Chapter Fourteen
When Tormod arrived at H?kon’s farm the next morning, he checked first on Elisedd.
Although he was sure H?kon would not break his oath, he felt the need to prove to his wife that he had taken her concerns seriously.
Elisedd came outside with H?kon as soon as Tormod arrived, carrying a spade to help them.
Tormod saw the disappointment on the boy’s face when he realised he had not brought Aoife with him, but he’d smiled when Tormod spoke to him in Brythonic and assured him that Aoife would visit later.
“It seems like the boy’s story holds,” H?kon said as they watched the boy trying to dig over a small patch of burnt ground. “Elisedd led me to the spot where the boat landed. There are marks on the beach where a boat had been pulled up.”
“No sign of a boat?”
“No, and I have searched up and down the coast. Whoever started the fire most likely left in it once the blaze took hold.” H?kon glanced at Tormod, then away. “I should have thought first, before I accused him. Elisedd did not try to run away when I found him. He only wanted to see your wife.”
“No one will threaten my wife,” Tormod stated, then put a hand on H?kon’s shoulder. “But no one blames you for being suspicious, H?kon.”
“No,” the other man said. “But maybe they should. He’s just a boy… and I wanted him dead for what he had done. What I thought he had done. And then it turns out he was trying to help me.”
“A wise man never makes a decision in haste. It is why we have a Thing. You made the right choice in the end.”
“Your wife…”
“She does not blame you. She just…” Tormod stopped and took a breath.
He did indeed wonder exactly what Aoife thought and how she felt about the boy.
Was it just as she had said, that he was her maid’s child?
Was it just because he was a familiar face amongst so many strangers?
Or was there a bigger secret here? Had the boy been brought over intentionally?
No, that didn’t make sense. If he was being sent to Aoife, the fire would not have been started—and why not just send the boy with her in the first place?
And what of his mother? Aoife was clearly worried about his mother’s safety.
“We must work in the belief that this alliance will hold,” Tormod eventually said. “Perhaps the news of it was slow to reach some quarters and this will be an end to it all.” Tormod knew even as the words left his lips that he did not even believe them himself.
“Do you think the boy spoke the truth?” H?kon asked.
“Yes, although maybe he did not tell us the whole story.”
“He is just a child. He may not have known all that was going on, may not have understood the relevance of what he was overhearing. I think he just came with the men whom he thought would take him to your wife. He hinted at there being trouble in Lord Cadell’s household.”
“You have spoken to him?”
“Magda has learnt some Brythonic. She was able to speak to the boy a little.” H?kon bowed his head. “I… I should have asked her to speak to him before I assumed his guilt and dragged him to you for judgment.”
“That’s true. However, it is in the past now. Aoife will ask him later and we will make sure the village knows that neither my wife nor the boy is our enemy.”
H?kon put a hand on Tormod’s arm. “Perhaps you should let your wife spend some time with him. He will trust her.”
Tormod hesitated, then realised what he felt was jealousy that Aoife wanted to spend time with the boy.
How ridiculous. They were the only ones of their people here in the village, why should they not want to spend time together?
Had he not felt the same when he had found himself in faraway marketplaces or even among the Norse living across the Kattegat?
“I believe the boy,” H?kon said, distracting Tormod from his negative thoughts. “He showed me where the boat came ashore. I could not understand everything he said, but I think he was worried about your wife — I think he thought they meant to kill her. But why would her father want her dead?”
“I hope that is not the case,” Tormod said, frowning.
H?kon walked into the burnt field and dug his fork in at the edge of the scorched earth.
“Come, we shall repair this damage and show that we will not be forced from this place. I will replant this field with another crop. It’s not too late. Something fast growing,” H?kon said. “I will make the best of this.”
Elisedd watched H?kon carefully and copied what he did. He didn’t yet have the strength to work effectively, but Tormod could tell he was trying.
“You will,” Tormod said. “And for today, I will help you.” But the comment about Aoife’s father nagged at him.
“You must have other things to do.” H?kon grinned. “You are a newly married man.”
Tormod made a face at him and dug his spade into the ground.
“Ragna has many tasks for my wife today. I think my aunt is happy to pass many of her responsibilities over. Finding wives for my cousins is something I know she is now ready to see happen sooner rather than later. Besides, the physical work will be good for me,” Tormod said.
“Give me time to think and a task which has an end. It will be a relief from all the problems of starting a new life in a new land.”
“We will succeed,” H?kon assured him. “We always do. Have courage.”
“I do,” Tormod said. “Truly. Now let’s get to work.”
