TREASONS, STRATAGEMS AND SPOILS: Kings of Northumbria Book 6

by H A CULLEY

  Having more of a care for our horses than some, my brother and I were amongst the last to arrive at the gap in the thorn fence around the monastery that was designed to keep animals out. It wasn’t intended as a defensive perimeter but to delineate the monastery boundary. However, it would be difficult to get through.

  The entrance was a gap in the fence but this was blocked by the bishop and his monks who stood there impassively, the bishop holding his crook as if it was a weapon and the prior a crucifix on top of a pole like a banner.

  ‘Stand aside, Cynewulf, or surrender Otta to me,’ Eadbehrt demanded without preamble.

  ‘Good afternoon, Cyning. It’s been a long time since we’ve had the pleasure of a visit from you.’

  ‘Don’t fool with me; I haven’t the time nor the patience. Now, bring him here to me or I’ll come in and remove him by force.’

  ‘You wouldn’t dare! This is a sacred place, protected by Saint Aidan and Saint Cuthbert. If you commit sacrilege I’ll excommunicate you, king or not.’

  ‘Pah! What do I care for your threats, Cynewulf. Excommunicate me if you dare; you forget that one of my brothers is the Archbishop of Eoforwīc and your superior. He will lift it as soon as you impose it.’

  ‘He answers to God, not to you, Eadberht.’

  ‘You’ve been cloistered here, away from the real world, for too long, bishop. I appointed you and I hereby unappoint you. You are no longer the Bishop and Abbot of Lindisfarne. Oswulf and Oswin,’ he said, turning to his two sons, ‘arrest Cynewulf and take him to Bebbanburg with Seofon. He is to remain there in chains until I decide what to do with him.’

  I reacted with a start when I heard my name. I couldn’t believe what was happening. I watched as if in a daze as Eadbehrt’s two sons dismounted and went to lay hands on Cynewulf. Not since King Ecgfrith had arrested Bishop Wilfrid seventy years ago had a senior churchman been held captive, and he hadn’t been a bishop in Northumbria at the time.

  One of the monks stepped forward and stood in the way, his arms folded across his chest.

  ‘You can’t do this, Eadbehrt. I don’t care who your brother is; you know who I am and I forbid it.’

  The king stared at the elderly monk for a moment and then a grim smile played across his lips briefly.

  ‘Ceolwulf,’ he said as he recognised his predecessor. ‘You’re not king any longer, I am. You are a lowly monk and you are defying me. Step aside or accompany Cynewulf to the filthiest hovel I can find to imprison you in.’

  Oswin pushed Ceolwulf to one side and he and Oswulf grabbed the former bishop’s arms. The two æthelings pulled him to where their horses stood and Oswin mounted before Oswulf helped the bishop, none to gently, to mount in front of his brother. They set off back towards the route across the sands and, with a despairing look at my brother, Seward and I followed them.

  He told me later what had happened next. The king left most of his warband to keep a watch on the monks and the curious crowd of other inhabitants of Lindisfarne Island who had gathered whilst he rode through the monastery grounds to the little stone church where Saint Aidan and Saint Cuthbert were buried.

  He sent two of his warriors inside it and two minutes later they dragged the Ætheling Otta from the dark interior. He was filthy and looked half starved.

  ‘Kneel before me, wretch.’

  Otta gave Eadbehrt a look full of hate and spat at him. The two men holding him twisted his arms so that he was forced to his knees. The king dismounted and took a battle axe from one of his warriors. He nodded at the two men holding Otta and they twisted his arms more and lifted them so that his neck and head were exposed.

  ‘It was barbaric,’ Renweard told me in a whisper, ‘the man was the last surviving son of King Aldfrith for God’s sake. The last of the House of Æthelfrith.’

  I knew that many thought that Æthelwold Moll of Berwic was Otta’s nephew, born to a nun raped by Otta’s brother, Osred, when he was thirteen, but it was only a rumour.

  ‘He beheaded him?’ I asked quietly.

  Renweard nodded. ‘They threw his body and then the head into the sea.’

