‘If you promise to take great care, my love; Juno is a well-trained goshawk but I do not want you galloping after her when she brings down her prey. Those marshes can be deadly. A horse can stumble off the path.’
‘I won’t gallop, I promise. I shall wait patiently. I shall not race after her. And Gudrun, she is not with child, may she come too? If she and Katya promise to take care of the children, why not let them both join us, and the maids and children? It is St John’s Day, after all. It would be a treat for our household and especially for Edmund who has been sad about our brothers.’
‘Well, yes, put so prettily, if you insist. Katya too, huh.’ There was a twinkle in his eye. Katya was twenty-five summers old and although she was no longer young it was obvious that Edmund had taken a liking to her.
‘Harold is three years old and well able to sit on his pony as long as he does as he is told. It is time he saw the hawking.’ Vladimir glanced up at the cloudless sky. ‘And a great day for it too. Get the servants to make us up a picnic. The other children can follow in a wagon.’
After Prime, Vladimir went off to the barns muttering. Thea watched him disappear through the door.
She smiled as she climbed up the ladder to her solar, named so after the new continental fashion. A heavy curtain separated the solar from a bedchamber which she shared with Vladimir. Since life on the estate was more carefree and informal than life in the family’s city palaces, she hoped that they would stay here for a very, very long time.
In the solar, she found Katya and Gudrun giggling like young girls over a posy of summer flowers that they were arranging in a jar. Gudrun had lifted up a stem, inhaling its scent. Peeping over the bouquet she teased. ‘Katya, he loves you.’ She gave it to Katya to arrange. There was a pretty wild rose amongst a collection of maidenhair and daisies. ‘Well, why else would he send you these flowers on St John’s feast day, especially this rose?’
Katya daintily touched a roseleaf. ‘Shall I send this leaf back to him?’
‘Who is he?’ Thea asked as she approached the chest.
Both women looked up, their hands fumbling with delicate daisy stems, the maidenhair scattering all over the coffer. Katya held the rose so tightly it looked as if the thorns might cause her pain.
‘My brother?’ Thea queried when there was no immediate reply. ‘Is Edmund responsible for your midsummer posy?’ They nodded together. She began to laugh. So, Edmund was wooing Katya.
‘He sent his page with them and gave them to Gudrun for me after Prime. Should I send them back, my lady?’
‘No, you may keep the gift. It is St John’s feast day, a day for flowers, but you need to hurry because we are all spending the day on our horses.’ She touched Gudrun’s arm. ‘Gudrun, go down to the kitchens at once. Ask for pies and pastries and apples, if there are any to be had. Tell them to fill some flasks with water and others with watered kvass. Collect the children. Change into something comfortable. You can travel in the wagon with the little ones and two of their nurses. We are going out to the marshes to watch the hawking. Rub the children’s skin well with lemon juice. Then rub your own. A waste of a precious lemon, but ’tis best we all protect ourselves today from biting creatures.’
After Gudrun hurried off, Thea turned to Katya. ‘I think you might like to ride with me. Edmund can be our escort. You can have Koshka as your mount.’ ‘Koshka’ meant cat, though this Koshka was no cat but a sturdy white pony. Katya narrowed her almond-shaped eyes at the news that she was riding with Edmund. ‘Katya, best not to send him back the posy. He might die of longing for your attention and that would never do.’
Thea laughed again when a blush as red as the rose Katya was holding settled on her cheeks. She said quietly, ‘Let me say now that we would have no objection to you and Edmund becoming betrothed. Love is precious. His life has yielded to him much heartache, difficulty and sorrow. He does not need you to bring him a dowry. We shall provide for you both. My brother, as you know, is part of a great merchant business running up and down our rivers and another across the seas sailing between Ireland and Iceland. Edmund would not always be by your side. But in those times, I hope you will return to me. After all, I shall become your sister.’
She heard Katya exhale a long breath. The girl’s eyes shone like silk. She was crushing the rose. The thorns were biting into her skin. Thea noticed a crimson droplet fall to the coffer.
‘That rose is causing you pain.’
‘My lady,’ Katya said simply, laying the rose down on the coffer, ‘I am far below him. He is a Saxon prince.’ Then her cat-like green eyes opened wide. ‘Has he asked?’
