Page 113 of The Outlaw Viking

After they’d removed their monks robes and moved closer to the fire for warmth, Ubbi added, staring pointedly at Rain, “The wind did a good job chafin’ yer lady’s neck and lips, I see.” Then he peered closer at Selik, chortling, “And is that a bite mark on yer earlobe? Yea, I think ’tis. ’Twas a biting wind, no doubt.”

“Put a hold on your tongue, little man,” Selik warned. “I have yet to determine your punishment for helping to plot my kidnapping.”

“Nay, I did no plottin’,” Ubbi declared, raising his chin indignantly. “I merely carted yer body out here. And ye must weigh as much as a bloody horse, if I must say so meself.”

Selik glared at Ubbi, then remarked in an innocent voice, “By the by, Ella sends you her fond regards.”

Ubbi’s face turned almost purple with consternation and he sputtered for words, “Ye…ye…ye…are not to be meddlin’ in me personal affairs.”

They all laughed then, even Ubbi.

Rain relished this brief moment of shared laughter before turning to help the children, who were storing all the items that had been delivered and busily performing the duties she had assigned to them days ago. Because the number of children had increased so, she and Ubbi had decided that each child must share in chores, even the youngest, three-year-old Maud, who was setting the long trestle table with wooden trenchers and spoons.

The oldest ones, Humphrey, Jogeir, and Kugge—about ten years old—went outside to chop firewood, while the younger children carried armloads of logs and kindling inside, and still others stacked it near the roaring hearth. Several of the girls swept up soiled rushes from near the kitchen area and put down fresh ones. Others tended the cow and chickens in the lean-to shed.

Blanche was stirring a bubbling cauldron over the fire.

Blanche! “What are you doing here?” Rain asked, walking up and putting a hand on the maid’s arm.

“Gyda sent me to help with the children,” she explained, shooting a longing look toward Selik. And Rain knew she had ulterior motives for coming to the farmstead.

Frowning, Rain walked back to Selik, where Adela was tugging on his pant leg hopefully, her thumb, as ever, stuck in her mouth. Rolling his eyes with exasperation, he picked her up in his arms, trying not to appear pleased by her appreciative giggle.

“Where’s that little bugger, Adam?” he asked her, and she pointed with her free hand to the corner.

Oh, boy! Rain thought. Now the you-know-what is going to hit the fan. While all the other children worked industriously, seven-year-old Adam reclined on one of the pallets, his head and shoulders propped against the wall, one leg crossed over a bent knee, playing with the Rubik’s Cube.

Selik set Adela gently to her feet, then stormed over toward Adam. He ignored Rain as she cautioned softly, “Now, Selik, he’s only a little boy.”

Standing next to the cot, legs braced apart and hands on hips, Selik asked icily, “What the hell are you doing, lying about like a lazy slug?”

Without moving his body an inch, Adam scanned the room and the busily working children, then peered up the awesome length of Selik’s body until he met his eyes. Fearlessly, he answered, “Overseein’.”

“Overseeing?” Selik sputtered out. Then Rain saw laughter flash briefly in Selik’s eyes at the boy’s audacity before he hid his mirth. “Your overseeing days are over. Get your arse off that bed and help carry some firewood in.”

Adam seemed to consider all his options, then decided wisely that he’d best follow Selik’s orders. But he made sure he got the last word in. “Is arse a word the witch allows ye to use? Seems ta me it be on her ‘no-no’ list.”

Selik reached out to smack his butt as he passed, but Adam swerved agilely out of his way. She thought she saw him stick out his tongue.

Selik’s eyes locked with Rain’s then, glittering with silvery amusement. He shook his head despairingly. “Do you realize what a job you have taken on here? That wet-nosed little whelp will cause more deviltry than all the rest combined.”

Rain put a hand comfortingly on his arm. “Honey, I think if your son, Thorkel, had lived, he would have been just like Adam.”

At first, anger flashed across his face at her mention of his dead son, turning his jaw rigid. He clenched his fists whitely at his side. But then he seemed to ponder her words, and his hands relaxed, reaching out for her. He put his arm around her shoulders, drawing her against his side, and chuckled. “I think you are right.”

“And, Selik…”

“What?”

“I think he deliberately sets out to antagonize you, just to get your attention.”

“Hmph! He has more than succeeded.”

“He’s been taking care of his sister for so long. I think he just wants someone bigger and stronger to lean on. Someone he admires, who—”

“Stop while you are ahead, Rain. Even I am not so thickheaded as to believe that.”

Blanche prepared a veritable feast, making good use of the plentiful assortment of foods Selik had provided—beef stew with vegetables and thick gravy, manchet bread, freshly churned butter, crisp apples and pears, and honey still in the comb. The children ate a tremendous amount of food, and Rain knew she would have to find some way of providing for them, especially through the harsh winter months. Perhaps she could come to a better system of payment for her services at the hospitium. She would think this through after Selik left. His departure tomorrow night hammered continually in her mind.