6 #2
a??Aye, thata??s wonderful,a?? Mirana said. She sighed deeply, ignored her still hollow belly, and lay back.
a??Lord Rorik is gone hunting with the men.a??
a??There is game on the island?a??
a??Aye, but hea??s been careful to breed as much as he kills so that wea??ll never starve when there is a long storm and he and the men cana??t fish or row to the mainland to hunt.
This morning he and my father and some other men have sailed to shore to hunt there.
The coast is flat and there are salt marshes and bogs, but there are wild boars there that are quite tasty.
Everyone was tired of fish, though I know a very good recipe for roasting herring with juniper berries.a??
Mirana wanted some roasted boar right this instant or some roasted herring, she didna??t care which.
a??Would you like to get into Lord Rorika??s bed?a??
Mirana thought of other body parts than her stomach and nodded. She slowly rose, her back stiff, her buttocks sore, her right arm numb. It was then that Utta saw the chain. Her eyes widened with surprise.
a??Why did Lord Rorik do that to you?a??
a??Because he didna??t want to kill me just yet.a??
Mirana lay on the soft feather mattress. Utta pulled a blanket over her, then straightened.
a??If you would like to relieve yourself, I will bring you a pot. I dona??t know how to unfasten the chain so you can go to the privy.a??
It was humiliating, but the young girl treated it so matter-of-factly that Mirana felt boundless gratitude. She said, a??I will repay you for your kindness, Utta. If someday I can, I will repay you.a??
Utta merely shrugged. a??I thought you were a witch, thata??s what all the men were telling the women. But youa??re not. I hope you arena??t too frightened. You must sleep now. Later Old Alna will tend to the cuts on your hands and knees.a??
a??Thank you.a??
Utta turned in the doorway. a??My mother was sick for a long time before she died. I learned to care for her. Do you know how to cook?a??
a??Aye, certainly. I was mistress of my brothera??s fortress until Lord Rorik brought me here as his hostage.a??
a??Are you a very good cook?a??
a??Aye.a??
Utta was silent for a long moment. She fiddled with one of the brooches at her shoulder. She said finally, a??Why does Lord Rorik treat you like this?a??
But Mirana, her belly lulled, the feather mattress soft beneath her back, was fast asleep.
Rorik and his men returned late in the afternoon, covered with blood and smelly dried bog mud.
He himself had brought down the wild boar theya??d seen and hunted down, cornering it finally at the edge of a deep salt marsh.
Hea??d been pleased with himself and his men.
He was elated at the kill, he always was when his skill was sufficient.
But, since that time, his thoughts had gone to her.
He thought of her lying on the floor, chained to his bed, unable to relieve herself, no one to give her food.
He hated worrying. He hated even caring if the damned witch lived or died.
He shouldna??t have left her there, on the dirt floor, chained.
She had saved his life, for whatever reason.
He would treat her a bit better. He needed her alive. He would use her just as soon as he figured out how to do it. He would use her to bring Einar to him.
Hafter said over the flapping of the square sail, a??A wild boar, full grown and enough meat for the next two days. a??Twas a fine spear throw, Rorik, though I feared for a moment he would gore you.a??
Ottar agreed and spat over the side of the warship. Rorik merely nodded.
a??Did you hurt your shoulder anew?a??
a??Just enough to remind me of all my sins,a?? Rorik said, and the men laughed, watching him unconsciously massage and work the shoulder.
They rowed into the inlet. The men on the dock secured the warship and kicked its bow clear so it wouldna??t scrape against the wood. They hefted the boar onto their shoulders and started up the stone path to the palisade, singing and bragging of their prowess.
Hafter said to Rorik as they fell in line behind the other men, a??I have prayed to every god in Valhalla that Entti hasna??t prepared our meal tonight. My ribs are striking together.a??
Ottar laughed. a??Aye. But the other women say that she must take her turn, that it isna??t fair she just perform one taska??no matter how well she performs it.a??
a??She has remarkable talents,a?? Hafter said, grinning, his blue eyes lighting up. a??Surely it is enough to occupy her time.a??
Ottar just laughed. a??Aye, a??tis enough that she part her legs for me, for you, Hafter, for Gurd, or for you, Scullaa??a??
a??Nay, not for me,a?? Sculla said. a??I would crush her were I to take her.a?? This, Rorik thought, was probably the truth.
