Rule of the Shieldmaiden

by Jaime Loughran

  CHAPTER 23

  “What were you thinking, confronting him like that?” Thora worked hard to keep her anger in check long enough to hear Galinn’s explanation. Maybe he had a perfectly logical reason for going behind her back to take Ulf to task in front of witnesses. To go at him in the manner most likely to bring about a challenge. She thought they had a good plan to address the issue without putting pressure on Ulf. He had to have a good reason for acting as if her plan was flawed.

  Galinn stared at her, frozen like a deer sensing danger too afraid the wrong move would bring about its demise.

  “Say something.” She strained to keep the fury from her voice. She at least wanted to hear what he had to say before she went off in a fit of anger.

  A muscle in Galinn sculpted jaw twitched and his lips drew into a small line. “Beri overheard Ulf talking to Thorston, and this time, it sounded as if he’d swayed Thorston. When I saw him with the others, I was curious to see what he’d say if I went over and thanked him. From there, I was trying to get him to say it was his idea to speak up for me. I thought if I could get him to do that, it would make him out to be a liar if he said otherwise to anyone who heard the exchange.” He put a hand over his heart. “I know how you wanted to handle him, but my anger got the best of me.”

  His blue eyes held the apology his lips failed to give voice to. Thora reminded herself to be gentle with him. She wanted to give him the time he needed to adjust to his new life as part of the village, and to work through the grief of Rónán’s death. However, she also had to avoid appearing as if he was allowed to do whatever he wanted without repercussion. Her position as jarl was still too new to give any appearance of weakness or favoritism. “I understand why you did it. I might have even done the same thing myself. Well,” she laughed, forcing herself to set aside her anger. “I guess I was forced into doing the same thing when I came around Beri’s place and heard what was going on. Still, I made a plan, and you didn’t stick to it. I need to know I can trust you, Galinn, and that tells me I can’t.”

  Galinn blanched and ran a hand through his hair. “I didn’t even consider my actions to be a violation of trust. Thora, you have to know I would never intentionally do anything like that.”

  She moved to stand next to him, threaded her arm around his, and guided him toward their home. “I know that, but others do not. While the people who saw all that had no idea I had plans of my own, or that your actions were a deviation from those plans, they did see you acting on your own and me stepping in to clean up the mess. I don’t want to give the appearance that you can do whatever you want because I will be there to fix things for you. That isn’t how I do things with anyone else. As you know, if people have grievances with one another, they can bring them to me, but I do not step in on my own. Not unless it’s a situation that puts the whole village at risk.” She paused as she wondered if Ulf would turn out to be that kind of situation. “In this case, I can let it go, but please don’t put me in that position again. If you know I’m planning to do something one way, don’t go off on your own to do another. Talk to me first.”

  He pulled his arm from hers and wrapped it around her shoulder. “Fair enough. I’m sorry.” He pulled her against him and kissed her forehead. The feel of his warm lips against her skin sent her thoughts on a different tangent. One that sent titillating chills through her body. She leaned against him and smiled when she felt the evidence of him thinking along the same lines pressing against her lower belly.

  “Are you busy? Or do we have time to sneak off to bed?” His breath on her ear raised goose bumps along her neck.

  Before she could answer, Thorston came running in their direction. “Jarl Thora! I need to speak with you!”

  Thorston stopped a short distance away. He and his brother could have been twins, had Ulf not been born five years before Thorston. Both men were tall and fit from all of their years of training and battles, but Thorston had fewer fine lines around his brown eyes and his brown hair was longer than his brother’s.

  Thora stepped out of the circle of Galinn’s arms and closed the distance to Thorston. The man could not stand still. He shifted his weight from one leg to the other and he kept turning his head to look behind him. Thora’s guard rose, sensing a threat. “What is it, Thorston? Are you alright?”

  He shook his head while wringing his hands. “It’s Ulf. He’s packed up his boys and they’re leaving.”

  Galinn’s head jerked back as his brow creased. “That fast? He just left here a few minutes ago.”

