Housecarl

by Griff Hosker

  Behind us a huge cheer erupted and I heard one cheeky voice say, “Now can we charge?”

  Laughing I turned. “No, good fellow, for that is our first battle over and we won!” I quickly checked the front rank of my men. Two of them had suffered slight wounds but I could see that they were minor enough to become marks of glory in the future which would be revealed in years to come when the battle became far bigger than it had been and far more heroic. Apart from the three killed in the middle two more of the mailed warriors had died and three of those in the rear. There were seven wounded men who lay in terror on the ground. I knew what they feared, that they would be slaughtered where they lay. As Branton and his archers appeared and began to collect the spent arrows I turned to Osbert. “Take the men at arms, Branton and his archers. Make sure they have gone.” I looked at the wounded. “You have a choice. You can surrender now and live or we can kill you where you lay.”

  It did not take them long to discard their weapons. I turned to the fyrd. “Those who have animal husbandry skills see to these wounded men and do not harm them, “I paused, “unless they show signs of flight.”

  Ridley and I took a couple of the fyrd to strip the bodies of armour and to search for any wealth. We piled the arms and armour at one side. “Get wood and kindling. We will send these souls to their heaven.” We had just piled the bodies when Osbert and his men returned. He wandered off to the side and when he appeared again I saw that he had the head of the man I had slain. “Wouldn’t want him to meet his God with half of him missing.”

  The men were in good spirits and laughed at the dark humour. The wounds having been dressed I spoke to the prisoners. “You seven have a choice. You can join us, either as one of Thegn Ridley’s men or one of mine. Or you can leave and follow your master back to Jorvik.”

  One of them stood. “That is it? You will allow us to leave? You will not have your archers shoot us in the back?”

  “You can leave and you will not be harmed. You will leave all weapons and armour here but you can follow my brother if you wish.”

  Suddenly the man’s look changed. “That was your brother? Then you must be Aelfraed who fought Gryffydd of Rhuddlan.”

  I was too modest to reply but Ridley beamed from ear to ear. “That he is! And I was there to witness that combat!”

  “Then we are lucky to be alive and I for one will gladly serve such a warrior.”

  By the time we headed back to our homes all seven had joined us. The spokesman was a fine warrior called Aedgart and I came to rely on him almost as much as Osbert. When we reached the citadel, the relieved folk of my estate all went home and we celebrated with ale and a deer Branton had shot on the way back. I looked around at my army. From small beginnings we had grown and I now had ten armed and armoured men at arms and five competent archers. I felt like a lord but I wondered what Earl Tostig would do to the two lords who had dared to question his authority. At the time I did not know that others had joined in the putative rebellion against the unfair taxation as far as I knew he would come north with a larger army and vengeance on his mind. I turned to Osbert, “I think tomorrow we build a tower and improve the gates for the next time we may well have to defend our demesne.”

  Osbert nodded. “I would not worry for when the word gets out about today we will have others choosing to fight for you.”

  “But could I afford them?”

  In answer he held up a purse. “It seems your brother ran rather swiftly from the field and dropped this. I suspect it is someone else’s taxes but we can use them eh?”

  I opened the purse and saw that it was not just silver and copper, there were gold pieces. I wondered when he would miss it.

  In the end he did not come but Earl Harold did. We heard that Earl Tostig had been driven from his capital by the inhabitants of that city and he had fled to Scotland. Ridley and I took our men to Jorvik to meet with Harold and the new Earl of Northumbria. When we reached Jorvik it was as though a feast was being thrown for the whole country. There were many armed men but every street had people laughing, joking and drinking to celebrate the defeat of Earl Tostig. We found Ulf and the Housecarls at the warrior hall. Leaving Osbert to find a field for our men we entered. It was more than flattering to be greeted so warmly. Wolf and Osgar were effusive but they had seen our men behind us as we had arrived.

  “Truly you are lords with your own retinue! I can remember the days when you could not keep your feet in a shield wall.”

  We all laughed heartily at that. When we told them of Edward and our battle they nodded sagely. “Aye well your brothers and your father have joined with the Earl in Scotland and I can now understand why they did not fight if your brothers are a measure of his men. No offence Aelfraed.”