‘No, Katya, not yet, but I think he might.’ Thea involuntarily lifted her hand to stroke the swan pendant that fell below her throat. Surely, it granted wishes. She looked up and smiled. ‘Yes, I think he will. Now come and help me change my clothing into something comfortable for the ride.’
They found a woody glade shaded from the sun by beech trees, back from the river, so that the biting insects which hovered around watery places were fewer. Pages hobbled the horses and their maids unpacked the long covered wagon. Gudrun laid out a linen cloth and opened their baskets. Gudrun’s little girls fashioned posies of daisies and placed them on the cloth.
Vladimir lifted Harold onto his own horse and together they watched as Thea allowed her goshawk to soar high into the blue sky. It flew along the river southwards through the marshes. Now a speck in the sky she thought she saw it pounce on a tiny bird, maybe a thrush. She was right. The goshawk returned with the poor trapped creature, obediently allowing it to drop by Thea’s feet. Harold shouted and clapped his hands. ‘Again, again! Send Juno up again,’ he chorused in a frenzy of excitement.
Thea rewarded her bird with a mouse from a basket of dead creatures and her page popped the thrush into a reed basket kept aside for the day’s catch. Already they had collected a dozen small birds.
‘After this next flight, we stop to eat,’ Vladimir said firmly. ‘You mother must rest too. Later, I shall release my eagle. I have seen several pheasant flying up there today. I want some of those.’ He turned to Thea. ‘You may fly Juno again, my wife. Perhaps she will catch our supper.’
‘Here we go,’ Thea said as she released Juno into the skies.
Juno swooped from above taking her prey, another small bird. Just as she soared back with it, Thea said, ‘Horse hoofs are approaching.’ A moment later, horsemen broke through a stand of ash trees to their right. They must have ridden out to the marshes from the estate buildings. As he wheeled his stallion around to face them, Vladimir held protectively onto Harold. Edmund and the guards drew swords. They created a semi-circle around the prince and princess. A servant deftly hooded Juno and carefully secured the bird onto its travelling perch beside a rook and a sparrow-hawk.
‘Hakim.’ Vladimir relaxed and Thea recognised the guard as one who was with Prince Vsevolod. ‘Why are you here?’
The leader of the riders dismounted and removed his helmet. He knelt in front of Vladimir. When he looked up again there was anxiety on his countenance.
The man called Hakim said, ‘We are sorry to startle you, my lord, we come in peace. We should be wearing your father’s colours. However, we thought to leave Kiev inconspicuously. They told us at the hall back there that you would be here … There is a rebellion in Chernigov. Your cousins refuse to depart the city. The boyars of Kiev are rebelling against Prince Iziaslav again. They demand arms. There will be bloodshed.’
‘Why should my uncle Iziaslav arm the boyars of Kiev this time if the rebellion is in Chernigov? What is so important that it cannot wait until after tonight’s feast for St John?’
‘Alas, my lord, it cannot wait.’ Hakim quickly withdrew a parchment from his belt. He handed it up to Vladimir who snatched it from him. ‘My prince, your father has departed with Prince Iziaslav for Chernigov. Prince Gleb has fortified Chernigov and refuses to submit to Grand Prince Iziaslav’s ruling that your father is to control the principality.
The Sviatoslavichi refuse Smolensk and there is worse …’
‘Spit it out, Hakim.’ Vladimir was still holding onto Harold tightly. Harold began to wriggle and complain.
Hakim glanced over at Thea. ‘Women should not …’
‘She is my wife. She has seen war before. Continue.’ His horse paced restlessly. Harold buried his head in his father’s woollen tunic but refused to cry, though he was clearly frightened. Thea reached out for him and Vladimir lifted him from his horse and gave him over to Thea, who took Harold onto her own mare and soothed him. She did not ride back to the servants who stood amongst the trees as Hakim obviously expected she would. Edmund sheathed his sword again. The pages and guards drew back.
‘Prince Boris has ridden out east of Chernigov onto the Steppes to incite the tribesmen to fight against your father, promising slaves and riches as reward. The boyars of Kiev want protection. Your father wants you to take over from him where he is besieging Chernigov. He will return to Kiev and protect the city from invading Steppe tribes. You are to ride back with us immediately. All is in that document. It is war.’
