Havelok the Dane

by Charles W. Whistler

asked in full meeting what plansthe king had for his ward Goldberga, and her coming into her kingdom,saying that she, being eighteen years of age, was old enough to take herplace.

  Now Alsi had thought of this beforehand, and was ready at once.

  "It is a matter of concern to us always," he said, "and much have Ithought thereof. It is full time that she took her father's place withthe consent of the Witan, which is needed."

  He looked round us for reply to this, and at once the Norfolk thanessaid, "We will have Goldberga for our queen, as was the will of Ethelwald."

  "That," said Alsi, "is as I thought. I needed only to hear it saidopenly. Now, therefore, it remains but to speak of one other thing andthat is a weighty one. It was her father's will and I swore to carry itout, that she should be wedded to the most goodly and mightiest man inthe realm. It seems to me that on her marriage hangs all the wealth ofher kingdom; and ill it would be if, after she took the throne, she tookto herself one who made himself an evil adviser. I would say that itwere better to see her married first, for it does not follow that youwould choose to have the man whom I thought fitting to be over you, ashe certainly would be."

  Now all this was so straightforward in all seeming that none of thethanes could be aught but pleased. Moreover, it took away a fear thatthey had had lest Griffin was to be the man. None could say that hefulfilled the conditions of the will of Ethelwald. The spokesman said,therefore, that it was well set before them, and that it was best towait, saying at the end, "For, after all, we might have to change ourminds concerning the princess, if with her we must take a man who willprove a burden or tyrant to us all."

  Then they asked the king to find a good husband for the princess as soonas might be, so that he was not against her liking.

  "Well," said Alsi, "it is a hard task for a man who has no wife to helphim; but we will trust to the good sense of my niece. Now, I had thoughtof Ragnar of Norwich; but it is in my mind that the old laws of near kinare somewhat against this."

  I suppose that he had no intention of letting the earl marry theprincess; but this was policy, as it might please the thanes. However,the matter of kinship did not please some, and that was all that heneeded, for there was excuse then for him if he forbade that match,which was the last he wanted.

  Ragnar sat in his place and heard all this, and he wished himself backat Norwich.

  So there the matter ended, and that was the last sitting of the Witan.There was to be a great breaking-up feast that night before the thanesscattered to their homes.

  Now while this was going on I ended my spell of duty, and bethought meof Mord the chamberlain, and so went to Berthun and asked for him. Hesaid that if I had any special business with Mord I might see him; and Isaid, truly enough, that my errand was special, having to do withfriends of his; so it was not long before they took me to him. He was ina long room that was built on the side of the great hall, as it were,and I could hear the murmur of the voices of those who spoke at theWitan while I waited.

  Now Mord was not so much changed as I, and at first he did not know meat all.

  "Well, master housecarl, what may your message be, and from whom is it?"he said, without more than a glance at me.

  "Why, there are some old friends of yours who are anxious to know if youhave forgotten the feeling of a halter round your neck," I said in goodDanish.

  Then, after one look, he knew me at once, and ran to me, and took myhand, and almost kissed me in his pleasure, for since I could handle anoar he had known me, and had taught me how to do that, moreover.

  Then he called for wine and food; and we sat down together and had along talk of the old days, and of how we had fared after he left, and ofall else that came uppermost. And sorely he grieved at my father'sdeath, and at the trouble that was on us. The famine had not been sosore in the south, and pestilence had not been at all.

  As for himself, he had been courtman, as we call the housecarls, atfirst, and so had risen to be chamberlain to the king, and now to theprincess, and had been with her everywhere that Alsi had sent her sinceher father died.

  "It was a good day for me, and wise was Grim when he bade me go toEthelwald to seek service," he said; "yet I would that I had seen himonce more. I have never been to this place before, else I should havesought him."

  Now I was going to ask him about Havelok, but hardly knew how to begin.He saved me the trouble however, by speaking first.

  "Who were the lady and the boy we had on board when we came to England?"he said. "I never heard, and maybe it was as well that I did not."