  After a while he gestured to a slave to refill his goblet with mead. He drank it in two swallows, then sat morosely looking at the floor. He was in no mood to talk further and so I left him and went to see how Cynewulf was. Eadberht’s sons had thrown him into a mean hovel which had been disused for a while. They forced the blacksmith to fit chains to his ankles and wrists and left instructions that he was to be fed only bread and water once a day.

  I ignored them and, as soon as they had left, I asked Cynewulf for his oath that he wouldn’t try and escape. He looked affronted then nodded, so I had the chains removed and took him from the hut with its leaking roof and rat infested floor to the guest chamber in my father’s hall.

  Two days later my father returned. At first he ignored me and asked Renweard to tell him what had happened on Lindisfarne, but my brother shook his head.

  ‘No, father. I should have left to re-join the king before this. I must make haste now that I have seen you safe and well. Seofon knows as much as I do; he can tell you.’

  My father glared at his younger son’s retreating back before transferring his cold eyes to me.

  ‘Well?’

  ‘Can’t we put this stupid animosity between us to one side, father? I, for one, regret that we fell out over something so trivial when either of us could have been killed these past few weeks.’

  His shoulders slumped and he paced up and down for a minute or two before looking at me again.

  ‘Very well. Apologise for not keeping me informed, as you should have done, not just because I’m your father, but also your ealdorman, and we’ll forget it.’

  ‘You are a stiff-backed idiot, father. You can ask Cynewulf to tell you about the atrocity that occurred on Lindisfarne. ‘

  ‘Cynewulf? Where are you going? I haven’t finished.’

  ‘Well I have. I’m going with Renweard; you’ll find Cynewulf in the guest chamber. By the way, he is meant to be kept a prisoner in chains until Eadbehrt decides what to do with him. I leave it to you to decide whether to do that or leave him where he is.’

  Half an hour later I rode out of Bebbanburg accompanied by my brother, his body servant and Seward. I didn’t look back but somehow I knew that my father was up in the lookout tower watching his two sons ride away.

  Chapter Three – Strathclyde

  750 to 756 AD

  We took the road to Alnwic because I needed to find out where I stood with Eochaid. As far as I was concerned I was still going to marry Hilda, but my falling-out with my father might have made him change his mind. I prayed fervently that was not the case, but that particular worry was driven from my mind when I reached there. The reeve, who came out to greet us, said that Eochaid was gravely ill and not likely to last more than a day or so.

  The servants had returned the hall to what it should be – more or less. The furs from the ealdorman’s bed had been looted and Eochaid lay on a linen sheet laid over straw, covered in a horse blanket and a cloak. He smiled when he saw me but it was a weak one. Hilda got up from his bedside and came and took my hand. She gave me a chaste kiss on the side of my bearded face. In return, I put my hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

  ‘How is he?’ I asked her.

  ‘Still able to hear and speak,’ Eochaid replied hoarsely.

  ‘Don’t tire yourself, father, you need to save your energy for getting better.’

  ‘We both know that’s not going to happen, daughter. I’m older now than anyone I know. I just want to last long enough to see you two man and wife.’

  He stopped and for a moment his eyes closed. I realised what an effort speaking must be but he insisted on finishing.

  ‘Fetch the priest; there’s no time like now. I’m only sorry...’ he paused for breath before continuing, ‘that your father isn’t here.’

  I sensed Renweard giving me a startled glance but I ignored it.
<
br />   ‘So am I, but it can’t be helped.’

  A few minutes later the priest bustled in and less than half an hour later we were man and wife. Eochaid sighed contentedly when the brief ceremony was over and went to sleep. He never woke up and died in the night with both of us keeping vigil beside him.

  I sent word to my father and he came down for the funeral three days later but the brief conversation we had was stilted and uncomfortable. At least he congratulated me on my marriage and he was warm towards Hilda. At one point I thought he was about to try and mend fences between us, but he bit his lip and remained silent.

