The Saga of Colm the Slave (25 page)

“There is one thing,” said Colm. “You
have something of value to me.”

Frosti was puzzled for a moment, then
his face cleared. “Oh, Raven’s-Mane is not for sale.”

“No, not the horse. You have a silver
penny on a chain that has great meaning to me. I know you came by
it honestly, but I would like to buy it from you.”

“You mean this?” Frosti hauled the penny
out of his shirt. “I have been wearing it to remind me not to be a
fool.”

“Yes,” said Colm. “I also use it as a
reminder.”

“Well, I hear it’s not worth much.”

“To me it’s worth a great deal. It is a
valuable ward against... Well, against various things, not just
foolishness. To me it speaks of truth and lies.”

“Ah! Because the coin itself is a
lie?”

“Partly. Anyway, I will give you a good
price.”

Frosti shrugged and started to speak but
Colm cut him off. “I will give you a gold mark and twelve cloaks
for it.”

Frosti’s mouth hung open. “That is a
great price for this piece.”

“It is worth as much to me as that piece
of amber. At least as much!”

Frosti nodded. “I understand. Well, this
is a done deal.” The two slapped hands. Frosti took the penny from
around his neck and gave it to Colm. Colm took a purse from under
his tunic and gave it to the boy. “I’ll send the cloaks over
later.”

Frosti nodded. “No hurry.”

The two men stood talking for a while in
the sunlit meadow before Colm made ready to go. “Frosti,” he said,
“If you ever need anything at all, come to me and I will help you
all I can.” Frosti nodded and they parted, both feeling good about
the morning’s events.

18. Marta Wants To Marry

Marta went to speak to Gerda. “Mother,”
she said, “It’s time we thought about my marriage.”

“So people have been saying,” said
Gerda, “But I think it might wait a year or two.” Marta was her
only daughter and Gerda meant to make certain that her life was
shaped properly.

“You were betrothed at my age.”

“And look how that turned out! A husband
dead before the wedding!” She did not mention her lover, killed by
a slave.

“People say that you weren’t lacking in
male attention.”

“Don’t speak to me of gossip!” Gerda
narrowed her eyes and leaned into her daughter’s face. “I wasn’t
married for two years after that,”

Marta didn’t flinch. “Even so, you had
your chance at my age.”

“I suppose you’re thinking of marrying
some slave offspring and bringing shame on our household!”

“I mean to marry Orm Ketilsson.”

“He isn’t suitable.”

“He suits me!” Marta narrowed her eyes
and pushed her face into her mother’s. “I will marry him, too!”

Gerda was taken aback at seeing her own
expression on her daughter’s face. She had never seen her so angry
and determined. “Not if... if...” She started to say, Not if you
want to remain my daughter! Then she thought suddenly that she was
backing herself into a corner. She was frightened, all at once, of
her child. She felt old.

Marta said, “I will go speak to
Grandfather.” And she strode out, head high. Gerda sat dejected and
alone.

Thorolf greeted his granddaughter
warmly. He loved his grandchildren dearly but when they had
problems, he detached a small part of himself and looked at them
through his chieftain’s eyes, as he did anyone he needed to
assess.

Marta said, “It is time I was betrothed,
Grandfather. I want you to arrange a match for me.”

“I see,” said Thorolf. “Have you spoken
to your mother about this?”

“You are the man in this household,
Grandfather.”

Thorolf knew very well that Gerda had
said that none of Marta’s suitors measured up. “Well,” he said,
“Suppose I ask around. Perhaps in the next district...”

“The man I want for husband lives in
this district. His name is Orm Ketilsson.” She folded her arms and
looked at her grandfather with narrow eyes.

Thorolf almost laughed out loud. He had
seen that look before, on Gerda’s face. “I believe your mother
thinks that young man unsuitable.”

“What does she know!” spat Marta. “He is
a wonderful man.”

“Is he, then? Well, sit over beside me
and tell me about this fellow.” Marta sat next to her grandfather
and began prattling on about Orm while Thorolf sat chuckling to
himself at the thought of the confrontation between Marta and
Gerda. He remembered, too, Gerda sitting beside him in much the
same way when she was young and he had to talk her down from some
high dudgeon she was in. He got a lump in his throat then. I am
getting old, he thought, and sentimental. It is good that Hallvard
is coming along so well. Soon I will be good for nothing.

