Rathnon’s Return and Surprise
Rathnon’s Return and Surprise
The entire time Rathnon rode home, his mind filled with images and the scent of Ilona, whom he yearned for. It was frosty, with a chill wind that bit while the skies remained bleak, heralding snowfall. Thinking of Ilona warmed his heart and his body.
Urgently, he coaxed his stallion along the trail in the forest to his home and Ilona. Has she missed me as much as I missed her? Rathnon knew, he loved Ilona. He pondered whether her feelings toward him had changed. Or since being far away from her, had she grown to dislike him?
Rathnon stopped to relieve himself in the forest and allowed his mount to drink and find a few blades of grass to nibble. With a handful of oats, he fed him to sustain him on their journey home. As much as he wished to be with Ilona, he would not neglect his mount.
This horse had carried him in battle many times as well as when he discovered Ilona.
Overwhelmed with the need to urge his mount forward, he mounted his horse again and they rode toward home.
Rathnon’s heart raced in his chest at the thought of Ilona and holding her in his arms again.
He had dreamed the entire time away of kissing Ilona and more.
Then the village materialized before him, and he leapt from his horse and walked it to the stable. One lad greeted him and took over the care of his stallion. Rathnon removed his belongings from his horse and carried them inside the longhouse.
Immediately his eyes searched for his wife. But he didn’t see her anywhere. Rathnon’s heart thundered with worry. Where could she be? Has something happened to her? Everyone welcomed him home. Sigrid came and hugged him.
“Rathnon, I am happy you are here and safe from your travels as I imagine you are too. You were gone longer than we expected. Ilona will be relieved to see you back home. She missed you.”
“Where is she?”
“Ilona is not here at the moment.” Sigrid saw his worried expression and quickly reassured him. “She walked to your house to place things inside for you. Ilona has been excited knowing you would be returning soon. You will surprise her if you go there before she returns for dinner.”
“Takk. I’ll go there now. Is there any food I can take with me?”
“Aye, I’ll prepare it for you.” Rathnon unlocked his chest and unpacked a few items from his bag, placing them inside the chest. He relocked it.
While waiting for Sigrid to prepare the food, he washed his face and hands.
Sigrid gave Rathnon a sack of food, and he bid her goodbye and ran up the hill to his house and Ilona.
Intent and bent over a garden in the front of their house, Ilona clearly had not heard his approach.
Rathnon stood out of sight. After being absent for so long, he basked in the sight of his wife.
Ilona continually amazed him, and he admired her with awe.
Now his heart beat with lust and love. Rathnon wished to devour his wife.
But when she turned around, he staggered, totally unprepared for the vision of his wife aglow and, more so, the unmistakable roundness of her belly, showing her pregnancy. Ilona is pregnant with our child.
Rathnon ran to her and called her name to announce himself and not frighten her. He scooped her up in his arms and spun her around and devoured her lips in a passionate kiss. Then he stood her on the ground and dropped to his knees. Rathnon kissed her round abdomen over and over.
“Ilona, I missed ye,” he said in Gaelic, his first time speaking it again in all the time he’d been away. “I was lonely without ye. I couldn’t wait to return to ye.” He embraced her, still kneeling. “We will stay here tonight, and I brought dinner for us. How are ye feeling?”
“I am happy ye are back safely, Rathnon. I missed ye very much,” she said rather shyly, glancing at him. Ilona had a hard time believing he was home. “I am nae dreaming, am I? I dreamed of yer return for months. Even Sigrid was surprised ye had nae returned before now. “
Holding Ilona in his arms, Rathnon said, “How far along are ye and when will our bairn be born? Has the bairn given ye problems?”
“I am feeling fine, and our bairn is due to be born in the spring. He is active, and the only trouble he’s given me is my need to relieve myself often.”
“Ye think our bairn is a boy then?”
“Aye, I do. Ye must be tired and hungry. Come inside and we can eat and ye can rest.” Ilona stood back as he entered to assess his reaction to the additions she had made in his absence.
Rathnon looked around the kitchen and living areas and noted the shelves with herbs and spices for cooking.
