“Cowards!” Halvar spat in disgust.
“When Taft realized you weren’t here, he and the men left. But by then, they’d already destroyed the village and killed people. Taft is a dangerous enemy,” Canute warned. “He will keep seeking you. He has no idea where you went, of course. But I pray to Heimdallr4 that he will protect you.”
Now, as Halvar lay awake, he could hear Canute moaning in his sleep. He’d entered the pit house after the fire, believing that his wife was inside. She wasn’t there and before Canute could get out safely, part of the roof fell on top of him. It would be some time before he was ready to travel but could they survive until the injured were ready to go?
Halvar hoped that by rationing the food, they would have enough to last until the weather warmed and the injured either recovered or died of their injuries. If they all made it out alive, it would only be through the favor of the gods. He wished that Eira were there with her healing skills. She would know what to do to help the injured.
As for Taft, Halvar made up his mind that one day, the man would face justice. He would be patient and wait until the time was right. And then, Taft would pay for what he’d done.
“Kaarina, I’d like you to take these eggs down to Leyna,” Emiline said, handing her a basket. “She has some cheese that she made yesterday to give you in exchange.”
Kaarina took the basket and put on her coat to shield her from the day’s drizzle. She was looking forward to getting out of the house; as much as she loved the twins, they were hard work and she seemed to be spending a lot of time with them lately while Emiline did other chores. There was much to do in springtime.
Leyna’s house was at the other end of the village, set apart from the others. It would be a good walk to get there and Kaarina needed the exercise. She’d been feeling restless lately, wondering what would become of her life. She was happy with what she was doing for now, but it couldn’t last forever. One day, something would need to change. Would she ever find a husband and have a family of her own?
Her thoughts strayed to Landwulf. Since the visit to the markets, she hadn’t seen much of him; whenever she went to visit Eira, he had stayed out of the way, only appearing briefly to say hello before disappearing again. She wondered if he was avoiding her; had she done something to offend him?
She reached Leyna’s house and exchanged the eggs for the soft cheese. She was looking forward to eating it; Leyna made delicious cheese.
“Thank you, Leyna,” she said, tucking the basket under her arm. “Emiline will be pleased. She likes your cheese.”
Leyna’s good-natured face broke into a broad smile. “Tell her thank you for the eggs,” she said. “My hens have not laid many lately. Maybe ‘tis the weather.”
“Tell them they are slow. Emiline’s hens have been laying lots lately,” Kaarina giggled.
Leyna chuckled. “I’ll tell them that slow hens get turned into hen soup,” she said. “Maybe that will frighten the eggs out of them.”
They both laughed and Kaarina thought how good it was to share a joke with a neighbor in a village that was welcoming and safe.
“You’re a kind neighbor,” she told Leyna impulsively.
“Emiline is my friend,” she replied. “Besides, kindness makes our village a better place.”
“It does,” Kaarina agreed. “Well, I shall be on my way now.”
She turned and walked back towards the house. The seashore caught her eye and she suddenly wondered if she dared to walk along the sand alone. The more she thought about it, the more she thought she could do it. She needed a change of scenery and if she stayed away from the water’s edge, surely the waves would stay in the ocean. Landwulf had taught her how to dodge any that came too close so she could take care of herself now. She knew Emiline wouldn’t mind; she always said it did a person good to go for a walk in the fresh air.
Feeling brave, she ventured onto the sand. It crunched under her feet, a strange sensation after walking up and down the often-muddy paths of the village. The waves rolled lazily onto the beach, their grey-green faces much smaller today. Kaarina relaxed; perhaps the beach would even be a nice place to walk on days when the waves were small. There was something refreshing about a brisk walk with the tang of salt air in her nostrils and the rhythmic sound of the waves breaking onto the sand.
Suddenly, she spotted a familiar figure walking onto the beach with a rope in his hand.
“Landwulf!” she called impulsively. “Landwulf!”
He looked in her direction and hesitated. Then raising a hand in greeting, he turned and quickly walked away towards the village.
Kaarina was hurt and disappointed. Why would Landwulf refuse to even say hello? Now she was sure he was avoiding her. What had she done wrong?
She walked slowly back home, head down, feeling hurt and disappointed. She hardly paid any attention to the water that had frightened her so many times in the past. Now, it just reminded her of Landwulf and how things had changed between them since the day that he had helped her to overcome her fear. How was it possible that she could go from feeling on top of the world to feeling rejected so quickly?
When she arrived back home, she quickly handed the cheese to Emiline and made an excuse to use the outhouse. She didn’t want anyone to see that she was near tears.
That afternoon, she went to visit Eira, hoping for a chance to speak to her alone. She was lucky; the other girls were working in the vegetable garden while Eira prepared food for the evening meal. Kaarina decided to help her peel the vegetables for the stew while they chatted.
“I am glad you are alone,” Kaarina said. “I wanted to talk to you.”
“Why, do you have man troubles?” Eira teased.
“Not exactly,” Kaarina said.
“Oh come on, I’ve seen the way Gerfrid looks at you.”
“Gerfrid?” Kaarina asked in surprise.
“Haven’t you noticed?”
“No. He says little to me.”
