Duty Calls #2
Much later, they smoothed their clothes, ate dinner, and drank tea before retiring. Rathnon resolved to tell his wife the following day what the king’s letter had demanded of him. He needed one more day’s work before he shared his news with her.
Rathnon left his wife’s side before dawn the next morning. He charged a reliable man with training and was able to return in late afternoon, taking Ilona for a walk in the forest. Rathnon stopped and kissed her along the way, and finally, they stood on the hill overlooking the sea.
He had tied a cloth over her eyes for the last few hundred yards. Rathnon pulled off the cloth and watched her face intently as he turned her around to see her surprise.
Ilona didn’t ken where to look. More than a traditional longhouse, the house’s walls were built of sturdy stones, with the roof covered in sod. He had even planted a few clusters of flowers outside the front door.
“Rathnon, is this why ye are fatigued? Oh, it is beautiful. Is it for us?” Her face lit up with joy. “Ye did all this?” Ilona kissed him, hugging him tightly to herself.
“I made it with the help of the men. It is for us to live in someday. It is nae finished. I thought we could stay here tonight, and ye could tell me how ye would like the inside finished.” She lost it then, overwhelmed by Rathnon building this for them, tears flowing down her cheeks. “Let’s go inside and ye can see it.”
He held open the door and lit a lantern.
He picked her up in his arms and carried her across the threshold before setting her down.
Inside the surprisingly spacious home, two bedrooms lacked furniture and doors yet.
A hearth sat in the middle of the room, along with a stone oven with a chimney against a wall.
Wooden cabinets and counters gleamed in the flickering light.
Supported by wood, the stone sink could be used for washing dishes or garments.
Open wooden shelves in the kitchen were empty.
Attached to the wall by the doorframe was a large, sturdy rack of deer antlers for hanging wet garments.
A box filled with chopped wooden logs and an enormous basket of peat stood next to the front door.
Their home would be cozy and warm during the winter months.
Ilona walked in circles, admiring the care and workmanship in crafting every aspect of their new home. She touched the wood and the sink, still astonished by all Rathnon had done. Tears of joy filled her eyes.
“Thank ye, Rathnon. It is lovely and more beautiful than I dreamed.” Ilona threw her arms around him with abandon and poured kisses on his face and lips, filling him with happiness.
“Oh look,” she said, pointing, “ye even put stones on the floor, and I can wash them. It is like my parents’ home. I love it. Thank ye for doing this for us. I can’t wait for us to move in.” Rathnon eyed her with a strange expression.
“Let’s go swim in the loch. Then we can eat the dinner I brought.”
Ilona agreed, and at the loch they shed their clothes to bathe and swim. Today had been a hot day, muggy with the heat, a herald of a storm brewing off the coast. After they dressed, they held hands as they sauntered back to their house on the hill overlooking the sea.
They ate a picnic dinner outside. In the gloaming, the soft greenish sheen of light from glowworms searching for their mates glowed, creating a magic all their own.
Rathnon cradled Ilona in his arms, stroking her skin and kissing her head.
“Ilona, ye were right, and I have been worried.
I kent shortly after we left the castle the king would call me to duty again.
“This week, the king sent me a letter by courier. He has called me to return to the castle. This time, it seems we will sail a small fleet of ships for trading. I do nae ken how long I will be gone, but it will be several months. I am sorry ye must remain here. That is why ye won’t be able to stay in our house until I return.
For me to do my work, I need to ken ye are safe, lass.
I love ye with every breath I take. I cannae bear to leave ye, and yet… I must.”
“I ken, Rathnon.” Ilona stroked his cheeks with her fingertips.
“I treasure every day we spend together. I appreciate all the labor ye and the men did to build this house. But it will nae be a home until we live together in it. I will wait for yer return in the longhouse, whenever ye can return to me. Ye carry my heart with ye wherever ye travel.”
“Lass, I love ye with all my heart.”
“When will ye leave?”
“The man will arrive tomorrow to accompany me back to the king. It is sooner than I’d like. I wish I could have finished the house for ye before I left. I wish I never had to leave ye.”
Rathnon pulled her into his arms and made a blanket on the ground with his tunic.
Under the stars and surrounded by the light of the glowworms, Rathnon made passionate love to his wife.
