Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

V iktor squeezed his eyes shut and let out a frustrated groan. “Don’t tell me you’re going to set us behind schedule already.”

“Then I guess I shouldn’t say anything,” Asmund laughed, and his people joined in. Neither I nor the crew found it all that funny. “Besides, Viktor, you didn’t think we’d allow you to leave at this time of night, did you? What kind of hosts would that make us?” He gestured to the darkness that had befallen us during the feast. “We insist you all stay the night. You can leave after breakfast tomorrow.”

“There is no appropriate time when you’re at sea,” Viktor pursed his lips. “What exactly is the problem, Asmund? Be honest with me.”

“We haven’t got enough gold to pay you at the moment,” Asmund admitted, the easy smile on his face not the least bit nervous. It was like he didn’t have a care in the world!

“Then I’m afraid we’ll just have to take our shipment back and be on our way,” Viktor stated. Judging by the sour expression on Asmund’s face, I could tell he wasn’t a fan of the suggestion. “Maybe on the way back, if you have enough gold, we can stop by and go ahead with the trade.”

“Let me try again,” Asmund cleared his throat, his smile slowly fading and the light in his eyes dimming ever so slightly. “We don’t have the gold today but will have it tomorrow. That’s why I suggested you all stay for breakfast tomorrow.”

“What makes tomorrow different from today?”

“My men will return from Mann tomorrow,” Asmund said. “We do regular trade with them. They have a shortage of animal milk. When my men return, we’ll have more than enough gold to pay you.”

Viktor gave him a curt nod, and I could tell he wasn’t happy. “Are you sure they will return tomorrow? I don’t have to remind you that our time is precious, Asmund, and we have a very busy schedule ahead of us.”

“Yes. Yes!” Asmund nodded his head frantically. “You have my word, Captain Viktor,” he promised, but I couldn’t help but think that the word of the Chief of Isle didn’t mean all that much. Not after everything I had heard about him and witnessed during the feast.

“Well, I guess we can wait until tomorrow for your men to return,” Viktor reluctantly agreed. “But we can’t afford to waste any more time, Asmund. If you cannot pay us tomorrow, we will be forced to take our shipment and leave. I hope you understand.”

Asmund was back to his usual goofy, cheery self. “Don’t worry, Captain Viktor. You’ll be back at sea before you know it,” he grinned before calling for more ale.

The next morning came and went, but Asmund’s men were yet to return from Mann, and we were yet to be paid. When Viktor enquired about it, Asmund promised they would be back before nightfall, and we would be paid and free to leave after the feast tonight.

Yes, another feast.

Viktor, Garth, Dagfinn, and Odin accompanied Asmund and a few of his men as they headed down the shore. They were building a new ship for their sea crew and wanted some advice on the design.

We were invited to help ourselves to some of the fresh fruit, so the others had dispersed to get picking before lunch was served. While everyone was otherwise preoccupied, I spotted Roscoe and Manny sneaking away. I wished them good fun but hoped they didn’t get into too much mischief. Viktor was stressed enough as it was, and we had barely been at sea for a day.

Even though the Chiefess of Isle wasn’t present at the feast last night–something I found very strange as guests were present–I had been extended an invitation to have lunch with her in her parlour.

Before lunch, the other women who would attend the luncheon with me gave me a grand tour of Isle.

“You are fortunate to be invited to the Chiefess’ parlour,” the woman leading the tour, Revna, told me. “There are women who have lived on Isle their whole life and have yet to be invited to the Chiefess’ parlour. They would kill for an invitation.”

Revna clearly intended it as a compliment, making it sound like the luncheon was a grand privilege of some sort, but I couldn’t help but grimace. Another feast was scheduled for this evening, and many women had already started work on it. Isle’s population was nearly double that of Jorvik, so there was far more work and preparations to be done, yet these women giving me the tour didn’t seem fazed. They were also dressed far better than any of the women I had spied working earlier, making me think they had no plans to help. Class seemed to be a real issue here, and as frustratingly stubborn and bone-headed Barden could be at times, he would never have allowed such a thing to happen in Jorvik.

