Chapter Six
Hagen
Hagen paced in the great hall of Duart Castle after the morning meal was finished three days later. “Why, Mama? Why would the lass be so foolish as to not want my help? You’re Norse. Are they different?”
“Hagen, I’m not sure if you know this or not,” his mother, Sela Grant, said with the odd sense of patience she often had. “But you’re also Norse.”
“I know, but you know what I meant.” He’d tried to figure out how to convince the lass to come to Duart Castle, but after the way she’d stormed off, calling him spoiled, he’d had to tamp down his own temptation to argue with her.
But deep in his belly, he knew she was right. He’d had a much easier life than she’d had, and he wished to fix that, if he could.
His father, Connor Grant, youngest son of Alexander and Maddie Grant, came down the stairs and asked, “Who’s Norse?”
His mother said, “Hagen is…intrigued by a lass at the nunnery who is Norse. She’s refusing his help.”
His father arched a brow before taking a seat by the hearth after speaking with a serving lass about some porridge. “You’re interested in a nun, Hagen? Truly?”
“Nay, she’s not a nun.” He gave his father a look of derision.
“Not yet. It could be she plans to become one if she’s at the nunnery,” his mother said.
“Fill me in, please,” his father said, his gaze locking on Hagen’s.
Hagen took a seat and explained, “She’s not a nun but living at the nunnery. I’m not sure why, but I’m guessing she and her friend are orphans. Like Beatris and Geva’s place with all the orphans, but she’s older. Do you recall when Clyde and another tried to attack Sheona Rankin?”
“Aye.”
“This lass knew they were coming for her, so she hit both men with a dagger, one in the leg and Clyde in the shoulder. Scared them off. There’s a boat that’s been circling Iona every day, and Brynja thinks it’s the other man coming after her for revenge.”
“Brynja. That is a fine Norse name. Especially for one who can hit two men with near deadly aim.” His father leaned back in his chair and grinned.
“Da, be serious. Tell me what to do. The man is coming for her. Simone noticed the boat also, though he has a new partner with him. They come around twice a day, are not fishing, and Brynja thinks it could be that man coming for revenge.”
“So what do you need? More men to go after him?”
Sela smirked and said quietly, “Brynja is refusing his help, Connor.”
His father broke into a wide grin. “A Norsewoman refusing help from a Scot with good intentions? Where have I heard that before?” He tipped his chair back and balanced on two legs with a large guffaw. Then he set back down and stared at his wife before leaning over and kissing her cheek.
“You know he’s part Norse, not just a Scot.”
“Aye,” his sire replied. “Sela, you have to answer him. I can’t explain why women can be so stubborn. Why would she refuse him?”
Sela twirled a lock of hair that escaped her plait.
“A few reasons pop into my mind. First, she might not like being around you, but since you just met, I doubt that would be it. Second, she doesn’t wish to bother you.
Women have a hard time asking for help, especially from strangers.
Third, she’s stubborn and thinks she doesn’t need your help.
That’s my guess. If she’s that good with a dagger, she’s fairly accomplished for a young lass. How old is she, Hagen?”
“She’s eight and ten. Her friend Hildi is two years younger.”
“Is Hildi her sister?”
“I don’t think so. Brynja is fair-haired and Hildi is dark-haired.”
His mother tipped her head at him. “Think about that, fair-haired brother to two dark-haired people.”
Hagen rolled his eyes. “True, but they don’t look alike.”
His mother sent his father a lopsided smirk. Hellfire, but the two had a language he didn’t understand.
Hagen got up to pace again, grabbing an apple from a basket to chew on. “She is the one who used a dagger, hit both men, and she can use a spear too. She’s equally talented at both and now she’s trying archery.”
His father asked, “A spear? That is impressive.”
His mother said, “A common weapon for a lass in the land of the Norse.”
“And she’s good at it?” his father asked before taking his first sip of the broth that Murreal brought him, nodding his thanks to her.
Hagen said, “She is. She hit a target at twenty paces with a spear and an arrow.”
His father stared at his mother again. “You left out a possible reason, wife.”
“And what is that, husband?”
Hagen watched the two as they did that odd thing of communicating by staring at each other and not speaking.
His father’s gaze still locked on his mother’s, he said to Hagen, “You unsettle her.”
Hagen frowned, glancing from one parent to the other, his mother wearing a soft smile now. Fortunately, his sister Dyna came down the stairs, interrupting the three. “It’s the last one, Hagen. She likes you.”
“She does?” Was that what his father meant about unsettling her? Why didn’t he just say that?
Dyna paused on her trip to the kitchens.
“Aye. She’s too stubborn to admit it, so she just denies you.
That’s what happens when the heart becomes involved.
It makes you do stupid things. Things that you have no explanation for.
Why else would I have tripped Derric and put my boot on his chest when he was the only man to ever set my heart fluttering? ”
“Is that what it was, Sela?” his father asked.
His mother, still locked on his father’s eyes, whispered, “You know exactly what it was, Connor Grant.”
Dyna headed toward the kitchens. “Get out now, Hagen. Run for your life. When they get like that, you don’t want to be witness to the worst of it.”
Hagen, confused, got up and followed his sister into the kitchens. Once they were on the other side of the door, he whispered, “Then what do I do?”
Dyna made three bowls of porridge, taking the kettle from the serving lass who had a bowl for his father and left.
“Don’t listen to her. Be persistent. And use your head.
She can’t hit two men with a spear at the same time, and she can’t stop them both with daggers.
She needs help from someone. It may as well be you.
You like her?” Dyna asked, waggling her brow at him.
“I’m not sure. I’d like to know her better, but she doesn’t live here, so how do I get to know her when she refuses everything I offer?”
“Ignore her and go anyway. Watch the boat. Go to MacQuarie land and see what Thane says about her. Has he noticed any strange boats? Ask Artan if he thinks you’d have a chance when she’s not around. Don’t give up if you are truly interested.”
Hagen turned around and headed out the door. “My thanks, Dyna.”
“Where are you going?”
He stopped at the door and smirked. “MacQuarie land. I’m after a Norsewoman.”
“Good. I’d like to learn how to throw a spear.”
Then he stepped out into the hall, surprised to see his parents had disappeared.