Viking Love Beyond Time (Time Travel Romance) (31 page)

             
Alodie got to her feet and curtsied, first to Alfred then to Aehlswith and turning on her heel she left the room.

             
Luke was sitting with his chair tilted back and his feet up on the table; on seeing Alodie he grinned “Well, Captain and what did our illustrious leader have to say?”

             
Alodie looked at him, fighting down the urge to punch him - she had no doubt whatsoever that he was behind the ‘royal decree’.  He looked cocky and arrogant and Alodie felt a wave of dislike beginning to flow over her - they were not compatible, never could be and never would be - there was more chance of her falling in love with...............Wat the cooper, bad teeth and all.  She took a deep calming breath “It seems, Lieutenant Commander, your psi gunning of King Herger  has had the desired effect.  We are to be married by the bishop of
Winchester
the day after tomorrow, I have no appeal against this sentence, you will have to tell Gwen to find another bed partner”

             
“Talk good Saxon you two!” interrupted Godgyth “a body can’t tell a word of this jibber jabbering you do between you!”

             
Luke grinned and, turning to Oswy and Godgyth, enlightened them.  Yelping with glee Oswy clapped him on the back and Godgyth began to do a little jig with Aelfric of Lamporth.  As for Luke, he put his goblet down, wiped his sleeve across his mouth, and climbing over the table to where Alodie was standing he took her, limp and unprotesting, in his arms and kissed her deeply, to the accompaniment of cheers and whistles from the assembled court.

**************************

 
             
Alodie slept very badly that night.  It was nothing to do with the wedding, she had resigned herself to that, but she could not get comfortable in bed.  She spent the night tossing and turning and had to get up three times to take a drink of water in an attempt to rid herself of the terrible bile which kept rushing into her mouth.  Eventually, after she had got out of bed yet again and this time vomited the remains of her supper, she fell into a troubled sleep.

             
As she dropped off she decided that she must be suffering from PMT (although autodoc should have taken care of that), she would feel better when she started her period, which was now almost ten days late.  In fact she was so used to the idea of babies only coming along when planned that what was really wrong with her never entered her head at all

**********************

             
Alodie Austen and Luke Owen were married, according to the rites of the Holy Roman Catholic Church, by the bishop in
Winchester
church only two days later than originally planned.  The king, queen and most of the court were present, the only absentee being Edric of Lamporth who had left suddenly on important business.

             
Thanks to her Latin lessons Alodie could follow most of the service and before she knew it Luke had slipped the ring onto her finger by the light of the smoky candles and she was his wife in the eyes of God and man.

             
After the service they walked back to Winchester Great Hall, narrowly missing a sudden heavy shower which sent the open mouthed peasantry scurrying for the shelter of their huts.

             
As they reached the door Alodie noticed young Margaret and her brothers standing among the onlookers looking a great deal happier than they had last time she had seen them, even a few days good food had begun to fill out the children’s cheeks and improve their colour. 

             
Alodie smiled and beckoned to her.  “How are you Margaret?” she asked, taking the child by both hands “you look better already, are you looking after your father and the boys?”

             
The child grinned “Da an me’ll never be able to thank you enough for what you did” she lisped “Da’s already got almost more work than ‘ee can rightly  ‘andle, ‘ees taking on a lad to ‘elp ‘im until the boys are old enough” she gingerly reached out a not too clean hand and shyly stroked the silk material of Alodie’s wedding gown.  As a wedding present Aehlswith had given her a white kirtle and a beautiful sky blue gunna sprinkled with pearls, her hair had been left loose, as befitted a maiden, and entwined with late summer flowers.  “You look like a fairy angel mileddy” she whispered, “is yon blond man your ‘usband?”  Alodie turned, Luke was in conversation with Aelfric.

             
“Yes” whispered Alodie “why, what do you think of him?”

             
Margaret shrugged “‘ees ‘andsome enough milady but you’re too good for ‘im.  You should have married yon other warrior, the one that was with you when I first saw you - I don’t think this one will be  kind to you, he won’t want  you to be my friend.” bending over, Alodie kissed Margaret on the top of her head and taking one of the flowers from her hair pressed it into the girl’s hand.  
My dear child, you are just about the most astute person I have ever met
she thought.

             
“Alodie!” called out Luke peremptorily “are you going to be all day chatting to the peasantry?  It’s beginning to rain or hadn’t you noticed?”

             
“I’ll go mileddy” said Margaret, blushing furiously “your lord is calling you” with that the child disappeared into the crowd.  Alodie sighed and followed her husband into the hall.

             
The banquet which had been prepared was, even by royal Saxon standards, absolutely colossal; roast boar, beef, chickens, geese, ducks, all garnished with mushrooms, tiny green peas, turnips, leeks and parsnips.  To follow there were egg custards and creamy syllabubs, fruit flans and as much wine, beer and mead as it was possible to drink.

             
Alodie, however, was still feeling sick and did not do justice to the sumptuous banquet.  After picking at her roast goose in almond sauce she got to her feet and was about to make for the door to get a breath of fresh air when a maid came up to her and curtseying pushed a package into her hand saying “If ee plaise ma’am the goldsmith sent this over for you”.  Alodie thanked the girl and pushed it into her pocket unopened as Luke staggered over to her and took her hand.

             
“Well, Captain my love” he slurred “you look almost happy.  I’ll wager you’ll be even happier tomorrow morning” with that he kissed her full on the lips.  He had been drinking heavily all day and stank of mead.  Alodie felt her stomach, not at its best at this moment anyway, begin to heave.  Pushing him out of the way she ran outside, losing what little dinner she had managed to eat into a pile of straw by the pig sty wall. 

