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  ‘You must try to.’

  ‘I can see your hypocrisy. You said I could trust you. You asked me to look into your eyes and you said I could trust you. And where are your Christian beliefs now? One minute you’re giving everything you own to the brothers at Holy Cross and practically living in the abbey and the next, you suggest we have a child out of wedlock, just in case the fancy takes you to marry someone else. Is this the offer you make to all the women you bed?

  ‘I do love you and I will marry you.’

  ‘What?’ she replied, confused and exasperated.

  ‘You’ll see I’m as good as my word. I do love you and I will marry you, if you’ll have me. It’ll be a handfast marriage, that’s all.’

  ‘A handfast marriage?’

  ‘You know what a handfast marriage is; a formal contract acknowledging you as my wife and me as your husband.’

  ‘I would be your handfast wife, leaving you free to go and marry someone else “in a Christian fashion”?’

  ‘But I won’t. We’d have a marriage as good as any other; better in fact.’

  ‘And Judith?’

  ‘Her father wishes an alliance with our family: I can save everyone’s face by getting Tostig to marry her, leaving me free to marry you in the Danish style. There will be no opposition because I will still be available for political purposes if need be.’

  ‘You’re mad!’

  ‘No. It all makes perfect sense.’

  ‘It sounds very calculated.’

  ‘It is to a point but it doesn’t alter my feelings for you. My parents have a handfast marriage and they’ve been together for twenty-five years. So you see, it is possible to have a handfast marriage and still be perfectly happy.’

  Edyth signed in resignation. ‘Is the story I heard about them true?’ she asked.

  ‘What story have you heard?’

  ‘I heard that King Knut sent your father to Denmark with his own death warrant and he came back with a wife.’

  ‘Yes, it’s true.’

  ‘What happened?’

  ‘It’s as you say. Knut hadn’t been on the throne long and he wanted to surround himself with people he could trust. As father had fought for King Edmund, Knut wasn’t sure if he could trust him, so he sent him to Denmark with a message. Father knew something was afoot but didn’t know what the message said, so he opened the letter, which simply read, “Kill the bearer of this letter”. Once he’d read it, for the long-term good of his health he decided to change it. When he had finished, it read, “By order of the King of England, Denmark and Norway, the bearer of this letter shall have his choice of any woman in the country, to be his wife”. When he got to Denmark, he presented the letter to Jarl Ulf, who was happy to comply. Father had his eye on his sister, from a previous visit. So he chose her and brought her back to England.’

  ‘What did the King say when your father returned safely?’

  ‘He congratulated him on his choice of wife and made him Earl of Wessex. He saw that a clever ally could be useful.’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘Yes. You can ask them yourself if you like, when you meet them at Christmas. You’ll come with me to the King’s Christmas court at Gloucester. You’d better have some gowns made.’

  ‘I do love you, Harold.’

  In response he kissed her and said, ‘And I love you too.’

  West Wickham

  Magnus and Wulfgith had been expecting Edyth’s arrival for days. Harold had found it impossible to refuse an invitation or reject an offer of hospitality and as a result the party was a little late arriving. Edyth’s guardians were not unduly concerned. It was the size of the party that unsettled them and first alerted them to the change that was about to come into their lives.

  The sound of a greeting horn brought Magnus to his door. He looked out to see half a dozen young noblemen, travelling with fifty or sixty men and two wagons, each drawn by a team of four horses. Edyth and Harold, a falcon perched on his forearm, rode at the head of the column with half a dozen hounds. In their company were Ansgar and Earl Beorn, Harold’s cousin, who Magnus had last seen at the King’s wedding. Three others at the head of the party who he knew only by sight were Tostig and Leofwine Godwinson and Ralph de Mantes, the King’s nephew. There were also two clerics in the party, Leofgar and Edmund.

  Such a prestigious party must have a purpose, Magnus told himself. The old man’s stomach sank and he turned to look at his wife, who had also come out of the house; he could see she felt the same way. They walked across the courtyard to greet their visitors. Hearing footfalls behind him, Magnus turned to see Finn approaching. The Dane gave little away but it was obvious he too felt apprehensive.

  Bringing his horse to a halt, Harold could see a serious-looking aunt and uncle and a particularly stern-looking Finn, awaiting their arrival.

