by Smith, Skye
"Sire, you have no such claim," she interrupted, "King Edward withdrew that betrothal because you raided Lindisfarne. You have since married and have heirs."
"My poor wife died in childbirth this spring." He touched a carved figure hanging from his necklace. "May Freyja have welcomed her."
Margaret crossed herself at the mention of the false goddess.
"I apologize for plundering Lindisfarne," he continued, "but I did so only after King Edward reneged on our betrothal. You were still a child at the time, and would not have known the politics of it, but I was told that when your mother found out that I was not a Christian, she would have none of me."
Margaret looked at him with eyes wide. "You are not a Christian?"
"Of course I am, but not of the protesting sect from Rome. I am of the true Christianity. The Culdee is still as pure as when it was brought here from Constantinople by the Celtic monks.” He crossed himself and then made the sign of Woden. "Don't looks so upset, my dear. If you would instruct me, I may accept the Romanized ways."
* * * * *
When the carts finally arrived up from the bay, Malcolm released Margaret's arm and went to greet the Earls, and show them to their quarters. Canute and the others in the court followed the king, but Raynar stayed with Margaret, alone. He mentioned her bad mood, and she replied, "The King has wandering hands. I must warn Cristina never to be alone with him."
"He is treating you like his property, and yet you have just arrived. Oh Margaron, tell me the truth. What is going on?"
"The timing of our arrival is most unfortunate for me," Margaret replied. "Malcolm's wife has just died and his bed is cold. My fate has been entwined to his since I was a child, and now he feels he still has rights to me."
They walked to the doorway and watched the assembly of carts and men in the grounds. Malcolm was between Agatha and Cristina with the arm of each and leading them towards the manor Margaret had selected. Agatha was all smiles, while Cristina looked angry.
"That bitch. That bloody bitch. No, No, No, I cannot believe it," Margaret groaned, "but it must be true. Look at them." She turned to Raynar. "Don't you see? My mother is promising me to him to secure our position here."
Raynar looked deeply into her eyes. "Do you want me to kill him for you?"
Her mind raced ahead through the possibilities. "No. You cannot help me. You can only hurt me, or hurt yourself. If need be I will flee to a convent, if they have such houses here in Scotland. For now, you must seek other company than mine, but please, please not Cristina's." She made to kiss him but on a thought drew back.
"Kisses and touching are finished as of now. That could cost you your life. Go and keep the company of that Danish prince, or Edgar.” With that she strode away from him to catch up with Malcolm and Agatha. Raynar stood alone in the doorway and watched her disappear and suddenly he felt cold and empty inside.
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The Hoodsman - Saving Princesses by Skye Smith Copyright 2010-13
Chapter 13 - With Prince Canute in at Dunfermline, Scotland in April 1069
The palace, the grounds, the fortress, and the surrounding villages, were crawling with warriors and theigns, and exiled lords. More men were arriving every day. Edgar was astounded at how many English lords had chosen exile in Scotland. After the news had gone out that a Danish fleet was heading south to punish William of Normandy, the very next day men began to arrive to join in the venture.
Young Raynar was lost in a sea of lords and nobles, and had decided that his dilemma had solved itself. Margaret had pushed him away, and he had no desire to join an army. Instead he planned to make his way alone to the south of England and hunt a king.
Edgar and Cospatrick were thrilled with their timing of coming to Scotland, though Raynar suspected that they already had knowledge of King Sweyn's plans. Prince Canute was here to listen to the plans of the King and the Earls, and then take that news south to Jarl Osbard's fleet wherever it now was. Meanwhile, Malcolm and Cospatrick and Edgar became very friendly with Earl Waltheof, who was the son of Earl Siward who had placed Malcolm on his throne. They were planning to press down from the north by land towards York while Osbard was raiding the Normans in the south. This would split William's army between the south and the north.
