Whereon she smiled and rose up, and held the cup high, and cried to
her folk:
"Skoal, friends, and thanks!"
And all down the hall, from her own folk and from Hakon's, and even
from those strangers, Eric's men, came the answer:
"Skoal to Gerda the Queen, and welcome!"
And then one lifted his voice and cried:
"Skoal to Jarl Malcolm!"
Men took that up, and it was good to hear them.
Gerda gave me the cup her lips had just touched, and I drank
"skoal" to them in turn, and so Gerda the Queen had come home.
Gerda passed to the bower presently, and left us in the hall. The
men still made merry with shout and song, and Gorm was preparing
the guest hall for us. Asbiorn had come in with the rest of his
men, grim and silent, and I asked him if he had Arnkel safe. He
nodded and reached for a horn of ale, and sat down at the end of
the high place, for at the time Bertric and I were talking with
Eric's men, and trying to settle matters with them, for we could
not let them go back to their master.
One was a jarl from the south, and the others men of less note, and
they had looked to gather men to Eric hence. Now they were fairly
thunderstruck to hear of the coming of Hakon, and as it seemed to
us not altogether displeased.
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