  ‘Welcome, Harold’, said Magnus as he approached, hiding his feelings behind a beaming smile. ‘Welcome back, Edyth. Harold, are you fully recovered from your illness?’

  Finn stepped forward to help Edyth down.

  ‘Yes, fully recovered, thank you, sir. Finn, it’s good to see you again.’

  Edyth introduced those who did not know each other before her uncle led the party inside to eat and drink. While the men remained with one of the wagons, on Tostig’s orders the other was unloaded and servants took in the baggage. Barcwith and Ravenswort, two of Tostig’s housecarls, carried the body of a huge male boar through to the kitchen. It was a trophy of Tostig’s and his contribution to the anticipated feast.

  ‘It is indeed an honour to have you in my home, Earl Harold, and your friends too,’ said Magnus. Wulfgith was worrying about how to cater for all their guests, although the sight of the boar had lifted her spirits.

  ‘We were expecting you some days ago. How was your journey?’ enquired Magnus.

  ‘We had an excellent journey, thank you, Magnus. I must apologise for the delay; it’s entirely my fault. We were offered the opportunity to hunt and it would have been churlish to refuse. I think you’ll agree it was worth it,’ he replied, his gaze following the boar as Tostig’s men carried indoors.

  Magnus glanced at Harold’s falcon. ‘She must be an uncommonly fine hawk if she can bring a boar home.’

  ‘She’s stronger than she looks,’ Harold replied, laughing at Magnus’s little joke.

  Magnus continued to welcome Harold as the guests made themselves comfortable and servants brought drinks. Harold thanked him for the warm welcome and hoped he would accept the gifts he had brought him. As these consisted of the wild boar, some game, several barrels of beer and pots of preserves, Magnus was only too pleased to welcome them. There would be enough food for them all to stay the best part of a week. Beleaguered-looking servants made themselves busy, preparing for the evening meal.

  While everyone was busy eating, drinking and socialising, Harold leaned towards Magnus and asked in subdued tones, ‘Magnus, may we talk in confidence?’

  Magnus led him to a small room off the hall. They sat down together at a fine oak table.

  ‘What can I do for you, my Lord?’

  ‘I’d like to thank you for allowing your niece to stay with me in my time of need.’

  ‘It was nothing, my Lord. It was the least I could do.’

  ‘I think I would not have survived without her.’

  ‘That is kind of you to say. She has a talent for treating the sick.’

  ‘So I understand, but during my illness or rather, during my recovery, we grew very close.’

  ‘Yes,’ said Magnus, nodding sagely.

  Harold could feel his heart pounding in his chest, took a breath and uttered the words he had rehearsed many times over the last few weeks. ‘I feel it a great honour to be here as your guest. I want to make it clear I have the highest respect for your distinguished family, whose reputation has been held in the highest regard by all, for generations. Well, the thing is, would you approve our marriage?

  ‘You and Edyth wish to be ma
rried?’

  ‘Yes. Yes we do.’

  ‘I should be delighted, Earl Harold,’ answered Magnus, a smile bursting on to his face. ‘It would be an honour to have you as part of our family,’ he said, reaching out to shake Harold’s hand.

  As the two men smiled and shook hands, Magnus continued to splutter out his delight at the prospect of the two families becoming united through marriage.

  ‘I’ve long been a great admirer of your father’s. Though I never dreamed that one day our families would be joined. You have my blessing. Tell me, Harold, have you a date in mind? Wulfgith and I married in June; I think that a lovely time of year, don’t you?’

  ‘We would like to marry before then — such is my desire to marry your niece, I would wed her right away. We thought next month would be a good time.’

  ‘That is very soon… oh… ’ Realisation forced the smile off Magnus’ face.

  ‘Would that be all right, do you think, next month?’ ventured Harold.

  ‘It would be ideal. We should have enough time to prepare.’

  ‘I thought we could discuss preparations this evening.’

  ‘Yes, my Lord.’

  ‘Magnus,’ said Harold, putting his hand on his shoulder and giving one of his warmest smiles, ‘there really is no need to address me as my Lord any longer. As we shall soon be related, I think we can dispense with the formalities, don’t you?’

  ‘Yes, my Lord.’

  Harold gave Magnus a playful look of rebuke.

  ‘Harold.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  ‘I will break the good news to Wulfgith.’

  ‘I’ll rejoin the others.’

  ‘Would you mind if I made the announcement?’

  ‘Not at all.’

