"Not madness, lass. It's daring plans like this that have raised him above others, and your son was willing to do it. It's how he'll learn these tricks for himself. Hold on, my leg. The damned cold makes it stiff."
She and Aren stopped while Snorri worked his thigh. Bera and her daughters continued to amble ahead and the circle of light went with them. Runa glanced at Aren, who stared pensively into the gloom of nightfall. She wondered what his young mind had made of all the recent events. Then there was the brutal farce Ulfrik had exposed to him. "I tried to get the two of you to leave, but you wouldn't go," Ulfrik had explained. Whatever his intention, he had failed and she believed their son hurt for it.
"That's better," Snorri announced. "Let's get to a warm fire. Nothing more to do until someone returns."
Runa smiled but said nothing, and the two walked in companionable silence. Snorri was like a father to her as much as he had been for Ulfrik. He loved her children, though he ignored Aren, and he would serve them with his life. He would never voice it, but she was certain he chaffed at Ulfrik's deceptions and being excluded from the action. She grasped the tactical sense of Ulfrik's plans, and admired how he would beat both Clovis and Throst at their clever games. Yet being fooled into believing he had abandoned hope and surrendered Hakon to fate had injured her. She barely had time to demonstrate how hurt she felt, but she would ensure he knew after his return. However much he would celebrate victory before his men, behind closed doors he would have to work hard to make amends to her.
At the hall, Bera and her daughters were already ordering servants to stoke the hearth and heat up the stew from dinner. The savory scent made Runa's mouth water, and Snorri expressed her thoughts. "Smell that? No need to go hungry just because the men are on the march."
As they ate, small talk filled the time. The evening the men left to war was always the strangest. Their faces were still fresh in mind, their voices still clear in memory, and fear of their deaths a passing thought. Yet the men were gone and their protection as well. Those left behind struggled to preserve normalcy that would be dead by the next morning when the women awoke to a cold spot where their husbands should be.
"Where is Halla living with Toki gone?" Snorri asked. Runa stiffened at the casual mention, knowing well that Snorri was reminding her of a duty to invite Halla into her home while Toki and all his men were away.
"She has not seen fit to approach me since we last spoke. I assume she has the company of other women."
Snorri nodded, not looking at her. All conversation ceased. Bera fussed with her youngest daughter, then she excused herself with an embarrassed smile. Runa let her go, seeing the nervousness at the mention of Halla's name. Once she had gone to the far end of the hall, where they made their home in a small room, Runa continued.
"Well, are you accusing me of being a poor host?" She glared at him, and his eyes widened and shoulders shrugged. "I already tried that and you know what it earned me. Besides, the little witch is plotting something. Don't give me that look. You know it. She has been Loki's right hand from the moment she stepped into my hall."
"I know you've never had any love for her, but for your brother's sake …"
"My brother asked nothing of me before he left," Runa snapped. "If he wanted me to comfort his wife he'd have told me. He's such a love-struck fool. How old is he by now, and still the woman has him blinded."
"I wouldn't say that. I think the two are actually devoted to each other."
Now Runa's eyes went wide and her mouth bent in a shocked smile. "I expected better judgment from you, Snorri. All your years have imparted no deeper wisdom to you?"
"Not more about my age." He rolled his eyes. "Look, Toki and Halla are happy together. And as for your fears of her betrayal, that's a bit far-fetched even for you. She has been here barely a month, and after the troubles with Throst. How could she cause all these problems? Lass, it's better for you to quit looking for trouble with her."
"Not so. Today she left a sign for someone right after Ulfrik left. I saw it. She put out a bucket and ladle in a certain spot. Who was she trying to signal?"
"Her servants?"
"Don't mock me."
"Lass, you are spying on her? Listen to yourself. That's no way for the jarl's wife to behave. You'd shame yourself like that, just to accuse her of putting out a bucket and ladle?"
"Someone has to watch her." Runa's face grew hot with embarrassment. In the heat of her anger she had revealed too much. With her actions given voice, she heard how foolish they sounded. She had mucked about with chickens and disguised herself with poor clothing for no better reason than to convince herself Halla was at the bottom of her worries. Of course, Throst was the true enemy, but far out of reach.
Tears began to well in her eyes and her lips pressed tight. She was not helping Hakon, nor her husband or anyone else. She was striking out blindly and making life harder on everyone. Halla was still a witch, and her horrible words at their last meeting were unforgivable, but maybe she had nothing to do with the troubles in Ravndal. Maybe she had just hoped for it, to justify her hatred for the woman.
"Don't cry, Mother." Aren's small voice was a surprise and he tugged at her sleeve as she wiped a tear away.
Runa gave a watery laugh, and patted Aren's head. "Don't fret for me. Mother is all right, just realizing that she might have been a fool."
"Not a fool. Only desperate to lay hands on the enemy," Snorri corrected gently. "No one blames you for wanting that. Just get your hands on the right enemy."
Runa laughed and dabbed her last tear, not knowing what to do with her hands or where to look. Such humiliation was unfamiliar territory for her, and her sole respite was that only Snorri had to witness it.
"No, Mother." Aren again tugged at her sleeve. "Halla and Astra are friends, but they don't want to be friends. They're not real friends."
"What do you mean?" Runa shared a worried glance with Snorri.
"It's like Astra and Gunnar. Astra is not his real friend. She is pretending."
Runa's hands grew cold at the simple innocence of Aren's statement. How could he have known when Runa only learned the same from Ulfrik last night? He had roused her from bed, taken her into the hall, and Aren had slept through all of it.
"What do you mean?" she asked, followed with nervous laughter.
"Astra is a bad person. She hates me, and she hates Father too. She doesn't make a real smile to Gunnar, or say real words. Gunnar thinks she is his friend, but when he is not looking Astra has a mean face for him."
Snorri shuddered and turned aside, rubbing his sides as if a cold wind had blown through the hall. Runa also felt the chill, for a child should not be so observant or concerned with nuances of the adult world. Yet, he was always the overlooked presence, and few people understood or expected his acuity. They might carelessly reveal much to his young eyes.
"So what do you mean about Halla and Astra? I didn't know they were friends."
"They pretend they can't see each other, but they always meet by accident." Aren emphasized his last word, and again Runa held her breath at the strange maturity of his speech. "They want to be friends, but can't be because you wouldn't like it."
"No, I wouldn't like it. Why do you think they fear I'd be upset?"
"They are always looking at you."
"Enough of this," Snorri said, louder than was reasonable. "The boy wants to please you, lass. Can't you see that? He doesn't even make sense."
"It makes sense to me. As it is said, birds of a feather most flock together."
"And it is also said, what people wish they soon believe. So it is with you. Now even the words of a child will sway you."