  “And none taken Ulf, I agree with you.” My uncle, the normal fount of all knowledge was with Harold and I was desperate for news. “Who is the new Earl of Northumbria then?”

  Ulf had the good grace to be shamefaced as he stammered his reply, “Er Morcar.”

  I was stunned. Ridley looked at me with a confused expression upon his face. “Who is Morcar?”

  “ The brother of the man he appointed as Earl of Mercia, Edwin and the brother of Ealdgyth his wife.”

  Even Ridley could see nepotism at work and he gave a quiet, “Oh!”

  “Your uncle is here,” ventured Wolf and then he added cheekily,” and one of the ladies of the court, Gytha.”

  I ignored his attempt to make me feel foolish. “Gytha is here? Is she married yet?”

  The four of them fell about laughing. When Osgar had dried his eyes he said, “You are one of the brightest minds I have ever met Aelfraed and yet where this girl is concerned you are like a moon calf, all doughy eyed and tongue tied.”

  “Wait until it happens to you Osgar.”

  Wolf laughed. “He is married to his axe, have you not see the small hole at the end of the handle? Just the right size for him!”

  It was good to banter again and be with comrades who had shared the line of death. I liked Osbert and the others but I could not let my guard down as I could here amongst my fellow Housecarls.

  We were summoned to the church for the swearing of the oath. The Bishop looked less than happy about the situation but he had to suffer in silence. I knew, from my tame priest, that he was as corrupt a churchman as it was possible to be, perhaps Morcar would be able to control him but he was younger even than Ridley and I hoped that his brother Edwin, Earl of Mercia, would be around to give him the support he needed.

  When we emerged Harold sought out the two of us. “I hear you two have been routing the lords of the north.”

  I smiled. “It was a skirmish, nothing more.”

  “No Aelfraed, I am proud of you because that was the stone which started the mountain to fall. Others took heart from your stand and your victory. I am indebted to you once more.”

  “In that case my lord may I ask a boon of you?” I saw the irritated look flash across my uncle’s face but I ignored it.

  “And what boon would that be?”

  “I would like to court the Lady Gytha.”

  “I thought you had grown out of that fancy but as she is not promised to anyone I will give you permission to speak with her but, young Aelfraed who has less land than most, unless she is of the same mind then I will seek a more powerful suitor for her.”

  Ealdgyth arrived at that moment. “Who are you marrying off now husband?”

  She was still as beautiful as ever. I had heard that she had lost her baby but I could see that she was with child once more. Earl Harold disappointed me. He saw Gytha as an object, a pawn in a game of chess for him to play or to lose at a whim.

  “Aelfraed here would woo Gytha.”

  In answer Ealdgyth threw her arms about me and kissed me. She had always been fond of me. “But of course he shall woo her and they shall marry. Oh this is wonderful.” I was delighted to see the look of disappointment on Earl Harold’s face. He was rarely thwarted and I was glad th
at his wife had his measure. “I will arrange the meeting myself. Come in the morning to our residence and she will be there awaiting you.” She kissed first me and then the Earl and left.

  The Housecarls looked bemused. It was as though a tornado had crashed through the town and then left.

  Aethelward put his arm around my shoulder and Ridley’s. “Come you two for we have much to talk of.”

  When we were some distance from the Earl he suddenly became serious. “It does not do to upset the Earl.”

  “But he said he had no plans for her.”

  “Not at the moment but he is always planning for the future. And now, how are your lands? I heard about your brother, well done.”

  “Our lands are better now.”

  “We have men at arms,” blurted out Ridley.

  “I know and it is good for we will need them soon.”

  I saw an alehouse and we went in. “Why uncle what do you know?”

  Ridley went to get ale while my uncle explained. “The King is not well and I do not think he will last more than a year or two. Duke William is spreading the story that the Earl swore fealty to him.”

  “Is it true?”

  Aethelward shrugged. “I am not sure. Oaths do not seem important to the Earl unless someone swears one to him.”

  “I hear my father and brothers are fled with Tostig?”

