Page 64 of Haakon's Fate
“You told me once you always remember too late that it has a hole in it. I thought the same thing would happen in the winter, when you put it on for the first time. So I stitched it. And I’m glad I did. It was quite a big hole, in danger of becoming even bigger.”
He stared at her a long moment, so long that Gytha wondered if she had not inadvertently blurted out something inappropriate. Such as that she had thought of him as she’d stitched the heavy garment, and hoped he would think of her every time he wore it.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Haakon said eventually. Apparently, her surprise has pleased him, so much so that he wasn’t sure what to say.
“I wanted to. And you didn’t have to look after me while I was ill. You could have sent me to Eadhild or?—”
“No. You were staying here with me. There was no question of that.”
There was so much possessiveness on that statement, so much fire in his voice that she shivered.
“So,” she whispered. “While I’m here, do you have anything else that needs mending?”
For a moment she thought he would say something that had little to do with what she’d asked. Then he shook his head.
“No.”
Gytha and Haakonspent the rest of the afternoon sitting on the bench in front of his hut, enjoying the sunlight. They had just agreed to get back inside to have something to eat when two figures appeared on the bridge. An old woman and a little girl who did not live here.
The air seemed to still around them and they shot to their feet. Could this be…
Gytha gripped Haakon’s arm when she recognized the old woman, who headed straight in their direction. Hope surged through her. Was the little girl looking around with wide eyes the one they had been searching for so long?
“Haakon. There you are,” the woman said, as if the two of them were old friends and this meeting had been arranged all along.
“Is that who we think it is?” Haakon asked, nodding to the girl who was doing her best to hide. Gytha was glad he had taken the responsibility of this conversation because her throat was too tight to allow her to talk.
“Yes. Matilda’s little girl.”
At the confirmation, tears sprang to Gytha’s eyes. Finally! They had found her, and she was well.
“Care to tell us why we find out only now that you two know each other?” Haakon didn’t sound impressed at the secrecy, if admittedly relieved. “That you knew all along where she was?”
A pause.
“Osberga and I always got on well, from the moment she was born. One might say I was like the grandmother she never had. When that evil Gundulf took her away I was just as distraught as her mother. But we had no idea where the farm was and no one could or would tell us.” The woman shook her head, as if reliving the nightmare. “Anyway. About two weeks ago, I was in my garden when I heard a voice call out to me from the bushes. It was my little Osberga, who didn’t want to be seen by anyone other than me.”
The emotion in her voice was unmistakable. Gytha wiped at the tears now freely falling down her own cheeks.
“She explained how the farm had burned down?” Haakon guessed. “And then how she had escaped from her tormentors and decided to go back to her mother?”
“Yes. Alas, I had no idea where Matilda was, even if I guessed she would have gone looking for the farm upon leaving the village. And I did not have the first clue about where she had elected to live after finding out it had burned down. I was starting to resign myself to the fact that Osberga had come all that way for nothing when you two came, asking questions, telling me Matilda now lived in your village. That night I told the girl about what I’d learned and we decided to come to you.”
That had been over a week ago. But then of course they’d had to walk all the way, not having the luxury of a horse.
“It took us longer than I would have liked to reach you because I cannot walk very fast,” the woman carried on. “And wewent to the first Norsemen village we met along the coast. There, I asked for Haakon but there were a dozen of them, none of them you. When I specified that the one I was looking for had been accompanied by a Saxon woman, I was told this would be the place to look, as many of the men from here had chosen Saxon wives.”
Gytha guessed she had gone bright red. Yet another person thinking they were a couple.
“Yes, well, you are here now, and we thank you. But I still don’t understand why you didn’t tell us Osberga was with you last week?” Haakon asked the question that was burning Gytha’s lips. “It would have saved poor Matilda a lot of grief.”
“I-I needed time. Forgive me, I wanted to enjoy a few last days alone with Osberga, who is dearer to me than anyone in this world. It was wrong of me, I know, but I couldn’t bear to watch you ride away with her. I know I should?—”
“We understand,” Gytha soothed, unable to let the woman bear the guilt when she had actually taken the right decision. “And you didn’t know us. It is normal you would have been wary of entrusting her to us. In any case, you did the right thing. And Matilda will be overjoyed.”
“Yes. We need to tell her without delay. It’s not fair to keep her waiting,” Haakon said, already making his way to Inga’s hut. “I’ll go get her.”
“You two need a drink and something to eat, I think,” Gytha told them, gesturing that they should sit on the bench. Then she went to get a pitcher of ale, some milk and the few griddle cakes that were left over from their lunch. The two women drank deeply and ate with appetite.
