grendel.
“There’s no need, I can very well?—”
“I’m not letting you go alone,” he cut in. What did she take him for? “We can walk or we can ride if you prefer. If you don’t want to ride with me, you can borrow my friend’s horse, Grendel, and I will bring him back home holding the reins afterward,” he added before she could point out that she didn’t have a horse. He wouldn’t put it past her to use this as a reason to refuse his company.
“There is no need to put you out.”
