“You didn’t want to!” her father roared. “You’ve made a mockery…” He took a deep breath and shook his head, his face lined with exhaustion as he ruffled his thinning gray hair. He sat heavily in the chair beside her. “Ari, do you realize what you’ve done? You’ve announced to everyone that you’ll give yourself to any man who can present you with a gift you’ll enjoy.”
“Father,” she said patiently. “Don’t you think I know that? I will choose wisely. I promise.”
“What if you choose the gong farmer?”
She grinned. “Then I’ll be covered in dung for the rest of my life.”
Walter sighed. “What kind of lord would a gong farmer make?”
Ari leaned forward and squeezed her father’s hands. “I promise I won’t pick a gift with manure on it.”
“This is important, Ari.” Yet he bowed his head, attempting to hide the smile on his lips. “You will have to pick sensibly. I’ll try to help you in any way I can.”
“I know, Father. It will be well. Don’t worry.”
He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it. “I will always worry over you.”
She hugged him tightly, regretting the agony and concern she was putting him through. Despite her guilt, she believed she was doing the right thing. She couldn’t deny the excitement and anticipation that pounded through her veins. It was not for the gifts she would receive but for the husband she could now pick. She was confident she would be able to find Finn’s gift amidst all the others. “I think it was a good idea.”
“We’ll make it work,” her father said, pulling back to look her in the eye.
Ari nodded, and she spread her hands out as if over a table. “We can arrange the gifts throughout the Great Hall on the Yule. I won’t know which lord has presented which gift. I’ll assess all of them and choose one.”
“And you will be stuck with that one. There will be no turning back.”
She nodded as enthusiasm churned within her. She would pick Finn’s gift, she was certain. Just the thought of marrying him sent a rush through her body. When she returned after spending time at her aunt’s castle, she had realized how very much she had missed him and how much she wanted to be with him.
Her father stared at her suspiciously, and a frown slowly descended over his brow.
She looked down to hide her joy. “I understand. Whoever I select will be my husband.”
Finn heard the creak of the door and stopped pounding metal against a red-hot anvil. He glanced up, and his eyes widened. Ari stood there, her blue cotton dress slightly rustling as she stepped forward. A brown traveling cloak hung from her shoulders. A hood covered her head, and when she pushed it away, a sunbeam shining through the doorway caught the golden strands of hair that had fallen loose from her braid. Finn swallowed heavily.
“Good day, Ari,” Conrad greeted.
She rushed to Finn’s side, her breathing quick.
“Are you well?” Finn asked with concern.
“I had to sneak out of the castle, but they still might be following me,” she said hurriedly, glancing at the open door.
“Who?” Conrad asked.
Finn wiped his hands on a towel and set his hammer on a bench, his gaze never leaving Ari’s face.
“The lords and knights,” she said in a breathless rush. “They’ve been swarming me all morning. Talking to me. I can speak with one or two at a time, but groups have been hounding me everywhere I go.”
“They won’t come here,” Finn assured her.
“Did you ride here?” Conrad asked.
Ari nodded.
Conrad moved to the door. “I’ll take your horse to the stables so they won’t see it if they pass by.” He exited the smithy.
Ari looked at Finn. Her large blue eyes were wide with panic. She wrung her hands. “I think I made a mistake wishing they would speak to me.”
Finn grinned. “You wanted them to show an interest in you. And they are. But only to win your contest.”
