No matter what she said, Erik still had no intention of drinking on anyone's charity. It was one thing to be invited into another's hall, but this strange place didn't belong to the woman beside him, so he would not be beholden to her, even if all he could manage was a barter.

Her question, though, had him picking his words carefully. "A little of this, a little of that. Just recently I've been working around Ireland and the Islands west of Scotland, gallowglass mercenary."