Page 65 of Haakon's Fate
It was not long before Haakon was back with Inga and a frantic-looking Matilda. As soon as she spotted the little girl, she started to run but, weakened by relief, Gytha imagined, she fell to her knees before she could reach her.
“Osberga!” she called out in a heart-wrenching cry. “I’m your?—”
“Mother!” The little girl didn’t give her time to finish her sentence. Crying with joy, she closed the gap between them and threw herself into her arms.
“Oh, my love! My love, you’re safe! I’m so sorry.”
The two of them hugged for what felt like an eternity, sobbing and laughing at the same time.
Though Gytha couldn’t stop crying, her lips were stretched into a wide grin. To know she had contributed to this reunion was the most satisfying feeling. It had been just like she had dreamed it would be. Matilda had been so worried the little girl would not remember her—or, more to the point, resent her for abandoning her… Everyone had tried to tell her it wouldn’t happen, but it was always a risk. Evidently, she’d had nothing to fear.
By her side Inga was fingering the cuff of her sleeve and fighting her own tears.
“Do you think Osberga will accept what her mother and I?—”
“Yes. After what she’s been through she will be happy here, with her mother and the woman who loves her. I’m sure you are ready to welcome her into your home?”
Inga threw her a grateful smile and wiped at her cheeks. “I am. She will be the child I never thought to have. I feel like I know her already.”
“Come. We’ll leave them to be reacquainted in private,” Haakon told the women, taking Gytha by the arm. Inga nodded and offered her arm to the old woman, who took it gratefully.
The four of them entered the hut, and sat around the table.
“Now. We need to talk. Did Osberga tell you anything of what happened to her after she was sold to the slave trader?” Haakon asked the old woman, who had told them her name was Elfida.
Though she wanted to know as well, Gytha dreaded hearing the answer because it seemed more than likely that a man who had bought a slave would have had no scruples in using her in every way. And of course she could have suffered before that, at the hands of the trader himself, or during her stay at the farm or while she traveled to reach her village.
The possibilities were endless.
“Yes. Put your mind at ease. Even if it was horrific in its own way, she was bought to be a slave, nothing more,” Elfida told them, alleviating the worst of her fears. “And the man who bought her did not have the sharpest mind, from what she told me, which was why she managed to escape after little more than a week. She’s a clever little thing, that one.”
“Yes.” She would have had to be to survive this whole ordeal and find her way back home again. “And now she has finally been reunited with her mother.”
Gytha swallowed. Unlike her, who would never get to hug her mother again. A moment later she felt Haakon take her hand and give it a squeeze. She squeezed it back, grateful for the support.
“Now all we have to do is go tell Wolf,” he concluded, raising his cup in the air.
19
The whole village rejoiced in the safe return of Osberga and started to plan a banquet to celebrate. Everyone had heard of Matilda’s plight and was delighted to see mother and daughter reunited at last.
None more so than Wolf.
“Tomorrow I’ll send Sven to go find your father, wherever he is. After all he’s done, he needs to take part in the celebrations. He also needs to be told you’re restored to health and ready to go home at last.”
Gytha stilled. She was restored to health, admittedly. But was she ready to go back home? She was not so sure.
After having lived with Haakon for over a week, been looked after by Cwenthryth and reassured Inga, she felt like a member of the community. And it was wonderful to be near her best friend again. Yes, she thought ruefully, she could easily find a place here, among people who were grateful to her and thought her brave and capable.
Sven arrived with her father just as night was falling. As soon as she saw him, she threw herself into his arms. “Father!”
“Gytha, thank God.” He tightened his arms around her. “I arrived back home this afternoon, only to find a message claiming you were poorly. Before I had time to panic, Sven arrived, telling me all was well. What happened? Was the message a mistake?”
“No. I was quite ill for a few days. But I’m better now, as you can see.”
He drew back to examine her critically. “Mm. You do appear changed.”
Heat invaded Gytha’s cheeks. Somethinghadchanged since the last time her father had seen her. Would he see that she had become a woman? What would he say to her if he knew? To Haakon?
