Chapter Thirteen
Aoife believed Tormod was telling her the truth about H?kon and his wife, but she’d seen the faces of some of the villagers.
They didn’t trust Elisedd, didn’t trust her.
Her hope of finding a home here faded a little, although she forced herself to smile at her new husband. “I look forward to visiting him.”
Tormod tensed beside her and stared after H?kon. “Why do you wish to visit him? I have assured you that he will be cared for. Do you not trust me?”
She drew in a deep breath. Why was he so suspicious?
Elisedd was the only one of her countrymen she was likely to be able to see.
Surely he must realise it was hard to believe H?kon would have changed his opinion of the boy so quickly.
Only an hour ago he’d been demanding he be executed.
“To… To make sure he is being cared for.”
“H?kon has sworn he will care for him,” Tormod stated, still not looking at her. “He is no oath breaker.”
“And what of the others?” she asked tentatively. “It is not just H?kon who wished him to be punished.”
Finally, Tormod looked at her. “A judgment has been made. There are none here who will go against a verdict reached at a Thing.”
“A Thing?”
“The meeting we just had. It was an official judgment. The villagers will abide by it — all of them.”
Aoife thought for a moment, hoping Tormod was right. She realised just how at the mercy of others she lived, and now Elisedd’s safety rested in their hands as well. “I would just like to make sure he is all right… Sometimes.”
Tormod moved to stand in front of her, his feet placed wide apart. She couldn’t take her eyes off him.
“Is the boy of more concern to you than me, your husband?” he asked coldly.
Aoife hesitated before answering. “Of course not.”
“And yet, you ask to see him when I have already assured you of his safety,” he said. “Do you not trust my word?”
She drew in a breath, realised that she had hesitated too long when Tormod started to turn away from her.
“I’m sorry,” she said, placing a hand on his shoulder. He stopped but made no effort to turn back.
“He is the son of my maid. Former maid. She was not allowed to accompany me to the abbey, of course.” She stopped, tears threatening as she remembered the ugly scene when her father had sent her away.
Rhiannon had watched with tears in her eyes, knowing she was to serve Ula’s youngest daughter from then on, a spoilt, difficult child who made life for everyone around her miserable.
Elisedd had chased after the cart that took her to the abbey, screaming her name over and over, until she’d had to cover her ears to block out the sound of his distress. A distress equal to her own.
“I am alone here,” she said. “He is simply a reminder of home in better times.” She grimaced. Those times may have been better than her time at the abbey, but they had been far from ideal. Still, Rhiannon’s company had made her life more bearable in so many ways.
Tormod paused before he faced her once more. For a moment she thought that he understood, then his eyes narrowed. “You consider yourself alone here, despite our marriage? Has our marriage meant nothing to you?”
The question hit her with an almost physical force. Her head snapped up and her jaw dropped.
“Yes, it has.”
This was not what she had meant. She frowned, struggling to understand why he was so suspicious of her motives to see Elisedd. Surely it was not a difficult thing to understand, to wish to spend time with someone you share a common past with.
“If this alliance is tested,” he said. “How can I be sure you will stand with me as a wife should?”
“You can be sure,” Aoife stated firmly. “I have made my vows; I will honour them.”
They stared at each other.
Aoife’s thoughts raced while a chill swept through her body. No matter what she did or said, her husband simply did not trust her, and she was powerless to change his mind. She had done everything asked of her so far, and yet it did not seem to be enough.
Feeling like she had little to lose, she stormed past him into the hall and headed straight back to their room.
Once there, she closed the door firmly behind her and crossed to the missing knot in the wall which let her see a little of the outside world.
Some villagers still stood around talking in small, huddled groups.
Most were starting to drift apart and get on with their normal, everyday tasks.
Aoife closed her eyes and sighed. It was early days, but if even Tormod didn’t trust her, then what chance did she have here? Would there ever be somewhere where she was not seen as different, an outsider? That she was trusted?
Maybe she should take Elisedd and return to her father.
She leaned against the wall, wondering whether to run out, or to stay and try to sort this out.
There would be many things to establish.
Life was all about compromises and fitting in with the demands of others.
She heard the door open and close and decided to ignore it.
She opened her eyes when Tormod’s hand landed on her shoulder, and he turned her to face him. He didn’t seem angry, just thoughtful.
“This morning,” he began. “You were talking in your sleep. Of fields and fires. You said it was only a dream, and yet it happened, and Elisedd was there. The boy that you wish to spend so much time with, was there. Why?”
She nearly told him that it was not important and would have done had it not been for the anguish in his expression.
For a man who appeared to be so sure of himself, her loyalty was clearly something that concerned him.
Her treatment here might have been far, far different.
She had not been threatened in any way. Maybe it was time to repay him for his kindness by telling the truth. Or a version of it.
“Sometimes I dream things. It is not something I control, not something I want. I played no part in this. Please, trust me. This is my home now. I owe my loyalty to you, and you only. It was naught but a dream.”
They stared at each other, each trying to work the other out.
“Please,” she said. “I would like to see Elisedd again. And if I see him alone, he may tell me more of what is happening with my father than he would share with any of your people. Perhaps he will tell me who was behind the attack. He knows, but was too afraid to tell me just now. If I know that, then I will tell you and it might help you, help the village.”