Sculla was so tall he had to bend over to enter the longhouse.
Sculla and Amma were well suited, at least in their respective sizes.
Ah, but Amma was a sharp-tongued woman, taking no orders from the men, even her husband.
a??Entti much enjoys herself,a?? Rorik said.
a??She is a woman of calling. You, Ottar, may cease your listing of mena??s names.a?? He sighed.
a??Ita??s not just Enttia??s cooking, though it is bad enough.
The other women seem to have forgotten what ingredients go with what and the most simple of preparations.
I dona??t understand it. I have asked why anyone would put onions in porridge, but Old Alna just shakes her head and grunts.
If the women dona??t regain their skills, we will all be dead or lying about with cramping bellies.
They suffer just as we do, which makes it even more a mystery.a??
Hafter shook his head. a??Perhaps they will take a new vote and decide to remove Entti from the cooking pots.
Ita??s been nearly three weeks of her cookinga??Old Alna swore to me Entti had cooked all the time whilst we were gone.
She said the other women were trying to teach her, but it was not a skill she took to easily.a??
a??Alna is a treacherous crone,a?? Sculla said, hunching down so his head didna??t strike against the low-lying oak branches just off the path. a??She lies like a virgin born, the old crone. Ia??ve always admired her. So does Amma.a??
a??Women are stubborn,a?? Ottar said, a??mayhap even dangerous, for their thinking isna??t reasonable like ours.
Even my little Utta gets a notion and I cana??t move her from it.
Her mother was the same way. Sweet and gentle one moment, then her chin would go up, her eyes would turn black, and I knew I would be stupid to open my mouth to disagree with her.
By Thora??s hammer, wea??ll all starve before the women reverse their vote.
Mayhap you should speak to Old Alna, Rorik.a??
a??I did,a?? Rorik said. a??She spoke of how I had made her responsible for the homestead and how she was doing her best. She then gave me a look that clearly said I would be a brutal monster were I to complain more.a??
Aslak stared at them, laughed until he choked, spat on a rock in his path, and marveled aloud, a??You are all blind.
I have been here only a day and have seen that the women are preparing wretched meals apurpose.
You surely dona??t believe theya??re eating the same food they prepare for us, do you? a??
a??That is foolish,a?? Hafter said, swatting at a fly. a??Youa??re wrong, Aslak. They wouldna??t dare.a??
a??Ha!a?? Aslak said, louder this time, shaking his head at them. a??Dona??t you see? The women are punishing all of you for taking Entti to your beds.a??
Sculla said, a??None of the men who are wedded seek her bed, or if they do they are cautious about it, they dona??t boast of it to their wives. Aye, they creep about very carefully. Gurd is very sly about it.a??
a??I wonder,a?? Rorik said.
a??You are all fools,a?? Aslak said. a??I know it is the truth. Ita??s as obvious as the snout on that boar.a??
a??Women,a?? said Ottar, a??are occasionally shrewd in their cunning.
They shrink from nothing. I think Aslak might be in the right of it.
We shoulda??that is, Lord Rorik should simply order that Entti doesna??t touch another piece of food.
It is for the women to obey, especially to obey you, Rorik.
You will simply tell them what to do and what not to do and who is not to do it.
You will tell them they are to remember how to cook properly or you will punish them.a??
Rorik looked at him as if Ottar were mad.
Raki flexed his mighty fists. Rorik knew he could slay six of the enemy with ease and bellow with joy all the while.
But with Erna and his two sons, he was a man of gentle parts.
Hea??d been thoughtfully silent until now.
He said, a??The crops grow well. Not all of us are needed here for protection or for hunting or farming.
We could sail up the Seine, and go araiding on all those rich little towns.
Ah, aye, a??twould be good sport and our pockets would grow heavy with gold and silver.
Or we could go to Hedeby to trade some of Gurda??s swords for wine from the Rhineland.
Aye, we could trade some soapstone bowls for leather and ornaments.
There is no reason to stay here and starve.
Even bedding Entti isna??t worth that, though all of you say she passes the time most pleasantly. What say you, Rorik?a??
Rorik sighed. a??I will speak to the women again. Then we will see.a??
The men looked at each other without much hope.