Chapter 12
“Haakon?”
Gytha stilled in shock when the open door revealed the tall Norseman.
Every time someone had knocked on the door in the last few days she had hoped it would be him.
After a series of disillusions she had stopped hoping.
Except that here he was. To think she had been about to go see Agnes at her market stall!
Had she not taken more time than usual to braid her hair, she would have missed him.
What was he doing here, looking just as perfect as in her memory? His hair was falling in soft coils over his muscular shoulders. She remembered wondering if he ever wore it braided the last time he’d been in her house. She still had no idea and was more curious than ever.
“Do you ever wear your hair braided?” she blurted out before thinking the better of the question.
He arched a brow and ran a hand through the silken strands as if to check whether his hair was braided or not. “I do, actually, on occasion. But aren’t you supposed to say hello or ask what had brought me to your door?”
She was, of course, and he had not let her blunder pass unnoticed. But then again, why should he?
“Hello. What are you doing here?”
The smile he gave her showed that the attempt at breeziness was lost on him. Nevertheless, he didn’t insist and instead answered the question. “I had business in town and I thought I would come to see how you were faring while I was here.”
His gaze fluttered to her left cheek, the one that had been bruised by Oswald the other day. Gytha was very touched that he should have gone to the trouble of enquiring after her.
“I’m well, as you can see, thank you.”
His blue eyes hardened. “No, I don’t see that. You do look better, I will admit.” He brought a hand to her cheek and gave a light stroke. “But the bruise has not completely faded yet.”
Stop touching me like this, she prayed silently, or I might rip my own clothes off and impale myself on your cock.
Lord, oh Lord, what was wrong with her? Haakon had been here for mere moments and here she was, already entertaining lewd thoughts and thinking in the crudest of terms.
“Here,” he said, taking his hand away from her cheek. “I brought these for you.”
With those words he deposited a leather pouch in her hand.
“What is it?”
His eyes sparkled in what was obviously mischief. “Look, and you will find out.”
She did find out. When she emptied the contents of the pouch into her palm, Gytha found herself staring at the most beautiful earrings she had ever seen.
“What is this?” she repeated. She knew what it was, but not why it was in her hand, which seemed to be the important bit of information.
Haakon’s mouth twitched. “Earrings,” he said, lowering his face to hers. She was instantly reminded of the heated kiss they had shared the other day. Not that she had not thought about it a hundred times since then. “In the shape of flowers.”
Well, yes, this much she could see. “I mean…”
He laughed. “I know what you mean. I asked my father to make these for you the day you told me you wanted to pierce your ears.”
She understood then that he had not just made a detour to come see her, he had come to town with the intention of seeing her and giving the earrings to her.
If he had not, he would not have brought them along with him.
Her mind started to reel with the realization that he had asked his father to do this days ago, just for the pleasure of surprising her.
“But you…you shouldn’t have gone to all that trouble.”
“It was not trouble. He was more than happy for the opportunity to do a dog rose, his favorite thing to do.”
Gytha took one earring to examine it, remembering the brooches pinned on Eadhild’s dress on her wedding day.
They had been beautiful but by necessity rather sturdy, as they’d had to fulfil a function and hold heavy fabric in place.
There had been no such constraints here.
The smallness of the earrings had allowed Caedmon to beat the metal as thinly as possible and exploit his creativity to the full.
“This is exquisite work.” She was truly awed. “But I cannot accept—”
“Let me stop you right here. You can and you will. I’m certainly not going to wear them myself.”
The thought of this fierce man with the dainty golden earrings dangling from his ears wrenched a smile out of her. “But—”
“But nothing.” The raised hand was not to be ignored. “I refuse to carry them back home so they will have to remain here. If you don’t wear them, then don’t. But then the exquisite work will just be wasted. This burden will be yours to carry.”
“You’re not making it easy for me to refuse, are you?”
“No. And why should I?”
She didn’t have any good reasons to offer. So she said nothing. Instead she thanked him. “I love them. Thank you.” As she spoke, tears sprung to her eyes.
Fortunately, Haakon pretended not to see them. “Do you want to put them on?”
