Finn.
Although a common name in Norway and the Orkneys, he knew only one man called that and not by the shortened version of it, but by the whole name.
Thorfinn. His half brother refused to answer to Finn, saying it sounded like a fish's name.
His half brother, who was his father's legitimate son and heir.
His half brother by Erengisl's first wife, who caused his mother's downfall and his own exile to Scotland.
There could be no connection, Rurik knew, because Thorfinn remained at his father's side, secure in the standing and honor that legitimacy gave him. There could be no connection, he told himself again in spite of the warning signs he felt.
Looking to the north and east, he watched as the land of his birth passed them by. The sharp cliffs and mountainous terrain of Hoy, the gentler rolling hills of the mainland, the smaller islands off in the distance.
Their destination was Orphir, the residence of the Earls of Orkney in days long past where his father kept a smaller residence, as did Gunnar. They'd decided that a private reunion would be best considering the many years that separated father and daughter, and it would give Margriet a chance to acclimate herself before being thrown into the life of a courtier's daughter once more. Now, Gunnar had no idea of how wise that decision was, nor did Margriet know.
The winds were with them and the sea was fair, making their voyage a fast one and bringing them to Orphir just before sunset. When they put to port, he sent the men onto his father's house with word of his own arrival. From missives received in Thurso, he knew his father stayed in Kirkvaw while on this visit to the Orkneys from his lands in Sweden. He, too, would take a few days to rest before presenting himself there and entering the mire of arrangements, introductions and preparations that would be his life from this day forward.
He guided Margriet to her father's house alone and with nary a word between them. Rurik could not help but notice that she grew more nervous with each passing minute and realized that she may not remember her father from her childhood.
Although it had been many years for him as well, he did carry the memories of a man who'd been a good friend to him during the difficult times when Rurik's mother fell from his father's grace. One of very few who stood by his side during the ugly mess that ended with him in Scotland and Erengisl married to the old earl's daughter as a favor to his king. The softer personal feelings involved between a man and woman meant nothing where the king was concerned.
"He is a good man, Margriet. You can rely on his judgment," he said as a servant ran out to take hold of their horses and he helped her dismount for the last time.
Her hands shook and she paled with each step forward. Almost to the doorway, she stopped and gazed up at him, a look of complete panic filling her eyes and he feared she would faint dead away.
"I cannot do this, Rurik. I cannot," she said, taking a step back and looking as though she was about to run off.
He took her hands in his and held her steady. When she met his eyes, he repeated to her the first words she'd spoken to him when she acknowledged her identity.
"You are Margriet Gunnarsdottir. Do not forget that."
She took in a deep breath now and nodded at him. When the door opened and an older man stepped from it, she let her hood fall to her shoulders. Then she walked at Rurik's side to meet the man she did not remember as father. Gunnar shouted at the sight of her, causing tears to stream down Margriet's face.
"I did not expect you to resemble your mother so much, Margriet! You have grown to be a beauty like her. So much like her, my eyes could not believe it," Gunnar said, opening his arms to her. After a brief hesitation, Margriet allowed him to pull her close and hug her.
It was a good start, he thought, as they all entered the house and he watched as Gunnar called out orders for her comfort and told her of his arrangements for her stay there until they visited Kirkvaw. Overwhelmed and surprised, he thought by the warmness of the welcome after such a separation, Rurik knew she would be cared for and knew Gunnar would handle the news of her condition with much wisdom and care.
He stood aside as Gunnar introduced her to his household and she handled things remarkably well for someone about to bolt just a few minutes before. She did glance over at him several times, but less and less as Gunnar brought her back into the place and family she'd been gone from for these last ten years. Gunnar noticed him standing there and came to him.
"I have not yet said how good it is to see you, Rurik."
"And you, Gunnar."
"She has grown so much that I would not know her, but you, you have grown into a handsome man. And so big!" Gunnar was no small man himself, but Rurik did tower over him now, grown at least a foot more since their last meeting thirteen years before. When Gunnar held out his hand, Rurik took it in greeting. "My thanks for delivering her safely into my arms."
"I was honored that you asked me to carry out that duty for you, Gunnar. You were ever a true friend to my mother and me."
Gunnar looked across the room to where his daughter talked with the woman who had served as her nurse. Content that she was getting on well, he smiled. "Does your father know of your arrival yet?"
"I will send word in the morn, Gunnar. I was not certain we would make it here before sunset. How is he?"
"Impatient as ever," Gunnar said, slapping him on the shoulder … the shoulder Margriet had sewn together not long ago. "The many delays have made him on edge, for he'd hoped you would arrive before summer." His father's counselor leaned over and spoke quietly to him. "You know the situation between the king and his sons. Your father agreed to assist in the negotiations before year's end."
"So his letters said."
"He wants you in place before he leaves for Norway." That would explain his father's impatience.
"The delays were not intentional," he said.
"Come now, Rurik. I knew you as a young man. Were you not waiting to be wooed home?" Gunnar laughed now. "That was why I suggested he send the armbands and the sword. Did they not entice you to consider his offer?"
Now it was Rurik's turn to laugh. He should have recognized Gunnar's mark on this, from first invitation to last. "They did, Gunnar. I knew he was serious when the sword arrived for I have never seen it outside his hall in Hultaby."
"As I assured him would be your reaction."
"So, 'tis your hand behind this whole reconciliation then?"
Margriet walked over to them then, ending their discussion, one which would need be finished before he met with his father.
"You know my father well, Rurik?" she asked.
"I knew him as a boy when I lived with my father," he replied. An uneasy feeling moved along his spine as he realized her probable reaction to his parentage.
"And we will be working together on many issues and concerns for your father now that you have returned."
It took about the same length of time for her to recognize his omission as it did for him to understand her sin. But she asked the question anyway.
"You know his father?" she asked, all the while staring at him.
"I have the honor of working for his father, Margriet. You know that I serve Lord Erengisl. And now I will serve Rurik as well."
He remembered wondering if a man's head could explode and now Rurik wondered it about Margriet, for her face grew dark and red and her lips sputtered as she realized the deception played upon her. He'd done it in part to protect her from thinking she was not good enough for him, but 'twas also for his protection, too. Though from her expression, she would not understand that part of it.
Sometimes in battle, the prudent thing was to retreat and fight another day. Thinking that the best course of action, now he bowed to Gunnar and excused himself. Margriet could do nothing now, but he knew she would have her say at some point. Rurik only knew he had some explaining of his own to do to her when that day came.
Chapter Seventeen
Rurik strode down the long hallway on his way to the great room where his father awaited him. Although he would have preferred to have a more informal and less public first meeting than this, he could not avoid it any longer. Messengers had been sent to him in Orphir with an invitation to come at once to Kirkvaw where his father waited on his arrival. When the Earl of the Orkneys sent such a message, no one, not even his son, ignored the summons.