A Wolf at the Gate (Orkneyinga Murders Book 2) by Lexie Conyngham
Author:Lexie Conyngham [Conyngham, Lexie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Kellas Cat Press
Published: 2019-07-03T04:00:00+00:00
When they pushed open the church door, Father Tosti leapt to his feet. He had evidently been sitting on the bench Ketil and Sigrid had perched on last night, but when he saw them a look of profound relief passed across his youthful face.
âOh, Iâm sorry,â said Sigrid, âwere you at prayer?â
âYes â sort of,â said Tosti, then gave a rueful grin. âWell, not quite. Though I was giving thanks for a few minutesâ peace.â
âOh!â Sigrid did not want to go, but she was about to leave when Tosti waved a hand at her.
âI donât mean ⦠I mean all this interpreting is quite ⦠a great privilege, you know. And a joy to use Latin in everyday language, and not lose that skill. And to spend time with the Abbot â such a very clever man. Iâm honoured.â
âBut you could do with a break?â asked Sigrid. Ketil gave a little snort, clearly sympathetic.
âI wouldnât put it quite ⦠just a very short moment of peace, when I donât have to find answers to all his questions, all the details he wants, all the ⦠A very great privilege, of course, but I fear my poor head is not up to his level. Itâs spinning!â
âAnd here we come with more questions,â said Ketil. Tosti glanced up at him, anxious.
âOh, no. Is this to do with poor Steinar Valison? Itâs his funeral tomorrow, isnât it?â
âI believe so.â
Tosti sank back on to the bench, folding his hands into his sleeves as if he could form a barrier to protect himself from unwelcome thoughts.
âWhat is it you need to know?â
âWell, first, I suppose, what did you know about him? I suppose you knew him.â
âI did, yes. I married him to Svanhild, and I married Thorgunna and Ubbi, too, and baptised both of the children.â
âHe and Svanhild were married first, werenât they?â
âOh, yes, by quite a few years. But the children are the same age, roughly. Svanhild lost one or two before her boy was born, but this is Thorgunnaâs first, I believe.â
âA big christening, then? Lots of family there?â Sigrid asked. It was a pleasure asking easy questions for a change, and she had realised that she knew little of Steinarâs family outside the longhouse where he had lived.
âWell, two christenings,â Tosti corrected. âThorgunna and Ubbi had some of her family at theirs â sheâs from Skaill direction and some of them walked along for the day. I donât think Steinar has any family near here, and Ubbi and Svanhild are the only ones left of theirs.â
âWas Steinar home for the christenings? For the births?â
âNo, he wasnât. That was when he was off in Colonia.â
âSo what do you think of him?â Sigrid ignored Ketilâs scowl: presumably he wanted to get on to the more dramatic subjects.
âHe was a good man. A bit â well, a bit severe, sometimes. He was one for following rules, regardless of their effect on people. You know the kind.â
âI heard he was a gentle man.â
âOh, yes, I believe he was.
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