By Love Enslaved Read Free Page A

moved Dana to tears.
    She knew her mother had tricked her father into thinking her more fully recovered than she truly was so that he would leave for the summer. They were a devoted couple, and Dana could not bear to think how deep her father’s pain would be should he return home to find the wife he adored more frail than when he had left her. The winters in Denmark were not harsh, but should Freya fall ill again, Dana knew she would not survive to see another spring.
    Forcing such sad thoughts aside, she pressed on with their discussion. “Let’s not say anything to Moira until we’ve all had the opportunity to get to know Brendan well. The fact that they share a common heritage won’t mean anything if they don’t like each other.”
    Making no effort to hide her smile, Freya offered a perceptive observation. “That’s true. She might dislike him every bit as much as you dislike Jarald.”
    Dana pulled back slightly. “It’s not that I dislike him,” she denied unconvincingly. “It is just that, well, I find him a difficult man to like. He talks about nothing but himself, which I know most men do, but with him it always seems more of a fault than with others.”
    Freya reached out to pat her daughter’s hand. “Jarald has many fine qualities which perhaps you are still too young to see, so I don’t want you to dismiss him too hastily. You know you needn’t marry a man you don’t love. Your father and I would never ask that of you. We Danish women are fortunate in that we may divorce a poor husband quite easily, but that is no reason to enter into a marriage with haste. If nothing about Jarald pleases you by the coming spring, then I’ll ask your father to tell him to pay his calls elsewhere. I know Grena would be very pleased to have him court Berit. Do you think she likes him?”
    “Berit’s only sixteen, Mother, and Jarald must be thirty at least, perhaps closer to thirty-five. He ought to court Grena rather than her daughter.”
    Freya found that suggestion, while sensible, quite amusing. “Jarald is not the type of man to marry a widow and take on the responsibility for another man’s children. He is far too proud for that.”
    Dana nodded, hoping her mother would let the matter drop. Since she had been troubled ever since she had found her half brother in a dark mood that afternoon, she asked about him. “What’s going to happen to Erik, Mother? Where will he be able to find a wife?”
    Immediately taking that question to heart, Freya sighed unhappily. “We love Erik, so I’m certain other women will too. None of your friends would have him, of course, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t successfully court a girl of modest means. A girl from a small farm would think him a wonderful husband, I’m sure.”
    “He is so busy here. When does he have time to travel the countryside calling on farmers in hopes they have marriageable daughters?”
    “Yes, finding such a young woman will be the problem, but Erik is young yet and I doubt he has given any thought to taking a wife. Let’s worry about Brendan and Moira first, and see if we can’t make a match there.” Freya paused as her ten-year-old daughter, Thora, peered in the door. “Come join us, baby.”
    A precocious child, Freya’s youngest was a delightful imp who thoughtfully did not tax her mother with her own boundless energy. “I heard Moira say you’re taking a thrall from Grena. Won’t father be furious at us for that?”
    “Now, how did Moira hear about Brendan?” Freya asked Dana in dismay.
    “I’ve no idea,” Dana assured her. “I’ve said nothing about the man to anyone but Erik, and surely he would not gossip with the servants.”
    “Oh, don’t be silly,” Thora exclaimed as she crawled over the end of her mother’s bed. “Erik talks with Moira all the time. I think they’re lovers.”
    “Thora! Shame on you,” Freya scolded, but her laughter kept her from sounding cross.
    Dana gave her little sister a hug.