“He looks at you whenever you come here. I can sense his interest in you.”
“Oh yes, of course. I’d forgotten about your abilities that get you into so much trouble!”
“Well, do you have any interest in him?”
“To be truthful, I think Landwulf is nicer.”
“He watches you, too. I am not surprised; the brothers do everything together,” said Eira, piling vegetable peels into a bowl.
“I was beginning to think that Landwulf liked me but I’m not sure now,” Kaarina confessed.
“Why?”
“Because he seems to avoid me. I was walking along the beach today and I saw him. I called his name but he waved to me and then walked away. Have I done something to offend him?”
“I know not. He has not said anything. But I can try to find out for you if you want me to.”
“Yes, please,” replied Kaarina. “I hate not knowing what is wrong or how to fix it.”
“I guess that he’s shy,” said Eira. “Or perhaps there’s rivalry between himself and Gerfrid for your attention and he knows not what to do about it.”
“I would like to know why he is avoiding me,” said Kaarina. “If I’ve done something wrong, I want to make up for it somehow.”
“I will talk to him,” promised Eira.
Minna shook the soil from the bunch of carrots she’d just pulled from the garden. The early warm weather meant that they’d been able to sow their vegetable crops earlier than usual. These were only baby carrots but they would go nicely in the stew that Eira was making for the evening meal.
“Landwulf!” she called as she spotted her middle son walking past the vegetable patch, rake in hand.
“Yes, Mother. What is it that you want?”
“Please take these carrots to Eira for the stew she is making for the evening meal. I believe Kaarina is also with her.”
Landwulf’s eyes brightened and he blushed. “As you wish, Mother,” he said, taking the carrots from her hand.
Minna watched him
go thoughtfully. If what she suspected was true, Landwulf had feelings for Kaarina. She decided to probe a little deeper and walked up the rows of vegetables until she reached the place where Frida and Sigrid were sowing summer greens.
“We’ve got lots of work done today,” she told them, sounding pleased.
“We’re almost done with sowing the summer greens, Mother,” Frida replied.
“When you’re done, you can stop for today,” Minna decided. “There are indoor chores that we need to do.”
“And more weaving,” added Sigrid. “I’d like to finish the cloth I’m making.”
“Did you know that Kaarina is here?” Minna asked, changing the subject. “I saw her walk over a while ago. She’s probably helping Eira in the kitchen. I sent Landwulf down there with some carrots for the stew.”
The girls gave each other a sly look that Minna immediately noticed. “Your brother seems to like hanging around the house when Kaarina is here,” she said.
Frida stifled a giggle. “No, Mother, really?”
“She’s a nice girl,” Minna said lightly. “Does he care for her?”
“You will have to ask him yourself,” Frida replied. “He would never tell his sisters.”
The girls looked at each other and sniggered. Frida tried to disguise her mirth as a cough. Minna had seen all she needed to know. “I shall be down at the house,” she told them, standing to her feet. The girls had confirmed her suspicions. Now she would have to come up with a plan to help Landwulf find someone more suitable than Kaarina.
CHAPTER 7
E ira watched as Landwulf strode out the door to the storage barn where the firewood was kept. Minna wanted more wood for the fire. She waited a moment then slipped out the door after him, hoping that no one noticed. This was the opportunity that she’d been waiting for.
“Landwulf!” she said quietly.
He spun around, shocked that someone else was there.
“Eira!” he gasped. “You startled me.”
“I am sorry,” she said. “I wanted to speak to you while you are alone. There are few opportunities.”
“True. What is it that you wish to say?”
“I wish to ask you what your feelings are for my friend Kaarina.”
Landwulf looked surprised. “I ... uh … don’t know,” he stammered, turning red.
“It’s all right,” Eira said. “Your secret is safe with me. You care for her, is that not true?”
“It is,” he admitted, relief in his voice.
“Kaarina thinks she has done something to offend you,” Eira said. “You have been avoiding her.”
He looked at her with stricken eyes but said nothing.
“Is it Gerfrid?” she asked gently.
He nodded, a miserable expression on his face. “We do everything together. I cannot see how we can love the same girl. It will not work.”
“What if the girl only had feelings for one of you? Would that make things different?”
He thought for a moment. “Well, if she would only accept one of us, yes, I think it would.”
“What if I told you that the fortunate man is yourself?”
His eyes lit up. “Really?”
Eira smiled. “Kaarina does care for you but she is confused by the way you have been treating her. And she has no feelings for Gerfrid so you don’t need to feel guilty about that.”
A huge grin split Landwulf’s face in two. “Really? I cannot believe that a girl like Kaarina could think of me that way.”
“She is special,” Eira agreed. “But you owe it to her to make things right with her. She is trying to think of what she has done to hurt or offend you. Tell her that you think she is special and put her out of her misery.”
Landwulf looked sheepish. “I ... uh … know not how. Pretty girls do not grow on trees around here. I have never had one like me before.”
“Be brave,” Eira advised. “Kaarina is kind. She will not intentionally do anything that will hurt you.” She looked at him directly. “But if you do nothing, you will lose her to someone braver than you. What have you got to lose?”