Trust him to assume that she had at last been brave enough to do what she had wanted to do for years.
“I would but I still haven’t found the courage to pierce my ears,” she admitted, covering her earlobes in a move betraying her nervousness. Would he not be too disappointed by her lack of courage? She hoped not, because his opinion mattered to her.
“It’s no issue.” The smile he gave her was tenderness itself. “I know you will find the courage to do it one day. And perhaps having the earrings ready will give you the incentive you need when you think the right moment has come.”
Dear Lord, how did he do that? Make her feel special and brave and ready to face the world head on. Suddenly there was no doubt in Gytha’s mind that this was the right moment.
“I will do it now, if you…” She hesitated. He likely had other things to do than watch a woman drive a needle through her earlobes but she had to at least ask. “Will you stay with me?”
To her relief, he didn’t even blink. “Of course.”
“Thank you.”
She led the way to her room and he followed as if it were the normal thing to do. As they entered, she saw his gaze flick over to the place where he had pinned Oswald against the wall the other day.
“What happened to him?” he asked before she could even close the door behind her.
“As you know, my father went to see Leofric to explain what had happened. The two brothers never got on and this, I fear, was the last straw. He was ordered to leave town and we know he did the following day. I don’t think we will ever see him again,” she concluded.
There would be no more talk of marriage between them. The relief that assurance brought was overwhelming. But Haakon didn’t seem so easily appeased.
“Mm. As long as you don’t. If you ever catch a glimpse of him, or hear that he has been spotted in the vicinity, you send word to me, you understand? I say he got away too lightly for what he did.”
Since she had no idea what he had done to him—and didn’t want to know—Gytha didn’t comment.
She was convinced she had seen the last of Oswald and that was all she needed to know.
She stared deep into Haakon’s blue eyes, trying to still the beatings of her heart.
That he wanted to take her defense moved her more than she could say.
The way he was looking at her sent flutters to her stomach. Was he about to kiss her? Had he come to her room to have his way with her at last?
“So?” he said softly. “Are you ready to do it?”
Ready? Gytha blinked. He really was about to surrender to the desire burning between them. Then she understood. He was talking about the earrings, nothing more. He hadn’t come to her room to tumble her into bed. More’s the pity.
“Yes. I’m ready.” Ready as she would ever be, at least.
Before she could change her mind, she reached for her sewing box.
The beautiful, intricately carved object had once belonged to her grandmother.
It seemed fitting that something belonging to the dear woman would be used to aid her in her enterprise.
After taking a moment to stroke the lid as she always did, and run a finger along the familiar pattern, Gytha selected the thickest needle she could find.
The earrings Haakon had had made for her were delicate but she wanted to be sure the hole was wide enough to let them through without any problem.
“This should do it.”
“I think so.”
Satisfied, she brought the needle to the brazier. There was just enough of a flame left to heat it and ensure it was free of impurities.
When she was done, Haakon guided her to the stool. “Here, you’d better sit down.”
She obeyed, agreeing that she needed to be as still as possible. Then she placed the earrings on the bed next to her and positioned the tip of the needle against her earlobe before she could lose her nerve.
“Is it in the middle?”
This was another advantage of having someone with her.
Haakon could make sure she pierced the right place.
She had once seen a woman whose holes had been a hair’s breadth away from the edge of the lobe.
It had hurt Gytha every time she had looked at her earrings and imagined her getting them caught by mistake while the woman got dressed.
One tug and the flesh would rip. She didn’t want that.
“Yes. Perfect,” Haakon confirmed before smiling at her.
There was no excuse to delay any longer. Holding the lobe taut Gytha pushed the needle through with decision—and stifled a cry when pain tore through her. That had hurt more than she had imagined.
A tear escaped her eye when she withdrew the needle slowly. She wiped it down, appalled. It wasn’t over. There was still the other ear to do. Would she be brave enough, now that she knew what was coming? She would have to, as she could not remain with only one ear pierced.
“Perhaps I can do the second one for you?” Haakon offered.
Everything within her melted. He had seen her distress and wanted to help. “Please,” she whispered, handing him the needle.
“Let me get a piece of linen to wipe the blood off first.”