Chapter 3
Aife came to an abrupt halt, wondering what to do.
Torsten was in the field on the other side of the path, hammering the nails Magnus had given him two days ago to the fence of the sheep enclosure.
There simply was no way to reach the village without walking past him and being seen.
But was it such a bad thing? After what had happened outside the forge, it was imperative they cleared the air without delay.
The last thing she wanted was for things between them to become awkward.
They were friends, had practically grown up together, and she would hate for her moment of madness to ruin what they had.
Torsten was a dear friend, and she couldn’t imagine not having him in her life because of a stupid mistake.
Damn it all, why did he have to be in front of her when she’d taken the foolish decision to provoke Sven’s jealousy?
Anyone else would have been better. Torsten was the last man she should have kissed, considering he was the brother of the man she was trying to attract.
Or perhaps Steinar would have been the worst choice.
After all, he was married, and to a woman who was a good friend.
Yes, kissing him would have been even more awkward, but knowing this did little to ease her mind.
While she built up the courage to go to Torsten, she remained hidden amongst the trees, watching him plant a sturdy post next to a crumbling one, which he then uprooted and threw into a pile behind him.
After taking a swig out of his wineskin, he repeated the whole process.
It was fascinating to watch because he was swinging his heavy-looking mallet with disconcerting ease, his movements both elegant and strong.
Eventually, stiffening her spine, Aife walked straight to him. The more she waited, the more flushed she seemed to become. It would not do. Better to get it over with.
“Good morning,” she said, putting her basket full of herbs down next to the pile of discarded wooden posts.
Her foraging had been successful that morning.
She had all the St John’s wort she needed for making her tinctures and oils, and she had even found some late flowering meadowsweet.
The blooms’ scent wafted around her, adding a sweetness to the moment.
“Good morning.”
Torsten straightened up and wiped his brow with his rolled-up shirt sleeve.
The gesture drew attention to both his strong wrist and neck.
Out of nowhere, Aife reflected that watching Knut swing the sword the other day had not caused her blood to heat up in the way her blood was heating up now, even though he had been bare-chested. How odd.
“You’re repairing the fence, I see.” As soon as the words left her mouth she regretted them. Of course he was repairing the fence, that much was obvious, and not worth commenting on. So much for things not being awkward between them…
“I am. It was long overdue.”
Mercifully, he didn’t seem to think her an idiot for telling him what he already knew.
“You were up early,” he commented, nodding at the basket when silence threatened to settle between them.
“Yes. I couldn’t sleep so I thought I might as well make the most of the cool morning air to go foraging.”
“And you found some meadowsweet?” Mm. It seemed she wasn’t the only one inclined to point out the obvious today. This was bad.
“Yes. I didn’t dare hope I would find some so late in the season, but there it was, in the shadow of a tree, waiting for me.
I will use it tonight to flavor the cream I plan to eat with what’s left of the berries I gathered yesterday.
I’ll go ask Bee if she can give me some of her milk.
I ran out yesterday, when I made gruel for Eirik, who stayed to eat with me in the evening.
Serves me well for inviting him, when we all know he eats like a horse. ”
Oh, dear, that was just as awful as she had feared. She was rambling on about cream and gruel. Torsten, who knew her better than most, would know she had a tendency to do that when she was ill at ease. And she was certainly ill at ease right now.
But how could she not? She’d hoped the next time they talked she would see him for the friend he’d always been, and not for the man who had given her the most sinful kiss of her life.
So far, it hadn’t worked. Because he had never looked more appealing than he did this morning, flushed from his exertions, with his sleeves rolled up over his forearms and his shirt gaping at the collar.
Lifting his head up to the skies, he took a few long pulls from his wineskin.
Aife watched the muscles of his neck contract every time he swallowed, and her core started to spasm, mirroring the action.
By the time he’d stopped drinking, all the moisture had left her mouth and there was a persistent, buzzing noise in her ears.
At first she wondered if she wasn’t going to faint, but then she noticed that, attracted by the flowers in her basket, a dozen bees had started to fly around them.
