Page 33 of A Viking's Captive

“This gift is given with my deep gratitude for your work for me and on behalf of your country. I sleep better knowing you will come to my aid with your sword as a fierce warrior. You are equally invaluable as my trade ambassador with your keen mind and charm. Please give my best to your wife from my wife and myself. My wife sends her greetings but is not feeling well since she is with child.”

Rathnon clapped the king on his back. “Congratulations to you and to your wife. It is wonderful news, and you must be thrilled.”

“I am. The only thing that would bring me more joy is the safe delivery of a son and my wife’s continued health. I will call on you in the spring or later, depending on when my wife gives birth.”

“Thank you. I will leave now. I wish you and your wife well with the birth of your baby.”

Rathnon retrieved his belongings and went to the stable to saddle his Fjord Friesian horse himself. He glanced at the skies to determine when it might snow again, hoping it would wait until he arrived home so as not to delay his return to Ilona. Yearning for a family, on his ride home, he wondered when they would be blessed with a child. Rathnon couldn’t quite imagine how Ilona would appear, big with his child.

When he returned, he would steal her away to their house and fill her with so much pleasure, she would scream his name. He would do his best to impregnate her with his child. It would mean he would make love to his wife many times, and he looked forward to her eager welcome.

Chapter 10

Rathnon’s Return and Surprise

The entire time Rathnon rode home, his mind filled with images and the scent of Ilona, whom he yearned for. It was frosty, with a chill wind that bit while the skies remained bleak, heralding snowfall. Thinking of Ilona warmed his heart and his body.

Urgently, he coaxed his stallion along the trail in the forest to his home and Ilona.Has she missed me as much as I missed her?Rathnon knew, he loved Ilona. He pondered whether her feelings toward him had changed. Or since being far away from her, had she grown to dislike him?

Rathnon stopped to relieve himself in the forest and allowed his mount to drink and find a few blades of grass to nibble. With a handful of oats, he fed him to sustain him on their journey home. As much as he wished to be with Ilona, he would not neglect his mount.

This horse had carried him in battle many times as well as when he discovered Ilona. Overwhelmed with the need to urge his mount forward, he mounted his horse again and they rode toward home. Rathnon’s heart raced in his chest at the thought of Ilona and holding her in his arms again. He had dreamed the entire time away of kissing Ilona and more.

Then the village materialized before him, and he leapt from his horse and walked it to the stable. One lad greeted him and took over the care of his stallion. Rathnon removed his belongings from his horse and carried them inside the longhouse.

Immediately his eyes searched for his wife. But he didn’t see her anywhere. Rathnon’s heart thundered with worry.Where could she be? Has something happened to her?Everyone welcomed him home. Sigrid came and hugged him.

“Rathnon, I am happy you are here and safe from your travels as I imagine you are too. You were gone longer than we expected. Ilona will be relieved to see you back home. She missed you.”

“Where is she?”

“Ilona is not here at the moment.” Sigrid saw his worried expression and quickly reassured him. “She walked to your house to place things inside for you. Ilona has been excited knowing you would be returning soon. You will surprise her if you go there before she returns for dinner.”

“Takk. I’ll go there now. Is there any food I can take with me?”

“Aye, I’ll prepare it for you.” Rathnon unlocked his chest and unpacked a few items from his bag, placing them inside the chest. He relocked it. While waiting for Sigrid to prepare the food, he washed his face and hands. Sigrid gave Rathnon a sack of food, and he bid her goodbye and ran up the hill to his house and Ilona.

Intent and bent over a garden in the front of their house, Ilona clearly had not heard his approach. Rathnon stood out of sight. After being absent for so long, he basked in the sight of his wife. Ilona continually amazed him, and he admired her with awe. Now his heart beat with lust and love. Rathnon wished to devour his wife. But when she turned around, he staggered, totally unprepared for the vision of his wife aglow and, more so, the unmistakable roundness of her belly, showing her pregnancy.Ilona is pregnant with our child.

Rathnon ran to her and called her name to announce himself and not frighten her. He scooped her up in his arms and spun her around and devoured her lips in a passionate kiss. Then he stood her on the ground and dropped to his knees. Rathnon kissed her round abdomen over and over.

“Ilona, I missed ye,” he said in Gaelic, his first time speaking it again in all the time he’d been away. “I was lonely without ye. I couldn’t wait to return to ye.” He embraced her, still kneeling. “We will stay here tonight, and I brought dinner for us. How are ye feeling?”

“I am happy ye are back safely, Rathnon. I missed ye very much,” she said rather shyly, glancing at him. Ilona had a hard time believing he was home. “I am nae dreaming, am I? I dreamed of yer return for months. Even Sigrid was surprised ye had nae returned before now. “

Holding Ilona in his arms, Rathnon said, “How far along are ye and when will our bairn be born? Has the bairn given ye problems?”

“I am feeling fine, and our bairn is due to be born in the spring. He is active, and the only trouble he’s given me is my need to relieve myself often.”

“Ye think our bairn is a boy then?”

“Aye, I do. Ye must be tired and hungry. Come inside and we can eat and ye can rest.” Ilona stood back as he entered to assess his reaction to the additions she had made in his absence.

Rathnon looked around the kitchen and living areas and noted the shelves with herbs and spices for cooking. Pots and pans hung near the oven. The fragrance of heather in a vase on a large rectangular table with benches filled their home. Alantern’s candle flickered on the table. Ilona’s current sewing project lay on the table.

Peat smoked from the central hearth. The room was warm enough to take the chill out of the air. Rathnon placed more peat on the fire to warm the house during the night as it burned. Doors hung before both closed rooms, intriguing him.

Ilona had made their home comfortable and cozy. He took in the details that had initially escaped his notice. Rathnon removed his jacket and hung it on the rack of deer antlers by the front door.