After a time, when Marta began to repeat
herself, singing Orm’s praises, Thorolf said, “Well, he sounds a
very fine match to me. Let me think on this a while and we’ll see
about what happens next.”

“Oh, yes!” Marta leapt up and clapped
her hands. “I knew you would help me! Oh, you are so good!” And she
kissed him on his bald spot.

As if I needed another reminder about
getting old, thought Thorolf. Ah, well, youth amuses even as it
insults. In fact, youth can be very persuasive, he thought. After
Marta left, he sent for Hallvard.

“Your sister wishes to be married,” said
Thorolf.

“Yes,” said Hallvard, “All the girls her
age speak of it.”

“She has her eyes set on this Orm
Ketilsson fellow.”

“He seems a worthy man, but his family
is not particularly distinguished.”

“No, but it is not a shameful match,
either. Ketil will post a high marriage price. I am already
thinking of that patch of timber that he owns above the river. And
he will have silver, too. We could build a house for the couple
near the woodlot. Ketil could give up a piece of land and I could
give over an equal amount.”

“So they would start off with a
farm.”

“Yes, and be out of Ketil and Ingunn’s
house and away from their influence.” And under mine, he
thought.

“I am certain that contract could be
made.”

“There is one hitch. Your mother is
opposed to this match.”

“Why?”

“She thinks Orm is not good enough. But,
probably, she doesn’t think anyone good enough barring, perhaps,
the King of Norway.”

Hallvard said, “My mother can be a
stubborn person.”

“Yes, but so can your sister. In matters
like this, I think it important not to inflame young people’s
passion. You know I asked your opinion on Astrid.” Thorolf had
arranged a match for Hallvard with Astrid, a girl from a good
family in the next district. Her father, Viga-Dan, was prosperous
and related by marriage to Ozurr, the godi there. It was a good
match for all except that Thorolf was a little concerned that
Astrid had too many family connections that he might have to
support in time of trouble. Too many threads leave knots in the
weaving.

“Yes,” said Hallvard. “I like her well
enough and think I could grow to love her.”

“Of course,” said Thorolf. “You are a
reasonable man and marriage will suit you. Astrid is a pretty girl,
too. More important, she is in love with you and wants you very
much. There is no use going against these things. It is like trying
to stop a river. Viga-Dan will discover that.” Viga-Dan was
delaying the marriage, looking for better terms, but Thorolf was
convinced that Astrid would wear him down.

“Well, then,” said Hallvard, “I should
try to help my sister.”

“Exactly!” Thorolf beamed. He loved it
when Hallvard showed signs of learning the lessons he tried to
teach him.

“No use being on the losing side,” said
Hallvard, citing a lesson his grandfather had taught him. The two
men laughed together. “Now how can I can help Marta?”

Thorolf and Hallvard talked for a long
while after that.

Hallvard went to see Gerda. “Mother,
everyone is saying that Marta ought to be betrothed now.”

“Yes, everyone with nothing better to do
than blather about things that are none of their business! I don’t
listen to such gossip.”

“Well, even so, I think Marta may be
listening.”

“I’ll tell her when it’s time to think
of marriage,” said Gerda. “Anyway, what’s become of your betrothal?
I thought your grandfather had that all worked out.”

“It’s true that it’s taken a little
longer than expected. I spoke to Grandfather and he’s agreed to
stop pressuring Viga-Dan for better terms and to get on with the
match.”

“You told your grandfather?”

“Yes. He is not so proud and
stiff-necked that he won’t listen to what is best for me. He wants
me to be happy. I expect this betrothal will be announced very soon
and that I will marry Astrid this autumn.”

“And this will make you happy?”

Hallvard said, “It’s time I got on with
making a place for myself. If I am to be godi then I have to show
everyone that I can manage a family and farm. No one thinks an
unmarried person is more than a child.”

“Well, sometimes that is the case. I
don’t know that your sister is enough of an adult to marry
anyone.”

“That may be,” said Hallvard, “But she
thinks that she is.”

“She should listen to her mother.”

“I think she does listen,” said
Hallvard, “But she also hears people calling her a child and she
doesn’t want to be mocked.”

Gerda tightened her lips and folded her
arms over her bosom. Hallvard went on, “It reflects on everyone
around Marta that people can talk about her so...”

