Except he hadn’t been anywhere near when she and Cwenthryth had discussed their friends in town. No, but Steinar had been there, cooking… Suddenly she saw what had happened.The day she’d left, Sven had come to speak to her, see how her foot was. Upon finding her gone, he’d flown into a rage and decided to pursue her. His pride would not allow him to let her get away with fleeing him a second time. When Steinar had come back from town, he’d made him tell all he knew about her life. Cwenthryth’s husband, who’d overheard the conversation about their friends, would have mentioned the roof in need of repair.
The determined, devious man had guessed that if he simply showed at her door she would avoid him again. So he had found a way to be with her that she couldn’t refuse. This was not about what she wanted but about what Osbert needed. She would not send away the only person who had volunteered to do what needed doing.
“But how could he have understood what you were saying about my roof or indeed anything else if he doesn’t speak our language?” Osbert insisted. Though he thought Sven could not understand them, he still whispered the question.
“I mean that his brother, Steinar, heard us talk. He was in the hut and he does speak our language. He must have told him later.”
Unsurprisingly, this explanation didn’t quite satisfy him. “But why? What is it to either of them?”
Eahlswith did her best not to let her irritation show. “I know not. Perhaps this man is a carpenter and Steinar asked him to come, as a favor to his wife’s friend. He’s madly in love with her and would do anything to please her.”
“Mm. Yes.” This seemed to placate Osbert. He was so generous this was the sort of thing he would do himself so he didn’t see anything odd in Steinar sending his brother to help a stranger.” “He looks very fierce, though. Are you sure we can trust him?”
“Yes.” This, at least, made no doubt.
As if he’d decided he’d given her enough time to reassure the old man, Sven made to walk past them. Eahlswith had no choice but to let him through.
She and Osbert watched him put his bag on the table and extract from it a dozen tools and planks of various sizes. Heavens, how heavy must the bag have been? Then he pointed to the roof and pretended to climb up.
“Do you know anyone who could lend us a ladder?” she asked Osbert, understanding what he was trying to ask. He’d come with tools and even wood, but, understandably, he had not brought a ladder with him. “One long enough to reach the roof? And possibly a few extra pieces of wood?”
“I know Godric, at the end of the street, has a ladder.”
“I’ll go get it now.”
As reluctant as his neighbors had been to repair the hole themselves, they would not begrudge the old man the loan of a ladder. Now that she had someone ready to do what had to be done, she would make sure to give Sven what he needed. Finally the hole that had been the bane of her life for months would be repaired.
Filled with a new sense of purpose, Eahlswith set off in the direction of Godric’s house. As she’d expected, the man was all too willing to help, now that someone else was doing the actual job. She thanked him and a moment later, was back with the ladder and a bag full of planks. They were smaller and lighter than the ones Sven had brought but she hoped they would serve. Opening the door, she gestured at Sven to come outside so she could show him what she’d found. He nodded his approval when he saw the wood and took the ladder from her to position it against the wall.
“My thanks, Alva,” he purred into her ear, leaning close enough for her to feel the brush of his lips against her hair.
Lord.
Her knees almost buckled out from under her, but she managed to take a hasty step back. A mistake. Feeling her against him had set her nerves aflutter but seeing him was not much better. During her visit to Godric he had attached the tools to the belt hanging low on his hips. As a result, he looked almost like a warrior armed for battle.
“Eahlswith, is the ladder all right?” Osbert called from inside the house.
“Yes, it will do,” she answered, her voice surprisingly steady. “Please be careful,” she added under her breath, addressing herself to Sven. The last thing she wanted was for him to break his leg or worse. “In this weather, it?—”
“I’ll be careful.” His blue eyes flashed, as if he were pleased to see her worry herself over him.
She hurried back into the house, certain she would betray her inner turmoil if she stayed any longer in his presence.
“Well, this was certainly unexpected, but highly welcome.” Osbert rubbed his hands in a familiar gesture of delight. “You will have to thank your friend’s husband for me next time you see him.”
“Yes.”
They fell silent when Sven re-entered the house to grab the two biggest planks he’d brought. Giving them a curt nod, he exited again. A moment later there was a hammering noise above their heads. Eahlswith looked up just as Sven’s face appeared through the hole. He saw her watching him and, without missing a beat, he winked at her.
She felt herself go red from the roots of her hair to the tip of her toes, something she wouldn’t have believed possible until now. But this man made her feel all sorts of things she had never thought possible.
“If you’ll excuse me, my dear, I think I will try to have my nap despite the noise,” she heard Osbert say from behind her. “I didn’t sleep too well last night. Not that I ever do, mind you.”
“Of course.”
She didn’t mind, far from it. She knew he always took a nap after his midday meal and anyway, she needed time to compose herself and make sense of Sven’s behavior. What was he doing here, in Osbert’s house? That he would want to see her again did not surprise her. She had been bracing herself for his visit for three days. That he should choose to repair her friend’s roof, however, had come as a surprise. She had been expecting—dreading was perhaps a better word for it, for she knew she would have found it a challenge to resist his allure—to see him barge into her house and sweep her off her feet like he had done that summer.
For want of anything better to do, Eahlswith started to cut vegetables for the soup. It was not long before Sven was back inside for another couple of planks.
