Epilogue
“He’s looking at me,” whined the eight-year-old girl. “Make him stop.”
Elena exchanged a silent look with Ragnar, who was hiding his amusement.
Beata was one of five children they’d fostered, besides Matheus.
Though none of them were of her own blood, she loved them.
Some days she felt more like a shepherd than a mother, herding the children, feeding them, and dressing them.
She sent the five-year-old boy off to play with his older foster brother and took Beata by the hand. “He meant no harm. I imagine he was looking at the embroidery on your apron.”
Beata rolled her eyes. “He’s a boy. They don’t care about embroidery.”
“Brothers and sisters were born to fight with each other,” Ragnar intervened. “You’ll learn to ignore his faults, one day.”
“That will be a long time from now,” she pronounced, before adding, “Matheus is my favorite brother. At least he doesn’t talk.”
Elena resisted the urge to answer, but she was grateful that her other foster children had accepted Matheus so readily.
He was growing taller, and although he’d never spoken, he’d been apprenticed to a shipbuilder.
His attention to detail and his willingness to complete the repetitive tasks no one else wanted had earned him respect.
When she was alone with her husband, she yawned and Ragnar came over to take her into his arms. “They will fight more tonight,” she predicted. “But I love them in spite of it.”
“You were right,” he admitted. “You were born to be a mother.”
Her hand passed over her swollen middle, and his hand covered hers.
This pregnancy had taken her by shock, after so many years of being childless.
She’d fully believed she would never bear a child, particularly after she’d learned from their kinsmen that Styr and Caragh now had children of their own.
Never had she imagined that this blessing would come to pass.
Now, only a few months remained until she would hold their own child in her arms.
“I pray that the gods will keep you safe when this one is born,” Ragnar added.
She leaned back to look into his green eyes. “They will, though I never expected I would become pregnant.”
“The gods rewarded you, because you took care of the children no one else wanted,” he said.
Elena tightened her arms around him. Over the years, she’d taken sickly children, some who could hardly walk or run, and one child who had been born without sight.
“They are a blessing to me,” she admitted. “Each and every one.”
But the greatest happiness was not the love surrounding her each day.
Nor was it the settlement they’d built, a dozen miles north of Gall Tír.
It was the man who had given her a love beyond any she’d ever dreamed of.
It was his steady presence at her side and knowing that he loved her even through the worst of times.
She’d given up on having children, only to be surprised by this pregnancy at the least expected moment.
Ragnar kissed her and the familiar affection brought a warmth to her heart. Her first marriage had been born of duty and the dreams of a young girl’s heart.
But the man she was meant to love was standing here now. And she intended to do so for the rest of their lives.
Keep reading to enjoy an excerpt of A Viking for the Viscountess, a Viking-Regency time travel!