Vladimir broke the seal with his knife and unrolled the small scroll. He read it and nodded.
‘Are we safe here?’ Thea asked Hakim as Vladimir read his father’s letter.
‘Safer than in Kiev. You should remain here, my lady, or in the fortress of Pereiaslavl. Prince Vsevolod has sent Princess Anya and his three children south to Pereiaslavl already.’
Vladimir rolled the scroll up and tucked it into his belt. Worry lines criss-crossing his face he said, ‘We set out tonight. Hakim, let us discuss this over refreshments.’ He called over to the horsemen following Lord Hakim. ‘Dismount. Another hour will make no difference.’ He turned to the pages and hawk-keepers. ‘Return to the palace now with Lord Edmund. Edmund, warn the grooms that we will all need fresh horses.’
‘Do I ride to Kiev with you, my lord?’
‘No, Edmund, stay here with the women. The estate could be endangered. If so, get the women and children into the fortress at Pereiaslavl and send messengers to Kiev. Set guards on the palisades; send patrols out to the Steppe edges, the river and the woods. You will take charge here in my absence. I place my family in your care.’
‘As you wish, brother.’ Edmund inclined his head to Vladimir.
‘Thank you, Edmund. I thank you from the depths of my heart. Guard them well.’
Thea ventured a smile at her husband. ‘It will all be over by Michaelmas and you will be back. Besides, I would like to visit Anya and the children in Pereiaslavl,’ she added in an attempt to lighten the seriousness of everything. ‘We should go to Anya anyway.’
‘If it is safe to travel; I trust Edmund to make that decision with you. The Cumans never come to our estate and farms. Besides, the route north to Pereiaslavl may not be safe for travel. Only leave if there is a serious threat of attack.’
When he docked his ships at Pereiaslavl on a blistering August morning, Padar heard about the battles gathering force in the north around Chernigov. Princess Anya and her children were in the fortress. He wondered why she was there and not in Kiev. Gudrun and his daughters! They were on the estate with the princess. They must not remain there. None of them should, though Chernigov was up the river north of Kiev. He would seek an audience with the princess.
Princess Anya greeted him in the hall she called her blue chamber, named so because the great reception room possessed walls of blue tiles and colourful floor mosaics and opened into a courtyard edged with palm trees and fountains. She invited Padar to walk with her in the courtyard and sent for Steward Michael whom, she explained, had recently come from Chernigov to her court in Pereiaslavl and knew more than she. He came bustling along the pathways moments later. Tugging at his moustaches, he said thoughtfully, ‘The tribes are fighting again. You cannot sail up river north of Kiev. The Chernigov region is unsafe. The tribes have been called out by the Sviatoslavichi. They are intent on destroying us all and seizing power for themselves. There is an army of Cuman tribesmen out to the north-east of us here too.’
‘My wife and children, are they safe? Where is Princess Thea?’
Princess Anya laid a hand reassuringly on his arm, ‘They are all at the estate south-west of here but now they are coming north to the fortress. They are in no immediate danger but if the Cumans move south-west as surely they will they must be safely inside the fortress. You have arrived in time to see your wife because only yesterday we sent a guard south to bring them to us. We expect them to arrive soon. Edmund is with them.’
‘I must ride out to meet them.’
Suddenly a parrot, perched on a palm branch above, shrieked. Taken unawares, Padar almost leapt out of his loose gown.
Princess Anya laughed and shook her head. ‘That was Signor Tomas protesting. He can talk too, you know.’ She looked at Padar thoughtfully. ‘There is no real danger south of Pereiaslavl yet. It is best to be safe so we summoned the princess and her ladies here. Allow them a few days to close up the estate palace and to leave it under guard and they will ride in soon.’ She reached out and touched Padar’s arm. ‘Store your goods in our warehouses. And, Padar,’ she added brightly, clearly not wanting to distress him, though he did feel distress, ‘there are quarters here which you may have for your family and servants. There is no need for Gudrun to stay with us in my terem now that you are here. You can have a courtyard dwelling. There is one for guests, like a pavilion. It has a garden. Michael will take you to it. The Cuman army is just sitting out there on the plain. They have not moved and we think they will not reach us for some days yet. We’re making preparations here. We can sustain a siege until my husband brings his army south to destroy them. Messengers are already riding north to him.’
