Rosa did not look around. A confrontation would do her no good. She focused on the sleepily clucking hens, the whispery rush of their ruffled feathers.
When she did look back, the women were gone. Men sat sharpening tools or hunched over vegetable patches eyed her warily. During the accident they had seen how easily she took control and did not like it.
Rosa had expected to at least see Björn again. His wound would need seeing to and a new poultice applied. Not once did he appear at her door, not even to visit his grandmother.
Instead, she found on the doorstep curious gifts: a flagon of ale, gulls’ eggs, even a basket of honey, the comb sticky and gleaming, broken into clumps. When she did manage to catch a glimpse of the boy, he bowed his head to her. It was a quick, nervous jerk, as if afraid.
This week’s blog post to go alongside The Bride Who Rode in With the Storm will describe what a Viking settlement would have looked like. Earlier blog posts were about the Vikings in Norfolk and Viking beliefs.