The three of them worked side by side as the sun grew hotter.
Finally, Tormod pulled his kirtle and shirt off and relished the feel of the sun warming his bare skin.
It was not a sensation he had felt often since coming to this land, where even the summers could be wet and miserable.
H?kon’s wife, Magda, brought them ale regularly, and soon the worst of the damage to the field had been dug over, the burnt crop now back to being a field ready for planting.
The smell of smoke was still in the air, but less noticeable than it had been earlier.
At the end of the afternoon, Tormod couldn’t wait to get back to the hall and bathe.
He told Elisedd he had done enough, and the boy ran towards the water and jumped straight in to swim not appearing to mind the cold water.
Tormod was going to arrange for some more men to work on the bathhouse.
The weather had grown warmer these last few days, and it was now a priority.
He’d tested the waters of the Loch Garw late morning and the cold had been breath-taking.
Not that it had stopped him from bathing regularly—the bitter smell of the fire was best washed away as often as possible, although he yearned to soak in water that was not cold enough to shrivel his extremities.
“The gods have blessed us with a day fit for our purposes,” H?kon said when they stopped. “It is a sign that we are where we ought to be.”
“Yes, although we have much to learn.” Tormod looked around, then across the sea-loch to where Cadell’s land lay.
He could see some planted fields, but it was mostly forested and there were also a few areas of pasture.
No fences or boundaries surrounded the fields and the land uses were so very different.
Livestock wandered on the beach, and Tormod wondered idly how they kept track of their beasts. He would be sure to ask his wife.
H?kon followed Tormod’s gaze and laughed. “I think it may be that they have much to learn from us. They do not protect well enough what is theirs.”
“Not in the way we do anyway,” agreed Tormod. “But there may be other reasons. We will be sure to ask and to learn.”
H?kon obviously caught the note of warning in his voice as he frowned before he nodded. “Yes, herre. And thank you, I am indebted—but if I could beg another favour? Both of which shall be repaid in full upon the harvest.”
“Yes?” Tormod asked.
“My wife and daughters would like to learn the language of the Britons better. Their lands stretch from here all the way east up the River Clut and south from the firth all the way down the west coast. Many of our people trade with the Gaels and the Northumbrians on the east coast; far fewer here in the west. It is a good opportunity to reach a new market. As you know, Magda is a fine seamstress, as are my daughters, and they sell many of their wares. Plus, if the boy is going to stay with us… We will teach him Norse. It will be a show of friendship. Would your wife be willing to teach them Brythonic?”
“My wife?” Tormod had thought only of Aoife taking over some of Ragna’s burdens, although maybe this was a good idea. “Allow me to think about it. And to ask her.”
“It might be a good way of her showing that she wishes to help us…”
“Yes.” Tormod turned to face H?kon. There was a line to be drawn here. “But I will decide how best she can do that.”
“I’m sorry, herre, I meant no disrespect, it’s just that—”
“I know what it is, H?kon. I am not a fool.”
“No, that you are not.” H?kon started to pull his kirtle back on. Their day of companionship was over. “But there are many—”
“I know,” Tormod said. He was torn. He held suspicions of his own, but he would say nothing to anyone in case he made Aoife’s position even more precarious.
Wives, especially jarl’s wives, were often outsiders to a village.
But Aoife was not one of their people. She could not even speak their language.
A thought struck him. He’d intended to ask Ragna to teach Aoife Norse. “Your wife, H?kon.”
“Magda? What of her?”
“In return, Magda can also teach Aoife Norse. Our wives can work together each day and it will allow Aoife to visit with Elisedd. Yes, I think that may work well for us all.”
H?kon stared at him for a long moment. “Yes, that would be good. Magda is a quick learner, and the girls can take on more of the household tasks. It is time we found them good husbands now we are settled here. And then Magda can teach others. She will like that, herre. Thank you.”
As H?kon walked towards his house, Tormod closed his eyes and enjoyed the sunshine warming him.
Then he opened his eyes, picked up his drinking horn and filled it with ale from the jug, then drank it slowly, relishing the sensation against his parched throat.
The cool waters of the sea-loch lay still in front of him, sunlight flashing off the surface and beckoning him to slide into their depths.
He had only taken a few steps towards where Elisedd sat on the shore when he sensed someone watching him.
He turned, fully expecting it to be an animal or a bird, but smiled in surprise when he saw his wife standing near the edge of the field, her gaze on him.
Ragna was beside her. However, he barely noticed his aunt as he picked up his kirtle and slung it over his shoulder before starting to walk towards Aoife. He may even have swaggered a little.