Toki died from his wound and was given a hero’s funeral. My brother Steinar’s head was cut off and displayed on a stake next to those of the other two would-be assassins. Their bodies were thrown to the dogs.
PART SIX
VENGEANCE OF THE GODS
27.
A ship was launched to follow and capture the other hostagetakers. It took too long to get going and the men returned and confessed they had lost sight of the knorr. The King was in bad humour with the Jarl who kept to his belief that the assassins had acted without the knowledge of Olaf Biornson. The Jarl seemed not to care about anything else than the joy of having his wife safe with him again. He laid on a great feast to celebrate the victory over the attackers, the return of the hostages and the foiling of the conspiracy to kill the King. All I wanted was to be with my children, to grieve for my brother and try to come to terms with what had happened to him and the part I had played in that. But my mother and I were both required to attend the feast. With death in our hearts we dressed in our best clothes, coiled our hair and straightened our shoulders.
We greeted King Hakon and Jarl Sigurd where they sat at the head table on the dais. The Jarl’s wife sat by his side and next to her sat one of the Jarl’s younger brothers. Next to the King were two empty seats and when we rose from our curtseys he beckoned us forward and placed us there with me next to him in the place of honour. The hall was silent and I felt all eyes on me. My hands shook and my legs were so weak I had to be helped up on to the dais. Hakon spoke in a loud voice for all to hear.
‘Niece you have earned my trust and my gratitude these last few days. I shall have to think of a suitable reward for you.’
It felt like the chair and the dais disappeared from under me and I floated on thin air. Becklund and a pardon for Ragnar, they were there for the asking. But now the moment was here I couldn’t find the words. My lips wouldn’t move, my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth. I tried to swallow and find my voice. Hakon’s eyes were on me. I had to speak.
‘I… ahh, I…’ My mother tugged at my dress.
‘It’s honour enough to be here,’ she hissed.
I’m sure Hakon heard but he didn’t move a muscle in his handsome face. I saw the cold strength of the man and the ruthlessness of the King in those features.
‘Sire, it is honour enough to be here and to be allowed to serve you.’
He bowed his head in recognition.
‘We shall consider and return to the question later. Now tell me, niece,’ he sat back as a wench served me with meat and wine, ‘ about the battle of Brunnanburh.’
Back in my mother’s house we argued about what I should request from Hakon.
‘Ask for Becklund but no more,’ said my mother. ‘Don’t overreach yourself or you’ll end up with nothing. Don’t even think about a pardon for your father so soon after Steinar tried to avenge him. And as for the son of that Jarl Swein…’
‘I saved his life! He owes me more than a farm.’
‘Hakon is King and will decide for himself how to reward you. He may prefer to give you land here in Norway. It would keep the land in the family and still show him as generous and fair.’
‘Land, here in Norway! But I…’
‘There are worse places, Sigrid. You and the children will be very far away from me if you return to Cumbria. I may never see you again.’
‘But Becklund, Mother, Becklund! How can you bear to be away from there?’
‘You forget I grew up here. My last memory of Becklund still haunts me.’
‘But you’d come back there with me, wouldn’t you?’
‘My darling girl,’ she laughed and shook her head. ‘There’s only room for one mistress at Becklund. Here I have my own household and, if the Good Lord so wishes, I shall have a community of believers to look after too. And besides, it really wouldn’t suit me to live at Becklund with you in charge. Don’t look at me like that. I know you did very well here in my absence and you have run your own household too. I don’t doubt your ability but I am no Aisgerd, there’s no use pretending I would sit quietly while you ruled.’
What she said made sense but it meant I had found her only to be separated from her again. And yet I felt such a longing for Becklund. I spent my whole carefree, happy childhood there and I wanted that for my children. Norway was beautiful but it was not my home.
‘I shall ask for Becklund and a pardon for Ragnar.’
‘No, leave the pardon. When dealing with kings and chieftains it is better to ask for too little than too much. Make it easy for Hakon. Land is easy it doesn’t involve honour.’
