A very handsome young steward – Sigefrith was almost jealous for a moment – showed him up to the sitting room at the top of the stairs, where he found, to his great delight, Eadgith sitting alone with young Haakon.
“Oh, dear!” she cried softly, thrusting her sewing aside and leaping to her feet.
“Eadgith!” he beamed, but before he could say more, she held a warning finger to her lips. “Oh!” he whispered. “Baby sleeping?”
He stepped over Haakon, who was giggling and clutching at his ankles, and attempted to embrace her. She took a step backwards, but he caught her, or she allowed herself to be caught. And she allowed herself to be kissed, and finally kissed him in return, at least for a moment. What a luxury! Her mother was always watching them so closely and with such a glare!
“Don’t be frightened,” he whispered. “Haakon is here to protect you.”
“I’m not,” she said, and she allowed one last, brief kiss, but then she squirmed away to pick up Haakon, who was sitting at her feet and crying, “Eadie! Eadie!” most pitifully.
“I don’t think you should be here, though,” she scolded softly.
“How could I know I would find you alone?” he asked.
“Even so, don’t you have work to do?”
“What would become of my kingdom without you to keep me at my work?”
“If I were not, you would not need anyone to hold you to your work.”
“Don’t even suggest such a thing, honey,” he frowned. “Where are they all?”
“Well, Eirik and Estrid went out riding, and Mother has gone to visit the Countess, and Sigefrith and Hilda are – are in their room,” she mumbled in confusion, and by the depth of her blush he could guess what she supposed Sigefrith and Hilda were doing in there.
“What will they do without you to watch their babies?” he asked her. “Perhaps they won’t be able to have any more.”
“Oh, dear!” she whimpered, and turned her face away.
Sigefrith laughed and put his arms around the two of them. She was too, too adorable.
“You mustn’t, Sigefrith.”
“What can I do with Haakon between us?” he asked.
“I – don’t know. But you mustn’t do it.”
He chuckled and let go of her. “Very well. I shall tell your father he needn’t send Hilda or your mother to guard your virtue. You can do it very well alone.”
“You aren’t angry?” she asked in alarm.
“Certainly not, my poor girl. What sort of a monster do you think me?”
“Some sort of a dragon,” she smiled.
“Only the foolish, harmless sort. I shall sit in this chair, and you and Haakon over there, and I shall simply stare at you. That is permitted, I believe?”
“Yes.” They sat, but Haakon soon squirmed away from her and went to play rather noisily on the floor. “Hush, Haakon,” she whispered. “You will wake your Mama and Papa.”
“I doubt that,” Sigefrith said.
“Oh, dear.”
“I am some sort of monster, to make you blush,” he laughed. “But I can’t stay long, more’s the pity. I was on my way to see Cenwulf. I only wanted to invite myself to supper here tonight, if I may be so bold.”
“Oh – of course. Shan’t we come to the castle?”
“I don’t want you outside tonight. It is the new moon.”
“Is there a danger?”
“Alred’s squire has told a few tales that trouble me.”
“What did he tell?”
He sighed. “If I tell you, I fear that you will change your mind and ask your father to find you a nice husband somewhere far from this valley.”
“Of course I shan’t, Sigefrith. Even if you tell me that there are dragons living in the valley.”
“Oh, dear! Suppose I did?”
She laughed. “I already know there is at least one, but he is harmless and foolish and old.”
“But he is not ugly.”
“Oh, no. Certainly not ugly.”
“Well, it’s only a little matter, but I believe that there is a sort of quarrel between the elves and the men, and it isn’t quite safe for either side on nights of the new moon. Better that each stay in his home on those nights.”
“Perhaps you should sup at the castle tonight.”
“I could not bear that.”
“Perhaps I shall worry as much about you as you do about me.”
“Ah, but I carry a sword.”
“I don’t like to think that you need it for so short a ride.”
“I don’t say I need it…”
“Oh, Sigefrith! Don’t come! How shall I sleep, not knowing what happens to you after you leave?”
“Oh, dear. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
“Sigefrith, is it – ” She stopped, seeming too frightened even to continue.
“Is it what, honey?” he asked softly.
“Did Alred’s squire learn what happened to his daughter?”
“Oh…”
“Can’t you tell me? I’ve been – I mean, we’ve been – Estrid and Hilda and I – ”
“Oh! I don’t believe there is any danger to you young ladies. It is…” He sighed. “It was a woman that tried to hurt her.”
“A woman?”
“It was… well, you see, she’s an elf, and so it seems that she may not be harmed by fire. The woman wanted to hurt her, because she was an elf, and Iylaine escaped from the woman by running into the fire. That burned her clothes, but it didn’t burn her. That is all.”
Of course it wasn’t quite all, but he didn’t want to frighten her with such tales… and who knew how much of that tale was true, and how much Bertie’s imagination? Other than Iylaine’s ability to touch fire without being burned, how much of it could be verified?
He meant to go down into the catacomb to find out whether there was an empty coffin, but even if there were – what would that tell him? They had already found empty coffins the last time they were there.
It had been, most likely, only an ordinary woman. If one omitted the detail of her being the woman Bertie had seen in the catacombs, then it was merely a story of a woman who had tried to hurt Iylaine and who had been stabbed in her side for her trouble–
“Sigefrith?”
Sigefrith blinked at her.
“What is it?” she asked. “You look worried.”
“Worried?” he whispered. “Oh no… I merely… only just thought of something I should like to ask Theobald.”
Chapters
I love those two together. I only hope they are able to make it to the alter to wed next year.