Chapter 24
Ulf and Ylva were married the following week, on the Friday, as was the custom in the village.
Haakon, one of the only people who knew her, had been sent to get Judith so she could attend the ceremony. She arrived two days later, on a sunny afternoon. Ignoring her heavy stomach, Ylva ran to her friend as soon as she had dismounted from the ever-reliable Doe, which had been borrowed for her.
“I’m so happy to see you! Thank you so much for being here. And Haakon, thank you for going to get her.”
“You’re welcome.”
After one last fierce hug, Ylva drew back to examine Judith.
She had worried about her friend a lot in the last few days.
How had she fared on her own? Would she not think she had been abandoned?
But no, she was blooming, looking better than she had ever looked.
“How are you? You seem to be doing well.”
Judith blushed a pretty pink color that brought out the amber flecks in her eyes. “I am well. I have met someone, that may be why.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful! Tell me everything.”
Another blush, betraying genuine interest. “She is old Tola’s granddaughter, come to live with her from town. Oddly enough, she arrived the afternoon after you left. There was an immediate connection between us. I know it’s early to be sure, but I think we will be happy together.”
“Yes, it is early. But sometimes you know instantly.”
She stole a glance to where Ulf was helping Haakon with the horses. Indeed. Sometimes you did.
“We even…”
“Yes?” Ylva encouraged.
“Well, we even discussed the possibility of coming here together to meet Helga. I remember the old healer telling me she was looking for someone to pass on her knowledge to and Tola—that’s her name also—is quite skilled in the art of herbs. I wondered if Helga would consider training a Saxon?”
Joy burst out of Ylva. To have the two women living in the village would be the most perfect gift. The proximity of her dearest friend had been the only thing missing in her life.
“I’m sure she would. After all, she did train Cwenthryth, and you two would hardly be the only Saxon women in the village.”
“Yes, but all of them are here because they married a man from here.”
“It matters not. I’m sure she will be ecstatic. As will I.”
“Enough of me,” Judith said gruffly. “How is the Norseman treating you?”
A broad smile bloomed on Ylva’s lips. “Like I’ve always dreamed of being treated. In and out of bed,” she added with a delighted, rather naughty chuckle. The last week had been wonderful. “And his name is Ulf.”
“Mm. I’ll have to remember then, shall I?” Judith sighed. “Very well. I have no choice but to believe you. Because you look better than you ever have.”
Little wonder. She felt better than she had ever had. Her morning sickness was no longer as bad, even if she did feel nauseous for the best part of the morning. Because of that, they had agreed to have the ceremony in the afternoon, when she would be able to enjoy the festivities to the full.
Ylva took her friend’s arm and gave it a squeeze. “Come, let’s go inside. The ceremony will be tomorrow. I need to be ready.”
Judith let out a laugh. “I think you already are.”
Yes, in truth she was. Desperate.
If someone had told Ylva as a little girl of five living with her parents that the first wedding she would ever go to would be her own, she would have been appalled.
All little girls wanted to go to weddings.
But as it happened, she loved the fact that she had nothing to compare this ceremony to.
Not that she would have found it lacking in any way, she didn’t think.
But it was certainly different from any she had ever heard of.
It was a Norse wedding, which had to account for the novelty. She was already big with child, which contributed to making it unlike the others. And the groom by her side was unlike any man her childish mind could have conjured.
In short, it was perfect.
The banquet afterward was just as perfect. She danced with Ulf, with Oslac, Rothgar, Haakon, Thorfinn and even once with Steinar. She talked with her friends, drank, laughed and ate until she was sated in every sense of the word.
Later, once they were alone in the hut, Ulf gathered her in his arms. The low fire at their feet was the only source of light but neither thought to light any candles. This was more than enough, and pleasingly intimate.
“This has been the best day of my life,” he told her, cradling her in his arms. “Thank you for being part of it.”
“It was my pleasure.”
“No,” he growled. “Your pleasure will come now, on our pallet. All night, I will make sure you erupt again and again. You won’t be able to think or move by the time I’m finished with you, only breathe and remember how much I love you.”
Every nerve inside her ignited. She didn’t doubt this would be the most passionate night of their life.
And the best part? There would be many to follow.
She intended to make the most of the next few months, because all too soon her belly, and then her recovery from the birth, would force them to put their lovemaking on hold.
“I don’t mind you seeing to my pleasure, all night if you want to. But please tell me I will be allowed to repay the favor,” she purred, placing a hand on his chest. Mmmm. So hard. So masculine.
“You will, never fear. But before that, I have something to show you, wife,” he said, placing a kiss at the end of her nose. He had enjoyed using the name. And she had loved hearing it. “I hope you’ll like it.”
Eyes gleaming with mischief, Ulf started to remove his tunic. When he tugged his undershirt from his braies, Ylva smiled. “I’m pretty sure I will like everything you have under there.”
“Will you?” He looked at her, bare-chested and magnificent, straight as an arrow, potent as a weapon.
“Mm. Yes. I definitely like this.”
He snorted, as if pleased by her reaction, then turned to the side to show her his left bicep. “Here.”
It didn’t take Ylva long to see what he was showing her.
“Your arm ring,” she whispered. “It’s different.”
There was a big oval gem in the center of it, glittering in the light of the fire. It appeared to be of a deep blue color but the flickering flames made pink sparks dance through it, rendering it even more special.
“I had Caedmon modify it,” Ulf explained, as she fingered the jewel.
It was exquisite, polished to a smooth finish, embedded in the metal in a seamless manner, as if it had always been there.
“I told you I always thought something was missing, just like I thought something was missing from my life. Now that I have you, the woman who has made my life complete, I thought I would give my arm ring its own gem. We searched high and low for the perfect stone and finally found one with the same deep color as your eyes. I knew it was the one I needed as soon as I saw it.”
For days, Ylva had been sure she loved this man. She now knew it had been nothing in comparison to what she felt now.
And,” he added before she could dissolve in a puddle at his feet, “I had one made for you, as a wedding present.”
With those words he reached to the purse at his belt and extracted a silver bracelet that matched his in every way.
The only difference was that the band was half the width of his and the gem at the center smaller, of a clearer shade of blue.
She suspected that, seen in the sunlight, it would appear just as dazzling as her husband’s blue eyes.
This was really the perfect wedding gift.
“I…”
She was speechless, was what she was trying to say.
“You like it then?”
“No. I love it. Put it on me, please.”
She couldn’t wait to feel the cool metal against her skin and she already knew she would never take it off, just like a true Norsewoman. It would remind her that they belonged to one another.
A memory surfaced in her mind all of a sudden.
Once, shortly after their arrival in the house, Mildred had asked her father if they could have matching silver collars made for her and Judith.
The two girls had shuddered at the idea of such humiliation.
Fortunately, the slave trader’s stinginess had saved them from that fate.
He had refused to bear the expense of such an extravagance.
But this beautiful arm ring, made to represent the love her husband bore her, she would wear with pride.
A corner of Ulf’s lips lifted. “I’ll need to take your clothes off to put the arm ring on, you know.”
Ylva wiggled her eyebrows. She did know. That was part of the reason she’d asked him to do it.
“Weren’t you planning on doing that anyway? We have a wedding to celebrate, remember, and you did promise me pleasure.”
The blue eyes caught fire, just like the gem at the center of the arm ring. “So I did.”
“Well, then husband, it is time to make good on your word. I will not be satisfied until I cannot do anything other than breathe and remember how much you love me.”