Erik returned to the longhouse, wondering how Dagmar would react. He scowled as he thought of telling her Helgha’s answer. He passed his followers and family, greeting them with a nod until he found Dagmar sewing in the light coming from the open roof.
Dagmar looked up and smiled. “When are they coming, Erik?”
Erik sighed. “She says she’ll only let them come if she can come too.”
Dagmar dropped her sewing and surged to her feet. “What? She had the cheek to say she wouldn’t let them come? Make her send them.”
“And if I say she can come too?”
“No! No! No!” Dagmar stamped her foot. “I will not have that woman living in the same house as me.” She paced up and down the room. “Did you remind her it’s usual for boys to live elsewhere, away from their mother?”
Erik nodded.
“What did she say