Oh, of course. That was the source of the buzzing… She really was losing her mind.
She absent-mindedly swatted one of the bees away when it flew too close to her face. A heartbeat later a sharp pain pierced the fleshy part of her thumb.
“What’s the matter?” Torsten asked when she cried out in pain.
“I’ve been stung.” Silly her! Couldn’t she have guessed this would happen if she hit the insects?
“Let me see.” Taking the hand she was cradling in his, Torsten examined the place that was throbbing fiercely. “Look, the stinger is still embedded. It will have to come out immediately.”
“Yes.”
Aife could see the little fluffy dart sticking out of her skin, but her mind had gone blank and her body felt strangely numb. Torsten’s hand was so warm, he was looking at her with such concern… When she made to seize the bee sting between her thumb and forefinger, he stopped her.
“No, wait, not like this. It will only make the pain worse, squeeze more of the venom in. There’s a much better way.
Trust me, I’ve been stung more times than I recall.
” With those words, Torsten drew his eating knife from the sheath at his belt and carefully scraped the stinger from her finger. “All right?”
“All right.” The pain was still quite fierce, but it didn’t seem to matter.
“Come, let’s go to the river. Putting your hand in cold water will help.”
Without waiting for her response, he led her to the other side of the field. When they reached the river, Torsten knelt next to her and plunged the hand he was still holding into the fast-flowing water. The cold did ease the worst of the pain, reducing it to a dull throbbing.
“I’ve never been stung before,” she explained after a while, feeling rather silly for her overreacting.
Torsten gave her a small smile. “Well, there’s a first time for everything, and I don’t know many people who go through life without being stung at some point or other.”
Why did his words sound so evocative? Was it possible that the bee venom had gone to her head, turning her into a complete ninny? No, she’d been like that before being stung, while watching Torsten work, while watching him drink.
“I-I suppose it was inevitable,” she stammered.
“Is it still painful?”
“No. Not really, thank you.” Besides, the distraction had helped restore some semblance of normality between them. Perhaps she should be grateful to the bee.
“Good. Come. Let’s go get your basket.”
Holding her by the elbow, Torsten helped her back to her feet.
Aife allowed him to steady her, looking into his eyes all the while.
And then, as if sucked in by the clouds she could see swirling in them, she pushed herself up on her tiptoes, and placed a swift kiss on Torsten’s lips.
She blinked. What was happening to her? She’d had no intention of kissing him, she’d only meant to thank him.
Only, for a moment it had seemed like the natural thing to do.
“Sorry, I don’t know why I did that,” she murmured, lowering back down. “There was no need, we’re alone.”
“No need? Alone? What does that mean?” Torsten stilled, his fingers tightening around her elbow. “I think you should explain yourself,” he warned when she remained silent.
Aife started to tremble. The moment to explain why she had kissed him the other day had come, and it was every bit as frightening as she had imagined. How would he react?
“I kissed you now because I wanted to thank you, and seeing as we already kissed once it didn’t seem so odd to do it a second time.
” She paused, knowing he wasn’t really asking about today’s chaste kiss but about the decadent one they had shared by the forge.
“And, as for the other day, I kissed you because I thought it would help…”
Her voice trailed. Lost to her shame and unable to be honest, she wasn’t making much sense, but somehow Torsten understood the situation better than if she had given him a lengthy explanation.
“I see. You didn’t kiss me out of desire for me. You used me, having a purpose in mind.”
“I…” What could Aife say? She had used him. Should she deny it? Would he even believe her? Wasn’t it better to try and be honest? “Being a friend, I didn’t think you’d mind.”
“Mind?” He blinked at her, incredulity on his face, and she kicked herself for sounding so callous, so blunt, so stupid. She hadn’t meant it like this.
“What I mean,” she hurried to specify before he stormed away in outrage, “is that I know you don’t have feelings for me so I didn’t think you would mind helping me.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “I wouldn’t mind helping you. In what way?” He had not stormed away, but neither did he seem ready to relent. She would have to be clearer.