“When he recovers, he will want her,” Erik said. “I am offering to take her away this day so that you do not have to see her again. More importantly, your husband will never see her again either and he will be all yours.”
Gunilla thought for a moment. “It is true,” she said. “My husband is starting to recover from his injuries and perhaps someday he will be well enough to be interested in the girl. Besides, winter is coming and she is just another mouth to feed. We do not have our usual supplies laid away this year due to my husband’s injuries.”
“Then it would be a good thing for me to buy her,” Erik said. “It would save you from two problems.”
“You are right. You may have her. But only if you agree to add the belt with the silver buckle to the goods that I wish to take.”
Erik thought for a moment. “It is expensive,” he said. “I do not know if I can manage that.”
Gunilla looked at him anxiously, determined to get as much as she could out of the deal.
“Very well,” Erik said at last. “I will add the belt on one condition.”
“What is that?”
“You must never reveal my name or where I am from. Your husband might wish to retrieve his slave and then I would be in danger.”
Gunilla shook her head vigorously, her eyes wide. “I will never tell,” she muttered. “I do not wish the wench to come back.”
Erik hid a grin. He’d secured Tara’s release more easily than he’d expected and he’d frightened Gunilla into staying silent about the matter. He started to unload the pile of goods, placing them on the ground in front of the house, then made a record of their purchase.
“You may lodge in the slave-house tonight,” Gunilla told him, mindful of her responsibility to provide hospitality.
“Thank you, but under the circumstances, I will lodge at the farmhouse down the road,” Erik replied.
Gunilla looked relieved. “As you wish,” she murmured.
“I shall depart, then,” Erik said. “It was a pleasure to do business with you.”
“I am glad you came,” Gunilla replied. “You know where to find the wench. You have already seen her.”
Erik climbed into the wagon and drove back down the road. He hoped that Tara would still be working where he’d last seen her.
Sure enough, he spotted her bright halo of hair across the field, still raking the hay into bundles. He jumped down from the wagon and almost ran across the field to meet her.
“Tara!” he exclaimed breathlessly.
She looked up warily, no doubt wondering why he would be calling her by her name in such a familiar manner when she barely knew him. He couldn’t tell her that he’d thought of her every day since he’d seen her at the slave markets; she was such a part of his daily life now that he’d almost forgotten that this was only the second time she’d spoken to him.
“What is it?” she asked warily.
“I have good news!” he exclaimed.
She looked confused. “Well, I am happy for you,” she said.
He realized that she had no idea what he was talking about. “I made a deal with Gunilla,” he said. “You are free.”
She gaped at him in astonishment. “How …?”
“Gunilla has accepted a pile of goods in exchange for you,” he said. He pulled the thin tablet of wood from his pocket. “See, this records the deal.”
She looked at the marks on the wood. They were meaningless to her. “I know not how to read,” she said.
“It is the truth,” Erik assured her. “I wrote these items on the list just now, after Gunilla had settled on the deal. You are free.”
“Free?” she questioned as if hearing it for the first time. “You mean, you bought me?”
“Yes. I bought you from Gunilla.”
“Then that means I now belong to you instead of to her. That does not mean I am free,” she said.
“I bought you to set you free,” Erik told her. How was he to make her understand?
“I do not understand,” she said. “Why would you pay money for a slave you do not want?”
“I wanted to set you free when I bid for you at the slave auction,” Erik said. “But the price went too high for me.”
“You mean … free … really free?”
Erik nodded. “Free,” he said. “Free to do whatever you wish. Free to return to your homeland if you choose.”
Tara gasped as the magnitude of what Erik was saying hit her. She put her hands over her face then sank to her knees, feeling faint. After a moment, she toppled onto the pile of hay she’d just been raking and was still. The shock of sudden freedom was overwhelming.
CHAPTER 10
Tara couldn’t believe the sudden change in her fortunes. One moment, she’d been a foreign slave, despised by all and valued by none. The next, a stranger had paid the price for her freedom. Was she dreaming? And why would he do that? Surely, he must want something from her. Surely, there must be a reason why he would go to such lengths to rescue her.
“Why did you buy me?” she asked again as they walked beside the cart towards the slave quarters so she could retrieve her few belongings.
Erik looked at her. “I have known Taft in the past,” he said at last. “You do not deserve to live with a man like that. He is cruel.”
“But I am a stranger,” she pointed out. “And there are many other slaves with cruel masters. Surely you cannot rescue them all.”
“No, it is true. I cannot. But I can rescue you,” he said with a smile.
