Chapter Forty-Four

The King was to pay them a visit soon. Harald Einarsson was between wives, but reputed to be bear-like, foul-mouthed and cruel. Hopefully a pregnant former Vercian royal turned slave would be beneath his notice, though not as far as a tumble was concerned. When Gifu had explained the meaning of that word, she had felt her face burn, which it seldom did around other women.

She supposed that was something she had to thank Daphne for growing up, apart from her readiness to take up the mantle of queenship once more, something she had apparently never relinquished. Whether that was through scheming or a kind of generosity, she truly did not know and could not second-guess.

All Miriam knew was it freed her to make the best and only choice possible if and when Ketil asked her again.

“I did not know how to tell you,” she confessed, as they walked hand-in-hand along the small, sand and pebble beach. The tide was out, though not far, and the distant mountains looked icy, despite the season. Nor