Viking Love Beyond Time (Time Travel Romance) (43 page)

             
Bjarnie’s brow crinkled in puzzlement.  “Babes, Herger?  Since when have you concerned yourself with babes?”

             
“Since I looked at those two - they are Alodie’s children, born last May, I leave it to you to name their father but suffice it to say that the girl has dark curly hair and the boy green eyes - guard them!”  Bjarnie guffawed.  “Oh, and the old dame thinks they’re her husband’s blood” continued Herger.  “Do not allow her to think any different, she dotes on them and I want her to continue to do so, for the time being at least”

             
Bjarnie nodded, grinning hugely.  “Rest assured the children will be safe with me my lord” he said delightedly.  “By the by, where are you going and where is Alodie?”

             
“Chippenham is the answer to both your questions Bjarnie.  She believes she is to be wed tonight to a housecarle of Alfred’s.  I am going to disabuse her of  that fact.”

             
Bjarnie laughed again “good luck lord” he called out.
             

             
“Do you think we need it against these men of straw?” asked Herger, snapping his fingers, gesturing to his men and walking swiftly out of the door.

             
The young maidservant entwined the last of the ribbons in Alodie’s hair and teased a couple of curls down in front of her ears “There, milady” she said “all done”

             
Alodie glanced at herself in the mirror, then stood up and took a step backward to gauge the full effect.  She had to admit it to herself that she was pleased with the reflection which looked back at her from the gilt edged mirror.  Her hair had been swept up and brushed until it shone then left loose over her shoulder and entwined with blue and gold ribbons.  The blue and gold effect had been carried through to the dress which was a dark blue fitted kirtle shot through with gold and instead of a gunna a sleeveless surcoat of gold shot with blue.

             
Reaching for her net purse she took out five silver pennies and turned to the maid.  “Here, Edith, get yourself something nice” she said, smiling.

             
The girl’s jaw dropped as Alodie placed the money into her hand.  “Ma’am, oh ma’am thank ‘ee!” she stammered, “may the Holy Lady and all the angels smile upon you and your lord and may..............” the girl’s babbling was cut short by a rap at the door which immediately opened to reveal Aehlswith.  The maid turned and bobbed a curtsey to the queen then to Alodie and almost ran from the room.

             
Aehlswith turned and watched the girl, a smile on her face, then kissing Alodie on the cheek she sat on the bed.  “How much did you give that girl Alodie?” she asked, pulling a thread from the embroidered coverlet.

             
“Honestly Aehlswith, hardly anything, she did seem to overreact”

             
“How much?”

             
“Only five silver pennies”

             
“Five!  Oh Alodie, that’s more than she earns in a month!”

             
“Well she’s grossly underpaid then, I’ve more money than I’ll ever need - anyway - how does the bride look?”

             
Aehlswith’s eyes swept Alodie from top to toe and leaning forward flicked a speck from the sleeve of her gown “the bride looks unbelievably beautiful as well she knows and also unbelievably happy compared to the last time she was getting ready for her wedding”

             
Alodie shuddered and turning to the mirror licked her index finger and ran it along her eyebrows.  “Please Aehlswith, don’t remind me - that episode was a nightmare from start to finish, in fact, if I began to think about it seriously I should be tempted to call the whole thing off, I don’t really want to be married to anyone”

             
“Rubbish!” snorted the queen getting to her feet and pouring herself a goblet of wine from the flagon on the table.  “Edric’s no Luke, he’s kind, brave, handsome and absolutely devoted to you - a woman
must
be married Alodie, especially a woman in your position”

             
“I love him too, I think” replied Alodie, a slight frown wrinkling her brow.