  Thorston shook his head. “I don’t know. I think he had them ready to move on a moment’s notice.”

  “I guess that makes sense, considering how he’s been trying to turn people against me.” Thora watched his reaction carefully. When the subtle shift from concern to guilt happened, Thora smiled. “Yes, I am aware of what he’s been up to.”

  Thorston nodded. “Yes, he wants to sway people, but I think it’s just been me he’s tried with so far.”

  Thora glanced at Galinn. “And I’d heard that wasn’t going all that well.”

  Thorston laughed nervously. “No, not exactly. When he first approached me, I made the mistake of arguing with him and he hit me. The next time, I just kept my mouth closed. I had hoped he would give up on his plan, but I think he’s set on being jarl.”

  “That’s not going to happen. Not how he’s trying to go about it.” Galinn raked a hand through his hair.

  Thora shook her head. “I can’t say I’m surprised he’s leaving. He was called out on the lies he’s been telling and by the time everything came to a head, more than half the village had gathered around to see it.”

  Thora frowned at Thorston’s relieved expression. “He was lying? You didn’t lie to him to get him to speak up for Galinn?”

  She shook her head. “He spoke up on his own. The only people who knew what I planned to do before I did it were Bjorn, Beri, and Skathi. With the potential for hard feelings because of what he did, I would never have asked anyone to speak up for Galinn and risk being an outcast if Galinn wasn’t accepted.”

  Thorston’s brown eyes warmed and he smiled. “I didn’t think you would, and I said as much to Ulf.”

  “I believe he seized upon that moment, and used that subject as an opportunity to make his move. I guess that means he never really supported my rule, even when he said he would. It was only a matter of time before he found something to use against me.” A wave of sadness washed over Thora as she realized she hadn’t made the headway with him she thought she did when she spoke to him privately. She didn’t want conflict with her people; they had enough to face from external sources. She had hoped all of the remaining villagers would support her, but wondered how many were faking their support as convincingly as Ulf. Even though they’d had people coming from other areas of Ireland to join them, Thora still couldn’t stand the idea of losing anyone. Ulf was the most vocal in his opposition to her after she killed Odinkar, but everyone else appeared to support her. After she spoke with him, she thought Ulf supported her too. How many others secretly opposed her? What if others began to plot against her? Her thoughts kept returning to that thought.

  “I’m sorry I was the source, Thora.” Galinn interrupted her thoughts, bringing her back to the present.

  She waved a hand. “It’s nothing to apologize for now. Ulf would have found something to use, if not this, so don’t blame yourself. What we need to do is figure out what to do about this. Do we let him go? Try to talk to him?” She was tempted to let him go without trying to convince him to stay, but she worried what others would think of her if she chose to do that. Would they think she didn’t care about him, and, by extension, any of her people? She couldn’t risk giving the impression that she was indifferent.

  “I think you should talk to him.” Thorston punctuated his statement with a sharp, single nod of his head.

  “I’m afraid it’s because I’ve already talked to him that he’s leaving.” Thora frowned as she consid
ered all the different ways she could have handled the exchange that may not have led to this point.

  “Be that as it may, you should still talk to him.”

  A knot formed in Thora’s stomach. Thorston was right. What could she say to convince him to change his mind? Did she really want him to change his mind? If Ulf left, he wouldn’t be there to spread his discontent. Maybe she’d have an easier time as jarl without his dissension.

  CHAPTER 24

  Thora knocked on the open door, uncertain if she should enter the house without invitation. The sun hung low on the horizon, and as the shadows of nightfall crept forward, they brought with them an evening chill that reminded Thora that winter wasn’t far off. Thora sent up a prayer of thanks to Freyr for accepting their sacrifice at the harvest festival and granting them a bountiful harvest. Her people would be well fed through the winter.

  Footsteps approaching the door from inside the house brought Thora’s attention back to what she was there to do. “You? What do you want?” Ulf sneered as he waved a dismissive hand and turned away.

