"Nor will I consent to do anything except that alone.
We will partake in the excitement of your sport, and each of these brave
heroes of yours shall answer for the safety of one of us." A gesture of her
hand included Thorkel the Tall, the two Northern jarls, and the King's
foster-brother.
"And is it your belief that a man can at the same time chase a boar and talk
fine words to a woman?" Canute demanded between amusement and impatience.
"Call it a ride, if you will, but leave the boar out for reason's sake, as he
would leave us out ere we were so much as on his track."
She gave him a sidelong glimpse of her wonderful eyes, and drooped her head
like a lily grown heavy on its stem. "Would that be so great a misfortune
then?" she murmured. "Do you think it unpleasant to be passing your time at my
side?"
Smiling, he watched the play of her long silken lashes, yet shook his head.
"Nay, when I hunt, I hunt," he said. "I would have idled in your bower if you
had chosen it, but you urged me to this, and now if it happens that you cannot
keep up, you must bear your deed."
As one casts aside an ill-fitting glove, she threw aside her pouts, looking up
at him with a flash of dainty mimicry. "Hear the fiery Thor! Take notice that
I shall bear all down before me like a man mowing ripe corn. You cannot guess
how much warlikeness I have caught from my Valkyria.
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