  "My father never told me. But why do you think that it was well not toknow?"

  "Because I am sure that Grim had good reason for not telling. Before Ihad been a year at Norwich there came a ship from Denmark into theriver, and soon men told me that her master was asking for news of oneGrim, a merchant, who was lost. So I saw him, not saying who I was orthat I had anything to do with Grim; and then I found that it was not somuch of the master that he wanted news as of the boy we had with us. Hedid not ask of the lady at all, and I was sure that this was the man whocame and spoke to Grim just as we were sailing, if you remember. So thenit came to me that we knew nothing of the coming on board of these two,only learning of their presence when we were far at sea. And now, ifHodulf troubled himself so much about this boy, there must be somethingthat he was not meant to know about his flight, for he must be of somenote. Did I not know that the king's son was in his hands at that time,I should have thought that our passenger was he. However, I told him ofthe shipwreck as of a thing that I had seen, saying that Grim and hisfamily and a few men only had been saved; and I told him also that I hadheard that he had lost some folk in an attack by Vikings. With that heseemed well satisfied, and I heard no more of him. I have wondered eversince who the boy was, and if he was yet alive. I mind that he was liketo die when he came ashore."

  Then I laughed, and said that he would hear of him soon enough, for allthe town was talking of him; and he guessed whom I meant, for he hadheard of the cook's mighty man.

  Now I said no more but this:

  "My father kept this matter secret all these years, and with reason, aswe have seen; and so, while he is here, we call this foster-brother ofmine Curan, until the time comes when his name may he known. Maybe itwill be best for you not to say much of your knowledge of him. What doesEarl Ragnar know of our wreck? For he told me that you knew me."

  "I told him all about it at one time or another," Mord answered. "Healways wanted to hear of Denmark."

  So that was all that the chamberlain knew; but it was plain to me thatthe earl had put two and two together when he heard Havelok's name, andhad remembered that this was also the name of Gunnar's son. Afterwards Ifound that Mord had heard from Denmark that Hodulf was said to have madeaway with Havelok, but he never remembered that at this time. Ragnarknew this, and did remember it.

  Pleasant it was to talk of old days with an old friend thus, and thetime went quickly. Then Mord must go to his mistress and I to my place,and so we parted for the time. But my last doubt of who Havelok mybrother might be was gone. I was sure that he was the son of Gunnar theking.

  CHAPTER XIII. THE WITAN'S FEASTING.

  Now I have to tell of a strange thing that happened in the night thatwas just past, the first that the Lady Goldberga had spent here inLincoln for many a year, for on that happening hangs a great deal, andit will make clear what I myself saw presently at the breaking-up feastof the Witan. That puzzled me mightily at the time, as it did many atthe feast, but I see no reason why it should not be told at once.

  Now I have said that Goldberga left the hall early overnight, beingwearied with the journey, and having the remembrance of the attack onher party so near to Lincoln to trouble her also. Not much cause to loveher uncle Alsi had she; though perhaps, also, not much to make her hatehim, except that he had kept her so far away from her own people oflate, in a sort of honourable captivity. Now it was plain to her thathad it not been for the presence of Ragnar and his
men, her guard wouldnot have been able to drive off the attackers; and the strange way inwhich Griffin had held back had been too plain for her not to notice.Already she feared him, and it seemed that he might have plotted hercarrying off thus. That Alsi might have had a hand in the matter did notcome into her mind, as it did into the minds of others, for she knewlittle of him, thinking him honest if not very pleasant in his ways,else had not her father made him her guardian.

  I will say now that in the attack he did have a hand. Many a long yearafterward it all came out in some way. He dared not give his niece toGriffin openly, but he wished to do so, as then he would have anunder-king in East Anglia of his own choosing. Sorely against the grainwith him was it that he should have to give up those fair lands to thisgirl, who would hold the throne by her own right, and not at all underhim. So he and Griffin had plotted thus, and