  “Aye and I should apologise to you. When we were last in Jorvik you warned me of your father but I could not believe that my sister’s husband was a traitor.”

  I shrugged. “I could have been wrong. I was younger then.”

  “No Aelfraed I should have trusted your instincts. It seems he was in a plot with the Normans and the Scots to rid the country of Edward. It would have allowed Malcolm to claim Northumbria and the Duke the rest of the country. War is coming. I am pleased that you are here for Morcar is young and will need wiser heads to aid him.”

  I looked shocked. “I am not wise. I am of an age with Morcar.”

  “Yes nephew but you have seen and done more than he has and more importantly you have the brain of a strategos. I am getting old and I have no son but if I had one I would he were like you. You make me proud as you would have made my sister proud had she lived.”

  I never cried as a grown man, I had not cried since Nanna died but that day in the alehouse with Ridley and my uncle I was close to tears. “I will not let you down uncle.”

  He then gave me the smile that Nanna always gave to me and which my father never had. “You will never let me down.”

  We three sat in a comfortable silence and then I made the whole scene embarrassing. These two were the two closest people to me in the world and I felt I could say anything. “Who is my father? It is not Edwin.”

  Ridley stared intently at his ale as though trying to read the runes of the froth. “No it is not Edwin.”

  “Then who is it?”

  “That I cannot tell you for unlike some men I have an oath which I took.”

  “Did my mother love my, my real father?”

  Aethelward smiled, “Oh that she did Aelfraed. It was wyrd.”

  “And Edwin, did he know that…”

  “That his wife had been unfaithful? Aye and it cost her, her life.”

  Once, when we were campaigning in Wales I stood atop a high crag and the world below me seemed to spin. Had Ridley not pulled me back I think I would have plunged over to my death. As I sat in the alehouse I had that same feeling of falling into a deep dark hole. Even Ridley had finished studying his ale and he sat open mouthed looking at me. My uncle put his hand on my harm. “Now that he is declared traitor I can tell you so that you feel not the shame of his name.”

  “He killed her?”

  There was a silence as Aethelward sipped his ale. “Aye he killed her. I did not find out until I returned at Nanna’s request and I would have killed him then but your grandmother forbade it for your sake.”

  Suddenly many events surrounding my uncle’s return made sense as did many of the stories Nanna had told me which I had not understood but now did. She had been preparing me for the news which she knew would shatter me. I said no more on that momentous night for my men at arms found us and we spent the rest of the night carousing and listening to Aethelward’s stories of the Varangian guard. But in my mind I swore an oath that Edwin of Medelai would die at my hand and my mother would be avenged. I think my heart became a little harder that night. I still did not know who my real father was but that could wait until my blade sank into that evil man’s heart.

  Ridley was worried about me and, next day, as we walked to the Earl’s house he spoke quietly to me. “Are you all right Aelfraed? I have never seen the black anger upon you as I did last night.”

  “Thank you, my most faithful and oldest friend. Yes, I am not losing my mind as I thought I was last night but I am resolved to kill that black hearted murderer.”

  He nodded his agreement as though that was inevitable. “Of course you know that you will also have to kill your brothers.”

  Ridley did not think of himself as clever but where people were concerned he was a genius. Of course I would have to kill my brothers for they would avenge their father. “I know.”

  “And I will be there beside you as your friend.” Wise men say that you are stuck with your family but you choose your friends. I was glad that, all those years ago when Aethelward had first arrived that I had chosen Ridley for I could not have chosen better.

  By the time we reached the Earl’s home my mind was, once again calm. The Earl had taken over the old Roman headquarters building, which was a fine stone structure built in the Roman rather than the Danish style. It was one of the Housecarls who opened the door and he grinned at the two of us. Somehow it made me feel much better; I now had friends, friends who would give their lives for me; what did I care for Edwin and his brood?

  The whirlwind that was Ealdgyth rushed up to me. “I have prepared Gytha to greet you.”

  I looked at her in panic. “You have not told her?”

  “You goose! I am not Earl Harold! I am a woman and know what it is to be in love. Go and woo her.”

  “But Earl Harold said…”

  “Earl Harold knows the correct way to hold a spear and that is all. Now go!”

