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‘Say! Say! Wait up! You are walking far too fast.’
Sayrid halted. The tattered gown had hampered her progress. First the harbour to find out about the fuss and then back to her old house to retrieve her clothes. Hrolf might wish her to wear gowns, but until she had one which fitted her properly, she intended to be comfortable—she glanced ruefully down at her bare calves—and decent. ‘I’d expected to find you back at the house.’
Auda picked up her skirts and ran. ‘Regin and Blodvin have left.’
Sayrid’s mouth went dry. Trouble at the harbour and then Regin mysteriously departs. It sounded very much like something Regin had done had gone badly wrong and he wanted to hide away, leaving her to clean up the mess. ‘Left when?’
‘Sometime before dawn. I found the rune this morning when I woke.’ Auda held out a scrap of wood. ‘Blodvin wrote it, I think, rather than Regin. He knows how to spell.’
Sayrid took it. Blodvin had scratched the briefest of messages. They’d departed to visit Regin’s mother in Götaland. Her stepmother had left before the ashes on her father’s funeral pyre were cold, leaving her children much as a cuckoo leaves her eggs for other birds to rear. In the last four years, Regin had visited her once and then only because Sayrid had insisted.
‘Why did they go there? I’ve a bad feeling about this. You know what Regin swore the last time I tackled him on the necessity of visiting her.’
Auda’s cheeks flamed. ‘Blodvin wanted to make sure that our mother received the news of the marriages first from a family member. She went on and on to me about it. We argued about it last night after Regin disgraced himself at the feast.’
Sayrid lifted her brow. ‘What did he do? Fight with Hrolf’s men? Tell me the worst.’
Auda shrugged. ‘He was a bit vocal at the feast, but when he sobers up, he will apologize.’
‘He tried to provoke Hrolf into a battle last night.’ Sayrid attempted to move her stiff shoulder and heard the gown rip some more under her arm. ‘Since when do I need anyone to rescue me?’
Auda looked her up and down. ‘Did Hrolf tear your gown? Was he a brute? You know the reputation Lavrans has. Hrolf Eymundsson could be cut from the same cloth. Regin proclaimed he was.’
‘My own stupid fault and the fact that the dress was designed to fit Blodvin’s form.’ Sayrid shrugged and kept her gaze carefully on the ground. ‘There’s a reason I prefer tunic and trousers. Once I know what is going on at the harbour, I’m putting my tunic and trousers back on.’
‘You can’t.’
‘I refuse to shame our family by appearing naked and my legs are far too exposed.’ Sayrid glanced at the gown, which was now several inches shorter. ‘This apron dress borders on the indecent.’
‘Blodvin tossed all your clothes in the fire. She claimed she was being helpful.’ Auda balled her fists. ‘Perhaps you could borrow something from Hrolf? He is a little taller than you.’
Sayrid tried to ease the sudden tension in her neck. Her mind must have been made of porridge this morning. Hrolf appeared to have a larger wardrobe than many women. ‘We are talking about the man who insisted on a dress for the wedding or me going naked. I doubt he would be impressed if I stole his clothes.’
‘When we return to the hall, I’ll get that length of blue cloth I’ve been saving for my wedding and will fashion you a dress which fits and flows to the ground.’ Auda began to tick off items of on her fingers. ‘I will also teach you how to weave properly. You will get the hang of it in next to no time. If Blodvin can weave, so can you, regardless of what my mother used to say.’
Sayrid blinked hard. Her siblings never ceased to amaze her. They made all her sacrifices worth it. They had always been there for her. She could remember how Auda had held the bowl and Regin had sponged her back after her stepmother had rubbed salt and sand into her wounds. Without them she’d have died and it was a debt she could never repay.
‘You’re the best sister.’
‘I’m your only sister.’ Auda wrinkled her nose. ‘Blodvin doesn’t count.’
‘What else did she do? It has to be more than burning my clothes.’
Auda made a little deprecating gesture and Sayrid knew Blodvin’s tongue was every bit as poisonous as Auda’s mother’s. She wished she’d never rescued the young woman.
Her heart lurched. But then she’d never have known Hrolf’s touch this morning. Sayrid angrily dampened down the feeling.
‘Blodvin will learn mocking anyone in our family is a very bad idea.’
