"Ragnar!"
Torstein burst into the barn and the dispossessed Earl of Kattegat came forward to meet him, frowning at the excited state he was in. "What is it, Torstein?"
"Riders coming!"
Ragnar looked around at his wife, Aslaug, and she took their sons by the hand and hurried them into a recess behind a horse stall. The rest of the people who had escaped from Kattegat to take refuge at this remote farm grasped whatever could be used for a weapon, a pitchfork, a hoe, a shovel, and prepared to sell their lives dearly as Ragnar, Floki, and Torstein left the barn and made for a vantage point. For a tense moment they watched as almost fifty people came down the dirt road leading to the farm, then Ragnar smiled broadly and ran down the hill towards them, Torstein and Floki following more slowly.
He stopped in front of the riders and the dark giant in the lead swung himself out of the saddle and handed his reins to the blond woman riding at his side. "Hello, brother."
The two men embraced and Ragnar took a step back with tears in his eyes. "I didn't think I would ever see you again, Rollo." He looked past his brother at the blond woman. "Lagertha?"
She dropped off her horse. "Ragnar." He started towards her and she folded her arms, regarding him so coolly it stopped him in his tracks. He looked over her shoulder at a tall young man who had also gotten off his horse and Lagertha turned her head, then smiled and took the man's hand, leading him to the earl.
"Bjorn?" Ragnar could hardly take it in. The youngster was even taller than Rollo but the eyes in the hard young face were Ragnar's own. Floki and Torstein had caught up with him and now they too were staring at the new arrivals.
Floki went up to the young man and gazed intently into his eyes. "Yes. Yes! It is you, Bjorn!" Torstein was smiling and Ragnar felt a little dizzy as his son thumped his friends on the shoulder and threw his arms around his father.
For a moment the earl hugged his son back, then he looked over at Rollo and Lagertha. "What are you doing here?"
"We heard you needed help." Lagertha handed the reins of Rollo's horse back to him. "It looks as if we have come none too soon if you have taken refuge in such a place. How did this happen, Ragnar?"
"Do you recall the truce between King Horik and Jarl Borg?" asked Ragnar. Rollo and Lagertha nodded. "Horik broke the agreement. He decided he did not want Borg raiding with us."
Rollo frowned. "Why would Borg attack Kattegat?"
Ragnar squirmed, then said sheepishly, "Horik had me tell Borg he could not join us on the raid."
Lagertha regarded her ex-husband with exasperation. "Borg probably thought it was your idea. No wonder he was so angry. Were many killed?"
"A few," said Ragnar. "Most of the people managed to escape. They brought Aslaug and the children here." He ducked his head for a moment, then looked up at Lagertha to see her reaction. She was not looking at him at all-Rollo was back on his horse and she was leaning against his leg, speaking softly to him. Ragnar could not make out what she was saying, but the way she and Rollo looked at each other was all too clear. His brother nodded, then bent down to kiss Lagertha before spurring his horse towards the farm house. Bjorn nodded to his mother and joined the troop, cantering past his father with a careless wave.
Torstein and Floki mumbled something and beat a hasty retreat. Ragnar watched them go, then turned back to his ex-wife. "You and Rollo? You cannot possibly be serious. If this is some trick to get revenge on me for Aslaug…"
Lagertha mounted her horse. She had wondered what it would be like to see Ragnar again. Seeing him bristling at her, all she was able to feel was pity, mixed with a little contempt. Still, she had come with Rollo to help Ragnar and they would all have to work together if they were to succeed in driving off Borg. "I truly hope you are as happy with Aslaug as I am with Rollo. I love him very much. And he loves me. We did not come here to cause you pain, only to help you in your trouble. I hope you can accept that." She saw the disbelief in his face and shrugged. "If you do not want our help, we will go home. Make up your mind, Ragnar, one way or the other. And do it quickly, because Rollo and I have our own life that we are eager to return to." She kicked her horse into a trot, leaving Ragnar alone in the dusty road.