When night fell and all went quiet I could no longer keep the thought of Steinar away. When I closed my eyes I saw his head on the stake, his eyes being pecked at by carrion birds and his mouth open in an agonised howl. Afraid of sleep I got up and wrapped a shawl around my shoulders. The fire had been banked up for the night but I stirred it to life and got some warmth. Resting my feet on the hearth I sat with my elbows on my knees and looked into the glowing embers searching for some answers to the senseless death of my brother. What could I have done differently?
A movement in the dark hall made me look up. My mother sat down beside me and put her arm round my shoulder. She knew my thoughts.
‘It was not you who killed him. They would have caught him sooner or later and they would have given him a slow, painful death. Remember, it was his choice. The Lord knows I tried to talk him out of it but in the end I couldn’t stop him and he did what he thought he had to do.’
‘He stayed true. He followed the path of honour.’
‘Oh, honour – where did it get him and your father for that matter? No, you did the right thing and your children will thank you.’
‘Down in the harbour, when there was fighting, I turned on Hakon. I was going to…’
My mother put her hand over my mouth.
‘Sigrid! Shhh, don’t say it. In the end you served your king. You saved his life. That’s all that matters.’
‘But I betrayed my father.’
‘No, you found a different way to serve his memory. Hakon will never pay weirgeld. A king does not admit to a wrong killing. He must always be seen to be right. But if he gives you Becklund it would be the same as both pardon and weirgeld without Hakon having to say it. That’s justice enough and you have to be content. People will understand. They will know you restored your father’s honour.’
‘And Steinar?’
‘There was nothing you could have done to change his fate.’ I nodded, thinking I had understood her.
‘No, we can’t change the destiny the Norns have woven for us.’
‘Oh Sigrid, that’s wrong. It’s not what I meant. The Bible teaches that the Good Lord gave us all a free will. We make our own decisions. Steinar chose his destiny. I grieve but I have to accept and so do you. I pray for his soul. I ask Christ, the merciful, to take pity on the poor, misguided man who was my son. I shall pay the priest to hold masses and say prayers to speed Steinar’s soul through purgatory. He had the mind of a child and Jesus said to let the children come unto him. Thanks to you he does not have blood on his hands and I’m sure the Lord will know that and take it into account.’
My mother’s belief didn’t help me. Steinar had remained true to the Old Religion and he fulfilled his duty. Later, I thought about him arriving in Odin’s great hall. Nobody had considered him a warrior before. My father would, at last, be proud of what his son had tried to achieve. That was some comfort to me but didn’t absolve me from my part in my brother’s death. I didn’t sleep that night. My mother said her prayers over and over. I envied her certainty and her belief in forgiveness. I was far from convinced that my gods would be so merciful and I knew I had a debt to pay.
The next day there was a steady stream of people entering the court. Farmers and local chieftains came to show their loyalty to Hakon, to account for loot and thralls they had taken and to listen to the stories of the battle, already exaggerated and glo
rified. I was surprised to hear that I had single-handedly fought off ten berserkers before they even had time to step off the ship. Would this have been when I stood with Ulf and Anlaf on the roof throwing axes and spears at them? Or was it when I followed in the wake of Hakon’s hird chasing the attackers towards the beach? I learned much about the forging of poems and songs that day and I never looked at a hero in quite the same way again.
Anlaf revelled in the attention he got as my karl. With Toki dead and not yet replaced Anlaf was accepted into my mother’s household. The women fussed and fawned over him and he made the most of his injured leg. Odin only knows what lies he told about his courage and mine. Olvir too had stories and information about the battle and he wasn’t even there when it happened.
An unwelcome effect of all this praise was the attention paid to me by some local chieftains. Did they see me as a warrior queen ready for bedding or a strong woman who could run their farms or simply as Hakon’s niece and a way into the royal household? I began to worry. A king’s memory can be as long or as short as it suits him. How long would Hakon’s gratitude last? How long before I was a part of his political games?