“I feel honoured,” I faked a smile.

“You should,” Revna grinned, and the others agreed.

Once the tour concluded, Revna and the two others, Kindra and Ursula, finally led me to the Chief’s hut. Revna knocked on the door, and as we waited patiently for the Chiefess to open it, she turned and smiled over her shoulder at me. I couldn’t help but note that it was just as fake as the one I had given her earlier.

For some reason, these women didn’t seem to like me. Suddenly, I felt like I was walking into the lion’s den. I was about to make an excuse and leave when the door swung open by a woman far too poorly dressed to be the Chiefess–I only thought this because of the class differences I had observed.

“The Chiefess is in her parlour,” the woman said, turning around to lead the way.

She was just the maid. That made sense.

“Thank you,” I smiled warmly at her and followed. The maid’s smile was hesitant, and she knocked on the parlour door twice before opening it for us. I was the only one who thanked her and the only one she smiled at.

Kindra and Ursula moved to take their seats around the little table in the middle of the room. Two other women were already sitting there. I deemed the woman at the head of the table to be the Chiefess of Isle, sitting tall and proud and with a calculated, too-perfect smile on her face.

“Astrid, this is Lada,” Revna gestured to the women sitting between the Chiefess and Kindra. “And this is our Chiefess, Ivana.”

I had been right about the woman I had assumed to be the Chiefess. She was dressed the grandest of them all, with a large, poofy skirt, the tightest corset I had ever seen be worn out in public and even white gloves that covered her hands and arm all the way to above her elbow. She was far too dressed up for a casual luncheon, and I suddenly felt underdressed in my simple dress.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Astrid,” Ivana greeted me with a strained smile. There was no warmth to it. “I hear you are the Captain’s wife.”

“I am.” I nodded curtly, my guard up. “It’s a pity we couldn’t meet at the feast yesterday.”

Ivana pursed her lips as she stared at me for a few moments, and I was almost certain she was trying to suppress a smile. “I wasn’t feeling well,” she told me before gesturing to the only empty seating cushion at the table. To my joy, it was the one between her and Revna.

The sharp look she sent all the others when she thought I wasn’t looking told me she wasn’t being entirely truthful with me. Perhaps there was more truth to those rumours Caspian and Viktor had told me yesterday than I thought.

“Please sit and help yourself to a cup of tea,” Ivana said. “Usually, I would have a maid here to do that for us, but they’re all busy preparing for the feast tonight.”

One thing that was very clear to me was that all of these women were older than me, at least by ten years. It made me feel smaller, more inadequate and out of place than I cared to admit, but I refused to show weakness in front of these women.

“I must admit, Astrid,” Lada said from across the table. “I don’t know about anyone else, but I was shocked to hear that one of the crew had brought their wife and cat along with them on a mission. I’ve heard of a few rebel females embarking on a short mission to test their sea legs, but they never last.”

“Yes,” I chuckled, the sound strained. “It was a sort of last-minute decision.”

“What compelled him to make such a decision?” Kindra asked, peering at me as if she believed it to be the most absurd thing ever.

“My husband couldn’t bear the thought of being away from me for so long, and honestly, neither could I.” I shrugged, surprised by their frowning faces. They looked at me like the notion of a husband and wife missing each other when separated was absurd.

“My husband is a seaman, as well,” Revna said. “But he’s never thought about taking me to sea with him. When he returns to land, he hardly wants to talk about his time on the water.”

Kindra, Lada and Ursula all nodded, their experiences matching up with Revna. It appeared that the only person around this table who wasn’t part of a crew was Ivana’s husband, but that was because he was the Chief of Isle instead.

“We’re newly married,” I told them, trying not to cringe at the bitter taste of the tea. It was far too strong for me, but I was determined to drink at least half of it. I didn’t want to give Ivana any more reason to dislike me.

