“We should all be ducks!” Kaarina exclaimed.
“And then we would put you in a pot and eat you,” Eira giggled.
She looked around the stofa, the living room where the family sat in the evenings. Sigrid and Frida sat at their looms, their hands flying as they wove fine cloth. Minna sat nearby, knitting a headscarf to sell at the summer markets. It was going to be difficult to find the opportunity to tell Kaarina that Landwulf was waiting for her on the beach. She’d seen him leave just as Kaarina knocked on the door. He’d muttered something about going to the beach to gather some kelp for the garden. No one had paid him any attention and he’d left without a fuss. But how was she to tell Kaarina?
Inspiration suddenly struck.
“Come with me to the sleeping quarters,” she said to Kaarina. “The new blanket I’m making is on my bed.”
The two girls went to the little nook where Eira slept. The blanket was folded neatly on the bed, waiting for Eira to do some more work on it.
“The blanket is not why I called you in here,” Eira said. “I wanted to tell you that I spoke to Landwulf.”
“What did he say?”
“He was shy and embarrassed at first. But he admitted that he does care for you.”
“So why has he been avoiding me?”
“Part of the reason is that he’s shy and doesn’t know how to express his feelings to a girl. It’s also partly because he knows that Gerfrid also has thoughts about you and he doesn’t know what to do about that because they do everything together. In his mind, it doesn’t work for both of them to love one girl.”
“But I don’t care for Gerfrid. He is thoughtless and unkind.”
“When I told Landwulf that you have no interest in Gerfrid, he began to see that there might be a way to work it out.”
Kaarina drew in a sharp breath. “I can’t believe that he would care for me but not show it,” she said. “It seems a strange way to treat someone you care about.”
Eira shrugged. “Men are peculiar creatures,” she said. “We will never understand them. But that’s not important now.”
“Why?”
“Because last night Landwulf followed me into the kitchen and told me that he will be down on the beach today when you visit here. He left just as you arrived.”
“In the rain?”
“Do you want to know what he has to say to you or not?”
“Of course.”
“Then ignore the rain. What does it matter if you get wet?”
“It doesn’t. I will dry out.”
“So stay for a few minutes to be polite to Minna and the girls and then excuse yourself. Emiline doesn’t need you at home right now, does she?”
“No, she won’t be expecting me home for some time.”
“Well, go. And good fortune be yours.”
Kaarina made her way down to the beach, a basket on her arm. Eira had given it to her in case someone questioned why she was there in the rain.
“Tell them you’re collecting kelp because the waves are high and there might be some on the beach,” she’d advised. “Then it will appear that you and Landwulf have met by accident.”
It was good advice but hardly needed. Kaarina looked up and down the deserted beach. There was not a soul in sight, not even Landwulf. Was she about to get wet in vain?
She started to walk along the beach, gathering strands of kelp to put in the basket. It was fresh and clean and Emiline would certainly be able to use it. Soon, the curve of the beach obscured the village. The rain had eased to a drizzle and the air smelled fresh and clean. She took a deep breath. Even if Landwulf didn’t show up, a walk on the beach cleared her head and made her feel good.
“Kaarina!”
She turned her head to see Landwulf approaching from the edge of the beach, where it met the grass and low trees. She stopped and watched him walk towards her. He looked towards the village, checking to see that no one had noticed them.
“Hello Landwulf,” she said quietly when he came near.
“Hello, Kaarina,” he said with uncharacteristic shyness. “Shall we walk?”
They continued along the beach and Kaarina wondered if he would ever speak.
“I am sorry for the way things have been since the spring markets,” he said at last.
Kaarina was surprised. “You mean, for the way you have been avoiding me?”
He hung his head. “Yes. I did not think about how it would seem to you.”
“I was worried because I thought I’d done something to upset or offend you.”
He stopped and turned to face her. “No, Kaarina. You’re not to blame. I am.”
“But I did not know that.”
“I’m sorry. I did not know how to tell you what was on my mind.”
“And what is on your mind?” she asked, waiting in stillness for his answer.
“You,” he said simply. “I cannot stop thinking about you.”
“But avoiding me is a strange way to show it.”
“I am a simple man. I do not know any flowery language to woo a pretty girl. It was easier to say nothing.”
She smiled. “Do you think I’m pretty?”
He blushed. “Yes, I do. But Gerfrid thinks so too. I could not see how we could both care for the same girl. That is still a problem in my mind.”
“I have no interest in Gerfrid,” she said. “He is not the same as you and I could never care for him.”
“So, you are saying that there is no hope that he will ever win your heart?”
“None.”
“And what of me? Could you care for me?” he asked, hope and fear flitting across his features