  A week later we arrived at Eoforwīc only to find that the king was at Loidis. When we eventually caught up with him my brother re-joined his warband and I was left kicking my heels waiting for an audience. There was no room for a married couple in the king’s hall and so Hilda and I had to stay in a tavern whilst I waited to be summoned.

  I had expected to have to wait some time as there was much for the king to do after recent events but, to my surprise and delight, I was summoned to a private meeting the next day.

  ‘I was sorry to hear about Ealdorman Eochaid; he was a good man who has served Northumbria well. Now I need to decide what to do about Alnwic. There are two options which I have discussed with the archbishop. He suggested combining the shires of Alnwic and Bebbanburg into one to improve our ability to defend that stretch of the coast, particularly in view of the number of invading fleets which have landed there over the years. However, I’m not so sure. It would place a lot of power in the hands of one ealdorman. What do you think?’

  ‘It would be a large area, Cyning, covering much of the original kingdom of Bernicia. However, it is sparsely populated in comparison with the shires of what used to be Deira and Elmet. You would need a man who you could trust as its lord and my father is completely loyal.’

  ‘Perhaps, but his brother usurped the throne and we’ve only just put down an uprising by your cousin. Some regard Ulfric as an ætheling, though his descent from Ida, and yours, is via a woman which makes it invalid.’

  ‘I know that he has never thought of himself as a contender for the throne, Cyning; no more do I.’

  ‘Hmmm. Well, I’ve decided to take a risk. I’m making you ealdorman of Alnwic on one condition.’

  ‘Thank you, Cyning,’ I said, delighted that Hilda and I could return and make the place where she grew up our new home.

  ‘You haven’t asked what the condition is.’

  ‘No, but I’m sure it won’t be a problem.’

  ‘First you will go to Bebbanburg and make your peace with your father and get him to agree that you will co-operate closely to defend the coast. In due course you will no doubt succeed him and then I’ll combine the shires into one.’