If Sweyn’s goal was to ensure that the Danelaw would again be a part of Denmark, as it had been for centuries, then it was no surprise that after raiding in the south, Sweyn’s next plan for his fleet would be for it to make for the Humber and then use bases on the River Ouse to take control of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
Raynar was trying to decide when he should leave for England. He had listened closely to Edgar’s description of all the news and all of the plans that were being made in the palace. The latest news was that William was in Cambridge building a motte. Edgar warned him that he may not survive the journey so far south in England if he traveled alone.
"The axemen are rising across the north," Edgar pointed out. "They will not ask you who you are before they kill you. Even if you dressed as a farmer and rode your farm nag, they would rob you and leave your for dead.” Earlier in the week Edgar had offered Raynar passage on his big cog for its trip south to the Humber. That offer had died when Edgar told him that his ship was staying in Scotland for he did not trust the Danish fleet not to steal it. Edgar and his men would ride south with Cospatrick and Waltheof.
Now Edgar was making yet another complete about face. "You must go overland in advance of our army. I will send some of my bowmen with you to better your chance of reaching the south." He stopped the immediate interruption and continued, "You must take word of our march to Hereward and to that other Hereward on the Welsh border. "
"You mean Eadric"
"Yes, you must take word to Hereward and Eadric. If they can start rebellions at the same time that we approach York, then William will be in a hopeless position and may withdraw to Wessex."
"William will never withdraw to Wessex, but he may withdraw to protect London," replied Raynar.
Again Edgar waved away the interruption. The discussion was closed. He was feeling full of himself now that he was surrounded by theigns and lords and princes and kings, whereas Raynar was nothing more than a useful peasant.
That same day Raynar had been pushed out of Edgar's house to make room for exiled nobles. He did not complain, as he did not like the company. He had been exploring the hills behind the palace, and had noticed a simple watcher's hut with a fabulous view. It was not being used so he simply moved into it. From there he could tramp the high paths along the hilly ridges of Fife. The local folk kept telling him that there were high mountains to the north, but he had yet to see any.
* * * * *
It felt wonderful to hike along the scenic ridges in the fresh air away from the stench of men, and the lies and posturing of lords. Every few days he would return to the palace for a good meal and the chance of news. It was while he was eating with some Danish crewmen that Cristina spotted him and followed him from the palace and caught up to him at the pathway that led up, up, up to his hut.
"Margaret sent me. She sends word that she must marry Malcolm, for only if she does that will he help Edgar and the English. She wanted you to hear her decision first. She, we, would like you to stay close to Edgar to keep him safe."
"Tell her that if she marries Malcolm, then I have finished with Scotland and nobles. I will go south and hunt William the Bastard."
"Hunt William? But that will be certain death," She grasped at his hand. "At least go with the army".
He snickered, "The army is certain death. Any army is certain death to any peasant who gets in their way. I am finished with armies and lords. With my plan there will be only one or two deaths. Mine, or William's, or both of us."
"Please guard Edgar, please. And then come back to us." She kissed his lips, despite the lords walking by on their way to the palace. "Please."
"I leave soon so that I can stay ahead of the army.
Very soon. I will miss you both, especially since the woman I will travel with is quite plain."
"You travel with a woman?" Cristina's eyes grew wide with jealousy.
"Edgar's men led Abby here for me. We have been exploring the hills together. I will ride her south."
"Abby, oh Abby, your nag," and her laughter was like sweet music and caused even more lords to notice them. "Here, Margaret gave me this ring to give to you. Of course, she expected you to be traveling with Edgar. Well that shouldn't matter. It is her signet ring. Not just something to remember her by, but something to identify your letters to her in the future."
Raynar took the ring, and tried to put in on his little finger. It was too small for his clumsy workers hands. "Cristina, I cannot take this ring. It is gold. I am a peasant. If I am caught with something so valuable I will loose a hand."
Cristina looked down at the ring. "It doesn't fit anyway. Here give it to me.” She looked at it closely. "Malcolm has his own jeweler in the palace. Come, let's pay him a visit."
