Page 38 of Summer of the Viking

He looked at her, all humour vanished from his face as if it had never been. ‘Who would weep for me?’

She put a hand on his shoulder and felt the hard muscles shift under her fingertips. ‘Someone will. Someone always does if you have a good heart.’

He blinked twice. ‘And you think I have one?’

‘I’m sure you do.’ Alwynn knew as the words tumbled from her throat, she spoke the truth. He did have a good heart and probably had not deserved whatever had caused him to separate from his crew.

‘Thank you for believing in me, even though you are a healthy sceptic.’

‘It is an instinct I have.’ She gestured towards the door. ‘Let’s begin the tour of the hall so you can begin work properly now you have recovered.’

He bowed low. ‘I’m grateful for the trust you put in me. I won’t abuse it.’

‘That is good to know.’

Valdar followed her out of the storeroom. He had thought the pull she exerted over him would go once he had healed and become strong again, but seeing her just now, he had wanted to take her into his arms. It was as if Kara had never existed. The great aching hole he had carried around for so long had vanished as if it had never been. He wanted to believe that the curse had indeed lost its power as his brother had claimed.

* * *

He listened with half an ear as they toured the estate and Alwynn pointed out various parts of the land and storehouses. It was obvious that Alwynn was trying hard. There were a couple of things he’d organise differently, but on the whole she was very capable. At last he could understand why she was reluctant to hire a steward.

‘If you will follow me, I will show where I keep the ledgers.’

Alwynn’s words jolted him back to the present and his own precarious situation. Ledgers. She expected him to be able to write and read. He had no problems with runes, but Northumbrians used an entirely different script.

By the time he caught up with her, she had gone into the small steward’s room. It had a variety of inkstands and rolls of parchment strewn about. A bit of candle stood in one corner. Alwynn went over and opened the shutter, allowing the sunlight to filter in.

‘We should start with the latest rolls, so you get an idea of how the records are kept. The method is quite straightforward. I am sure you will pick it up in next to no time.’

‘I look forward to it.’

Her step faltered and she glanced back over her shoulder. A frown marred her smooth brow. She placed the roll of parchment down. A light faded from her eyes. ‘Are the ledgers a problem?’

‘Will you expect me to write? I can speak Northumbrian, but it is not a language I have written before.’

He silently hoped that the Northumbrians kept records in a different language from the Franks, but he had a sneaking suspicion that they both used Latin—a language which he could read, but had trouble writing.

‘Are you saying you can’t write?’

‘Can most warriors?’

She pressed her hands together. ‘If you give me a verbal report every day, I can write it down. But the ledgers must be kept up to date.’

‘Impressive. An educated woman is rare.’

‘My mother had visions of grandeur for me. I was supposed to return our family to greatness since my older brother died before I was seven. It also helps to keep stewards honest.’

‘In what way?’ Valdar picked up the roll. Two different hands had made notations. He assumed Alwynn was responsible for the later entries. If so, she wrote with a fair hand.

‘How do you think I discovered the discrepancy in the first place?’ She rolled her eyes. ‘My husband pretended that he knew how to figure and read, but he didn’t know more than a few words. He was simply clever at asking and then accepting. Of course, he never allowed me to see the ledgers as I was a woman.’

‘Then he was a fool.’

‘Yes, in more ways than one. It is a pity that I didn’t see it until it was far too late.’ She took the parchment from him. ‘A verbal report will do. Every evening. I will fill in the details. I will not have the king taking my lands using the excuse that my records are not properly kept.’

Valdar concentrated on breathing steadily and not taking her into his arms. Last night’s dream had been full of anxiety about what would happen when she discovered he couldn’t keep written records. And it seemed she had expected it.

‘Will you teach me?’ he asked before he lost his nerve. ‘It will be a good thing to know.’

She blinked in surprise. ‘If you can stand being taught by a woman.’

‘If the woman was you, I’d consider it an honour.’

---