Chapter 25 #2
a??Why else did he continue to divert from the direct route to the fjord and his vessel?
I dona??t know. Zarabeth told me that Ingunn continually pressed him to hurry, that I would come.
There are many questions and no answers as yet.
But I do know that all my jewels are gone.
All my gold and silver ornaments and coins are gone.
They were kept in a cask behind a hollowed-out log near the front of the longhouse.
All Ingunn had to do was wait until there was panic from the fire, then calmly retrieve the cask.
Why, had anyone asked her what she was about, she could have simply said she was saving the cask for me.a??
a??But you could have been killed!a?? Helgi turned away, her shame and rage palpable.
a??And Orm was waiting outside the palisade for her to bring him the jewels and coins. He killed Hollvard and is responsible for five other deaths as well.a??
His mother still looked stunned and ill, and Magnus hugged her to him.
a??I suppose we are lucky that Orm didna??t try to take Zarabeth again.
Perhaps he waited after the fire was blazing to see if she would separate herself from me.
But she didna??t. The bastard was out there, Father, watching all the destruction he had brought about.
Ingunn must be punished for this. I am sorry, but she is no longer my sister.
She is as much my enemy as is Orm. At least my vessel is intact.
There were a dozen men working on the Sea Wind, and thus Orm couldna??t take her or destroy her.
I vow his death before the summer is over.a??
Zarabeth felt weighed down with his hatred, with his vow, with the stolid endurance he practiced. He worked harder than she did, cleaning away the burned timber, looking to salvage, looking to repair.
At the end of a very long day, as they sat about the outdoor cook fire, all warm with the blankets Helgi had brought, Zarabeth thought she had never been so weary in her life.
She could think of nothing to say. She lay on her side, her head on Magnusa?? thighs, listening to him speaking to his father and the men, slaves and freeman alike.
She felt the strength of him beneath her cheek and remembered what he had done to her so few hours before.
He had given her a womana??s pleasure and it had made her wild with feeling, torn her away from any barriers she might have erected against him.
But when she had screamed with her pleasure, there had been other screams as well .
. . She shuddered. Magnus gently stroked her arm, now listening to his father.
a??A father should not have to bear this,a?? Harald was saying. a??How many men will you take to the Danelaw, Magnus?a??
a??I cannot go after them yet. First we must rebuild. All must be secure before winter comes, else it will all be for naught.a??
a??Mattias and I will be here to help you with many of our men.a??
a??Thank you, Father.a??
Zarabeth awoke, wincing at the hard ground beneath, yet wonderfully warm from Magnusa?? body curved around hers. His hand was cupping her breast, her head resting on his upper arm. She nestled closer and he kissed her ear, whispering, a??Nay, dona??t do that, for I cannot take you now.a??
She smiled and turned to face him, snuggling against him. a??What will happen, Magnus?a??
a??We will rebuild. I promise that you will know no want, come this winter, Zarabeth.a??
a??All I want this winter is to have you with me.a??
He felt himself swelling with pleasure at her words. He hugged her tightly to him, his arms enclosing her closely. a??When the snow is higher than your head, you will want more than my warmth.a??
a??Perhaps. I also pray that we will have Egill returned to us as well. Magnus, I am so sorry. If I had not come here, if Ingunn had not hated me so mucha??a??
a??I doubt it would have made any difference to her,a?? he said sharply. a??Bleat not, Zarabeth, for I wona??t allow you to carry any guilt for this.a??
a??I pray you will cease likening me to a goat, Magnus.a??
a??A ewe, sweeting.a?? He kissed her mouth and hugged her tightly against him. a??I want you very much. You can feel that, for I am obvious in my feelings. But I will make it up to you, Zarabeth, and to myself as well.a??
Their people were beginning to stir and Magnus roused himself, coming up onto his elbow.
He looked toward the burned-out longhouse, and rage seared through him again.
His grandfather had built the longhouse and had seen that it was Magnusa?? upon his death.
Now it was gone. Still, it was only timber and waddle and daub and thick beams and thatch.
Unlike a life, all the buildings could be replaced.
Magnus said aloud to Zarabeth, a??I pray that Ragnar will live.a??
Ragnar worsened that day despite the poultice Helgi prepared for his wound.
His body burned and he spoke of strange things, of memories from long ago, Magnus said.
Zarabeth remained at his side, bathing him with a cool wet cloth, praying hard.
By the following evening, he was still and Helgi was saying, a??He sleeps. I think he will live.a??
Zarabeth rose, so relieved she could shout. Just as suddenly, she felt the ground tilting upward, felt herself swaying as if pushed by unseen hands. She felt light-headed. She collapsed where she stood.
As darkness closed over her mind, she heard Magnus shout. She wished she could speak to him, but there was only blackness now, shrouding her mind, and she succumbed to it.
a??It must be exhaustion,a?? Harald said, looking down at his daughter-in-law, held in his sona??s arms. Magnus was sitting in his mastera??s chair, which was in splendid isolation, Zarabeth in his lap.
a??Aye, I should not have let her work so hard, not after her ordeal at Orma??s hands.a??
a??Nonsense,a?? said Helgi. a??Zarabeth is no frail little female. That is not it at all.a??
a??What is it, then, woman?a??
Helgi smiled at her husbanda??s intolerant tone. a??You cannot bear not to know everything, can you, Harald?a?? she remarked as she patted Zarabetha??s forehead with a wet cloth. a??You men must always have the last word, the last right word about everything. Well, this time you dona??t.a??
a??Woman, I swear I will discipline you if you do not mind your tongue!a??
Had Magnus not been so worried, he would have laughed. The thought of his father raising his hand to his wife was ludicrous. Helgi was smiling, knowing her husband as well as did Magnus.
a??So what is wrong with the girl?a?? Harald finally asked. a??Since you are the all-wise witch.a??
a??She is carrying Magnusa?? babe.a??