“Who? Tell me their names and I’ll teach
them to keep their mouths shut!”

Hallvard never raised his voice, just
kept speaking smoothly. “Sooner or later they are going to gossip
about Marta and Orm and then, should those two marry other people,
they will talk about them all their lives.”

“What gossip can there be about them?
There is nothing out of the way there!”

Hallvard raised a shoulder, “Marta could
change that...”

“You mean she could get pregnant?”
Gerda’s eyes blazed. “Then perhaps there’d be another no-account
baby exposed or thrown into the sea!”

Hallvard shook his head. “You would
never shame yourself by allowing something like that. I know that
Marta is headstrong and needs guidance and everyone knows you are
the person who provides it.”

Gerda’s brows knit. “What do you
mean?

“During those years when Father
abandoned himself to despair it was you who raised us all. Yes,
Mother, we looked to you for wisdom and guidance.”

“Well,” said Gerda, “I suppose that is
so.”

“Yes,” said Hallvard, “And everyone
knows it.” He shook his head. “It pains Marta to come up against
you this way and she must doubt herself all the time. And it must
trouble you to see your child suffering from self-doubt, when you
have raised her to be strong-minded like yourself.”

“Well... I don’t want her to be a weak
weed in the wind. She must be able to stand up for herself,
especially when she marries. She can’t have her husband always
telling her what to do!”

“Of course not. You’ve raised her well.”
Hallvard shook his head. “Who else could stand up to you?” He
looked Gerda right in the face and his eyes shone with admiration
for his mother.

Gerda looked at her son and her heart
melted. After Gudbrand died and she came to understand that her
children were mortal, she had loved them all the more. Hallvard,
her eldest living son, she loved the best. She reached out and
touched his hair. “So perhaps I should speak to Marta of
marriage.”

“Well, it can’t happen anytime soon,
Mother. My marriage is next! But perhaps next spring or summer.
That will give Marta another half-year or so to grow up a little
more.”

Gerda nodded. “Well, then, I suppose
that might help.” She smiled at her son. “You can be very
persuasive.”

Hallvard said, “It is something I
learned from you, Mother.” And Grandfather, he thought.

Gerda looked off into the future,
calculating. “Anyway, it’s not like she won’t be here where I can
look after her.” She thought about being a mother-in-law and
helping Marta get the upper hand in this marriage. Hallvard watched
her, half-smiling. He didn’t mention that Thorolf was already
planning a new house for the couple so that they could start a life
outside Gerda’s clutches.

So, that autumn, Hallvard and Astrid
married. They moved into Thorolf’s house and Astrid busied herself
with learning to be the mistress of that domain. Thorolf regarded
his daughter-in-law with great affection and some amusement. The
household got on well. The following summer, Marta and Orm wed and
moved into a new house above the river, near the valuable woodlot
that was part of the marriage settlement. Orm set to work at making
the farm viable and Marta did her part in organizing the household.
Gerda came over to visit from time to time, casting sharp eyes on
every aspect of her daughter’s life, but she could find little
fault with the couple and, in time, ceased trying to do so. She was
filled with joy when first Astrid, then Marta, became pregnant.

Now things were quiet for a time.

19. Colm And Frosti

Colm was now a wealthy man. Like most
men of importance, he spent a great deal of time talking to others
about affairs of the district. His farmhands worked well even when
he was away and he trusted them. These were all free men. There
were only a few slaves left at the Trollfarm, young women that
worked in the household. Gwyneth tended to free them when they
became of marriageable age, then they worked as free women, trying
to gather a stake so that they and their husbands could find a farm
somewhere.

So Colm looked in on his herds of sheep
and cattle and horses, and oversaw the cutting of hay. He took a
personal interest at trying to grow barley but nothing much ever
came of that project. He organized driftwood collection at the
places where foreshore rights weren’t bespoke, and salt-making and
fishing and birding. Sometimes he gathered sulfur for trade with
the ships that visited Iceland. He took very careful note of
everything that happened on his farm. The farmhands never knew when
he might suddenly appear to examine their work. He was busy and he
was prosperous. He was a serious man. Still, he found time to look
in on Mar and see that everything was going well, or visit Gunnar
or Ketil, who he treated as a subordinate ever since Orm had
refused to sell him the amber pendant, and, from time to time, he
went to see Frosti.