Page 85 of My Fair Viking

"Since he was seven years old, and his sister Adela was four. A more foul-mouthed, enterprising, wild rascal you never met in all your life! My stepsister Rain and her husband Selik adopted the two orphans. Only the gods know what horrors the two experienced before that, living on the streets of Coppergate in Jorvik. I do know that the wildness never really left him. He tries to hide it under a veneer of civility, but on occasion it emerges. And always there is this invisible shield he has erected around himself. He lets people in only so far, even family and friends. There are wounds inside him that have never been healed… and not just the death of his sister."

"You sound like an advocate for the man."

"I'm being long-winded, am I not? Alinor would say 'tis time to freeze my flapping tongue. But, really, my lady, Adam needs no advocate. If he wants something, he gets it himself."

That is what I am afraid of.

"Still, you seem protective of him."

"We all are. Me, Alinor, Eirik, Eadyth, Bolthor. His prolonged grief these past two years has alarmed us all."

"That's why you came to Stoneheim, then? Worry over Adam, not my father."

He nodded.

She should not be asking these questions of Tykir. He would think she had a personal interest in the rogue. After tonight, he would be out of her life completely. Well, not tonight, she immediately amended. First she had to deliver him to his home in Northumbria. Then she would be off to Miklagard, the "Great City." It was a rich, powerful, sophisticated city of gold and marble. She could scarce wait. Once there, she would have no cause to think of Adam again.

But first she had to get through tonight.

Chapter Fifteen

Adam was in his bedchamber with Rashid, helping to pack their belongings for the return trip to Northumbria.

They probably wouldn't be leaving till two days hence, but all of the medical supplies that Rashid had packed in haste were now in disarray. Decisions had to be made about which ones to leave behind with Father Efrid and the midwife, and which were so rare he must needs keep them for himself.

"I still cannot believe that the king has recovered so rapidly. 'Tis a miracle. Praise be to Allah!"

"Rashid, please do not use the word miracle in my presence. It has come to leave a nasty taste in my mouth. And, frankly, methinks the king's recovery is not as rapid as he would have us think."

"Really?"

"For days he has displayed the symptoms of a recovering man, not one who was unconscious."

"Why would he pretend to be sicker than he was?"

Adam shrugged. "He is a crafty fellow… always has been, I understand from Tykir. His motives are beyond my understanding. And, really, I do not care. We will be going home. That is the most important thing. I cannot wait till we are gone from this hellhole of the North."

"From one hellhole of the North to another hellhole of the North," Rashid murmured, still chagrined over Adam's refusal to return to the Eastlands and the world of harems. Rashid squinted his eyes at Adam with confusion. "Why did you insist that Tyra be the one to accompany us? Why not cut your ties with Thorvald completely?"

"Revenge. Pure and simple. She kidnapped me. In essence, I am kidnapping her by forcing her to make the return trip."

"Be careful, my friend. Revenge has a way of coming back to bite a man in the arse."

Adam laughed. "Is that another of your ancient proverbs?"

"Nay," Rashid replied with a grin. "That is a bit of Rashid humor. Speaking of humor, master, could you believe all the jests that were being made at dinner about the king's condition? And Thorvald was the worst of them all."

"Vikings do have a great sense of humor. They especially like to laugh at themselves. But even I thought the hole-in-the-head jokes went too far. Especially the one about the king making a good candle holder… now that he has a hole in his head."

"Or, 'How did the drukkinn Norseman misplace his horn of ale?'"

Adam laughed and finished for him, "It was sitting in the special horn-holder in his head."

"I give you fair warning, master. I heard the king telling one of his soldiers that ever since the operation, his manpart seems to have regained new virility. Harder and bigger it is now, he claims."

"Oh, my God!" Adam exclaimed. "You know what that means, don't you? If word of this spreads, I will have Vikings by the dozens asking me to drill holes in their heads. Just so they can have better sexplay."

They both burst out laughing.