Ilona ached to tell him she was pregnant with his child.
But she felt it would be an additional burden, compounding his existing worries.
Afterward, Rathnon picked her up and laid her on the floor of their home on rugs and blankets he had placed inside.
He banished their worries with their lovemaking, falling asleep right before dawn.
They clung to each other, memorizing each other’s bodies.
They reveled in the sensation of being held by each other. Morning came too soon.
Ilona kissed Rathnon’s face all over while he held her tightly before they rose from their makeshift bed. The skies were gray, and a morning mist clung over the land. A cooler day, autumn would soon arrive.
With a full heart, Ilona helped him carry the furs back to the longhouse well before the mid-morning meal. She gave Rathnon the tunic-style jacket she had completed with a leather front and heavy wool back as well as fur-trimmed sleeves and hood.
Rathnon admired it. “I love yer weaving, sewing, and designing skills ye used—all combined to make this great jacket for me.” He tried it on and moved around in it, swinging his arms as if wielding a sword.
“Lass, this is the best jacket I have ever owned. Keeping me warm on my journey, it will warm my heart while I am missing ye.”
Ilona helped him pack for his journey, placing his clothes in thick oilskin sacks that would keep his clothes dry. She tucked inside a smaller one with dried meat, cheese, and bread.
The courier arrived after the mid-morning meal. Ilona felt her heart shattering even more than when Rathnon stole her from her home in Scotland. She tried to stem the tide of tears filling her eyes. It seemed as effective as trying to stop the rain in a torrential storm.
“I love ye, Ilona. Please stay safe while I am away. I will return to ye as soon as possible,” Rathnon said as he held Ilona one last time tightly in his arms.
“Please be safe, Rathnon. I will try to be strong and stay safe while ye are away. I cannae wait until ye return to me. Ye carry my heart with ye.” They kissed one last time before he mounted his horse and rode away alongside the courier.
The rest of the village waved and wished him well on his journey.
Grateful Liv was at her side, Ilona’s tears blurred her vision. Ilona accompanied Liv to the healer’s house, where Liv made tea for her so she could collect herself.
Over tea, Ilona confessed. “I could nae tell him, Liv. It grieves me that I could nae tell him about the bairn. He already carries a heavy burden of worries, and I could nae burden him with more. I do nae want his worrying about me to interfere with his duties or place him in greater danger.”
“I understand, lass. It is hard to determine the best way forward, especially when it concerns someone we love. We want what is best for them. It is hard to determine the best path.”
“Aye. Do ye ken where he went and what he did before he returned exhausted?”
“Nae.”
“He and a few of the men built us a stone house in the forest. It is on a hill overlooking the sea, close to the loch. It is so beautiful, ye can nae imagine. I will take ye to see it. It is like our homes in Scotland, like my parents’ house.”
“I ken he loves ye with all his heart, Ilona, and he wanted to show ye what ye mean to him.”
“Aye, he showed me unexpectedly. It is nae finished. It needs doors for the rooms and to be stocked with cooking items and furniture. I want a proper bed for Rathnon and will ask Ivar to see if I can trade him for clothes. I need to return to stay at the longhouse in the meantime.”
“Lass, ye ken ye can stay here with me anytime ye want.”
“I need to make myself useful. There is much yet to do before winter arrives, and I want to help. I will look forward to taking tea with ye in the future.” Liv and Ilona hugged, and Ilona returned to the longhouse and spoke to Sigrid.
“Ye have seen Rathnon leave many times over the years and looked forward to his return from season to season. I pray their trading goes well so that he can return well before winter arrives. I will try to make him proud of me and be useful to his clan.”
“Ye are a blessing for all of us, Ilona. I don’t ken what any of us would do without ye. Rathnon will miss ye very much. I ken he wishes he could be back with ye already. I’m sure he looks forward to returning to ye as much if nae more than ye do. “
In the weeks after Rathnon left, Ilona missed him terribly.
She attempted to keep herself distracted by pouring her heart into her work.
She used the leaves she had gathered with Rathnon to dye a batch of wool yarn in a lovely shade of green.
When she completed dyeing the yarn, she used the loom to weave the wool.
In the afternoon, Ilona shared a quiet interlude with Sigrid and shared with her the news that she and Rathnon were expecting their first child.