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Caoimhe was grateful for the clothes and the grain. With help from Sven, she carried the crate back to Kylie's house. As the only survivor of the attack, she felt as though she should have first pick of the clothes, although, of course, she would be eager to share with everyone else. Seeing the clothes made her think of that moment by the river when life was simple, when she and Elise had been washing clothes and speaking of matters that seemed wholly unimportant now. It was painful to think of them because she did not know what had become of Elise or the other women. Her mind naturally thought of the worse possibilities, and she prayed quickly that they might be kept safe.

Sven left her by herself as she tried on a few clothes. For the past day or so, she had been borrowing some of Kylie's clothes, and while they did have a similar build, the clothes did not fit perfectly. Caoimhe rummaged through the offerings and found a few outfits that suited her perfectly. She changed immediately and then ventured outside, letting everyone else know that there were clothes to be had. A great crowd gathered around the clothes as she doled them out, and she had to correct people when they thought that Sven had brought them. It felt strange to defend Egon like this, and despite people knowing that he had been responsible for bringing these clothes to the village, their opinion of him did not seem to change. There were moments when he seemed like a sensitive man, but others when he seemed rigid and callous, like earlier when he had interrupted her conversation with Sven. On reflection, what he said made sense, but he said it in such a blunt way that he came across as uncaring.

Sven, on the other hand, always knew the right thing to say and how to say it. Thanks to the two of them, she was quickly learning that not all Vikings were the same, and she was inclined to follow Sven's lead when he suggested that Egon could not be trusted. It was difficult to have faith in someone who showed such little emotion. If she had to make a snap decision about who to take on a quest to rescue her father, then she would have chosen Sven. But she couldn't deny the fact that Egon had brought back grain and these clothes. Perhaps she needed to look at people's actions rather than their words.

After the clothes had been shared out among the villagers, with a few garments left behind in case anyone else came seeking refuge, Caoimhe walked across the village to see Egon sharing out the grain. He worked diligently to ensure that nobody had more than their fair share. Seeing him in this element offered her a glimpse of his commanding nature, and for a moment, she couldn't believe that she had actually suspected him of being present in the raid upon her village. She couldn't imagine why anyone would put themselves through this when they had attacked another Highland village.

She wandered over and asked Egon if she could help. She smiled sweetly, and Egon welcomed her offer. To her surprise, he offered to help when he heard someone complain about damage to their house. Egon moved away to perform some handiwork. She glanced at him occasionally, and at one point, she saw him bend down and dig something out of the dirt. She wasn't sure what, though. Perhaps it was a Viking custom to lift something out of the ground.

He returned to her just as the grain had finished being shared out.

“Thank ye for what ye hae done taeday. Everyone is grateful, including me,” she said.

Egon's face was brittle, and he looked at her blankly. “I know it is not the help you wanted, but I hope you understand that this is what needs to be done. I am trying to look after the welfare of your people,” he said.

“I see that,” Caoimhe replied, taken aback by the force of his words. “I just want my father back, that's all.”

“I understand,” Egon said. “I need to rest and eat now.” He went to turn away, but before he did so, he left one last comment, one that struck her in the heart. “Oh, and you might be surprised to know that I do have emotions, but I'm not in the habit of letting them rule my judgment or showing them to people who I do not know.”

Before Caoimhe could say anything, he was already walking away, and she was left feeling guilty. She hadn't realized that he had heard what Sven said, which meant that he also heard her agreeing with Sven. He was more complicated than she had given him credit for, and she felt ashamed for jumping to conclusions about him. He had come here to try and reassure the villagers. He had brought them food and clothes, and he had shown that he was a pious man. She had to face the possibility that she had been unfair in judging him, and she didn't like it at all.

After Egon left, Caoimhe went to check his handiwork. The person who had been complaining earlier was very satisfied with what Egon had done.

“I hate tae admit it,” he said, “but if ye want a job done well, then ye cannae look no further than a Viking tae get it done.”

Caoimhe let her gaze linger on the mended wood, wishing that emotional trauma was as easy to fix.

She walked back through the village and returned home. When she arrived, she was surprised to see Sven standing in the doorway, making his goodbyes to Kylie and Andrew. They all seemed in good spirits.

