“There is Wolf’s wife, Merewen, whom you know, of course, her friend, Frigyth and her sister Dunne, but they are not theonly ones,” Eadhild carried on. “They settled here a while ago but there are women our age too. Two of them have married Wolf’s sons, Steinar and Sven. I’ve become quite close to Eahlswith, who recently had a son.”
There, she giggled. “Why are you laughing?” Gytha asked. There was nothing funny in having a baby.
“Because Eahlswith told me the other day she had become good friends with Freydis, one of the women who had shared Sven’s bed before their wedding. I was quite shocked, to tell you the truth. I don’t think I could do the same.” She made a grimace proving it. “I’m glad Halfdan only moved here recently, as it means I don’t have to meet any of his former conquests. I wouldn’t like that at all.”
“No, I can well imagine.”
Gytha remembered the discussion she’d had with Haakon, when she’d told him she would trust her future husband not to stray. Had she really meant it or had it been one of these brazen things she said and did in his presence? She couldn’t quite decide.
“Now, tell me about this bruise,” Eadhild ordered.
Yes. The bruise. Talking about the assault she had endured at the hands of the vile Saxon was much better than thinking of the kisses she had shared with the handsome Norseman. Grateful for the distraction, Gytha started her tale.
“You remember Leofric’s brother, Oswald?”
By the time she had finished, her friend was aghast. Gytha had kept to herself all that had transpired between her and Haakon before the attack and stuck to the version they had given her father. He had simply walked into the house one morning in time to prevent the assault. There was no mention of the fact that he had been in her bed that night, that they had argued, or kissed afterward. That he had warned her he’d been about to rip her clothes off and impale her on his cock.
Oh, stop! How many times will you think of this?
Hundreds more it seemed.
“Really, I’ve never liked the man but that is shocking.” Eadhild brushed a strand of her friend’s hair to the side to better see the extent of the damage. She shook her head in dismay and then stilled. A smile bloomed on her lips. “What’s this I see? You’ve finally pierced your ears?”
“I have.” Well, one of them anyway. Haakon had done the other one.
Stop! Gytha chided herself again. What was she doing, constantly thinking of him? Couldn’t she have a normal conversation with someone without obsessing about him?
“Those earrings are beautiful! Where did you get them? At the market, on the new jewelry stall in the corner? I didn’t think they had such wares.”
“No.”
Gytha cleared her throat. What should she say? How could she explain Haakon’s generosity? Fortunately, she was spared from answering by Halfdan appearing in the door frame.
“Gytha. How good to see you.” He looked delighted to see her. And his braided hair made her wonder once again whether Haakon?—
Stop, stop, stop!
“It’s good to see you too.”
“Will you share the meal with us? We were about to sit down.”
“Thank you, I would love to.”
The meal was simple but delicious, mutton stewed with greens and accompanied with boiled grain. Everyone ate with appetite and laughed at the antics of various villagers.
“Will you come with me see Eahlswith?” Eadhild asked Gytha, once the bowls were empty. “I had promised to go this evening.”
“You two go while it’s daylight,” Halfdan instructed. “I’ll take care of this.”
This offer earned him a kiss from his wife. It was the sort of kiss that only two people in love shared. It was not desire hiding under it, it was affection. It was not lust, but tenderness. It was the sort of kiss Gytha had never shared with anyone. Would she ever do one day?
She would have to wait to find out. First she would have to find a man she was assured didn’t care about her father’s occupation. For that she needed him to surrender his role as reeve to another. Not much longer to wait now, only a few months. Or… Had she not found one already?
She had tried to push him out of her mind during the meal but here he was again, invading her thoughts. Haakon had not come to her because of who she was, he had almost literally stumbled onto her by accident. And in the weeks since they had met, he had never once given her the impression he was interested in what her father did, even if they were now working together precisely because hewasthe current reeve. Yes… And his kisses had left little to the imagination. He wanted her, at least, as man wanted a woman. Did he want more? He had never alluded to it, even though he was not exactly in the first flush of youth. His twin sister was married with children already.
More confused than ever, she followed Eadhild to a well-maintained hut on the other side of village.
“Is that Freydis, the woman you told me about earlier?” Gytha asked, nodding toward the blonde woman sitting next to a tall Saxon who had to be Eahlswith. They were laughing together like old friends.