             
Aehlswith turned and looked at her shrewdly.  “I hope so, Alodie, Edric’s too good a man to hurt, he will be a kind husband to you and a wonderful father to Tom and Nerissa, why, he even talks about them as though they were his own”

             
Alodie smiled at her friend’s reflection in the mirror then picking up a thin blue gauzy veil placed it on her head and turned.  “I would never consciously hurt Edric Aehlswith, I know a good man when I see one”

             
“Not even if Rorik the Dane returned?  I have never seen such magic pass  in a glance as I saw between you two, I thought the air was going to catch fire at one point”

             
Alodie laughed, it was to high pitched and brittle.  “Aehlswith, if Rorik ever re-appears I will stab him with my own knife”

             
“Really?” replied the queen “well madam, that has just answered a question which has been plaguing me for almost two years”

             
“Aehlswith, is this veil straight? What has been plaguing you?”

             
“Yes the veil is on straight and the question that has been plaguing me is whether or not you gave yourself to Rorik the Viking”

             
Alodie’s head shot up as she looked into the hazel/green eyes of her friend.  “And the answer Aehlswith.  What did you decide was the answer?”

             
Aehlswith walked over to the door and opened it.  “Everything is in readiness Alodie, the bishop awaits, your bridegroom awaits and your friends await - the answer to the question is the answer I have known all along - yes”

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

             
Alodie and Edric’s wedding was set for
eight o’clock
in the evening, to be followed by drinking and feasting, probably until the early hours.

             
As Alodie walked out onto the landing she looked down at the assembled throng of humanity in the hall. She could see Aelfric with his arm round Gwen of Lamporth, drinking from a horn of mead; there was the king, Alfred, deep in conversation with the bishop, and there, walking nervously to and fro, looking very handsome  in a light blue embroidered tunic and white braeis, dark hair neatly cut and combed, was Edric.

             
She gripped the wooden rail of the landing so tightly that her knuckles showed white, Edric loved her so much, was she being fair to him, going into a marriage with only half a heart?  For she realised now that, as much as she had tried to fool herself, she did not love him.  Liked him, respected him, certainly, but loved him - no.  There was no spark, no stomach dip every time he came into the room like there had been with Rorik.  She felt her eyes fill with tears and wished that she was anywhere but here, waiting to be married to Edric, dear, sweet, trusting Edric. 

             
“Are you ready Alodie?” said a quiet voice behind her.

             
She sighed and shook herself.  “Y - yes Aehlswith - ready”

             
“Well shall we go down then, or would you prefer my lord bishop to marry the pair of you up here so you can dash straight into the bedroom?”

             
Alodie turned to her friend and smiled, then leaned over and pecked her on the cheek.  “You’re a good friend Aehlswith, do you know that?”

             
Aehlswith returned the kiss “And you’re the only friend I’ve ever had who talks to me like a human being instead of a - religious statue!  Ah, I see Edric has spotted you Alodie, we’d best go down or upon my soul I do believe he’ll be up the steps to fetch you!”

             
Alodie glanced down and sure enough Edric was looking up at her, his dark brown eyes filled with so much love and longing that Alodie again felt tears of guilt rush into her own.

             
Down in the body of the hall Edric too felt the prick of tears as Alodie descended, her hair a nimbus of shimmering gold entwined with ribbon under the gauzy blue veil.  As she approached him it seemed to Edric that the hall fell quiet in silent tribute to her beauty.

             
He fought for control of his body as he felt his manhood stiffen at the sight of her.  Blushing, he glanced down - why had he not worn a longer tunic?  Jesu he had a bulge at the front of his braeis that a blind man could spot.  He glanced away and straight into the eyes of Gwen of Saltop who was staring pointedly at the cause of his embarrassment.  She sniggered behind her hand and Edric wondered, not for the first time, what madness had possessed him to tumble her.

             
Alodie reached him and smiled that devastating smile and he felt himself fill with such a rush of love that he almost glowed.  “My love” he whispered “you came, I was worried that you would change your mind” and drawing her hand to his lips he kissed it.

             
“I will be a good wife to you Edric, I swear” she murmured then glanced round looking for Swein, who had taken to his room earlier on the pretext of having a headache.  She had not really expected him to be there, he was still adamant that she was meant for Herger and wanted no part of her marriage to Edric.

