By early morning, Gudrid seemed rested, her appetite returned, her color less pale. Ota awakened and complained of pain. Kerstin gave her a single drop of nightshade mixed with water to ease the discomfort. Gudrid cried with bitterness. “Who will marry my daughter? No one will want her. She’ll be a scarred monster.” A vision of Jonas’s muscled body flitted through Kerstin’s mind. People called him a beast, yet she could never think of him as anything other than a strong and capable man. “Hush, don’t say such things.” Kerstin placed a gentle hand on Gudrid’s arm. “It’s only the front of her chest that’s badly burned. Her pretty face is still lovely and she can bear children. Jonas will find her a good man to wed.” She hoped what she said was true. Gudrid reached out and clutched Kerstin’s hand in her own. With tears of gratitude, she thanked Kerstin for saving her daughter’s life. “You’ve also saved my unborn babe. I feel better today than I have in months.