The talk was not all about victory and glory. Three ships had escaped, albeit one with its sail in flames. Fishermen reported seeing two war-ships on the open sea heading west. But the damaged dragon-ship had vanished with its crew. And then there was Olaf Biornson. Was he gathering a fresh crew, waiting to attack from a different direction? Was he heading north towards allies in the Upplands? Every day the Jarl’s and the King’s ships set off to guard the entrance to the fiord and at night warriors in full armour stood guard over the ships in the harbour and on the beaches all round the Lade peninsula.
Four days after the hostages’ return we were still celebrating and chieftains and jarls were still arriving to share in the feasting and pledge their loyalty. In the constant coming and going, I wondered how the housekarls were able to tell friend from foe but someone in the King’s household always knew who everyone was. I was tired of attention and took as many opportunities as I could to spend time with my children. We paddled in the Ladebeck and chased butterflies in the meadows. We borrowed a small rowing boat and went fishing in the fiord. I took care not to go close to, or even look towards, the small island where my brother’s head sat with those of the other traitors on a line of stakes, displayed for all approaching ships to see. It was hard enough to hear the shrieks of the gulls and know what they were fighting over. When gripped by dark moods I held on to the thought that my children were safe and that returning to Cumbria was no longer an impossible dream. Anything else I pushed aside like a difficult task to be dealt with later.
It was during one of our little fishing-expeditions that Kveldulf called out from his seat in the prow.
‘Who’s that? There! It looks like Father and Tofin. And more men.’ I followed the direction of his finger and then I saw as well; four men on foot followed by two on horseback. It looked like Ragnar and Thorfinn. It had to be them. Fear emptied my lungs of air. My heart leaped to my throat. They would be killed! I must get to the guards before they got to Ragnar. Anlaf and I took an oar each and brought us to the beach in a few strong strokes. I left the children with Anlaf and ran sobbing with fear. I saw the housekarls set out with bared swords. I tried to call out to them but I was too far away. As the housekarls closed in, Ragnar and Thorfinn dismounted, removed their helmets and sheathed their swords. The housekarls surrounded them, swords and axes glinted in the sun. I screamed but, like in a nightmare, no one heard. The housekarls kicked the four men on foot and they fell clumsily to their knees. I could no longer see Ragnar and Thorfinn.
People came running from all directions. King Hakon and Jarl Sigurd stood by the entrance to the hall. I arrived, stumbling and out of breath and was jostled by men and women eager to find out what was happening. I pushed my way forward until I could see. They were there, unharmed but closely guarded. But why were they giving themselves up?
Ragnar and Thorfinn removed two bundles from their horses. They were led between two columns of housekarls who had to beat their way through the excited crowd. They stopped at a respectful distance from the waiting King and Jarl. Still flanked by the housekarls, Ragnar and Thorfinn knelt and gave their names in confident, proud voices. Neither King nor Jarl showed any emotion or gave any response. Ragnar and Thorfinn put down their sacks and emptied the contents on the ground. Golden drinking horns, neck-rings and bejewelled belts mingled with coins in the dust. A murmur of excitement and appreciation spread through the assembled crowd. Then the captives were relieved of their bloodsoaked burdens. When these were untied, six heads, bloody, hideous and gaping, stared up at the King.
The crowd cheered. The King stayed silent. The noise died down and everybody looked at him. I couldn’t see how he had a choice. Even knowing who Ragnar and Thorfinn were, even knowing how they had mocked his housekarls by sneaking into my mother’s house to see the newborn Harald, he must accept their homage because in front of him, with his hands tied on his back, knelt Olaf Biornson and next to him rested the severed head of his brother Helgi. But still Hakon stayed silent. I held my breath. The yard was so still I heard the cooing from the dovecote behind the byre and the humming from the hives in the meadow. Jarl Sigurd whispered to Hakon. He gestured at the housekarls and Ragnar and Thorfinn got their swords back. Ragnar held up Bearkiller and Thorfinn Iceflame. With stony face and reluctant hand, Hakon touched the proffered swords, accepting their homage.
