Page 69 of The Reluctant Viking

After being handed a lute, Ruby sang the same songs she’d performed at Sigtrygg’s castle—“Ruby,” “Lucille,” “Friends in Low Places,” “Lord, It’s Hard to Be Humble” and “All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight.” The more she sang, the more Thork frowned. He looked tired, as well. Faint circles under his eyes and tension lines around his stubborn mouth spoke of sleepless nights. Was it simply because he’d made love all night long with the insatiable Linette? Or could it be that this building pressure between Ruby and her Viking “husband” troubled him through the endless nights, as it did her?

When she hit a shrill note, Thork snickered aloud, and Aud chastised him, “Thork, don’t be a jerk.”

All eyes widened and turned to Aud, who shrugged, “Well, he was acting the jerk.” Then Dar and Thork riveted their eyes accusingly on Ruby, who smiled innocently.

Noticing Tykir and Tyra at the edge of the family gathering, Ruby sang “Jingle Bells,” delighting them with the raucous carol, as well as her explanation of Christmas in her country. She’d been unable to think of any children’s songs on the trip to Dar’s home, but now she remembered the words to one folk song she thought they’d like, “Puff, the Magic Dragon.” Did Vikings have sagas dealing with dragons? Ruby wondered. Somehow, the image fit.

Thork continued to glower like an old bear.

So Ruby told the story of “The Three Bears.” Then she couldn’t resist, probably some innate death wish, and told “Thork and the Beanstalk,” to Thork’s consternation. He probably restrained himself from violence because of the two dozen enthralled family members and hesirs gathered around Ruby. Even an uncharacteristically subdued Linette had come up to stand behind Thork’s chair, unable to resist the charm of Ruby’s stories and songs.

When Eddie and David had been small, she and Jack had sat like this with them in front of the fireplace, telling stories and singing songs. She’d forgotten the joy of those simple family evenings together, long before Jack stayed later and later at his office, way before she began bringing work home at night. They hadn’t had much then—materially, that is—but, oh, how much richer their lives had been!

Tears of sweet memory—and regret—filled Ruby’s eyes and she told her rapt audience huskily, “This was my husband Jack’s favorite song.”

Strumming the lute in her hands lightly, Ruby began the song, “Help Me Make It Through the Night.” When she got to the stanza where the man asks the woman to lay her head down by his side, Thork stood rudely and walked away. Linette ran after him.

Everyone stared after Thork in surprise, but Ruby continued with her song, even though tears turned her voice raspy. At the end, she happened to glance at Dar. He beamed like a bloody moon.

The next morning, guests began arriving early. The benches built into the side walls of the great hall would serve as pallets for most of the men. Servants would be bumped to the floor or to the stables and outbuildings.

Everyone squeezed together to make room for extra people. Even Olaf’s and Gyda’s girls had to move in with them, and the girls’ chamber was given over to a visiting jarl and his wife from beyond Northumbria. Luckily, Ruby’s small tower chamber was too small to accommodate anyone else.

In the hustle and bustle that overtook the keep that day, everyone ignored Ruby, even at the evening meal where she sat so low at the tables she was practically out the doors. Not that she minded. Her safety lay in being inconspicuous.

Aud served a simple meal that night to the tired guests. Afterward, a skald told poignant sagas of noble Viking deeds. Ruby knew that these oral traditions would be the vehicles to carry the history of these fanciful people to modern times and that some would be lost forever, never being committed to paper. She vowed to search the next day for the skald to have him repeat for her one epic poem she found particularly moving. It involved two hostile half-brothers, Hloth and Angantyr, who both claimed their dead father’s kingship. In the end, Angantyr searched the battlefield for his dead brother, saying:

“…Untold arm rings I offered thee, brother,

a wealth of gold and what most thou didst wish.

As guerdon for strife now hast gotten neither,

nor lands nor lieges nor lustrous rings.

A baleful fate wrought it that, brother I slew

thee! Will that aye be told…”

In listening to the poem, Ruby marveled that these primitive people could express themselves so sensitively. And she thought of Thork and his brother Eric, realizing that, like Hloth and Angantyr, they would never have the warm sibling relationship two brothers should have.

Aud was in her element the next morning as she directed the bustling activities in the kitchen. Gyda worked busily at her side, arranging meals for the day, including a sumptuous banquet for the evening.

A steady stream of servants, including a grumbling Ella, marched to the various chambers with linens and bowls of fresh water for the guests. The men had left before first light on a short hunting expedition to kill fresh game to supplement the usual fish and poultry fare. Some of the male thralls already returned with the first of the kill—a brace of rabbits, two deer and several wild grouse.

“Ruby, would you go with Vigi and collect some fresh mushrooms for dinner?” Aud asked.

“Of course.” Ruby was glad to be of help and to keep busy. “Shall we pick some blueberries, too? They would be good with fresh cream or baked in a pastry.” Aud’s eyes lit up at that suggestion, and they exchanged ideas on how best to make a flaky crust for the dessert.

Before she left, Ruby invited Tykir and Tyra to join her, taking linens and soap with her, figuring they may as well combine her errand and a bath. Ruby saw several of Dar’s and Aud’s distinguished guests eye her T-shirt and jeans with cool curiosity.

When their baskets were full, Tykir and Tyra waded merrily near the edge of the pond. Later, Ruby told the children to go play near Vigi at the edge of the clearing so she could bathe in private. Before they left, she asked Vigi if she could borrow the eating knife he always carried at his waist.

“Why?” he asked suspiciously.

“Oh, really! It’s not as if I could disarm you. You still have your sword. I just want to shave my legs, for heaven’s sake! I’m beginning to feel like a porcupine.”

Vigi’s eyes widened in surprise. Ruby knew he already considered her half-crazy. He handed the knife to her, though, admonishing her to give it right back. He probably already rehearsed in his mind the fun he’d have back at the keep telling of this weird stranger’s latest antics.