Page 40 of Viktor at Sea

“She received two proposals,” I said, my teeth grinding at the painful reminder.

Was it possible that Astrid would have said yes to me if Crosby hadn’t turned up? Would I have stood a chance if he had never shown up and ruined the special moment?

Those were only a few of the questions that swirled through my mind these past few days, and no amount of walking had helped clear my mind. I should have gone for a swim in the sea in the first place. That was the only cure I needed.

That, and Astrid’s love.

“Both from you?” He asked, confused.

“No. I wish,” I snorted and shook my head. “There’s another man who proposed to her soon after I did. He didn’t even wait for her to give me an answer before he dropped to one knee and asked for her hand in marriage as well.”

“Oh, the balls of that man!” Asmund exclaimed. “You should have socked him in the face and gotten back to your proposal.”

“I don’t think she would have appreciated that very much,” I laughed. “Though, I did get to throw a few punches at him this morning.”

“I’m very glad to hear that,” he grinned cheekily. “Now, tell me, do you love this woman…what’s her name?”

“Astrid,” I answered, my heart fluttering.

Oh, how I wished she was here with me right now! How I wished I knew what her answer was.

Had she decided yet?

Had she decided against me?

“Do you love Astrid?”

“Yes,” I answered without thinking. “I love Astrid more than anyone and anything I have loved before. My only regret is that I didn’t tell her sooner. Maybe then she wouldn’t have been so caught off guard by my proposal. Perhaps then, I would have stood a chance.” I realised then that I was rambling, so I clamped my mouth shut.

I was friendly with Asmund, sure, but we weren’t friends. And he certainly wasn’t the kind of person I wanted to babble to about my life problems.

“Then she will not reject your offer,” Asmund told me, looking very sure of himself.

“How can you be so sure?” I asked, my lips parted in hope and prayer that he was right.

“I could feel your love for Astrid when you were speaking right now,” he said, a soft smile on his face. “She would have to be blind to not see and feel the same. Is your Astrid blind?”

I chuckled and shook my head. “No, she is not.”

“Then she will accept your proposal and become your wife. I do not doubt it,” Asmund smiled encouragingly at me, reaching over to pat my hand assuringly. When I returned his smile, surprisingly feeling a little better, he turned to address the woman attached to his arm. “My dear, why don’t you return toyour hut and wait for me? I’ll be there once I finish discussing business with Captain Viktor.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Thanks to Asmund’s insistence that we stick around for dinner before discussing business and Caspian spending longer with those two dancers than I expected, we returned late to Jorvik. It was past midnight, and the island was asleep, so we didn’t have a crowd awaiting our return at the shore like usual.

“Everyone have a good night?” I chuckled, sending Caspian a knowing look as he hadn’t been able to keep the goofy grin off his face since he returned from bedding the two dancers. I was sure that if given the chance, he would have spent the entire night at Isle.

“You know I did. See you both in the morning,” Caspian grinned and patted me on the back before leaving to turn in for the night. I did not doubt that the rest of his night would be spent dreaming of the two dancers and all the naughty fun he had with them.

“Your father is already asleep, so perhaps it will be best if you give him the gold in the morning,” I told Manny, handing him the leather pouch we had received as payment from Asmund. I had personally counted the contents of the pouch twice to ensure it was all there. I was thorough if not anything else.

“I’ll keep the coins safe tonight,” Manny promised me, but instead of turning to leave like Caspian, he lingered.

“Was there something you wanted to say to me, Manny?” I asked when he was still yet to leave. Our huts were in opposite directions, so we couldn’t walk together if we wanted.

“I want to thank you for today,” Manny said with a small smile. “I was very anxious about joining you on this trip, but you guided me through it. You made me feel safe, and I’ve learnt a lot from you today.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” I smiled warmly and squeezed his shoulder. “Roscoe was supposed to join us today, but his father couldn’t spare him. I promised him I’d take him out sailing another day. You should join us.”

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