“Landwulf!” Minna called from the house. “Where is the wood? My fire is going out!”
“I had better go,” Landwulf muttered, gathering up the wood.
“Remember, be brave,” Eira told him with a grin.
He pulled a face and hurried to the house with the wood.
Later that evening, Eira went to the kitchen after everyone else had retired to the communal room. She wanted a drink of water. Landwulf waited a moment then followed her.
“May I speak to you for a moment?” he whispered so that no one would hear them.
“Of course,” Eira whispered back.
“When Kaarina comes to see you tomorrow, tell her that I will be down on the beach. Just tell her that, nothing else.”
“I will,” promised Eira. “And I wish you good fortune,” she added. She liked Landwulf.
The rain came down steadily as Kaarina donned her coat and boots to see Eira.
“Are you sure you want to go out?” Emiline asked doubtfully, peering at the leaden sky.
“I need to get out of the house for a while,” Kaarina answered. “Besides, I want to show Eira the new bracelet I am making.”
“Of course. Well, enjoy your time, dear,” Emiline said.
Kaarina scurried across the road to Eira’s house, ducking her head. Eira opened the door and let her in then quickly closed it to keep out the cold, damp air.
“We should all be ducks!” Kaarina exclaimed.
“And then we would put you in a pot and eat you,” Eira giggled.
She looked around the stofa, the living room where the family sat in the evenings. Sigrid and Frida sat at their looms, their hands flying as they wove fine cloth. Minna sat nearby, knitting a headscarf to sell at the summer markets. It was going to be difficult to find the opportunity to tell Kaarina that Landwulf was waiting for her on the beach. She’d seen him leave just as Kaarina knocked on the door. He’d muttered something about going to the beach to gather some kelp for the garden. No one had paid him any attention and he’d left without a fuss. But how was she to tell Kaarina?
Inspiration suddenly struck.
“Come with me to the sleeping quarters,” she said to Kaarina. “The new blanket I’m making is on my bed.”
The two girls went to the little nook where Eira slept. The blanket was folded neatly on the bed, waiting for Eira to do some more work on it.
“The blanket is not why I called you in here,” Eira said. “I wanted to tell you that I spoke to Landwulf.”
“What did he say?”
“He was shy and embarrassed at first. But he admitted that he does care for you.”
“So why has he been avoiding me?”
“Part of the reason is that he’s shy and doesn’t know how to express his feelings to a girl. It’s also partly because he knows that Gerfrid also has thoughts about you and he doesn’t know what to do about that because they do everything together. In his mind, it doesn’t work for both of them to love one girl.”
“But I don’t care for Gerfrid. He is thoughtless and unkind.”
“When I told Landwulf that you have no interest in Gerfrid, he began to see that there might be a way to work it out.”
Kaarina drew in a sharp breath. “I can’t believe that he would care for me but not show it,” she said. “It seems a strange way to treat someone you care about.”
Eira shrugged. “Men are peculiar creatures,” she said. “We will never understand them. But that’s not important now.”
“Why?”
“Because last night Landwulf followed me into the kitchen and told me that he will be down on the beach today when you visit here. He left just as you arrived.”
“In the rain?”
“Do you want to know what he has to say to you or not?”
“Of course.”
“Then ignore the rain. What does it matter if you get wet?”
/>
“It doesn’t. I will dry out.”
“So stay for a few minutes to be polite to Minna and the girls and then excuse yourself. Emiline doesn’t need you at home right now, does she?”
“No, she won’t be expecting me home for some time.”
“Well, go. And good fortune be yours.”
Kaarina made her way down to the beach, a basket on her arm. Eira had given it to her in case someone questioned why she was there in the rain.
“Tell them you’re collecting kelp because the waves are high and there might be some on the beach,” she’d advised. “Then it will appear that you and Landwulf have met by accident.”
It was good advice but hardly needed. Kaarina looked up and down the deserted beach. There was not a soul in sight, not even Landwulf. Was she about to get wet in vain?
She started to walk along the beach, gathering strands of kelp to put in the basket. It was fresh and clean and Emiline would certainly be able to use it. Soon, the curve of the beach obscured the village. The rain had eased to a drizzle and the air smelled fresh and clean. She took a deep breath. Even if Landwulf didn’t show up, a walk on the beach cleared her head and made her feel good.
“Kaarina!”
She turned her head to see Landwulf approaching from the edge of the beach, where it met the grass and low trees. She stopped and watched him walk towards her. He looked towards the village, checking to see that no one had noticed them.
“Hello Landwulf,” she said quietly when he came near.
“Hello, Kaarina,” he said with uncharacteristic shyness. “Shall we walk?”
They continued along the beach and Kaarina wondered if he would ever speak.
“I am sorry for the way things have been since the spring markets,” he said at last.
Kaarina was surprised. “You mean, for the way you have been avoiding me?”
He hung his head. “Yes. I did not think about how it would seem to you.”
“I was worried because I thought I’d done something to upset or offend you.”
He stopped and turned to face her. “No, Kaarina. You’re not to blame. I am.”
“But I did not know that.”
Kaarina: Rejected (Viking Guardians Book 2) Page 5