It had been as good an arrangement as they could have hoped. But a few days ago, disaster had struck.
“We thought Mildred had left for good, fearing the Norsemen, so after a few months we relaxed our guard and attempted to lead a real life. We could have gone away, of course, which is what I wanted to do, but Judith preferred to stay in a familiar place for the winter, since we had been offered a warm and comfortable accommodation. I agreed to wait for spring.” She shook her head. In the end, it had been the wrong decision. “Mildred happened upon us at the market last week. Before I could react, Walstan caught my friend. I could not run and abandon her.”
“Why did they come back if they thought my grandfather was after them?”
“They wanted revenge, and had decided that he likely had forgotten all about them by now. It’s been five months.”
Ulf sighed. “Yes. He hasn’t forgotten, exactly. But he thought, like you, that they were gone for good and unfortunately, too many things require his attention for him to remain focused on one single mission.”
Indeed. The world was not short of bastards in need of punishment.
“Well, Mildred came back with the intention of making him suffer. Rather than risk her own life, she decided to use us, seeing as we had so conveniently put ourselves in her path. Why she decided to send me instead of Judith, I have no idea but I wish… I wish she had killed me instead of making me do this. Ispent the last twelve years wondering whether I was grateful not to have been sold on or not. Now I know I’m not, because she made me try to kill someone.” Ylva closed her eyes. “So now you know why I apologized. Because I truly am sorry.”
Silence spread through the hut while Ylva waited for Ulf’s reaction. He had listened, without judging. Would he do more?
“Please. You must help me,” she said when he did not answer.
“By dying? I don’t think so.”
As she had expected such an answer, Ylva did not let it rile her. After all, what else was he supposed to say? No one would sacrifice themselves thus, especially not for someone they didn’t know.
“No, of course not. But… Don’t you see?”
It was time to tell him the plan that had started to form in her mind. It was a mad plan, admittedly, but it was the only one she had, and she refused to give up just yet. She had to do all she could to save Judith, however extreme, however ridiculous, however risky. Hadn’t she just tried to stab a man? Nothing she did would make her feel worse than that.
“What don’t I see?” He sounded curious rather than dismissive.
“Mildred only needs to hear that you died. That’s all we need, for her to think I have done what she wanted me to do, to think that Wolf is a broken man because of the loss of his grandson. Even if she realizes the truth afterward, it will not matter. Judith will be free. And this time we will make sure to disappear for good as soon as we are released.”
It was the perfect solution. If Ulf and his family accepted her plan, it could work. But why would they refuse?
Maybe because you just tried to kill one of them and they don’t care about what happens to you or Judith?
“How do you suppose we achieve this?”
“I’m not sure, but there has to be a way. There has to be.”
Ulf eyed her up and down as if deciding whether to trust her or not. “It sounds to me as if you are simply trying to make me release you so you can escape punishment for what you did.”
“I swear I’m not!” Well, she was trying to make him release her, but only so that she could go and save Judith.
There was no answer.
And just like that, the fight went out of Ylva. Her gamble hadn’t paid off and she didn’t have any other ideas. It was over. She would be punished for what she had done and Judith would die. There was no way to prevent it.
“In spite of everything, I’m glad I didn’t kill you,” she whispered, feeling a fat tear slide down her cheek. Tied as she was, she couldn’t wipe it away, but she didn’t mind. She deserved all the misery she got for what she’d done, and anyway, she wasn’t crying for herself.
He knelt in front of her. “No need to cry. There’s no harm done. You didn’t truly hurt me.”
To her shock, he wiped her cheek clean. And then he did something that surprised even her more.
He freed her.
At first, when he seized the bloodied dagger Haakon had deposited on the table and walked over to her with the blade pointing her way, Ylva thought he would use it to get his revenge on her. She screwed her eyes shut, ready for the blow that would put an end to her miserable existence. The blade that should have killed him would instead serve to kill her. Perhaps it was only justice.
“Please, just go and free Judith when you’ve killed me,” she begged, doing her best not to tremble. “I accept your punishment for what I did to you but please, save my friend. She is innocent, she has done nothing to deserve any of this.”
She felt Ulf stop in front of her. This was it. Ylva held her breath.