That evening I sat again with Hakon and Jarl Sigurd at their table on the dais. Ragnar and Thorfinn had places close to the top of one of the trestle tables running the length of the hall and I was able to look and smile at my love and our friend. I don’t imagine he’d been invited but Olvir sat between Ragnar and Thorfinn and the servants didn’t shoo him away. Jarl Sigurd asked to hear how just two of them had overpowered the whole of Olaf Biornson’s crew. Thorfinn gave his account with one of the appalling drapas he was wont to compose. There was no stopping him. He stood on the bench to declare. Ragnar looked at Olvir and they shook their heads and laughed. Drinking horn in hand, Thorfinn spoke:
Hiding from the hand of Hakon
Warriors willing to prove their worth
Waiting to win the favour
Of high-born Hakon the Good
Ship stranded with smoking sail
Looking for loot from Lade
Vile Vikings pouring their venom
On faithful followers of Finehair’s son
Ragnar pulled a face and tugged at Thorfinn’s breeches until he toppled backwards off the bench.
‘Friend,’ he said, ‘I think the Jarl just wants to know what happened.’
Everyone in the hall, King, Jarl, guests and household laughed. I suggested that maybe Thorfinn could take his time to compose his drapa while Ragnar told of their adventure.
‘We were hid…ah…hunting in a spot two day’s riding away to the west.’ Ragnar’s embarrassed grin gave him away but the King let it pass. ‘We spotted a fleet heading for the Trondheimsfiord so we set off to see what help we could render. Other dragons came from the harbour and we saw some fierce fighting. Two of the ships turned. They were under sail and heading west at speed. The others sailed on towards Nidaros. The next day we came across another ship. It was beached in a small inlet and the sail was spread out in the sand. The crew were trying to repair it where it was damaged by fire. We stayed hidden waiting for an opportunity to attack. Men went in small groups hunting for game and collecting fresh water. We sent those to Odin’s hall. The others grew suspicious when their comrades failed to return and stayed by the ship. They had look-outs during the night but one or two of them fell asleep and didn’t wake up again.’
Ragnar paused to drink from the horn he shared with Thorfinn and the hall filled with noisy approval. He wiped his unkempt whiskers and continued: ‘A couple of days passed then a small knorr joined them. At first they all seemed pleased to see each other but it soo
n went sour. We couldn’t hear what the disagreement was about but weapons were drawn. Then the sail from the knorr was hoisted on the dragon and the crew made ready to leave. None of the men from the knorr joined the dragon. When the ship was out of sight they dragged a large chest from the knorr, emptied the treasure it contained into sacks and began walking inland. We followed. At nightfall they set up camp. By morning there were only four left. You know better than I who they are and what they have done.’
It all sounded a bit too easy for me but the King, the Jarl and all others in the hall seemed happy. Ragnar smiled enjoying the praise heaped on him. I wondered what the King would do. There was a clear expectation for him to honour and reward Ragnar and Thorfinn.
‘You are an outlaw,’ he said and the hall fell into horrified silence. I half rose to get to Ragnar’s side. My mother pulled me back. Hakon waited a moment before he resumed: ‘You were made so by my father after a treacherous act committed by your father against him. Your actions here have been brave and have put me in your debt. You shall no longer live outside the law and under threat to your life but there is no place for you in my service. It would be better if you left Norway.’
Ragnar blanched when Hakon first spoke but as he grasped that he was pardoned he smiled and rose from his seat.
‘I am grateful to stand again a free man. I am sorry you have no use for my service but it is your land and I must do as you bid me.’ He drew a deep breath as if he was gathering pace for a run up before jumping a hurdle. ‘Lord, I have a request.’
I saw his knuckles white against the tanned skin on his fists. My mother sat next to me, tense and alert. The King radiated displeasure. He was on the spot. It would be difficult to refuse the new hero. The hall was silent as a grave and even the smoke from the hearth seemed to hang still in the air, waiting to hear the king’s reply before dispersing. I clasped my hands to stop them shaking. What would he ask? How dared he risk the displeasure of the king? I couldn’t look at Hakon but I heard him, gruff and curt.
Shieldmaiden Page 26