Page 29 of Her Viking Saviour
"I cannot believe he would do that, Freydis. How could a man I love do something so terrible?"
It slowly started to dawn on Wynflaed that Freydis’s young infatuation had, over time, built Guthred up in her mind as a good man, and being told she could not have him had only fuelled this obsession.
She could feel Torben's piercing gaze boring into her. She turned and saw him walk towards them.
"Let's get back to Klavik and we can discuss everything at home."
"Home? How quickly you have adopted us all," Freydis accused her bitterly. She reserved her icy glare for Torben.
"Freydis, my patience with you has worn thin, and you will not speak to Wynflaed and I this way. Now come, we are heading home."
Wynflaed looked between the siblings and rolled her eyes.
"What an enjoyable journey home we are all in store for."
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Torben sighed with relief when they crossed the border into Klavik lands. The journey home had been spent in a stony silence, which Wynflaed had given up any attempt to mitigate. Instead, she rolled her eyes so deeply Torben had concerns over the stability of her slender neck from the exaggerated movement. He grinned when she mumbled to no one in particular about her arse being numb. He cast a glance at Freydis and saw her disposition remained unchanged. Head held high and chin jutted with wilful determination.
What can I expect? She is an Ulfson after all,he thought, as he recalled all the times his father had cursed his own pig-headedness.
Suddenly the energy shifted, so he lifted his right hand to halt Freydis and pulled his horse to a stop. A raven flew overhead then swooped down to eye level. It held Torben's gaze for a moment and squawked before it flew away.
"Torben, what is wrong? You are tense," Wynflaed whispered.
"I have a sense of foreboding. We must get back to the settlement now."
"Did the raven tell you that?" Wynflaed asked.
Torben squeezed his thighs and Bein began to sprint.
"A raven is a sign, Wynflaed, it can be good or it can be bad," Freydis shouted out to her, the hooves of her own horse pounding beside them.
"Whatever it is, when we arrive I expect you both to heed what I say," Torben shouted to them both even though he knew it was a futile comment, and he cast his eyes to the sky.
Odin, above all–protect them.
As they got closer to the settlement, three warriors rode up to greet them.
"What has happened, Vorund?"
"All is well for the moment. As a precaution, we have moved the people into the longhouses closer to town. It is Guthred. He arrived with a handful of men and says he only wants to talk. But he is asking after Freydis."
"For all that is holy, or not holy–I do not even know if I mean God or the gods when I curse now–will we ever be rid of this hateful Viking?" Wynflaed yelled angrily.
Freydis said hopefully, "Guthred? Has he come for me?"
"Freydis!" he and Wynflaed now shouted in unison.
"Vorund, keep the women safe and away. I am going to talk with Guthred."
"Women? Women?" Wynflaed yelled at Torben's retreating figure, as he spurred Bein on quickly.
Vorund stared at her. He kept opening his mouth, but no words came out. He waved his hands up and down in the air and, in any other instance, Wynflaed imagined this would be quite amusing. In this instance, she was furious. She and Torben were meant to be a team, unified in all ways!
"You are not going to be ordered about in this way, are you?" Freydis questioned from behind her. Wynflaed spun around so fast that her hair–grown out somewhat since Hilde had chopped it to protect her from Guthred–slapped her in the face.
"The irony!" she yelled, even though no one else would understand. Ha! And he was back.