Pots and pans hung near the oven. The fragrance of heather in a vase on a large rectangular table with benches filled their home.
A lantern’s candle flickered on the table.
Ilona’s current sewing project lay on the table.
Peat smoked from the central hearth. The room was warm enough to take the chill out of the air. Rathnon placed more peat on the fire to warm the house during the night as it burned. Doors hung before both closed rooms, intriguing him.
Ilona had made their home comfortable and cozy. He took in the details that had initially escaped his notice. Rathnon removed his jacket and hung it on the rack of deer antlers by the front door.
“We need more staples, kitchen supplies, and a few other items to be comfortable yet. But I wanted it to be ready for ye when ye returned.” Rathnon took her in his arms and kissed her again.
“Ye are amazing, lass. Ye accomplished all this in the months I was away.”
“Thank ye, but Ivar is the one for ye to thank as he made and hung the doors. Ye can move yer chest to our room when ye are ready.” Rathnon strode over to the door and opened it. It shocked him to see Ilona had arranged for a huge bed for them.
A warm red wool blanket covered the bed. Then he noticed the carved headboard depicting Norway spruce trees, a majestic wolf, and a loch—a work of art. Rathnon ran his hands over the intricate carvings. “This is marvelous, Ilona. Who carved this? Did Ivar make the bed for us?”
Ilona laughed at his response and obvious delight in seeing the carved bed.
“Aye, Ivar made the bed and carved the headboard. We worked together on the design. I told him the elements I wanted that I hoped ye would like. I kent ye would appreciate yer own bed after years of sleeping on yer ships, outside, and on hard floors. I want our home to be yer peaceful haven.”
Holding her hand, he said, “Ye have made it that already, just by yer presence. It is beautiful, and I love that ye did this for me—for us. How did ye pay him for making all this?”
“I dyed and spun yarn, wove wool, and sewed the wool to make several tunics for him. That is all he wanted.”
Ilona unpacked the food Rathnon had brought while he continued to look through the house. The second room contained a chest with a lantern as well as a small pile of baby clothes lovingly stacked on top.
Rathnon picked up each item Ilona had made for their bairn with love. Moist tears threatened to spill from his eyes. Sigrid had been his only family until Ilona. Creating a family of their own filled him with great joy.
“Shall we eat now?” As Ilona moved to set food out, Rathnon stayed her hand and pulled her into his embrace.
“I am hungry, but nae for food right now. I’m hungry for ye, wife.
” Rathnon pulled Ilona into his embrace and led her into their bedroom.
Rathnon pulled back the blankets on the bed and slowly undressed his wife.
He kissed her skin tantalizingly each time he removed an item of clothing.
Rathnon wanted to proceed slowly and savor every inch of her skin and curves.
Ravenous for her, he feared he would not last long.
Ilona lay on the bed, shy about being naked with her round abdomen in front of her husband.
Rathnon marveled at his wife and her pregnant belly.
He caressed her abdomen and showered it with kisses.
This culminated in Rathnon making love to his wife in their new bed many times.
Rathnon took delight in his wife in their new home.
Hours later, they arose from their bed and took the lantern into the center room, where they finally ate dinner. Over dinner, they talked, and Rathnon shared the places he’d visited for the first time, enchanting Ilona with his engaging tales.
Rathnon held Ilona captivated with his stories of other countries, their customs, and food. He recounted feasts where he dined and regaled her with stories about how people in different lands lived and dressed.
Afterward, he pulled his wife into his arms and marveled once again—he was finally home. Returning to bed, Rathnon devoured his wife again with his insatiable appetite, away from her for too many months.
Now, with winter settling in all around them, it was unlikely the king would call on him.
Until spring, he could spend time with his wife.
The next day, he would see about obtaining more items needed for them to live in their home.
Rathnon wanted his wife’s happiness. He knew living in this house and affording her the privacy she had been accustomed to would help keep her content and at his side.
Rathnon found himself more reliant on Ilona every day and realized the depth of his feelings for his wife.
When later they hunted in the silent forest, he worried she still might try to escape and flee from him yet again.
His stomach clenched in pain at the thought.
Ilona is mine, and I will keep her with me.