Page 56 of The Caged Viking

Crazy in love, or just plain crazy…

“You’ve gone barmy,” Egil concluded as he watched Hauk pour several drops of poppy juice in one of three cups of wine.

“Hey, only three cups! Don’t I get some, too?” Bjorn asked as he half sat, half reclined on the cot, his condition having improved dramatically throughout the day, as the young were wont to do.

“You’ve had more than enough strong drink, my son,” Hauk declared, “and, besides, there’s almost no wine left.” With that, he poured the last few drops into a fourth cup, anyway, just for appearance sake…and to please the boy. This was intended to be a farewell toast to Kirstin, once she returned from a last trip to the garderobe before she made her exit back to her time and place in the future. Gods! I still cannot believe I have accepted her stories.

“I cannot believe you have accepted her stories,” Egil said, as if reading his mind.

Hauk shrugged. “What else can I believe?”

“That she is barmy as a bat?” Egil offered.

“Well, that’s two of us then, according to your theory,” Hauk said. “Didn’t you just call me barmy for fixing her wine?”

“Fixin’, eh? She’ll be the one fixin’, once she discovers what ye’ve done. Fixin’ yer arse.”

“By then, it will be too late. We’ll be at sea and far from Winchester and her supposed time portal, or whatever she calls it.”

“I still do not understand why ye can’t jist take the arm rings from her, like ye did afore.”

“Because then she would know what I am about and start haranguing me hither and yon to give them back. My way, it will be too late afore she can protest.”

Bjorn laughed. “I did not realize having a father would be so much fun.”

Hauk was fairly certain his son was making mock of him, but he had no time to pursue the subject because Kirstin had returned. She was wearing one of the gowns he’d gotten from Sweyn’s plunder pile, a garment of a silky-like fabric in a pretty sky-blue color that matched her eyes and the rare blue amber pendant that hung about her neck on a gold chain. She had taken time to plait her hair into one long braid. The arm rings were on her upper arms.

“What is this?” she asked, noticing the four cups sitting on top of his travel chest.

“Wine, a farewell toast to you afore we go to the hall,” Hauk said, leaning down to give her a quick kiss on the cheek. She did not duck as she usually did when he got too close. How could she after what they’d shared in the bathing chamber this afternoon? I thought I knew everything about the sex arts. I had no idea women could do that…that thing.

She eyed him suspiciously, but took the cup he handed her. He took another for himself and handed one each to Egil and Bjorn. She took a tiny sip and made a grimace of distaste. “It’s not very good wine, is it?”

He shrugged. “It will do.”

Bjorn made a choking sound which Kirstin took to be equal distaste for the wine.

“’Tis been a pleasure meeting you, m’lady,” Egil said, tipping his cup in salute to her.

They all took sips of their wine.

“I’ll never forget watching you and my father spin through space,” Bjorn told her. “And here I was hoping for a stepmother who could teach me such fancy tricks. Oh, well!”

More sips of wine.

Hauk cleared his throat and took one of her hands in his. “I wish you would stay, at least for a while, but I have to thank you for all you’ve done for us…releasing me from the cage, getting us out of the castle, curing Bjorn of his injuries.”

“Hah!” she said. “You wish I would stay for a while…until you got bored. You can’t fool me.”

“But mayhap you would be the one to get bored,” he pointed out, although he did not really believe that. Leastways, it had never happened to him with other women.

“Well then, I would just have to make sure you worked extra hard to keep me unbored.” She grinned at him to demonstrate her meaning, as if he hadn’t understood that she meant sexplay. “Lucky you, that you won’t have to work so hard.”

She had tears in her eyes as she teased him, and he knew the parting was affecting her, too. Not enough to change her mind, but hopefully enough to temper her wrath later.

He released her hand, and they all drank the rest of their wine. Bjorn would stay in the room while he, Egil, and Kirstin went to the hall. Leastways, that was the plan they’d laid out to Kirstin earlier.

“Come, wife,” he said, his voice gravelly with emotion, and held out a hand.