  His rudeness stung, but she couldn’t blame him. “Can I come in? I think we need to talk.”

  He shook his head. “There’s nothing to talk about. You had your say earlier in front of everyone, and now I’m leaving.”

  She crossed the threshold and placed a hand on his forearm. “You are a valuable part of this settlement. You and I have our differences, but can’t we work them out so you and your children can stay?”

  He jerked his arm away from her hand. “There is nothing that can be worked out. You aren’t fit to be jarl, even if you have the support of most of the people here. It’s out of respect for them that I haven’t called for a challenge.”

  Thora’s eyes narrowed as the truth became clear. She’d wondered why he didn’t challenge her directly, and now she knew. He didn’t challenge her because he knew few would support him if he won. Going behind her back to sow the seeds of discontent allowed him the opportunity to gauge where people stood on the matter without outing his plans to take over. Without the support of the people, he’d be open to fight against any challenger who came at him, and there were men in the village who could kill him with little trouble. Bjorn and Beri would never support Ulf if he killed her, and Ulf couldn’t defeat either of them. Ulf wasn’t leaving because he couldn’t work things out with her. He was leaving to save face after she called him out for being a liar. He didn’t want to risk running into Beri or Bjorn after word got around because he knew, as she did, either one of them would kill him for what he tried to do. “Coward.” She uttered the single word with contempt and turned to leave.

  Ulf grabbed her by her upper arm and spun her around. His face was a deep shade of red and he appeared to grow taller in his fit of anger. “How dare you!”

  Without thinking, Thora brought her hand up and drove the heel of her palm upwards against his nose. His nose made a sickening crunch as his head snapped back. Thora stepped outside the doorway. “Don’t ever think you can put your hands on me.” She shook her hand to ease the ache the blow caused her. She may not have planned to do that, but she certainly didn’t regret it.

  “You’ll regret that! You’ll regret everything you’ve done!” Ulf yelled as he tried to staunch the flow of blood from his nose.

  “The only thing I regret is coming to you and convincing you to stay the first time. Your sons are welcome to stay, if they want. You, however, are not. I want you gone before morning.” Thora didn’t wait to see if he had anything else to say before walking off.

  By the time she reached her home, her temper had faded. She wasn’t proud of how she acted, but there was no point in fretting over it. She had to hope that letting him leave with his family was the best thing for the village overall.

  When she crossed the threshold of the home she shared with Galinn, Bjorn, and Skathi, the smell of fresh baked bread filled her nose. Her stomach rumbled and her mouth watered. No one made oat bread better than Skathi, and the anticipation of eating it soon chased away all thoughts of Ulf.

  “Oh, that smells delicious! Is it ready?” She closed the door behind her.

  “Not yet.” Skathi bent to stir a pot she had cooking over the fire. “Bjorn caught a few rabbits, so I made up a hearty stew for our evening meal.”

  “Anything I can do to help?” Thora glanced around the dining area. Skathi had the table set, complete with drinks poured.

  She shook her head. “Have you seen Bjorn and Galinn? The two of them went to invite Beri to join us, but they seem to be taking a long time in returning.”

  “They probably got to talking with some of the other men who like to hang around Beri’s shop.”

  Before Skathi could do anything other than chuckle, the door open and the house filled with the booming laughter and merriment of men who’d been drinking enough to be tipsy.

  Galinn wrapped his arm around Thora’s shoulder and leaned his weight against her. “There’s our beautiful jarl! How did the jarling go with Ulf?” He slurred.

  Beri and Bjorn dissolved into fits of laughter. Galinn appeared genuinely confused at what they found funny. Thora bristled at the dismissive nature of the comment, but shrugged it off. He wasn’t trying to be dismissive; he was trying to be cute, but in his near drunken state, he was anything but cute.

  Skathi stepped up, waving a wooden spoon in the direction of each man. “All three of you had better sit your arses down and pull yourselves together. I didn’t work over this hot fire all afternoon to feed a group of men too drunk to appreciate my efforts.”

