"Vermund is fond of you; that's obvious. But so am I."
"Which is also obvious," Halla finished for him. She flashed a honeyed smile. Her expression showed confidence, but hesitation wavered in her eyes.
"Nothing wrong with honesty, right? You suspected my intentions coming out here with me. Alone." She nodded, her smile melting away. "And my guess is you feel safer alone with me than with Vermund."
"So you know about him, then?" Toki shook his head. "Oh, well, to tell it would be spreading rumors."
"Vermund is on my lord's land, within arm's reach of his neck. If there's something to tell, say it." His tone carried more force than intended. The hint of danger to his family triggered it. Halla leaned back, eyes wide. But she answered without hesitation.
"It's said he murdered his wife and his son. That he strangled her in their own bed, and when his son found out Vermund had him thrown into the sea."
"That's a grave accusation to make against a man. Why would he do it and how would you come to know?"
"I don't know why. Some say his wife was a shrew, that he married for her status and family. Maybe she grew too old or was unwilling to please him. He claims she died in her sleep and his son washed overboard in a storm. But many believe otherwise."
"And you believe otherwise?"
"It is safer to be wary of him than it is to assume he is a victim of gossip."
"And how do you know? Certainly your father doesn't believe it?"
"I heard it from one of Vermund's men who swore he saw the son thrown overboard. He warned me to be careful of Vermund, on the day we arrived here. I've known this man since I was little girl. I believe him."
"I already didn't like him. I don't mind having another reason. Thank you for your honesty."
Resuming the walk, Toki began to think ahead to how he could progress with this woman. She was only five or six years younger than him, too old to still be a virgin. He hoped he could verify that point on his own.
"I think my father wants us to marry." She blurted the words. Now Toki stepped back in shock. Halla regarded him, brows knitted in worry and eyes wide.
"Well, then, that's complicated. I was afraid you were too good to be true."
She put up her hands in protest. "It isn't a formal arrangement. But I know my father, and he wouldn't let even an old friend like Vermund get close to me if he disagreed."
"Then we must meet when your father is elsewhere. Halla, I confess, I want a chance to know you better. We can visit the puffins, but I merely sought privacy to ask if we might continue to meet. Am I a fool?"
She didn't smile or answer. Toki's face burned, his stomach soured. So I am a fool, he thought. Not half the ladies man you thought, eh Toki? Well, I do live most my life at sea. Halla folded her arms, her eyes appraising and calculating. She cocked an eyebrow. The wind picked up, blowing her hair across her face. She at last ended the silence.
"Not a fool. And I think you're a fine man, Toki. You serve a good lord, have a beautiful and royal sister, and you are gentle with your nephew. You've got wit, more than most men on these islands. I think I could become fond of a man like you. But I leave tomorrow. If I come back, or we meet again, I will be another man's wife. I'm too old to remain unwed, and many want my hand just for my father's wealth."
"I'm not interested in your father's wealth."
"Obviously not, or you wouldn't have chosen the one way to court me that would ensure my father's anger. Another reason you interest me, Toki."
Halla's worldly insight contrasted with Toki's naive thinking and left him wanting. He had only focused on wooing a pretty girl, forgetting she was the daughter one of the richest men in all the Faereyjar. She was royalty, and he was nothing but a freeman. He bowed his head. "I understand your meaning. I would be nothing more than a distraction for you. Eventually you will marry according to your station."
"No," she said, as forceful as Toki had been moments ago. "I am a free woman, not a piece on my father's game board. I will choose my own husband. Other women choose for love, so why not me?"
"Noble words, but I think your father would not hear them."
"He is a difficult man, vain, arrogant, ambitious. But I am his lone surviving child. He would be hard to convince, and maybe he would never accept my choice, but I will prevail."
Toki stared at Halla, her determination only enhancing her charm. She stood poised with the cliffs and ocean behind. A sea bird climbed into the sky, soaring like Toki's confidence. "I am chastened. Then, will you allow me the opportunity to further impress you?"
Her smile returned and the hardness fled her eyes. "If you can figure a way for us to meet privately, I would enjoy it. I would encourage it, in fact."
Toki's heart fluttered and he felt giddy. He tried to flatten his voice as he spoke. "We have plenty of ships, and I'm at sea often enough. If you have a secret place we can meet, I will find it. But how will you slip away?"
"I have slipped my father's notice for years. Don't worry for me. I have a slave who will help. She can explain to you where we shall meet. Let's plan for one week hence."
"Sounds wonderful," Toki winced at his gushing words. Halla giggled, and he assumed it was for his outburst. He straightened himself and continued. "Now about the puffin colony. It's just ahead as I mentioned. We can still visit it and return in reasonable time. Shall we?"
Halla giggled once more and stepped to his side, offering Toki her hand. He took it, hoping his palms were dry. They walked north along the cliffs, Toki wondering if this was nothing more than youthful foolishness. He thought of Hardar and Vermund again, and shoved away the fear he might be starting a conflict that would end badly for him and everyone else.
CHAPTER FOUR
Hardar pinched his chin, tugging the hairs of his gray streaked beard as he thought. He stood outside his tent, a fresh sea wind bringing its cleansing scent to his nose. He drew it in and held it. The assembled jarls and their hirdmen milled about the fields outside Nye Grenner, forming jovial clusters that broke apart and reformed like clumps of sleet on an iron plate. Hardar snorted out his breath.
"They're having such a fine time for themselves. Damn them." Hardar muttered, one of his own hirdmen looking expectantly at him. Hardar dismissed him with a frown, then entered his tent. It was the largest of the visitors' tents, brilliant white with red stripes. It had served him well in his younger days when he raided overseas in Northumbria and Frankia. Despite fifteen years of storage, it remained in fine condition.
The inside of the tent glowed with diffuse light. Ingrid sat on a stool, hands patiently folded on her lap. Dana, a slave girl from Ireland, combed Ingrid's platinum hair. He gestured her out with a flick of his hand.
"Where's Halla?"
"I sent her with an escort to tour the land. All of these games and arguments bored her."
Hardar stared at Ingrid. She had been a rare beauty in her day, and was still better than the toothless hags most men endured for their wives. But she was older now. Lines creased her eyes and brows. Her hair had thinned. Her eyes were still stunningly clear, cheeks still full. But she could not compare to a young woman, not like Ulfrik's wife.
"Just as well she be gone. I am in a foul mood." He looked expectantly at Ingrid, who simply cocked an eyebrow. He waited, but only distant laughter and the snap of the tent in the wind made any sound. He shrugged and turned away, dropping his sword on his fur bedding. "And I see you are in a foul mood, as well."
"After what you put me through last night? I was humiliated." She kept her tone even, and her gaze on an indistinct point of the tent.
"You should have left with me. I am the one humiliated."