Page 22 of Claimed By the Viking

To reveal what she knew would only cause alarm, and who could predict how these strangers among them might react. Viggo’s loyalty would rightly be to his own kind rather than to herself and the other women.

To tell him of her own small shame in the days prior to what had occurred was the lesser of two evils. Hearing it would appease him, she supposed—at least, for the present.

“‘Twas a belt.” She endeavored to keep her voice steady. “My mother made him stop…eventually.”

Viggo swore beneath his breath.

“As to what angered him, ‘twas my refusal to accept the match he was pursuing for me.” Speaking of this was proving harder than Signy had anticipated. “Our own jarl asked for my hand, though he was older even than my father.”

“‘Tis not so unusual, and surely, you desired the status that would come with such a marriage?” Viggo paused, clearly waiting for her to explain further.

Signy shook her head vehemently. “I wanted none of it. Even had I been able to overcome my distaste, he was wedded alreadyto Hedda. I couldn’t be part of that—him casting her off to be with me. My father was oft-times cruel, but I feared the jarl would be worse. What sort of man could do that to his wife of long-standing? To throw her away as if she meant nothing?”

“You didn’t deserve…” There was a tightness to Viggo’s voice. “Did he hurt you in any other ways?”

“My father?” Signy wasn’t quite sure what he meant. “I learnt early to be obedient. In truth, my brother and mother suffered more of his violence than I. The night he did this…” She paused. “The first blow was by his hand to my left side. I remember falling, and a ringing sound. My head spun, and I felt sick with faintness. I was barely in my senses when he unleashed his belt upon me.”

Viggo made a low growling sound.

“Since then, I’ve not been able to hear well on that side, but I’m quite used to it now.” Signy attempted to bring a little brightness to her voice.

“‘Tis inexcusable!” Viggo hissed. “If he were here, I’d…”

“But he’s not,” Signy jumped in. “That time is past. Even with my mother, I never speak of it.”

“Hmmm.” Viggo frowned. “I would have some choice words for this mother of yours, letting her husband treat you so.”

Signy swallowed down her true feelings on that score. So many nights, lying awake in the dark, she’d revisited that terrible night and wondered at her mother not having intervened sooner. Of course, it hadn’t been easy for her; too often, she’d borne evidence of Knud’s temper herself.

However, her mother’s urging to make sure she was fit for some man to take her, once her father’s beating was done, rang relentlessly in her ears.

Perhaps her mother had said what she thought would be most effective to make her father stop, but Signy feared there was another side to the way her mother had pleaded. Always,she’d felt that Sven, her brother, was the one who mattered, while Signy was only relevant for the benefits a marriage would bring.

Even now, she sensed it with the way her mother viewed Viggo. If she had her way, he’d be gone, replaced by another of the shipwrecked men—one her mother thought of as a better prospect.

“And this jarl who sought your hand… what of him?” Viggo urged. “Has he respected your wishes and let you be?”

Signy answered hastily. “There’s naught to worry over there. He’s no longer a bother to me.”

Because none of us have laid eyes on him, nor the others who fled with him, these two summers past.

She disliked telling untruths, but what choice did she have?

Viggo was quiet for some moments, stroking her hair tenderly.

“Nonetheless, it makes little sense that you haven’t accepted another man’s suit. Your mother must desire it, and you should, too. Having a child by me, like this, is a strange way to go about things.”

Signy hoped the gods didn’t strike her down. She was doing her best to avoid outright lies.

“I’m capable of raising a child, I should hope, and there are others to help me—mother and cousin Grethe… ‘Twill be easier, in a way, to rely only upon myself, without the complication of?—”

“A man in the house?” Viggo cut her off. “Don’t trouble yourself over offending me. A poor excuse for a man I am, and no doubt you prefer it, having endured your father’s sorry example.”

“Don’t say such things!” Signy answered vehemently. “Perhaps, eventually, I would have found a man to call husband. Perhaps, I yet will…”

“Whatever you decide, I wish you well.” Viggo pressed his lips to her forehead. “You shall be a good mother.”

A lump came to Signy’s throat. The idea was still new, for she’d reconciled herself to never bearing children. “I can’t help but worry over the many ways in which a child can come to harm… Do you think it’s possible for us to live without hurting one another?”

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