  My father was quite a few years younger than Eadbehrt and I had serious doubts that this man would still be on the throne when that day came, but I wasn’t about to point that out. No-one likes to be reminded of their own mortality, least of all a king.

  ~~~

  I was full of apprehension as Hilda, Seward and I rode through the gates of Bebbanburg and up the murder trap to the open space where the Ealdorman’s hall stood. The entrance was so called because a second gate could be lowered if attackers breached the first one. The space between the two was enclosed between two palisades. Once trapped in this area the attackers could be subjected to attack by rocks, arrows and spears. The story went that in one such attack over sixty years ago hundreds had been killed.

  My father’s hall was the only stone building in the fortress. There had been plans to build the warriors’ hall in stone but it was prohibitively expensive compared to timber. The problem with the latter was that wood in contact with the ground eventually rotted. My father’s solution was to build stone foundations with a timber structure on top. So far only the warriors’ hall and the small church had been rebuilt in this manner.

  Two steps led up to the door into the hall and my father stood on the top step with his arms folded as we dismounted. Hilda went to him first and embraced him. The frown on his face softened and he held her at arm’s length looking into her eyes.

  ‘Welcome to Bebbanburg,’ he said with a smile.

  ‘Father,’ I said in the way of a greeting as my wife stepped aside and I stopped at the bottom of the steps, looking up at him. ‘You’ve no idea how much I regret falling-out with you. I have never ceased to love you and I wish to put the past behind us.’

  ‘Are you saying that just because Eadbehrt insists you make amends in order to become an ealdorman, or because you actually mean it?’

  ‘I admit that the king forced me into this, but I am glad of the opportunity to become reconciled. I never wanted to become estranged from you but, at the time, I was angry that you berated me for not keeping you informed when I’d expected you to congratulate me. I was disappointed and hurt.’

  I saw my father was bristling at what I’d said and Hilda was glaring at me so I hastily carried on.

  ‘However, I’m sorry for causing you to worry about me needlessly. It was thoughtless of me.’

  I watched with relief as the tense expression on my father’s face softened. He nodded at me and smiled.

  ‘I too was in the wrong. I should have praised you for how you handled the situation before telling you off. To be honest, it should never have come between us but you are so proud and obstinate that you won’t admit it when you’re wrong.’

  I stiffened and was about to issue a stinging retort when his next words robbed me of my anger.

  ‘The trouble is that we are too much alike. I can also be pig-headed.’

  He held out his arms and I walked up the steps into them. We pounded each other on the back, both much relieved that we were friends again. That evening he and I got uproariously drunk in celebration whilst Hilda went off to sleep alone in disgust at us. I woke up lying on the timber floor under the bench I’d been sitting on with my face resting in a pile of vomit.

  My head pounded as I lifted it up to look around. My father was still fast asleep in his chair with his head thrown back, snoring fit to wake the dead. I groaned as I got to my feet, with some difficulty, and made my unsteady way to the door. Once outside I felt a little better and I set out for the sea gate. At high tide the waves lapped at the base of the rock on which the citadel was built but the tide was now on its way out. I stripped off my stinking tunic and the rest of my clothes before walking into the sea.

  Unlike most of our contemporaries, who had a healthy fear of the sea, Renweard and I had learned to swim at an early age and I now enjoyed making my way through the waves until I was a quarter of a mile or so offshore. I floated on my back and gazed at Bebbanburg. I was delighted to be the new Ealdorman of Alnwic but the place couldn’t compare with my boyhood home.

  Then I noticed two figures standing watching me on the beach: my wife and Seward. I sighed and swam back into shore. Seward silently handed me a cloth with which to dry myself and clean clothes to put on before picking up my soiled garments and trudging back to the sea gate. Hilda just glared at me.

  ‘You left me to sleep alone last night,’ she accused me.

  ‘Believe me, wife, you wouldn’t have wanted me in bed with you the state I was in.’

  ‘Perhaps, but I felt neglected.’

  I loved Hilda and our lovemaking ever since we wed had been tremendous; however, I hoped she wouldn’t become clingy and demanding. I couldn’t put up with that. Her next words reassured me and delighted me.

  ‘I had something to tell you and I’ve been waiting to be alone with you ever since I found out. I think I might be pregnant.’

  The last time we’d slept together had been in Eoforwīc. Since then we’d been travelling and staying at monasteries or taverns where men and women shared different rooms.

  ‘That’s tremendous news. When did you find out?’

  ‘You wouldn’t understand these things but my monthly cycle was late before we left Eoforwīc so I
thought I might be, but I’m now really late and this morning I was sick – and not because I was drunk.’

  This was said with a twinkle in her eye and I picked her up, gave her a hearty squeeze and kissed her – then put her down in horror.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ I stuttered. ‘I didn’t think.’

  She laughed. ‘It’s alright. I won’t break, and the baby is too tiny to be hurt at this stage, or so I’ve been told.’

  If anything, I think my father was even more pleased than I was. I was going to get a wagon converted into a carriage for Hilda to travel in to Alnwic, but she told me it wasn’t necessary. She was perfectly capable of riding, and would be for some months yet. I was beginning to learn that my wife was a strong character and had an independent mind.

  She demonstrated just how resilient she was seven months later when our baby daughter was stillborn. I think I was more upset than she was. She shrugged it off, saying it was one of those things, but I knew that she was grieving inside. Her way of dealing with it was to insist that I got her pregnant again as soon as possible. Much to my surprise I succeeded and in December 762 my first son was born. As I had been named Seofon it seemed logical to call him Octa.

  I hadn’t been idle in the time we’d been back at Alnwic. I had built a new hall for my family and turned the old hall into one for my warriors. Eadbehrt had allowed me to recruit fifty men so that we could patrol the coast properly and so I needed more accommodation for them. I had replaced the old palisade with a new one around both halls which was eighteen feet tall. It wasn’t a stronghold like Bebbanburg but it now had a much better chance of resisting attack, and it had room for the local population in time of need.

  I’d also paid for two new knarrs to be built to increase my profits from trade. After all, I had to pay for the extra warriors and the building work somehow. Two years later my second son, Uuffa, was born. I felt that life was good and all I wished for was to be left in peace to enjoy my family and life as an ealdorman.