When he at length left them, Toke said that it looked as though the blow on the head which the little fellow had received when the King had cracked him with the cross had knocked the wits out of him, for most of what he had shouted at them had no sense in it; with which observation Orm agreed. But both of them admitted that he was marvelously cunning in medicine, and very diligent in the care he showed toward them.
Toke was now beginning to be himself again, and before long he was able to limp round the room and even outside it, while Orm lay alone in his bed, finding time heavy on his hands except when Ylva was there to talk to him. When she was at his side, the thought of his impending death troubled him less, for she was always full of merriment and bright talk, so that he found pleasure in listening to her; but he became sullen again as soon as she said that he was looking better and would soon be up and about. In regard to that matter, he said, he thought he knew best what was most likely to happen. Soon, however, he found himself able to sit up in bed without too much pain; and the next time Ylva combed him, she found a louse in his hair that was large and fresh and full of blood. This made him think deeply, and he said that he did not know what conclusion to come to.
“You must not let the matter of the necklace weigh on your mind,” said Ylva. “You gave it to me when you thought you were going to die, and the memory of it troubles you now that you see that you are going to live. But I shall gladly give it back to you, though it far surpasses in beauty anything that has ever before been seen in this land. For I do not wish it to be said that I lured your gold from you when you were sick with wounds; which I have already heard muttered more than once.”
“Truly, it would be good to keep such a jewel in one’s family,” said Orm. “But the best solution for me would be to have both you and the jewel; nor will I accept it back on any other condition. But before I ask your father what his feelings are in regard to this, I should like to know whether you yourself are so inclined. For the first time we spoke together you told me that if you had been forced to marry Sigtrygg, you would have driven a knife into him in his bridal bed, and I should like to be sure that you feel differently toward me.”
Ylva laughed merrily and said that he should not be too confident about this. “For I am of a stranger temper than you know,” she said, “and difficult to satisfy. And the daughters of kings are more troublesome than other women when they marry and leave home. Have you heard what befell Agne, the King of the Swedes, long ago, when he took to wife a king’s daughter from a land east of the sea, who was not willing to be his bedfellow? The first night after the marriage, he lay with her in a tent beneath a tree, and when he was sound asleep she fastened a rope to his neckring, which was a good, strong ring, and hanged him from the tree, though he was a great king and she had but one slave-girl to help her. So ponder the matter carefully before you seek my hand.”
She leaned forward and stroked his forehead and pinched his ears and looked into his eyes, smiling, so that Orm felt better than he had done for many days.
But then she suddenly became solemn and thoughtful and said it was vain to talk of such things before her father had expressed his opinion on the matter; and she thought it would be no easy thing to win his consent unless Orm was better favored than most men as regards property and cattle and gold.
“He complains incessantly that so many of his daughters are unwed,” she said, “but he will never admit that any man is sufficiently rich and noble to be worthy of us. It is not such a fine thing as people imagine to be a king’s daughter, for many bold youths wink furtively at us and finger the hem of our skirts when no one is watching, but few of them have the courage to carry their suit to our father; and such as do, come crestfallen from the interview. It is a sore pity that he is so intent on getting us worthy husbands, though it is true that a poor man would be no fit mate for me. But you, Orm, who can bestow such a necklace upon me and have the blood of the Broad Embrace in your veins, must doubtless be one of the richest princes in Skania?”
Orm replied that he hoped to be able to prevail upon King Harald into consenting to his suit, for he knew that the King regarded him highly, both because of the bell he had brought him and for the way in which he had vanquished Sigtrygg.
“But I do not know,” he continued, “how much wealth awaits me in Skania, for it is now seven years since I left my home, and I cannot tell how it stands with my family. It may be that fewer of them are alive than when I saw them last, and that my inheritance is therefore greater. But in any case I have much gold from the south besides the necklace I have already given you, so that even if I own no more than what I have with me, nobody can call me a poor man. And I can obtain more in the way in which I won this.”
Ylva nodded doubtfully and said that this did not sound too promising, her father being a very exacting man. Toke, who had come in while the discussion was afoot, agreed with her and said that this was an occasion when it was necessary to think carefully before deciding what to do.
“It so happens,” he added, “that I am able to tell you the best way to win a wealthy woman of noble blood when her father is unwilling but she herself is agreeable. My mother’s father was called Nose-Tönne. He used to trade with the Smalanders, and possessed a small house, twelve cows, and a great store of wisdom. One day he was on a business trip to Värend, and there saw a girl called Gyda, who was the daughter of a wealthy lord. He determined to win her, partly for the honor it would bring him and partly because he coveted her fine body and thick red hair. But her father, who was named Glum, was a proud man, and he said that Tönne was not good enough to be his son-in-law, though the girl herself thought otherwise. Gyda and Tönne, therefore, wasted no time in inveighing against the old man’s folly, but hastily formed a plan and arranged to meet in the forest while she was nutting there with her maids. The result of this encounter was that she came to be with child, and Tönne had to fight two duels with her brother, the marks of which they both bore till the day they died. In due course she gave birth to twins; whereupon the old man decided that it was no use kicking against the pricks any longer. So they married and lived together in great bliss and contentment, and had seven more children, so that all the people of the district praised my grandfather’s wisdom and good luck, and his reputation waxed enormously and became very great, especially when old Glum died and left them a big inheritance. And if my grandfather had not hit upon such a wise method of obtaining the woman of his choice, I should not be sitting here to give you this good advice; for my mother was one of the twins who were begotten under the nut bushes.”
“If a marriage can only be brought about by producing twins,” said Ylva, “your advice is easier given than followed. And there is a difference between having a farmer from Värend as your father and being daughter to the King of the Danes. I doubt whether such an experiment would turn out as well for us as it did for your grandparents.”
Orm thought there was a good deal to be said both for and against Toke’s plan, though it was but cold comfort for a man who was sick and unlusty; however, he said, he would make no decision until he was well enough to walk and could sound King Harald’s feelings in the matter.