The jeweler was quite pleased to help the young couple. They explained the problem of the ring. That the signet part was needed but on an ordinary man's ring. He pulled out a small chest of his wares and showed them some silver rings that the signet could be attached to.
"Not silver either," Raynar told him, "for I would be robbed of silver. The signet is what is important, not the ring. The signet has no value to anyone but me."
"Of course, I understand. Wait here.” The jeweler left them sitting in his room, but was back very quickly. "Here," he said holding up a ring. "It is a seaman's wedding ring. And so cheap. It is made of bog iron. Does it fit."
"It is so plain," Cristina complained.
"It is perfect," Raynar interrupted her. "Can you attach the signet to it?"
"But of course. Come back in an hour. I must saw it off the one and solder it to the other."
The good new of this was that Raynar had Cristina's company to himself for an hour. She answered all of his questions, which were mostly about Margaret and Malcolm.
"Of course they are to be married," she told him. "What did you expect. What did she expect. Malcolm would have married her even if she was an ugly crone. She carries the blood line of the English Saxon kings. It gives him a claim on England's throne."
"But she doesn't want to marry him."
"So what. It doesn't matter what she wants. She will stop being so stubborn when she has a newborn in her arms. She moons over babies. Her breasts come into milk when she holds them."
"But"
"But she has no choice anyway. William has already sent messages to Malcolm that he wants Edgar turned over to him, and the rest of us with him. And Malcolm will do that if Margaret refuses him. Would you rather see her married to Malcolm, or to some Norman like Odo. Would you rather see me dragged to a Norman bed, and Edgar dragged to a Norman prison?"
"But"
"She loves you more than life itself, Raynar, which is why she refuses to see you. If Malcolm knew of her love for you, how long would you stay alive. A minute. If Malcolm suspected that she may not be a virgin, what then? Delay the wedding until everyone was sure that she was not already with child. He would rather send us to William."
"What will happen to you Cristina? Will Malcolm force you into a marriage too?"
"Why Ray, how nice of you to ask. Are you proposing something to me. Should we run away together, now that Margaret is out of the way?” It was only half a jest. She would love to run away with this man and forget all about court life.
Before he could think of a reply that would not stick his foot in his mouth, the jeweler found them. He gave the bog iron ring to him, and what was left of the gold ring to Cristina. "You need not pay me anything," he told them. "The waste gold from taking off the signet is more than enough."
Raynar pushed the ring on his finger, and felt like weeping. It was a wedding ring from his lover, and now he had no bride. He held it up so that Cristina could see it. She was not impressed.
"Do you realize that the original gold ring was given to her by our father when we were living at Goslar Palace in Germany. Edgar was too young at the time, but both Margaret and I were given signet rings. When Edgar got older, and my father died, I gave him mine as a keepsake of our father. He lost it you know. In Spalding. Now he uses the ring that my father wore. So now neither Margaret or I have a ring from our father."
"Well you still have the gold blank. Have another signet put on it."
The jeweler came closer at these words and gave Cristina his biggest smile.
"Maybe. Oh and Margaret gave me a message with the ring. She told me to tell you to make sure that Hereward knows that you have her ring. Do you understand what she meant by that?"
"Perhaps Hereward has promised to keep sending her news. What else could the signet be for, except so that she knows that a letter was actually sent by us. Tell her that I will make sure that Hereward knows."
"I must go soon." She waved the jeweler away. "Now close your eyes, and pretend I am your Margaron, and kiss me goodbye. And you had better make it good."
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The Hoodsman - Saving Princesses by Skye Smith Copyright 2010-13
Chapter 14 - A Royal Wedding at Westminster in November 1100
Edith's Royal wedding was held almost in secret in the Chapel at Westminster Abbey. There were but two dozen present and that included the Bishop who took their vows. Edith was a character from the odes, dressed in white silk and with a look of pure joy on her face. Her younger sister, Mary, was also in silk, but of a cream color. Other than Henry and Raynar, the rest were Henry's closest barons and their wives.