  When I entered the chamber set aside for our visit I saw that the Earl’s wife had made sure that we were alone but the inside was all functionality. There were two high backed chairs and a table. The lady Gytha sat at one of the chairs. When I approached she leapt to her feet. My first view of her since that day so long ago in Winchester confirmed that she made my heart sing and my head light. She was a little thinner and gaunter but that had merely accentuated her beauty. Her smile, however, made the dour room spring to life as though someone had brought in a vase of flowers.

  “My lady…”

  I had waited so long to see her, I had badgered so much to meet her and I had dreamt so long of the moment that I was suddenly tongue tied and I just stood there with my arms open.

  She took my hands in hers and inclined her head to the side. The magic of her touch made my skin tingle. I felt just as I did before the shield wall advanced full of joy and fear all at the same time. I tried again. “My lady I have thought about you every day since we first met. I know that I am a lowly lord of a small parish and you are a high born lady from a powerful family but I would, if you would have me, woo you.” When the words tumbled out I felt foolish. I had meant to say ‘marry’ but the word woo had erupted from my mouth and sounded pathetic. I looked to the ground shamefaced. “I am sorry my lady for I am a tongue tied warrior who knows not how to speak to someone as beautiful as you. Please say that you are willing to see me again I beg of you.”

  In answer she leaned up and, standing on tip toe for she was much shorter than I, she kissed me gently and chastely on the lips. “My lord, I too, have dreamt of you. When I heard of your bravery in saving our king it only confirmed my feelings for you. Your lowly parish does not worry me
for I would be with you even in a cow byre. You do not need woo me for I am yours already.”

  “Then marry me.”

  “Yes, my love, I will.”

  Ealdgyth must have been standing outside the room for she suddenly burst in, her face filled with tears. “You goose, I thought you had lost her! Woo her indeed!” She kissed Gytha and then me. “We must see the Bishop and have you married as soon as possible before the Edith Duck-legs hears of this and tries to stop it.”

  I looked confused as Gytha giggled. “I think my lady is making fun for it is Edith Swanneck.”

  “I knew she had the name like some ugly part of a bird. No matter. Now you must be apart until you marry that is proper.” I flashed a surprised look for I remembered how she and the Earl had thrown themselves at each other. She knew the look and shrugged. “Aelfraed, Gytha has never been married before. Now go and buy some decent clothes and I will send for you when the Bishop is ready.”

  The Earl’s lady was like a force of nature but she got things done and was as good as her word. Almost before I had time to turn around and change into my new clothes the grinning Housecarl came to the inn with the message that all was ready.

  Ridley came with me as did Aethelward, Ulf and my men at arms. They were a little awed to be in such a magnificent church with the Bishop conducting the service. When the Earls and the other lords entered I could see from their faces that they thought they had been transported to some fantasy land. I knew that it was a fantasy and the service flew by in a blur. Ealdgyth had made a bedroom in their quarters available to us and when we found ourselves alone, as the others feasted and celebrated I suddenly felt frightened for I had never been with a woman before. I had heard the stories men told but, as with all stories that men tell, I knew that most of it was exaggeration. I wished I had spoken with Aethelward before we left but then this was out of his area of expertise as well.

  The room, thankfully, was lit by just two candles and the half glow allowed us move towards each other half hidden. I enfolded her in my arms and noticed again, how small she was. I leaned down and kissed her on the lips as she had kissed me. This time we pressed in hard to each other and I felt her lips part slightly and a tiny tongue darted to touch mine. I felt as though I had grabbed a burning brand and a shock of excitement raced through my body. I felt something I had never felt before. Suddenly we were both taking our clothes off and climbing on to the bed. The sheets seemed icy against our hot bodies but neither of us cared. I knew not what Gytha was feeling but if it was only half of what I felt then she would be ecstatic. Despite the fact that neither of us knew exactly what we were doing our bodies did and as I entered her for the first time she gave a small moan of pleasure and then just as suddenly as it had started she gave a squeal of delight and I was spent. We lay back on the bed and she nestled her head in the crook of my arm. I kissed her gently on the eyes and said, “Gytha, I love you.”