Magnus nearly dropped Zarabeth. He stared at his mother. a??She is with child?a??
a??Aye, I imagine so. When she awakens I will question her. There are very simple signs, you know, my son.a??
He sat there clutching his unconscious wife to his chest, thinking back, trying to remember when last she had suffered her womana??s bleeding. It was not too long before. It was when Lotti had drowned and Egill had disappeared. He stared up at his mother, who was smirking toward her husband.
He said slowly, a??I am afraid.a??
Helgi forgot her game with her husband. She knelt down beside Magnusa?? chair and gently began smoothing Zarabetha??s thick hair from her face.
The hair was soft and so very rich. She marveled at the color.
Zarabetha??s brows were darker, a rich brownish-red, and her lashes were thick and the same shade as her brows.
Her cheekbones were well-sculptured, her skin smooth and very white.
Helgi thought of a little girl who would somehow look like her son and Zarabeth also, and shook her head at herself.
a??Why? She is not like Dalla, Magnus. You have known her well.
Is not her belly wide, her bones well-spaced? Her hips are not narrow.a??
a??I dona??t know. When I have looked at her, I had no thought of childbearing in my mind.a??
His father laughed. a??I can understand that. Married to this old woman here, though, it is difficult for me to remember such things.a??
a??Ha! There is more gray in your hair, old man, than in mine!a??
Magnus looked toward the smoldering remains of his home, his mothera??s laughter in his ears.
No matter what seemed to happen in life, no matter how hateful, how sad, how awful things got, there always seemed to be something left, someone there, that made him want to continue.
He lowered his head to Zarabetha??s forehead.
He had seen her, decided he had wanted her, and given her wishes little or no thought at all.
He had always been confident, so sure of himself and what he was.
He had given her a large dose of what it was he wished to have, never doubting that he would have her.
If she had purposely betrayed him, well, he had deserved it.
As for his own behavior, he knew all he had brought her was unhappiness and pain and humiliation.
Now his child grew in her womb. It was terrifying, and yet, at the same time, he felt incredible joy. He felt the wet of his tears on his face.
When Zarabeth awoke, it was to see her husbanda??s face close to hers, and he was staring at her intently. a??What happened to me? I dona??t understand. Ia??m lying on you anda??a??
a??You fainted.a??
It was odd, but she was lying in her husbanda??s lap. Slowly she raised her hand and touched her fingers to his cheek. a??Are these tears?a??
a??Aye.a??
a??But why? I was merely tired, mayhap overtired. Nothing more.a?? She grinned a bit unsteadily. a??My life of late has been a bit exciting and just a bit unpredictable.a??
He dipped his head down and kissed her lightly on her closed mouth. a??Have you ever fainted before, Zarabeth?a??
She shook her head. a??I am not subject to such nonsense, Magnus.a??
a??That is what my mother said.a??
a??Why were you crying? Is there something wrong with me? . . . Oh, no, is Ragnar all right?a??
a??He is fine. Do you have wide hips?a??
a??If you will let me rise, I will try to crane my head about and look.a??
a??Hold still.a?? He pulled her a bit higher over his left arm. His right hand went to her belly and he gently splayed his fingers over her. Her hipbones were beyond his reach. a??That is good, I suppose. I will tell my mother of my discovery and see what she thinks.a??
She tried to push his hand away. a??Magnus, there are people everywhere! Someone will see!a??
a??I am your husband. Let them look.a??
a??Let me up now. I feel fine, and it is silly for me to be sitting on you in this ridiculous chair when there is naught about but .
. .a?? She had pulled herself abruptly upright as she had spoken.
She stared at him, and suddenly her face was as white as her belly.
a??Oh,a?? she said, and fell back against his arm.
Suddenly there was fear in her eyes. a??What is wrong with me?
I thought I would faint again, and I felt so dizzy . . .a??
a??You carry my babe.a??
a??. . . and light-headed. I felt light-headed before, but I believed I was merely hungry, that I was afraid of Orm and what would happen, merely . . . What?a??
He grinned at her. a??Nay, dona??t move, I dona??t want you to faint again. It scared all the wickedness out of me. Thata??s right, just hold still. You carry my babe.a??
She stared up at him, unable to grasp the reality of it. No, no, reality was Lotti drowning, reality was Egill disappearing, reality was lying on the ground naked with Orm over her . . . a??I am with child? You are certain?a??
a??Aye.a??
His eyes blazed with pleasure, the blue so vivid, so startling, that she couldna??t look away, nor did she want to.
a??I have never had a child before.a??
She sounded lost and afraid and strangely bereft, and he didna??t know which emotion to address first.
a??Except Lotti. She was my child.a??
Now he knew where to begin. a??Zarabeth, we are not going to replace Lotti.
She was special and she will always remain in our hearts and in our memories.
Nothing can change what she was to us.a?? He drew a deep breath.
a??I cannot claim for certain that Egill is alive.
It would be foolish of me to assume that I will find him and bring him back safely with me.
If he, like Lotti, is dead, then both of the children will remain in our hearts.
This child . . . we will pray that he reaches manhood and that he knows the health and happiness his parents will know.a??
She leaned her cheek against his chest and he held her there, his face against the top of her head.
a??What will happen?a?? she asked, her voice muffled against his tunic.
Magnus opened his mouth to speak, when there came a furious roar from behind him.
He slewed about in his chair, clutching Zarabeth to him, to see Ragnar trying to rise, Eldrid attempting to hold him down.
He was yelling and cursing, his arms flailing about.
He struck Eldrid away and staggered to his feet, weaving where he stood.