Edith and Mary so outshone the other women present, that it was as if they were angels. That Raynar gave the bride away surprised no one. All had been told that he had been the champion of Edith's mother, the old queen of Scotland, Margaret, and that he was standing in place of Edith's Uncle Edgar, who had once, for a very short time, been the King of the English.
After a simple ceremony and after much too long on the knees praying to the god of the desert peoples, the Bishop hosted a dinner for the wedding party. This was not so much from the generosity of the Bishop, as from the need of his kitchen. The palace's kitchen was having trouble keeping up to the needs of the guests who were arriving for the coronation.
A great advantage of but two dozen at the wedding was that everyone sat close at few tables and so there was a bonding of the witnesses to the oath. The tables formed a triangle with everyone sitting on the outside edges. Everyone was within banter range of everyone else. This was an achievement in itself as some of the barons had refused to sit with each other for years.
The seating plan was originally set as baron, wife, baron, wife, around to the bishop and then Henry, Edith, Mary, and Raynar. That official seating lasted but four courses and four toasts. After that the women began moving to Edith’s side of the tables, and the men were left to find other seats at Henry's side.
Fearing that his wit, and his hatred of some of the Norman barons would be his undoing, Raynar remained seated beside Mary. It suddenly came to him that the change of seating had not just split the table by male and female, it had split it by Norman and English. The women were almost all English. No wonder they wanted to be close to their new Queen, another English woman.
There were to be a dozen courses, but after only seven, Edith stood and asked the host, the Bishop, to excuse her. She then pulled Henry to his feet, and led him away. They did not return, and no one expected them to. There were many ribald jests from both ends of the table. Raynar waited patiently until Mary motioned to him that she wished to leave too, and then he escorted her back to the palace.
At the palace, they slept in the Queen's chambers. The next day, other than for sleeping, they tried to vacate it for long hours so that Edith could use it as a retreat if necessary. She never needed a retreat. When Henry's attention was required, Edith would accompany him.
When there were audiences in the King's chamber, Edith would sit quietly and listen. Henry and Edith were quickly becoming inseparable, and Edith was eager to share in his royal duties.
With Edith otherwise engaged, Mary's company was in great demand by the women of the court. Raynar would usually accompany her, but he knew he could not justify his presence by the need to protect her. He was in danger, not her. He was actually putting her in danger by his being close to her. Despite this, he could not deny himself. He was sharing in the delight of being in the wonderful company of one of Margaret's daughters, and she was a jewel to be enjoyed.
* * * * *
Coronation day came. The women took over the Queen's chamber for dressing, so Raynar paced the palace grounds. There was much open space stretching from the palace towards London. The numbers of the palace guard had swelled with other men-at-arms. He was pleased to see that this included patrols of English bowmen in their brand new tunics and boots.
He knew some of them. In truth he probably knew all of their fathers, but they did not recognize him, dressed as he was in his Treasury Officer robes. He had stayed in Gregos' clothes on purpose. So long as everyone thought of him as an officer of the treasury, his presence was not questioned, and neither were his orders. The costume made him immediately recognizable to everyone as a man with the ear of the King. Many had seen him visiting with the King and the Queen, so now even barons nodded a greeting to him when he approached.
The coronation crowds around the abbey were growing by the minute. On the tended grounds of Westminster were at least a thousand finely dressed men and their ladies. Beyond Westminster towards the city, there were many thousands more Londoners, commoners rich and poor. The Norman lords and ladies were moving slowly into the Abbey and finding their places.
Raynar noticed in the sea of lords and ladies the same thing he had noticed at the wedding dinner. Most of the women had an English look to them. But there was more. Though the older men were definitely Normans in stature, wardrobe, and face, many of the younger men looked more English.