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She stared up into his piercing blue gaze. A warm glow infused her being. She shook her head to clear it. His new lands were her home, the one she shared with her brother and sister. ‘You need the secret to getting into the harbour.’
‘And if I attempt it without a guide?’
‘You would be dashed against the rocks.’
He raised a brow. ‘Thus far I’ve avoided them.’
‘There is always a first time.’ Sayrid tilted her head to one side. She had to make sure that Auda was freed. ‘I will tell you the secret to getting into the harbour if you allow Auda to travel with us.’
‘You believe you can bargain?’
‘Yes.’ She tilted her chin upwards and met his gaze. ‘The well-being of my family comes first.’
‘Your sister will be safe with Kettil and his wife until we know the threat from Lavrans is gone.’ Hrolf began to stride away. ‘Bargaining with me won’t work, Sayrid. You will tell me because you will want to save your life.’
‘I can swim. Can you?’
He stared at her for a long while. ‘We shall have to see who blinks first, but you will be coming with me and you will reveal all your secrets.’
The tunic rubbed across her scars. Not all her secrets if she wanted him to desire her.
Chapter Nine
The afternoon sun sparkled on the water and a small crowd gathered at the harbour to see them off. Auda stood next to the jaarl’s wife and watched with large reproachful eyes. Sayrid’s heart sank. She hated failing either of her siblings. When Sayrid caught Auda’s eye, Auda gave a brave wave, but it made things worse somehow.
‘You will soon return home. I promise,’ Sayrid mouthed.
Auda nodded as if she understood and linked arms with the jaarl’s wife.
Kettil came over to the pair and put his arm about his wife. She said something up to him and he looked down at her with love and devotion. Something within Sayrid melted.
For once in her life she wanted Hrolf to look at her like that. She wanted to matter to her husband.
Annoyed at her thoughts, she adopted her fiercest face and put her shoulder against the boat, preparing to help push it out to the sea.
‘What are you doing, Sayrid?’ Hrolf thundered.
She braced her feet more firmly against the sandy shore. ‘Helping to launch the boat.’
Strong hands lifted her up and carried her forward, before dumping her unceremoniously into the ship. The entire crew erupted into laughter.
She swiftly rose to her feet and glared at Hrolf. ‘There was no call to do that!’
A smile played on his lips, but his eyes were deadly serious. ‘My women do not do heavy work.’
‘I’m your wife, not your woman.’
The laughter in the boat instantly died.
Hrolf leapt over the side and retook his place by the oar. He gave a maddening smile. ‘All the more reason why you should be honoured instead of being made to work like a thrall.’
Sayrid squared her shoulders. ‘Where should I sit, then? Do you expect me to row?’
‘Where you like, but do not hinder the oarsmen,’ Hrolf called from where he sat beside the steering oar. ‘The tide favours us.’
Sayrid counted sixteen oarsmen and no other warriors. It was larger than the ship she normally used, but very well maintained and designed for skimming across the water. The oarsmen were placed in such a fashion that they would get maximum thrust from the oars. Sayrid had learnt to her cost on her second voyage that it mattered a great deal where the oarsmen were positioned.
Despite her determination not to be overawed, she couldn’t help but be impressed. She could tell from the way it was built that it would glide over the water, unlike the sluggish pace her own ship used.
Inga and her nurse obviously had been assigned places near to where Hrolf manned the steering oar. Sayrid hesitated until the nurse gestured that she must sit with them.
‘My father can walk the oars while the men are rowing,’ Inga said, tilting her chin upwards. ‘Can you do that?’
‘I’ve never tried,’ Sayrid said. ‘My father used to boast of it, but it never made sense to my mind. What practical purpose does it serve?’
The girl shuffled over to make room on the bench. ‘Well, he can do it. He has very good balance. And it is ever so exciting to see. It means that the men can all row together or so Far says.’
‘I hadn’t thought about that,’ Sayrid admitted.
Inga gave a pleased smile. ‘Basic seamanship, or so my father says.’
‘Walking the oars is not what is required now, Inga,’ Hrolf called out from where he sat. ‘Stop trying to make me seem better than I am. Allow Sayrid to judge my seamanship herself. She is an expert sailor.’
