Olaf explained awkwardly, exchanging quick looks of embarrassment with his wife, that Thork had stayed in the city and would stop at the house in the morning before going on to his grandfather’s estate. Ruby felt heartsick at the look of disappointment on Eirik and Tykir’s faces. And she couldn’t deny how much she missed him already herself.
Before they ate, Ruby was surprised to see everyone bow their heads.
“Thank you, Lord, for this good food… and for bringing husband and father home to us safely,” Gyda said.
“And thank Odin and Thor, too, for our good fortune,” Olaf added wryly.
Ruby’s amazement at their mention of both Christian and Norse gods must have shown on her face.
“We practice both religions here,” Olaf explained. “Baptism to the Christian faith is the price most Vikings pay for settling in foreign lands. Most often ’tis a political expedient, nothing more.”
“Nay, husband, some of us are true converts,” Gyda argued.
Informal conversation flowed throughout the dinner, plain, delicious fare including an unleavened flat bread called bannock which Ruby learned was baked daily by the Vikings. Even the children talked freely as the family caught up on all the news that had happened while Olaf was gone.
Gyda told of unexpected deaths, new babies born, marriages made and growth in the city. ” ‘Tis claimed there are now more than thirty thousand adults living in Jorvik. Could that be true?” Gyda asked her husband.
“Mayhap an exaggeration, but ’tis a fact the city grows like wild weeds. At least, there is still some order to the growth. I noticed as we walked from the palace that the gate pattern is being followed in an orderly fashion.”
“Yea. We now have Coppersgate, Petergate, Andrew-gate, Skeldergate, Bishopgate—”
Ruby interrupted, “What does gate mean? In my land, a gate is a door in a fence.”
“Gate is a Norse word for street,” Olaf explained, ” ‘Tis how we name our roadways.”
The children gave Olaf all their important news. Tyra showed off her missing teeth and told of five kittens born just last week to an aging cat which had apparently been around before Olaf left on his voyage. Astrid asked shyly about the handsome Selik, which seemed to disconcert Olaf. The other girls told of talents learned, minor injuries, gossip and trifles they wanted to purchase.
Thork’s sons remained silent, except to whisper among themselves. They seemed a part of, but separate from, this warm family. Lonely, Ruby thought. They were neglected, lonely children.
How could Thork be gone for two years and not spend his first night with his sons? Why did they live with Olaf’s family? If Thork could not care for them himself, why not the grandfather Dar that Thork had mentioned? Something was wrong here. Ruby shook her head in confusion, determined to get to the bottom of the mystery. She yearned to help the boys but remembered Thork’s warning. Later! she vowed. Later she would go to them, Ruby promised herself. She couldn’t wait until Thork’s return, though. She had a few choice words to deliver to him.
“Thork!” Olaf exclaimed suddenly, and everyone turned with a start to the doorway where Ruby’s wayward Viking stood with wide shoulders propped against the doorjamb and arms folded across his chest, listening with amusement to the domestic conversation. “You said you would be staying at the palace tonight,” Olaf accused.
In truth, Thork couldn’t believe that he had returned to Olaf’s house, against his better judgment. For years, he had followed a wise policy of avoiding his sons in public or in front of strangers, like Ruby. He could not let his enemies know these were the fruit of his loins. Holy Freya! His brother Eric would kill the boys in a trice to protect his accession. Or if he thought he could hurt Thork in the process.
It was Ruby’s fault. She had woven her magnetic siren’s web about him, and for some inexplicable reason he had felt compelled to return to Olaf’s house. He made eye contact with the mysterious wench and felt an intense rush of warmth surge through him. He inhaled sharply.
Why did the man-woman affect him so? It could not be her questionable beauty. She was not uncomely, but, in truth, he knew many women more pleasing to behold, though not half so enticing. Mayhap it was the manner in which she sometimes gazed at him with her heart in her eyes, thinking he was her husband.