Page 34 of Viktor at Sea

At first, I thought it was one of the maids again and wondered what more they could possibly bring for us to eat. Even with how starved I was, I doubted that Barden and I could get through all of this food alone. At least, not without making ourselves sick.

I glanced up to see that it was Barden’s youngest son–the only one still unmarried and living with his parents. Manny.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I asked Manny to join us for lunch today,” Barden grinned and gestured for his son to join us.

Manny took the seat on his father’s left and across from me.

“I do not mind in the least.” The words were mumbled as my mouth was stuffed with bread and meat. I waited to clear my mouth before I spoke next. “I haven’t seen you since I went away, Manny. How are you?”

“I’m well, thank you,” he smiled politely and started piling food onto his plate. “And you, Viktor? How were your travels?”

“My travels were great. I adore being at sea. The water will always be my first home.”

“It’s only when he gets back to land that all the problems arise,” Barden joked. “Right, Viktor?”

“Do we have to speak about this now?” I groaned, sending him a helpless look. When he sent a pointed one back, I knew this wasn’t a conversation I would be able to escape.

“Yes,” he answered. When his eyes lingered on the mountain of food I had piled on my plate, he boomed with laughter. “I thought you said you weren’t starving yourself?”

“What’s hunger when you have a broken heart?” I snorted bitterly.

“Who broke your heart?” Manny asked curiously, his voice small.

“Astrid Skau,” Barden answered before I could say anything.

Manny’s eyes widened in disbelief, and he turned to face me. “I heard that two men had proposed to Astrid, but I didn’t know one of those men was you, Viktor.”

“And why is that, my dear son?” Barden chuckled, mirth twinkling in his eyes.

“Because I always thought you and Astrid hated each other,” Manny said, disbelief still swirling in his eyes. “I’m sorry for speaking out of turn like this, Viktor. The news has caught me by surprise.”

“You don’t have anything to apologise for, Manny,” I chuckled, the sound a little strained. “But yes, the news is correct. I proposed to Astrid, and then a few minutes later, Crosby arrived to do the same.”

His eyes widened. “A few minutes later?”

“Yes, unfortunately,” I sighed.

“I always had a feeling that Crosby was inclined toward Astrid, but…” Manny’s voice trailed off suggestively, and once again, I could tell that he was gearing himself up to apologisefor overstepping his boundaries. Not that I cared much for these boundaries.

“But?” I prompted him, my curiosity getting the better of me.

“I don’t mean to speak out of turn–” He quickly caught himself when I shook my head. “But I think all of Jorvik can see that Astrid harbours no feelings for Crosby. I wouldn’t even think of them to be friends. They’re acquaintances at best.”

“And what about me?” I dared to ask, feeling strangely nervous.

He shook his head. “I cannot comment.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m not sure,” Manny said, still cautious with his words. “I don’t know if Astrid has romantic feelings toward you.”

Even though I secretly feared the same thing, each word was like a sharp stab to my heart.

A brief moment of silence passed as I stared at Manny, and he dropped his eyes, looking away from me. Manny was typically the shy and reserved type, and I knew Barden and Josephine worried about him. I was grateful that he felt comfortable speaking so openly to me, even if it was the sad, scary truth.

“Why don’t you tell us what happened, Viktor? Maybe we can help resolve your issues,” Barden prompted me, breaking the silence. “And please do start from the beginning.”

I took a sip from my ale before narrating what had happened that fateful morning when I dropped to one knee outside the Skaus’ hut. I narrated how I poured my heart out and presented the Thostenson family ring to her before Crosby turned up and ruined it all.

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