“Very well,” Tormod replied. “Tomorrow, I have promised to help H?kon clear up the damage and replant what we can. I will have Ragna bring you to us at the end of the afternoon and you can speak to the boy.”
“Thank you.” She sighed and sat down on the bed, staring at her hands. “Elisedd and I are outsiders here… however, if you are sure he will be all right, then I will believe you.”
“You are not an outsider. You are my wife.” He sounded angry, but Aoife knew she was right. Whatever Tormod said, not all of his people saw it that way.
“But still an outsider, the daughter of an enemy.”
“A new ally,” Tormod corrected.
She watched him for a moment. He really seemed to believe what he said.
The thought that her stepmother would betray her in an instant and worse, persuade her father to do so also was something she could no longer put off telling him, but before she could, he closed the gap between them and put his arms around her.
Tormod ran his hand over her hair and cupped the back of her head.
For a moment, he did nothing more, then he gently angled her towards him and closed his mouth over hers.
His kiss was warm and passionate, and her eyes drifted shut as she kissed him back as hungrily as he kissed her.
Without thought, she took a step towards him, their bodies colliding and moulding against one another.
As long as he was kissing her, she felt safe. Sure of him and his need for her.
She allowed herself to get lost in the kiss, wishing it would never end, or if it did, hoping somehow it would have solved everything. Of course, that was simply not possible, and all too soon his mouth lifted from hers and he set them apart. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes.
“You must understand this is difficult for both of us,” Tormod said. “I have a village whose safety I have to ensure. I cannot…” He turned away from her. “I cannot allow lust to cloud my judgment.” He looked back at her, and she thought she saw guilt in his face—but why?
They stared at each other and her heart beat faster at the knowledge he did indeed feel lustful towards her. It was a long way from love, although perhaps it showed some level of connection between them. A connection that could be developed over time.
“Are you sure you can trust my father?” she asked.
Perhaps it was foolish. Perhaps she should go on allowing him to believe it, but she couldn’t.
It may not make her own life any safer, but now there was Elisedd to think about, too.
The Norsemen wouldn’t hesitate to kill him if they thought they were being betrayed.
“No.”
She blinked. “But…”
“I never trust anyone,” he said shortly and left the room.
Stunned, she stared after him for a moment, and when the door banged shut, she rested her head in her hands. She didn’t know whether his words were a relief or not. He already didn’t trust her father and had still been kind to her.
She tried to puzzle out in her head just what had happened and what was going on.
It turned out she needn’t have worried about Tormod trusting her father.
That really had been rather na?ve. No one became jarl by blindly trusting everyone around them.
She smiled to herself. This husband of hers was no fool.
A knock at the door indicated Ragna’s arrival.
“If you are ready, I will take you through the hall and some of the village so you can meet the villagers properly and see how we do things here. There are some decisions that need to be made, and I have been putting them off,” Ragna said.
“Should Tormod not be—”
“Decisions that should be made by the jarl’s wife,” Ragna clarified. “Not things that are of interest to the jarl.”
“I was brought up knowing how to run a household.” Aoife felt a sudden spark of hope that perhaps she really could prove her worth and her loyalty in much the same way as she would have done amongst her own people. “I’m sure there are differences and your ways…”
Ragna’s warm smile made her feel much better.
“I’m sure much of it will be the same, the basics at the very least, and I will be here to help you.
And there are many things you can teach us, about some of the native plants and your seasons and the people who live here.
” Ragna stopped speaking and peered at her.
“These were your father’s lands, were they not? ”
“Yes.”
“Did you know the people who lived here?”
“What?” Aoife blinked, then racked her brains, trying to remember if she had. “Perhaps.” She frowned. “I’m not sure. I had never visited here, only seen it from the far shore.”
“It had been abandoned when we arrived. At first I thought that was a good thing, although now I am not so sure,” Ragna confessed.
“Why do you say that?”
“Well, if we had won the land in battle, it would have been truly ours. As it is, the previous inhabitants may well be still close by and none too happy about our arrival.”
Aoife didn’t know what to say. Of course, Ragna was probably right.
She struggled to remember what she knew, but she had spent so little time at her father’s fort after the siege of Alt Clut that she wasn’t sure she knew that information.
And she had never ridden out with her father to visit their surrounding lands. That would have been for a son to do.
“My father’s steward, Rhydderch, would know,” Aoife said. “Whatever has happened in the last two years, I cannot help you with.” Aoife left the fact that Rhydderch was unlikely to ever share that information unsaid.
“Now,” said Ragna, “let us see what we can do this morning. Tormod tells me we are going to visit the boy at H?kon’s farm tomorrow.”
Aoife smiled at her, genuinely pleased her husband was honouring his word. “You think H?kon will be kind to him?”
“Yes, he has no sons of his own, only daughters who are all nearly grown. His wife Magda will love to have a son to care for.”
“But earlier…”
Ragna sighed. “Earlier, everyone was upset. Angry. And Tormod ensured justice was done and that will be the end of it.”
“You are sure?”
“He is the jarl. The village must obey his judgments when they take place in the Thing. It is our way.”
“I will speak to Elisedd, find out if he knows who did this thing, as well as why and how he came to be here.”
“And if the answers mean you will have to betray your family?”
Aoife regarded the other woman steadily. “Tormod is my husband. He is my family now.”
Ragna considered her for a moment, then nodded. “Come, we have work to do, decisions to make for the future.”
The two women headed outside together.