“Arne, thank the gods. Find Ragna,” Tormod ordered. “The baby is coming.”
Another scream, low and pain-filled, came from behind Tormod, and Arne hurried to fetch his mother. As soon as he went back into the hall, he noticed the outer doors slightly ajar and looked towards the fire. The fishermen were gone.
Cursing, he hurried outside, noticing the door to the hut where the food was preserved was also open. He would deal with that soon. First he needed to do as Tormod had asked. He ran to his mother’s house and banged on the door, then went inside.
“Mother!” He hurried to her bedside and shook her awake.
Ragna pushed herself to a sitting position and blinked at him. “What is it? Is it Aoife?”
“Yes.”
“Tell Tormod I will be there soon. Tell the thralls to heat water. Oh, and find Rhiannon — or is she with Aoife already?”
“I’m not sure. I will go home and see if she is there. Wake her if I have to.”
“You don’t know? Did you not go home last night?” Ragna frowned.
“No, I stayed on guard in the hall.” Arne wondered how his mother could make him feel guilty without accusing him of anything.
“Guarding Gemma?”
“Guarding us against her.” He’d expected Ragna to understand, but her current expression, with her lips in a tight line, implied if she did understand, she certainly did not agree. Was he the only one who saw the risk Gemma posed? He rubbed at a tight spot at the back of his neck and turned to go.
“Arne…”
“I must go. Hurry, Mother, please. The fishermen have gone.”
“I am sure there is no reason to rush. First babies take their time no matter how bad it sounds.”
“So long as you are willing to tell Tormod the delay was yours and not mine.”
“Away then, and deal with that. Try to keep Tormod out of our hair for now.”
Arne returned to his house. He didn’t sleep in the hall with the other warriors now, despite being unmarried, as he fostered the two boys. Rhiannon stayed with him also, as she was Elisedd’s mother. Arne fully expected that situation to change as soon as Ulf and Rhiannon sorted out their feelings for one another. He wasn’t sure what would happen to Elisedd at that point, but they would work it out somehow. Inside, he knocked on the door of her room.
“Rhiannon? Rhiannon!”
He heard movement from inside the room and then Rhiannon peered out, already dressed apart from her apron. “Arne? I heard screams. Is it Aoife?”
“Yes.”
“I am nearly ready.”
“Very well. I must instruct the thralls, then find Ulf and search for the missing fishermen.”
“They’ve gone?”
“Yes. And they’ve taken the fish.”
Rhiannon stepped out of her room. “They did catch those fish,” she reminded him.
“And we saved both them and the fish. Are their lives not worth that cost?”
She shook her head. “Let’s go to Lady Aoife. Will you allow Gemma to be there?”
Arne held his breath for a moment, then sighed. “Yes, with the fishermen gone, I’ll tell Gemma she can attend to Aoife. She is already awake.”
They hurried across to the main hall together, and Rhiannon went ahead of him down the passageway to Aoife and Tormod’s room. Arne knocked on Gemma’s door. After receiving no response, he pushed it open easily. The room was empty. A strong sense of foreboding swept through him. She had seemed so concerned about Aoife the night before. Maybe she had gone to her friend when she heard her labour pains beginning? If so, where was Caelin? He hurried down the passageway, but as he reached the door to Tormod’s room, there was another long, low scream from Aoife.
