She should have guessed Haakon would not let it happen.
“That was one impressive display of strength,” she heard him say from behind her.
“Strength?” She turned around, grateful for his help. “You were the one who stopped him. I would have ended up flat on the forest floor if you’d not been here and we both know it.”
He shook his head. “That’s not strength, that’s muscle. I was born with a big body, there’s no merit in me being able to stop an older man half my size. You weren’t born with the same advantages but still you forged your mind to steel and stood your ground. It’s not the same at all.”
“I…”
A mind forged of steel… Had he just given her the most heartfelt compliment she had ever heard? What should she make of his praise? She wasn’t sure.
“Are you always so comfortable talking about who you fuck, I cannot help but wonder?” Haakon continued.
Gytha felt herself redden to the roots of her hair. That had been bold talk, meant to put the foul man back in his place and show him that she was not so easily intimidated but in reality, no, she wasn’t comfortable at all, because, well, because she hadn’t fucked anyone. She’d only kissed a handful of men, and allowed one of them to fondle her breasts while she stroked him to release.
But she could not admit to being so woefully untried when he took her both for a brave fighter and woman of experience. She’d wanted to show Alberic he didn’t impress her, now shewanted Haakon to carry on thinking her bold and capable. From the start, the stakes had been high, she had addressed him with more vehemence than she would have done had she not been startled and annoyed at his interruption. Being this brazen, fearless creature was stimulating but exhausting. It had been nice earlier to be able to let down her weapons and just be herself. But here she was, having once again to present an image that didn’t correspond to her dull reality.
“Why should I be ashamed?” she asked with a shrug. “Are you?”
He tilted his head, as if he’d not expected this answer. “No,” he said slowly. “No, I’m not.”
Mm. Of course not. She should have guessed. She had seen him with a lover once and he’d not felt any embarrassment.
“By the way, I saw you talking to my twin yesterday.” Haakon’s eyes, so intent a moment ago, were now sparkling with ill-concealed mirth. Why? What had just crossed his mind? And why had he changed the subject so abruptly? “I wondered what you told each other. I confess I would have liked to hear your conversation.”
“Your twin?” Gytha frowned, confused.
She had talked to many Norsemen the day before at the banquet but none had looked like him. She would have noticed, because she spent an inordinate amount of time staring at his perfect features and she could have recalled them at a moment’s notice. No man last night had looked remotely as attractive as he did. But perhaps his brother was one of those twins who weren’t an exact copy of yourself. There were twin sisters living in her street that looked nothing like one another. They barely even looked like sisters. And yet they had been born at the same time, of the same womb. Who was Haakon’s twin then? The one who had offered her first pick from his platter of roasted meat?Not the one who had insisted she dance a second time with him, surely? That one had been rather unpleasant.
“Yes. My twin sister. Rowena?”
Gytha stilled. She had indeed spoken to a woman called Rowena straight after the ceremony. Their conversation had made little sense to her. Now it did. The woman she had taken for Haakon’s lover was his twin. That was why his eyes were sparkling so, why he looked so happy to tell her who his sister was. Because he’d known she would feel ridiculous for accusing him of having a lover the other day. Which she did.
“Mm, yes,” she said noncommittally, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of knowing he had succeeded in his bid to humiliate her.
“Admit it, you felt rather disgruntled when you found out the truth.”
“No, I didn’t, because she didn’t actually tell me who she was.” Rowena had not introduced herself as Haakon’s sister, she had just assumed Gytha had known who she was talking to. And she would have, had Haakon been honest enough to tell her what the situation was when they had discussed his mysterious visitor that day.
“You thought she was my lover.” Though he didn’t exactly sound accusatory, Gytha could not help but get defensive.
“How could I not?” She might have jumped to conclusions, but she defied anyone not to have done the same. “It’s not written on her face that she is your twin, and shehadspent the night in your hut.”
Oh good. Nowshesounded accusatory.
Fortunately Haakon didn’t seem to take offense. “Yes. She has two young sons—twins, oddly enough. They’ve recently been ill. Having looked after them day and night for a week, Rowena was exhausted. Her husband, Thorfinn, ordered her to go sleepin my hut while I took her place for one night. She needed the rest and as the boys were out of danger, she agreed.”
Oh, could she feel more wretched?
Rowena was not a wanton going after all the handsome men in the village, she had only kissed Thorfinn because he was her husband. As to Haakon, far from being a lecher spending nights of debauchery, he had gone to help his brother-in-law look after his nephews. He had handed over his home to his sister so that she could get the rest she needed after a hard week spent fretting over her sick children.
Thanks for last night, she recalled her saying.Anytime, Haakon had answered. Yes. It all made sense now.
And she was mortified.
Yet there was something she couldn’t explain. “She told me she hadn’t wanted to introduce herself ‘under the circumstances.’ What did she mean?”.
Once again, Gytha had assumed the worst, that Rowena had not wanted to meet a woman in such an awkward moment. But if she was not his lover, she’d had nothing to worry about, so why had she said such an odd thing? Say what Haakon might, she had some reason to have thought what she had thought.
