“You won’t get bored?’
“Nay. I do not imagine I will.”
Giric kissed the top of her head. “I would like that too, but I have a surprise for you.”
“Do we need to get up to see it?”
“Aye, we do.”
Saga heaved a sigh. She snuggled closer to him and slapped his buttocks as he slid away from her and got out of bed.
“Come on sleepy-head. We cannot laze about all day.”
Saga giggled as she got out of bed and donned her leather trews and fur vest. She loved wearing her old clothes again. She had noticed some sideways glances from a few of the women and men at the castle as she passed by, but she cared not. They would have to adjust to her ways as much as she did theirs. Her belly had not yet gotten bigger, but her body had thickened somewhat so she had pieces of cloth stitched into the sides of her trews to give her some growing space.
Once they were both dressed, he led her to the stable and helped her mount Sif.
“Where are we going?” she asked as they trotted away from the castle. She noticed a satchel tied to the horse containing bread.
“Eat,” he said. “We have a long ride ahead of us and you will need your strength.”
She nibbled on the contents of the satchel as did he with his. They kept a steady pace though not a full-on gallop. After a couple hours’ ride, they came to a clearing and a structure that looked somewhat familiar, resembling their god house on Islay.
Giric dismounted then came over to help Saga off her horse. He tied both horses to a tree and took her hand.
“What is this place?”
“Some of your people lived here a long time ago. Because it is a place of worship, no one wanted to destroy it after they left and so it has remained empty for many years.”
Saga walked inside. Bones of various animals in tribute hung from the walls and an altar table, now dusty and dirty, signified where sacrifices would have taken place. The people who had worshipped here paid homage to Odin and all the gods in the same way she did.
“I wanted to make sure you approved of the way this building is laid out.”
“Of course I approve. It is much like the prayer house at home. But why do I need your approval?”
“Because I plan to build one alongside my chapel.”
Saga’s heart squeezed. This was most unexpected.
“Giric, I do not know what to say.”
“Say you like it, and say what you want done and how you want it to look. I have made many mistakes in my time with you, but I want to start fixing them at this moment. You are my life and my world and I want to spend the rest of our days together showing you how grateful I am to call you wife and share in your joys and triumphs and sorrows. I know how important your prayers are to you and I know how important it is for you to preserve your way of life. I want to help with that in any way I can. You have given up so much for me and I want you to know how grateful I am.”
Saga’s chest tightened and her eyes stung. This was more than she could have ever hoped for. She’d never realized until that moment how happy she was that he’d landed on her shores that day, that he came looking for an alliance and found her, that they found each other. Her life was full and her blessings were many because of him.
* * *
His wife intermingled with the other noblewomen around the table. She’d been singled out a few times with comments about her attire and he wanted to make sure she was not misunderstood or demeaned in any way. So he’d organized a feast including Osgar’s family as well as his own to pay homage to Saga in formal acceptance of her as Lady MacDomnail.
He sat back and listened as they asked her many questions about her clothes and her weapons, marvelling in half shock when she explained how she’d been in battle and how common it was for women to be warriors. In turn, Saga asked many questions of them along the lines of what they did all day long if they were not contributing to the hunt for food or protecting the villages.
She laughed out loud when one woman mentioned stitching on pillows. “My apologies, I did not know such a thing existed,” she said. “Do you not find that boring and overly taxing?”
Saga was genuine in her curiosity but the woman seemed to take slight offence to her comment.
“I find it quite relaxing in fact, and I suspect you would too if you were to give it a try.”
The afternoon was somewhat painful, but it would be better for both Saga and the women with which she would socialize in the future if they better understood one another. She’d been in the company of her sister ever since coming here and now that Vigdis had returned to Islay with Gunnar, Saga would need companionship. He hoped in time she would find one of these women good company.