  Thora smiled, but hid it behind her hand. Skathi could be downright terrifying when she wanted to be. These three men faced armed enemies who were less fearsome than Skathi with her wooden spoon.

  A mumbled chorus of apologies came from the three men, who then quietly took their seats and did their best to control themselves.

  When she was satisfied the men would behave, Skathi turned back to the pot and ladled the stew into wooden bowls and set a bowl before each person at the table.

  “To answer your question, things didn’t go well with Ulf. I ordered him to leave the village by morning after breaking his nose.” Thora scooped a spoonful of stew in her mouth and closed her eyes as the delicious flavors of rabbit, leeks, and potato danced across her tongue.

  Bjorn dropped his spoon and Beri’s paused midway to his mouth. Galinn sputtered as he tried not to choke on the mouthful of stew he had eaten. “What did he do?” Bjorn demanded as he retrieved his spoon.

  Thora’s brows pulled together, uncertain if Bjorn meant the question as an accusation. “He was trying to undermine my authority by lying and claiming I’d manipulated him into speaking up for Galinn. That I only cared about myself and not how having Galinn here would affect people. Galinn called him out in front of some people, and I happened to overhear the exchange. I got involved, the crowd grew larger, and he ended up storming off in embarrassment. Thorston came to me later and told me Ulf was taking his sons and leaving. I went to him and tried to convince him to stay.” She stopped to eat another mouthful, mindful of having the attention of everyone at the table. She chewed her food and swallowed. “I realized he was trying to work behind my back, rather than challenging me directly, because he knew he wouldn’t have the support of the village if he killed me. He was leaving not because I’d made it uncomfortable for him to stay, but because he was too much of a coward to stick around and deal with the consequences once word got out about his actions. I called him a coward and went to leave. He tried to stop me, so I broke his nose and told him I wanted him gone.” She shrugged.

  Bjorn and Beri burst out laughing while Skathi and Galinn shook their heads and smiled. “I’d say you handled that properly!” Bjorn pounded the table in emphasis.

  “I would have beat him bloody when I found out what he was trying to do, but I wouldn’t do anything like that without talking to you first. He’d better be gone before I see him.” Beri held his bowl to his mouth and d
rained the rest of his stew.

  “Where is he going to go?” Skathi posed the question while stirring her stew with her spoon.

  Thora shrugged. “One of the other villages? I don’t know.” She took a hunk of oat bread, dunked it in her stew, and took a bite. As the rich flavors swirled around her mouth, any concern she had over Ulf melted away.

  “I should just kill him. Then we won’t have to concern ourselves with where he goes.” Galinn nodded as if he found the perfect solution.

  Thora patted his hand and shook her head. “No, he’s free to go wherever he wants. I can’t imagine there is a jarl who would be comfortable having someone so treacherous around. Maybe being without a home and being forced to live among the Irish in one of their cities is a more suitable punishment.”

  Galinn shook his head. “I still think I should kill him, but I’ll do as you say.”

  “She’s right. Being forced to live without a village is a serious punishment. Let him go. We have more important matters to deal with, such as coming up with a plan of attack against Kincora.” Bjorn scraped the inside of his bowl to gather the remaining stew with his spoon.

  CHAPTER 25

  The following morning dawned bright with the promise of unseasonably warm weather. Thora ducked back into the longhouse and set her fur on the bed, having decided she would be too warm wearing it.

  She poked at the sleeping figure in her bed with a smile. “We have to go to the stronghold to meet with Bjorn and Beri to discuss our plan of attack.”

  Galinn mumbled something Thora couldn’t make out.

  “Come on. They’re waiting for us. Why are you still sleeping?” Even as she asked the question, she knew the answer. The drinking he’d done with Bjorn and Beri the night before caught up to him.

  Another unintelligible mumble.

  She pulled her purple woolen blanket back a bit, revealing his naked chest. As he slept, she drank her fill of his muscular physique.