             
She felt slightly better for it and walking round the side of the hall she leaned against the door and took a few deep breaths.  Luke found her five minutes later.  “Where did you rush off to?” he snapped.

             
“That’s my business, and watch your tone” she snapped back, infuriated by the insufferable airs he was beginning to adopt.

             
Luke gripped her wrist and squeezed it.  “I said wife, where did you rush off to?  Answer me”

             
Alodie bit her lip.  “If you must know my lord and husband I went to throw up over the pig sty wall, I’m only sorry now that I didn’t stay in the hall and throw up over you”

             
Luke laughed.  “It’s been a busy day for you, hasn’t it baby?  Well, it’s going to be an even busier night, so any throwing up you have to do, do it now before the fun starts!”

             
Alodie lifted up her head and looked at him.  Her husband, three parts drunk again, eyes glazed, jerkin laced up wrongly - no finesse, no finesse at all.  Oh God, what had she done?  “Fun?  fun!” she snapped “look Lieutenant Commander, you may think you have the upper hand at the moment...........”

             
“Think baby?  I know I have, and let me tell you wifey dear, you’ve given your last order.  From now on, you do as you’re told, when you’re told to do it!”

             
Alodie dabbed at her mouth with her kerchief and turning, opened the door.  “I’ll see you in hell first, you moron!” she snapped and walked into the hall.

             
Luke leaned up against the wall and smiled to himself.  He could hardly believe it.  The hours he had dreamed of holding that woman in his arms and now she was all his, to do with as he pleased.  The first thing would be to get her pregnant, with a baby running around she would be less likely to be rebellious - in fact he would be seeing to that within a very short period of time.  Grinning again, he followed her into the hall.

***********************

             
The ceremony of putting the bride and groom to bed was, luckily for Alodie, not carried out with the amount of vigour that it would be in later centuries, when in some cases the guests watched whilst the marriage was consummated, but it was embarrassing enough.

             
Alodie was undressed by the women and placed, clad only in a thin, almost transparent shift, in the bed, whilst Luke was stripped naked downstairs by the men and carried upstairs by them, amid ribald jests.

             
The bed had been filled with a multitude of herbs, amongst which were mint, dog’s mercury, tarragon and mustard to provoke lust then motherwort and stinking arrach to ensure instant conception, lastly lavender to sweeten the scent of the room.

             
Luke was thrown unceremoniously onto the bed, naked and drunk, he then scuttled between the sheets whilst the company filed past wishing them good fortune.  Godgyth kissed Alodie on the head and thrust into her hand a pot of what was probably the same ointment Hyld had given her, Oswy whacked Luke on the shoulder and told him not to make too much of a beast of himself on the first night, whilst Cerdic of Saltop, a fat, wheezing, smelly bear of a man, who had arrived, much to Gwen’s chagrin, the day before, offered to take his place in the bed - an announcement which caused complete hilarity amongst most of the guests, much to Luke and Gwen’s embarrassment and Cerdic’s bemusement.

             
At last the final reveller left the room and they were alone.  Luke turned to Alodie and hiccuped.  “So Captain, at last, I’m about to have my heart’s desire”

             
Alodie noticed, almost vacantly, that when he was drunk his accent was more pronounced.  Climbing unsteadily off the bed he pulled the bedclothes from her.  She made a feeble attempt to snatch them back but he slapped her hands away.  “I just want to look at you” he murmured.  She yawned and stretched her arms above her head - what the hell, after Rorik what was there to be scared of?  “Jeez” he murmured as he unlaced her shift and feasted his eyes on her naked loveliness.

             
Alodie looked up at him. “Well, Lieutenant Commander, was it worth committing murder for?” she asked sweetly “was it worth breaking the First Rule for and risking the death sentence if we’re ever rescued?”

             
Luke glanced up and sighed.  “I can’t change history Alodie, Herger was obviously meant to die, he’s dead anyway and you’re not going to change the subject”

             
He climbed on top of her and began to suck on her breasts like some huge, hairy baby then, without any further ado or foreplay, he pushed himself into her, roughly.

             
Closing her eyes and biting her lower lip Alodie sent up a silent prayer of thanks that her virginity had been taken gently, even if not with love, by Rorik.

******************

             
Dawn was breaking and Alodie still had not slept, Luke was snoring like a pig beside her which did not help.  Even after sweeping most of the prickly herbs out of the bed onto the floor she still could not get comfortable.  What else could be wrong?

             
Suddenly she remembered the package she had been given.  Climbing out of bed she walked over to where her clothes were folded and felt in the pocket of her gown, drawing out the small parcel.  Lighting a candle, she unfastened the wrapping then gasped as the most beautiful bracelet she had ever seen fell glittering on to her knee.  It was gold filigree work interlaced with precious and semi precious stones - diamonds, rubies, opals, garnets and sapphires - where the local goldsmith had obtained such gems Alodie could not begin to imagine.  There was a note.  With trembling fingers she unfolded the crackling parchment.  It was in Saxon, in a beautiful flowing hand.

             
‘To the most beautiful lady in the world’
it read

‘If Ragnorok came tomorrow, I would not care because I have known paradise.  Keep yourself safe for me, I will return for you Alodie in Blot Monath.

Be strong, be steadfast.

You have my heart, my soul, my adoration

Rorik’

             
Alodie’s head fell to her chest and tears, more than any before or since, fell unchecked down her cheeks, splashing onto the material of her shift, soaking it, making it stick to her skin.

             
“Be strong, be steadfast”. 
Strong?
 
Steadfast?
She had lasted two whole days - waited for him for forty eight hours, allowed them to marry her to this clown, this permanently drunk excuse for a man.