“We need to talk, Magnus,” the servant said.
“Not now, Yrsa. I understand my brother has offered you a position in the kitchen. Isn’t that where you should be?”
Elspeth gasped. Whatever the past or present relationship between the two, she didn’t deserve to be spoken to in such a manner. She made to stand, but Magnus caught her arm. She looked at his hand and then him. Men were always the same, no matter from whence they hailed.
“Please don’t go. I would like to hear more of your travels,” he said.
“I must go congratulate my brother,” she said. “It appears you have a more pressing conversation at the moment.”
With that she drew her arm from his grasp and stepped over the bench. The servant gave her a smirk and lifted her head slightly as if in victory. Elspeth wasn’t the angry or jealous sort, but she was also not interested in witnessing a private conversation between anyone. Surprisingly, as soon as she stood, her headache completely subsided and all the previous flickering around her vision disappeared. She was almost lightheaded with relief. Her morbid curiosity had her glance over her shoulder where she could see Magnus glaring at the poor servant girl; her expression was pitiful with her head bowed low. Elspeth had seen enough. She’d viewed enough of Kenneth’s antics with the servants to have any interest in the goings on here. While she found this Magnus incredibly attractive and she was absolutely drawn to him, she was not prepared to fling herself into his or any man’s clutches.
“There you are, my darling sister,” Osgar said. “I thought you’d abandoned us for the chieftain’s brother.”
“Nay, Osgar. A moment of being caught up in the excitement of the moment, mayhap, but I am back to myself now,” she said and straightened her skirt. “I believe congratulations are in order, brother. I have only known your betrothed for a short time, but may I say she has one of the kindest souls I have ever known.”
Elspeth turned to Vigdis and embraced her. It was true, the lass didn’t have an unkind bone in her body. Stepping back from the embrace she smiled at her soon-to-be sister. “Please take good care of my brother. He is not like any man I’ve ever known. Please be good to him.”
Vigdis smiled back. “I will do my best.”
The woman was a perfect match for her brother.
“May I join in on the well wishes,” her brother Kenneth said from behind her. She thought he’d left.
“Aye, you can,” Osgar said, “but our conversation about Elspeth is not concluded. You are lucky the chieftain was satisfied for you to stay, considering your treatment of her.”
“I can speak for myself,” Elspeth said, suddenly irritated with her brother talking about her as though she weren’t there. “Kenneth, I am sorry for not asking you if I could join you on your travels, but you were wrong to try to exploit me to the Dublin King and arrange a match with this chieftain.”
“You may think you are master of your destiny, sister, but one of myself or Osgar will be responsible for your future. I was merely taking advantage of the moment. But ’tis a moot point. You have no gift and so are useless to the king, and it appears there is no one here interested in matching with you,” he said as he lifted his head toward the bench behind her.
Elspeth looked to see Magnus and the servant speaking closely and holding hands. She looked back and caught Vigdis’ eye.
“It is not what you think.”
“It is of no matter to me. As my brother said, there is no one here interested in me. Now if you will excuse me, my earlier headache has returned. I shall retreat to the inner chamber for a time to rest my head.
Before anyone could object, Elspeth moved past them and walked swiftly to the chamber and closed the door. She threw the wreath from her head into the corner and slumped into a chair by the fire. It barely crackled so she threw on more wood and soon the fire was raging. Its warmth did much to soothe the throbbing in her head. She was certain Vigdis and her brothers would understand if she did not appear any more this night. A knock at the door produced a servant with a huge platter of food, a pitcher and a goblet.
After she’d sampled the feast, Elspeth removed her gown and crawled under the furs. The fire would not need tending for hours and so she let herself slip into that cozy mindset where nothing else existed but a full belly, a crackling fire, and warm covers.
CHAPTER FIVE
Magnus was beyond frustrated. While he understood Yrsa’s feelings, it was completely unfair of her to present herself in such a manner that would make anyone believe there’d been anything between them at any point. He had to get Bjorn to talk to her and he desperately wanted to explain himself to Elspeth. He knew what it looked like and he could understand the disappointment in her expression.
Sweet Freya, he found her so intriguing. He wanted to know all about her gift. He wasn’t sure if he believed in such things, but Odin’s ravens told of many things to come. Could Odin’s power have stretched to someone who did not revere him? The more he thought about it, the more he was curious. If only Freydis was here to ask. She’d been casting runes for years and seemed to have an insight like no other.
“You seem troubled, brother,” Gunnar said. “Come and share a horn with me and join in celebrating your sister.”
“Thank you,” he said and joined Gunnar at the head table.
Magnus picked at his food as he scanned the hall. So many triumphs had been celebrated here in the years since his grandfather had settled on this part of Islay. The clan had thrived and though Gunnar considered Snorri Short-Beard a threat on the west of Islay, there was plenty for them both and then some. These lands of Alba were lush and had provided well all these years. Gunnar had long since set aside farmlands to the south for Magnus for whenever he was ready. The land would yield bounty there too, but was he ready for that?
He’d spent much of the last two years visiting all the islands along Alba’s west coast and had even travelled as far north as Iceland. There was still so much he wanted to see and explore before he moored up for good. Once he was married, he would be responsible to provide for his family and any others who stayed with them. It was common for villagers to branch off with siblings of chieftains when their time came to cultivate their own lands. Magnus wanted Bjorn to join him and would secure a parcel of his land for his oldest friend. But he would not do so it if meant Yrsa would join him. This business with her had to end here and now and her father had to take responsibility for her once and for all.
“Your brooding is souring my ale,” Gunnar said, rousing him from his musings.
“I am sorry, brother. I do not mean to dampen the festivities.”
“You gave me an ultimatum earlier. Did you mean that?”