‘And Princess Thea, is she well?’ Padar asked, trying to contain his concern, trying to sound relaxed about threats he could not help fearing, as he sensed Princess Anya was more concerned than she revealed.
‘Is she well? Is she well?’ The parrot mimicked Padar’s northern accent.
‘Be quiet, Signor Tomas,’ Princess Anya ordered the bird, who responded by fluffing up his feathers in a small rebellion. She led them along the path away from the parrot. The bird remained chained to his perch. ‘She is with child,’ she said quietly.
Padar began thinking about when he and Gudrun were last together. It had been before she set out for Pereiaslavl. It was unlikely that Gudrun was with child too. At five months, or was it six? Anya would have known. ‘I hope they are all safe,’ was all he said.
Steward Michael, who followed behind them as they walked, said, ‘We will secure our bridges north and south of the river. No tribesmen will be allowed to cross over. We have enough provisions to see us through many months should a siege threaten.’
‘I really ought to ride out and meet the princess and my wife.’
‘If they are not here within three days then ride forth by all means. They will come. Go now, Padar, secure your vessels, store your goods and look forward to a few days rest here with your wife. All will be well,’ Anya said optimistically, clearly summoning up all her courage, clearly determined to remain calm and in control.
‘I hope you are right,’ Padar muttered, thinking how they would not be resting if a siege threatened. He bowed before taking leave of the princess. He remembered something, ‘The merchant Dimitri is sailing north from the Southern Sea. He has a large cargo.’
‘Let’s hope he reaches us before the river is completely closed. He has only a few days to do so.’
She reached out and touched Padar’s arm. ‘God go with you and may He be with us all.’
32
Pereiaslavl Fortress
Thea rode on her ambling mare, Asha, at the head of a long cavalcade of wagons and carts. She thought to herself how dangerous it was that they must travel across open country, and into the beech woods, taking her whole household into the safety of the river fort, leaving only a skeleton guard to defend their estate should
it be attacked.
She had heard rumours from country folk. The Cuman army were sweeping south and west. On hearing these, some of her people had hurried back to their farms and villages. Others joined her retinue, following her with oxen-drawn carts, on donkeys and on foot carrying their bundles and their children, swelling her number, needing to be fed. She prayed to her saint that the fortress could shelter them all. Katya said her father should be back from trading down the Dnieper soon. He might even have reached the fortress. Gudrun remarked that maybe Padar was returning from the spring trading and may have pulled in at Pereiaslavl. He had said that he would come to the estate for her before Michaelmas.
The fort at Pereiaslavl was heavily guarded by warriors. Pereiaslavl was a naval city. Pushing the thought of immediate danger into the recesses of her mind, she allowed herself to think instead of seeing Princess Anya and her children. She managed to convince herself that it was as if they were simply making a summer social visit. They would enjoy their children. There was seven-year-old Rostislav, already an arrogant though endearing boy, eight-year-old Eupraxia, a strong-willed little girl, and two engaging little girls, Catherine and Maria, who were five and three years old. Rostislav would be a companion for Harold, who this summer was fast growing out of his babyhood.
Harold had fallen asleep, leaning against his nurse, exhausted by the journey. He had persistently begged to ride his pony, Urchin, and his determination to ride had slowed them down. In the end, despite his protests Thea insisted that he rode in the wagon. They should arrive before darkness fell if they could keep a faster pace. Every now and then she would catch sight of the river snaking through the Steppe far to their right, glinting in the sunshine, like a beacon guiding them to safety. By sunset they should be riding through Pereiaslavl’s great eastern gate.
Edmund led a group of scouts forward to make sure that the road was kept clear for their long train of riders, carts and wagons. Shortly after noon he galloped back from the direction of the Dnieper. Thea raised her hand to stop her cavalcade. A moment later, Edmund drew up sharply in front of her.
The Betrothed Sister Page 31
