‘We are talking about my husband’s life! Your beloved nephew!’ Kara retorted before Harald Haraldson could garner any support. ‘Would you have me deny my husband? What sort of troll wife would I be then?’
‘I would have you declare the right man as your husband, Niece by marriage,’ Harald Haraldson said, his smile turning to a gloating smirk as laughter rippled through the crowd.
Kara raised her clenched fist and knew whatever Harald Haraldson wanted, she wanted the opposite. ‘This man is my husband. Reports of his death were wrong. Wrong, I tell you.’
‘All we have is your word, Kara Olofdottar.’ Ash’s uncle pursed his thin lips. ‘Ash Hringson tragically perished in the sea. We’ve all heard the saga his father commissioned. Can the dead return to life? Or is this man an impostor sent to prey on a vulnerable woman? We all know about the demons your mother battled.’
‘My wits have never been questioned. Mistakes have happened before,’ Kara stated in ringing tones as her stomach knotted. This was most definitely not how today was supposed to have gone.
‘Indeed. I seek to save you from a grievous one.’ Harald Haraldson spread out his gnarled hands. ‘We must take our time and be sure. Investigate this claim slowly and carefully without womanly hysterics.’
Kara stiffened. Harald Haraldson would stall on the enquiry and in the meantime would press for the king to award him the lands which he considered rightfully his, but which really belonged to Ash and their son. He might even find a reason why Ash should be banished for ever or even killed.
She refused to hand Harald Haraldson an easy victory. Somehow, she had to figure out a way to fight for Ash and give him back his life. Later, she’d sort out the marriage and what that meant for her and Ash. She was doing this for their son.
‘A woman knows her husband from a place deep within her soul. There is no need for a further investigation when one is as sure as I am,’ she said when she knew she had her temper under control. ‘You must know him, as well, unless you have gone blind and deaf, Uncle!’
Harald Haraldson only grunted.
‘Kara Olofdottar is within her rights to speak on this matter,’ the priest declared after an embarrassed silence where no one else spoke. ‘Who could know a man better than his wife? Her words must hold weight.’
She turned towards the crowd, seeking a friendly face or two. ‘Hear my words and mark them well, all of you. The man who stands before you is my husband. Lift the scales from your eyes. See that this man can be none other than Ash Hringson. How many horses have I saved through my skill? Or falcons’ wings fixed? How many people have I sewn up? How many times in the last few years have I ensured that timber or wool was delivered on time? Have I ever failed to honour a single agreement?’
A few started to murmur in the crowd.
‘This is Ash Hringson, the man who was once my husband,’ Kara continued steadily, knowing everyone was finally listening to her, including Ash. Her voice wasn’t going to vanish as it had when she was a girl and forced to speak in front of an audience. She was a grown woman with responsibilities now. ‘I can see his birthmark and his voice sounds the same as I remember it, but more importantly something deep within me tells me that this is him. Why it took him such a length of time to return is a tale he alone can tell. Who will join me in recognising him and welcoming him back to Raumerike?’
She waited expectantly, but no one moved or cried out.
‘What a thing to be recognised by one’s own wife who is about to remarry, but no one else,’ Ash said with his old dry humour to his voice.
The sound clawed at her heart and she had to look up at the ceiling. But still no one spoke. Most kept their eyes to the ground, though one or two stared defiantly at him.
‘You were the one who wished this done today, Lady Kara,’ Harald Haraldson said, rising to his feet again. ‘Shall we end this deception? My lord king and good nobles, I have no idea why Kara Olofdottar entered into this deception with this Viken, but something must be done to halt her perfidious scheme before she endangers the entire country. What other dealings has she had with our old enemy? What mischief does she wish to unleash on this country?’
The colour drained from Ash’s face, making his scars stand out as he recognised the gravity of his situation. Kara stared open-mouthed at Harald Haraldson. He had twisted the situation to suit his purpose. If she wasn’t careful, Harald Haraldson would seek to gain control of Jaarlshiem, using this as a pretext to attack the estate and hold it under the pretence of the safety of the realm.
‘My loyalty to Raumerike is without question,’ she snapped. ‘This is no act of Viken treachery.’
Harald Haraldson raised an eyebrow. ‘All I asked for was a little delay. Suddenly you speak of loyalty and treachery. I vote to err on the side of caution and tradition.’
‘Will no one else recognise this man as my husband?’ Kara held out her hands to the crowd, trying to pick out faces. ‘I trust my husband’s uncle has his own reasons for wishing Ash to remain dead, but what about the rest of you? Why do you wish Ash Hringson dead?’
The silence was deafening. Kara’s heart plummeted. What had she expected? For the entire Storting to stand up and declare for her, simply because she had asked? It wasn’t how the world worked. She’d stopped believing in miracles when Rurik was born.
She wished the ground would open and swallow her. Maybe she should have erred on the side of caution, but it would have been wrong to deny her husband. Silently she fumed at how neatly she’d been trapped.
A man dressed in rough farming clothes stood up. ‘Kara Olofdottar has vouched for him, I believe her. She cured my horse of lameness last spring and I know she always tells the truth. She never gives short measures with her grain.’ He gave Ash’s uncle a hard look. ‘Unlike others I could mention.’
After he stood, ten other men stood up. All they needed was one more.
‘I will vouch for him, as well. Kara Olofdottar must not be punished for speaking the truth,’ Valdar thundered beside her. He, too, gave a significant look towards Ash’s uncle before nodding at Ash. ‘You have your twelve men, Hringson. You are alive again in the eyes of Raumerike.’
‘The priest needs to decide,’ Ash’s uncle thundered. ‘Is this a proper way to conduct affairs? Are we to be led by women in skirts?’
Kara put her hand over her mouth and waited for the decision.
‘The gods have spoken. Kara Olofdottar has vouched that this man is indeed Ash Hringson, formerly declared dead, and twelve have agreed with her,’ the priest intoned after staring at the altar for a lifetime. ‘You are alive, Ash Hringson, according to Raumerike law. You may enjoy all the benefits of your former status.’
‘And the marriage?’ Ash’s face appeared to be carved from stone. ‘A woman, even a woman as beautiful as Kara Olofdottar, may not have two husbands. Do you accept my claim to her?’
The entire crowd laughed. A hot tide swept up Kara’s face. Easy words—that was all they were. Ash didn’t mean them, just as he had not meant the compliments he had given her seven years ago. Her father-in-law had demonstrated that fact when she’d fought for Rurik’s life. Ash had always used charm and flattery to get what he wanted.
Ice-cold anger swept through her. She might have recognised Ash but it didn’t mean she had forgiven him for what he’d done or how long it had taken him to return home. She would not revert to the starry-eyed naïve girl she had once been.
‘The marriage between Valdar Nerison and Kara Olofdottar will not take place today,’ the priest confirmed. ‘Ash Hringson has returned to the land of the living.’
‘This is not the end,’ Harald Haraldson said, rising to his feet. ‘I will ensure a proper investigation is held into where this man’s allegiance truly lies. I refuse to harbour a Viken viper in our bosom. Our country’s