At the door she looked back at Freydis and said, “Thank you. Please make him well.”
Outside the hut she drew a deep breath. Thank the gods he would recover. She did not know what she would do without him. And as Giric walked up and stood beside her the thought occurred to her that if she were to have a future with this or any man, she would have to leave Bjorn and this place behind. She did not know if she was prepared to do that and the thought made her heart ache.
* * *
Giric noted the change in her almost immediately. Tears pooled in her eyes.
“Your friend will be well. That is something to celebrate,” he said, trying to break the silence and get her talking again.
She looked up at him with what looked like a forced smile. “I am very pleased Bjorn will recover. He and I have known one another our whole lives and I do not know what I would do without him.”
Her words gave him pause. It had not occurred to him that she might have a husband in mind. And there was nothing wrong with Bjorn, but he did not want to picture her with another man. The thought surprised him. How had she made such an impact on him in such a short time?
“I understand,” he said and walked quietly beside her.
After a few paces she turned. “You think Bjorn and I are lovers.”
He didn’t know how to respond to her statement. That was what he thought, but having to have a conversation with her about it might prove a bit too much.
“I see it in your eyes,” she said. “Well I can correct you on that count. Bjorn and I have been close friends since we were very young, and though he has asked me many times, I am not interested in him in that way.”
“And is there anyone you are interested in, in that way?” Giric could not help but ask.
She frowned. “I am unattached, Giric of Alba.” And she squared her shoulders and looked directly at him. “And if you intend to speak to my brother about me, know this. I cannot leave my home and live elsewhere. I would never survive.” With that she turned on her heel and walked on ahead of him toward the hall.
Giric turned to the sound of Gunnar chuckling behind him. “I guess we should talk about my sister, then,” he said. “Do you intend to ask for her?”
He did, but God’s breath, it really was all a bit sudden. There was nothing subtle about these people in the least. He’d not known her for a full day yet. Was he really prepared to ask for her? By contrast was he really prepared for someone else to do so instead?
“You look like you’ve been clobbered over the head. Come, I must send a party to search for Einar and we will break our fast and speak. Do you plan to stay another night?”
“That depends on my host.”
“Then it’s settled. Youwillstay another night and we will talk more of this alliance of yours. Sometimes knowing something is right does not require days, weeks, or months to process. Sometimes you just know.”
Giric knew something, but putting a label on it or defining it was the problem. Lust? Infatuation? Love? He surely did not know the answer to the questions. All he could say for certain was that there was a definite connection between himself and Saga that was inherent and understood and perhaps beyond the rudimentary confines of the spoken word. He tried to shake his muddled head as he followed Gunnar to the hall.
Once there, Osgar stepped out. He looked like death warmed over. Clearly his constitution was not meant for Norse ale either.
“I think I will offer you mead instead of ale from now on,” Gunnar said as he clapped Osgar on the back. “Come let’s eat!”
Osgar looked like he was about to lose his belly and instead of joining them inside, walked toward the beach and sat staring out at the sea.
“I will join you in a moment,” Giric said to Gunnar.
He walked over to Osgar and sat beside him. “Too much ale, my friend?”
“Aye. Too much ale and not enough sleep. How does their man fare?”
“He will recover. The mystery behind his stabbing is unresolved and is concerning to us all. He is sending his men to locate the missing earl.”
“You like it here, don’t you?”
“Aye, I admit, I am impressed with this place and how organized they are. I mean, just look at that hall. What a great feat of design,” Giric said.
Osgar nodded. “I will give you that. They are not like I expected.”
“You thought them mindless barbarians.”