             
The bishop ostentatiously cleared his throat and, glaring from under his thick black brows at the restless throng, began to intone the words of the marriage service.  Alodie felt Edric take her hand, they approached the bishop then, as one, knelt before him.

             
One of Alodie’s main regrets was that Godgyth and the children were not here but she had not wanted Tom and Nerissa exposed to the various germs and viruses which would be rampant at Chippenham at the moment and Godgyth had decided at the last minute that she could not face the court at Christmas without Oswy.

             
As the bishop began to speak the Paternoster the whole room fell silent, so silent that Alodie could hear the fat crackling on the fire and the crunch as the dogs worried this lunchtime’s bones under the table.

             
She glanced up at her husband to be as he knelt beside her, eyes closed,  silently mouthing the words of the prayer and felt a sudden rush of affection for him, this simple man from fifteen hundred years before she was born, who adored her and wanted to take care of her.  He was not the love of her life, the love of her life was somewhere deep in Viking
Denmark
probably making more Viking babies with that Viking wench he had married, the love of
his
life.  No, she would not allow herself to think of him, not when she was about to embark on matrimony with a kind, honest soul like Edric.  She would be good to him, she would make sure his home was clean and his food well cooked and she would make sure that he always had a willing partner in his bed and, in a few years, she would give him children.

             
She had to smile when she thought of that.  The day after she had given herself to Edric in the dunes she had, to her relief, started her period and since then she had not allowed him to make love to her.  He had begged, pleaded, sulked and cajoled but eventually agreed that they should wait, and by the state he seemed to have been in this evening he had waited long enough.

             
After swearing her to secrecy Alodie had obtained a supply of golden thread plant from Hyld the bawd which, when steeped in water, had, Hyld promised, very strong contraceptive properties, Alodie drank a brew of it every morning.

             
Edric took her hand in his and held it up to the bishop.  Smiling, the old man kissed the stole and reached out to bind their two hands, thus joining them in the eyes of God and man when, with a rush of icy winter air, the door burst open and a blood spattered soldier burst in.  The bishop stopped in mid sentence, the stole fluttering forgotten to the floor.

             
Alfred shot to his feet and approached the man who went down on one knee before him.  “For the love of Jesu man, what has happened?” he demanded.

             
The man panted like a dog, trying to draw air into his tortured lungs.  “M-my lord, t’is the Norsemen, they are advancing on Chippenham from the north and east and are but a mile from the hall” he finally gasped.

             
There was silence for a couple of seconds, a silence so profound that it felt  almost tangible, then Alfred’s voice, calm, quiet, asked “In what numbers?”

             
The soldier hung his head “innumerable sire”

             
“But they are wintering in
Mercia
” interjected Aelfric “our spies told us so”

             
Alfred looked up “then our spies were either wrong or treacherous” he replied, evenly.

             
“Jesu, and the fyrd away” whispered Edric.  Suddenly he turned to the king “my liege, you must flee with the queen and the athelings”

             
Alfred’s head snapped up, a look of annoyance on his face “I - I cannot flee man, I am the king, I must stand and defend myself, my hall and my kingdom”

             
Suddenly a flash of memory came to Alodie.  They had not learned much at school about ancient history but she did remember something about Alfred being in the marshes and burning some cakes, she could not remember whether he had won his war - but the marshes stuck in her mind as at the time she had no idea what they were - nor could she visualise what they could be.  “Edric” she whispered “tell the king to flee to the marshes, he can hole up there and collect his army together, now is not the time to fight, the Vikings won’t be able to follow him into the marshes!”

             
Edric shot her a look of surprise then, nodding, turned to the king.  “My lord, if you die now there will be no kingdom, and we do not have the men to fight the Danes here.  We must go to Somerset to the great marshes where we will all be safe.  If we lose you we lose our hope, there we can gather our strength, send out for the musters, get the fyrd together and fight”