All Hail Earl Ingstad
He is relaxing in his bath at home when Torstein comes inside.
"Earl Ragnar, Earl Ingstad is here."
Ragnar sits up, moving to the edge of the round tub.
"Well, where is he? Tell him to come in."
Bjorn is seated at a nearby table whittling on wood. He barely looks up at the news. Ragnar leans back in the water to wait.
When the door to the hall opens again, he stands up quickly, the water splashing off the sides of the bath. Bjorn stands up too, a look of shock on his face. His eyes dart from Earl Ingstad, to his father and back, and he quickly makes himself scarce.
"Earl Ragnar, this Earl Ingstad" Torstein says with a sly smile, before walking off and joining Bjorn outside.
"So, you are truly an Earl, now?" Ragnar says, stepping out of the tub.
"Yes, we are equal now," Lagertha replies. Ragnar is still processing. His (ex?)wife...an earl.
"I am pleased to see you," he says finally.
Lagertha casts a long look down his body, and slowly back up. She blinks, a slow smile spreading across her face.
She steps up close to him, and he can feel the soft fur she's wearing tickle the skin on his chest. Her voice is deep, and husky, seductive. A single finger traces a straight line down his chest to his stomach, sending a tremor through him.
"I can tell," she says backing off just a little bit.
There's a giant guffaw that interrupts his trance. And then another and he looks around him to see who is making the sound.
Ragnar spots Bjorn and Torstein doubled over in laughter at the door. And then he looks down at himself, fully at attention.
Lagertha is looking at him, biting the side of her bottom lip and failing to suppress her smile. There is laughter in her eyes.
"Don't worry Ragnar," she says. It's nothing I haven't seen before."
She leans over to kiss him on the cheek and whisper into his ear. "You're still as impressive as ever," she laughs as she walks out of the hall to join their son and Torstein outside in a hug.
He gets back in the bath and sinks down into the water, letting it cover his head. The gods are surely laughing at him too.