“It’s still very strange,” Ivana frowned, looking to be deep in thought. “I’ve heard a lot of sea stories in my time as Chiefess, from our crew and those that stop by for trade or a warm meal, but I have never heard of a crew member, let alone a Captain, taking his wife and her cat along with him.”

“I guess Viktor is a first then,” I chuckled, but none of them echoed the sound.

“Where is your little cat now?” Ursula asked, a small smile on her face. She seemed to be the friendliest of the group, and I made a point to return her smile with a genuine one.

“She is exploring the island,” I answered.

“I would love to meet her later,” Ursula told me, her expression quickly dimming when the others sent her strange looks.

“When I next see her, I’ll come find you and introduce you to Kis,” I smiled widely, ignoring the grouches around the table. “Kis doesn’t take well to strangers, but if you give her something to eat, she’ll let you pet her.”

“I have some fish at home she might like,” Ursula grinned, and this time, I was glad to see that she ignored the strange looks from the others.

“How long have you been married, Astrid?” Revna asked from beside me. “You mentioned you haven’t been married long.”

I felt my cheeks warm with a flush. “Ten days.”

“Ah, you are just newlyweds still!” Lada grinned, a wicked glint in her eyes as she stared at me. “Forgive me for speaking out of turn, but the sex must still be electric.”

Before I could tell them that we were yet to have sex, the others all jumped in with stories of their own.

“It was when Asmund and I got married,” Ivana laughed, fanning herself as her cheeks coloured pink. “The sex was amazing for the first two years of our marriage. And then I got pregnant, and he’s hardly touched me since. Every time he does, I fall pregnant, and then he goes back to not touching me.”

“Gerald always falls on top of me like an animal when he gets back from the sea,” Kindra giggled and fanned herself, her cheeks now bright red. “The sex is always amazing for the first week, but then it fizzles out, so I’m always very encouraging about him going away as often as he wants.”

“That only lasts a few days for us when Sten gets back,” Lada grinned wickedly, her teeth digging into her bottom lip. “But he always brings back lavish gifts with him. He loves having his cock sucked, and depending on how good the gifts are that time, that’s how good I’ll give it to him.”

“Gorm is only interested in having sex with me when I’m pregnant,” Revna sighed dramatically. “It’s so good and electric, but I’m not even thirty and already a mother of five. I gave birth six months ago, and he hasn’t touched me since, so when he gets back next week, I guess I’ll be trying for a sixth.”

It appeared now that the lid had been unscrewed, the can of worms had been unleashed, and I was forced to sit there and listen to their wild sex stories with their husbands. Not only did I learn that pregnancy plays around with your hormones and makes you hornier than at any other time in your life, but you’ll be having non-stop sex for the first five months, and after that, there would be a dry spell until long after the child is born.

By the end of the raunchy anecdotes, all the blood in my body had rushed to my face, and I could hardly believe some of the things they had shared with me.

“Viktor has never fallen on me like an animal before,” I told them, red in the face. After hearing their wild stories, I was embarrassed to admit that I was still a virgin.

“Just you wait,” Revna laughed. “It might not happen now since you’re together, or perhaps because you’re still newlyweds, but as soon as you’re separated for a little while, he’ll ravage you like an animal when he returns.”

All the women laughed, but I was too nervous to join in.

Ivana turned to me. “Is something wrong?”

“No,” I denied, hating the squeak in my voice which gave me away.

Her eyes narrowed, and the corner of her lips turned up in a wicked smirk. “You have laid with your husband, haven’t you?”

“Of course I have!” I scoffed and turned away so she wouldn’t see the lie on my face. “Whatever makes you think that?”

Ivana cocked her head to the side, studying me, and the other women eagerly watched the exchange.

“You just seem a little… inexperienced .”

I gulped and shook my head, but they must have seen through the lie because they all burst out laughing. My cheeks burned furiously, and I ducked my head in shame and… disappointment .