At the same time, she no longer felt safe in the hut. Another human being knew that she was there and even though it was someone she trusted, she still felt that her sanctuary was under threat. Should she leave? Where else could she go? She decided that for now, she would stay. She would just have to take her chances that someone might find her.
As much as Halvar wanted to spend his days searching the woods until he found Eira, he had other pressing matters to attend to. The short summer season was drawing to a close and there was plenty of work on the farm to prepare for the winter. People who didn’t work didn’t eat, as his father had been fond of telling him. If he wanted enough food to last the winter, he couldn’t afford to be chasing an invisible woman all over the forest, no matter how much he loved her and wanted her by his side. It weighed heavily upon his heart and he became withdrawn and irritable.
Not long after the fight with Taft, Kaarina came to him in tears.
“Father is taking me away,” she sobbed. “He says we are going to live at Kallekot Dalr. I don’t want to go and leave everything that’s familiar. Besides, Kallekot Dalr has a bad reputation. Our lives might be in danger there.”
Halvar put his arm around Kaarina and squeezed her. She was like a little sister to him. “You could always stay here,” he said.
She shook her head. “Father will not allow it. He still has hopes of marrying me off to a clan leader’s son. He is very angry since you won the fight between the two of you and that is the real reason we are leaving. He has lost face in the village and he cannot live with that. He still has ambitions to be a clan leader or to be connected with a powerful family and I am part of his plan.”
“Well, it is your decision,” Halvar told her. “I cannot choose for you. But if you should wish to return, there will always be a place for you here. Are your brothers going too?”
“Yes. They were reluctant but Father has persuaded them to bring their families and join him in starting new farms where there is more land. Their farms here are smaller and they need to grow more during the summer months as their families get larger. There are babies born every year and everyone needs to eat.”
“Why did your brothers not mention their need for more land? You know how it is when someone needs a larger plot. We all gather together to help them establish what they need, even if it means clearing some forest.”
“I know not,” Kaarina said. “Perhaps it will be better this way. Perhaps Father will be happy when he is no longer constrained by the decisions of the village council.”
“He has probably forgotten how to be happy. When someone is angry for a long time, they often forget how to be anything else.”
Kaarina shuddered. “I hope not. I am afraid of his anger. I wish he would just find me a husband so I can live my own life.”
“A husband might not be any better,” Halvar warned. “You have seen how some of the men treat their wives. You had better pray that your father finds you a man who will be good to you.”
Kaarina sighed and Halvar caught a glimpse of what it would be like to be in her shoes. It was a bleak thought and he felt helpless because there was no way that he could change it for her.
“Have you seen anything of Eira?” she asked.
Halvar told her that he thought he’d seen her in the forest once. He didn’t mention the tumbledown hut. It was better that no one knew where she was living; she would be safer that way.
“Please tell her goodbye for me if you find her,” Kaarina said. “I do miss her so much. She was the best friend I ever had.”
CHAPTER 10
N o matter how busy the season became, Halvar could not forget Eira. He was aware that she was alone out in the forest every moment that he was awake. He became withdrawn and short with the men until one day, Canute had finally had enough.
“What ails you?” he growled after Halvar had yet again barked at the men over a minor mistake. “Is it the girl?”
Halvar gave him a sharp look. “And what is it to you?”
“Your men have had enough of your short temper. There are murmurs of discontent. You need to keep your mind on the jobs we have here and treat the men with some respect.”
Halvar sighed. “You are right. I have been thinking of her. She’s out there in the forest all alone.”
“You need to let go of her,” Canute advised. “If she wishes to return, you will find her.”
“I cannot forget about her. I worry that she will not survive the winter if she does not return.”
“The decision is hers to make. You cannot make it for her.”
“Very well, I will try to keep my mind on the work here. And I will try to be kinder to the men.”
After the conversation with Canute, Halvar threw his energy into preparing for the coming winter. The men worked hard until most of the work had been completed. The hay was stored, the grain was harvested and the animal pens repaired.
But at night, when he couldn’t sleep, Halvar would often slip