Sven turned to Caoimhe. “My apologies that I have just missed you, but your family has been ever so kind. I promise that I will see you very soon,” he said, bowing slightly before he left.

Caoimhe looked at Kylie and Andrew with a crinkled brow.

“What was he daeing here?” Caoimhe asked as she walked in. Kylie and Andrew followed. Kylie was almost shaking with excitement.

“We invited him here,” Andrew said. “We thought it was prudent that we should explore various...possibilities.”

“What kind of possibilities?” Caoimhe asked warily, glaring at her sister.

“Oh, dinnae look sae glum,” Kylie said with a dismissive wave of the hand. There was a broad grin upon her face. “This is a good thing! As yer elder sister, it's my job tae look after ye and make sure that ye are nae gaeing tae waste any opportunity, and it's nae likely that handsome men are gaeing tae wander intae our village every day. I invited Sven in tae get tae know him better.”

Caoimhe pouted and shook her head. “I told ye that I did nae want ye tae dae this! I was getting tae know him in my own time.”

“Well, I wanted tae get tae know him tae and see if my instincts were true. I told you I thought he haes taken a liking tae ye,” she said with a knowing smile. Despite feeling ambushed, Caoimhe was curious about what had been discussed here.

“What did he say?” Caoimhe asked.

“He was very complimentary,” Andrew said.

“Oh, he was more than complimentary!” Kylie squealed. “He practically confessed that he was in love with ye!”

“He did?” Caoimhe gasped, her eyes wide with surprise.

“I wouldnae say he went as far as that, Kylie. Let's nae get Caoimhe's hopes up,” Andrew said cautiously.

“He didnae say it plainly, but if ye looked, it was written all over his face! Oh, ye should hae heard him, Caoimhe. He said that he haed taken a liking tae ye as soon as ye first met, and he is sympathetic tae yer plight. He wanted us tae know that he will dae everything in his power tae find Da again, and he said that what he really wants is tae find a lass tae marry and hae a family. Apparently this Viking...”

“Arne Hagen,” Andrew offered when Kylie struggled to remember the name.

Kylie nodded and picked up from where she had left off. “...thinks very highly of him. He's a man of prospects, and that's a rare thing tae find in this world. I know he's a Viking, and ye dinnae hae fond opinions of them, but ye cannae deny that he haes made a good impression on the place. I dare say ye would find it difficult tae dae better than him. I would think long and hard on this, Caoimhe. This could be yer chance,” Kylie said.

It was difficult to prevent herself from getting swept up in her sister's excitement, but Caoimhe's feelings were tempered by her own reticence. She offered a smile because it was good news, and she had certainly shared this warm feeling with Sven, but she was still unsure about marriage.

“I would appreciate if ye didnae gae behind my back again,” she said, “but I understand why ye did it. I promise ye that I will think on the matter. I know tae ye it may seem like I am being difficult for the sake of being difficult, but I just want tae make sure that when I choose a husband, I make the right choice. I want tae be as fortunate as ye are,” Caoimhe said. Andrew puffed out his chest and lifted his head at the compliment.

“Just be careful ye dinnae wait tae long. Yer youth will gae by like that. Sven is a good man. I’d bet my life on it. I can see ye two being very happy taegether,” she said.

Caoimhe nodded and agreed that Sven was a very good prospect indeed. He was kind, compassionate, he made her laugh, and he always seemed to know the right thing to say. The people of the village had gravitated towards him almost immediately as well, so it was impossible to pretend that all of these people could be wrong.

But there was one important difference between Kylie, the people of the village, and Caoimhe: none of them were going to have to marry the man. Caoimhe had always remembered what her mother had told her about when she had fallen in love with Caoimhe's father. She said that when she met Cameron, she could not think of any other man and that it never entered her head that there might be someone else she could fall in love with. There was absolutely no doubt in her mind that Cameron was the man she wanted to marry. Ever since that story had been shared with Caoimhe, she wanted the same thing to be true for herself. But she wouldn't confess the truth to Kylie, for there was another man on her mind. For some reason, she couldn't stop thinking about Egon, and it was entirely puzzling why this should be the case. He wasn't anything like Sven, and yet there was a part of her that was drawn to him, a part of her that felt sorry for hurting him, a part that wondered what emotions stirred under the surface of his flesh.

It troubled her that she was so torn, especially between two Vikings.