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Auda gulped hard, bobbed a curtsy, agreeing to the request. Sayrid curled her fists. Somehow she’d unmask the true culprit and prove Regin’s innocence.
Kettil nodded to Hrolf. ‘When you’ve finished your inspections and if it is simple wedding-night mischief, send word. Until then, my wife will enjoy Auda’s company. Sayrid, it is your choice if you wish to stay here or not.’
Kettil strode off with cloak flapping in the breeze as Auda hurried alongside him. He still walked with purpose, but Sayrid could see a stiffness in his gait.
The jaarl was at least her father’s age and had no children. She glanced at Hrolf. Was he the heir apparent? Was that part of the tribute the jaarl had agreed to when they exchanged peace rings?
A shiver ran down her spine. Why had she missed this earlier? It made sense why he had made an alliance with Hrolf against Lavrans. She had been blind before.
Sayrid hung her head. How many other little things had she missed because she was so intent on improving her family’s fortune? But she could start again now, making sure nothing was overlooked.
Hrolf waited ten heartbeats after Kettil and his entourage disappeared. His uncle’s words about how a woman would always choose her family resonated.
‘Shall I help with the inspection?’ Sayrid cleared her throat. ‘I made a practice of it after Birka. My method takes less time than some of the others.’
She started towards the nearest ship, but Hrolf grabbed her arm.
‘My men know what they are about,’ he ground out.
He deliberately smoothed a strand of hair from her forehead. Her flesh quivered under his fingertips. She was far from immune. A surge of desire went through him, but he hardened his heart. Desire belonged to bedrooms and the night. Out here in the sunlit harbour, he had to concentrate on what was best for his ships and his men, the important constants in his life. ‘Why won’t you act like a woman? And why do you have to wear that dress? It is little better than rags.’
Sayrid drew on all her experience with her father and stepmother and kept her face blank, but inside she seethed. How stinging to be dismissed with such a very few words. As if all her experience counted for nothing. Act like a woman indeed! Next he’d have her chained to a loom.
‘You believe I will try to deflect your men away from any evidence that might implicate my brother. As if I would do such a thing! It is in my family’s best interest to have the real culprit found.’
‘And if he is your brother?’
She crossed her arms, bristling. ‘If my brother took leave of his senses, then I want to know. I will not hesitate in administering the punishment. But he will be found innocent.’
‘Why wouldn’t your brother make common cause with Lavrans? Other men have. Lavrans specializes in treachery and corruption.’
‘My father killed Lavrans’s father in a fight over a woman.’
‘Which woman?’
‘My stepmother.’ Sayrid choked back the words to stop herself saying that life would have been much easier if her father had never laid eyes on her stepmother. ‘Lavrans swore eternal hatred and vowed to pour salt on our lands. There were rumours that Regin wasn’t my father’s because he was born early.’
‘Lavrans is pragmatic. That must have been years ago.’
‘Not about Ironfist or his children.’ Sayrid stood up straighter. ‘It is why no one expected me to return from my first voyage and why I have learnt to guard my plans and listen to gossip. Give me a chance to prove what I’m capable of. You will be well rewarded.’ She hated the pleading note in her voice. ‘I want to find the culprit and clear my family’s name. Regin left because he regretted his words at the feast. My brother is like that.’
‘Keeping away will ensure my men trust the outcome,’ he murmured against her ear. She tried to hold her body stiff, but the warmth of his arm enticed her to lean towards him. The gleam deepened in his eyes. ‘You may change into your old clothes if it will make you feel more comfortable.’
She pulled away from him, annoyed at her reaction to his nearness and that he was using her attraction to him against her. ‘Impossible. Blodvin burnt them. Blodvin and I will have words.’
‘All the more reason not to remain here.’
‘I could go and see your daughter, get to know her. It went badly after the wedding. The last thing I want is for her to be frightened of me.’
Hrolf went very still. ‘You want to do that? Truly? After the way my daughter behaved yesterday?’
‘You sound surprised.’ Sayrid threw back her shoulders. Displaying confidence was easy. Men, particularly warriors, only noticed the surface. She’d learnt that lesson time and again in her trips—a scowl and a swagger made her seem tough even though her insides quaked. ‘I’m determined to make this marriage work. In time, she will see that she has no cause to fear me.’