  The two men entered the hall and as Harold made his way back to Edyth, Magnus walked over to Wulfgith.

  ‘You look pleased with yourself, Magnus. What’s happened?’

  ‘Harold has just asked for Edyth’s hand in marriage.’

  ‘Oh, how wonderful.’

  Magnus smiled in response before requesting silence and ordering all the drinking vessels filled. ‘Friends, Earl Harold has requested my niece’s hand in marriage.’

  The announcement was greeted with a hearty cheer.

  Magnus raised his drinking horn high, ‘To the young couple, Harold and Edyth; tonight we shall feast.’

  That evening on the high table Harold sat at Magnus’ right hand. Next to the men were their friends and close relatives. The women were banished from the hall until negotiations were finished. The hall was filled to bursting; friends and neighbours who could be reached were there and so were all the men in Harold’s party.

  Once Harold had agreed a wedding date with Magnus they shook hands in front of the witnesses. There was a long discussion about the morning gift Harold would present to Edyth, on consummation of the marriage. The bride gift that Edyth would bring to the marriage was quite considerable but as the wife always kept possession of whatever was rightfully hers until she died, there would be no personal gain for Harold. However, it did mean Edyth would be independently wealthy and never be a burden to Harold or his family and it would also ensure that she and any children she might have would not have to beg if she were to become widowed.

  Finally, the handgeld that Harold would pay to compensate Magnus and Wulfgith for their loss of Edyth and also to equalise any gifts her family would make him, was agreed.

  The negotiations were carried out in a spirit of fun and laughter, which could be heard ringing round every corner of Magnus’s home. Finally when everything was settled Edyth and the other women were called for. To a rousing cheer she entered the hall followed by Wulfgith and the other women. Edyth looked radiant and the sight of her took Harold’s breath away. Wulfgith escorted her up to the top table and presented her to Harold.

  ‘Well, Harold, what do you say?’

  The couple moved closer together, took each other by the hand and faced the assembled guests. Harold cleared his throat and with a smile spread across his pink face, made his announcement: ‘I declare that you, Edyth, are bound to me in lawful betrothal and that with a handshake you pledge me marriage in exchange for the handgeld and morning gift promised and engage me to fulfil and observe the whole of the oath between us, which has been said in the hearing of these witnesses, without wiles or cunning, as a true and honest oath.’

  The two kissed amid much cheering and shouts of encouragement.

  ‘To the bride and groom,’ shouted Ansgar, with his drinking horn held high.

  ‘To the bride and groom,’ chorused the other guests.

  ‘Here comes the food,’ called Magnus with obvious enthusiasm and they sat down to eat, making room for the ladies.

  ‘I must say, I’m a little surprised not to see Earl Godwin here,’ said Magnus to Harold, between mouthfuls of meat. There’s no problem, is there, Harold?’

  ‘No. There’s no problem. In fact I shall call in at Southwark soon to discuss plans for the wedding with my parents.’

  ‘Good. We shall expect to see them at the wedding then?’

  ‘Indeed you shall.’

  After two days’ journey the brothers and their cousin arrived at Southwark. Ralph parted company with them in London to pay a visit to his uncle, the King. Tostig, Leofwine and Beorn joined Gyrth, who had decided to keep well out of the way when Harold told Godwin of his betrothal to Edyth.

  ‘I’ll leave you to unpack while I have a word with father.’

  ‘Good luck,’ they said in unison as Harold entered his father’s house. He could hear their chuckling as he crossed the threshold.

  Without stopping for refreshment or to talk to anyone, Harold made his way to his parents’ room. After a brisk knock on the door and a brusque ‘Come in,’ Harold was in the company of his father. He felt like Daniel entering the lions’ den.

  Godwin was alone in the room, slumped in a chair, deep in thought, staring into a goblet of wine.

  ‘Harold! Welcome home,’ he said, crossing the room to greet his son. The two men hugged one another. ‘Sit down,’ said Godwin, with a welcoming smile, gesturing to Harold to be seated. ‘I’ve been expecting you for a while now. You look well. Have you fully recovered from your illness?’

  ‘Yes, thank you, father.’

  ‘Good. Your mother and I were concerned for you.’

  ‘Yes, I had a bad fever but I’m well now.’

  ‘Good,’ said his father agreeably. ‘I understand it was quite serious.’

  ‘I have the monks at Waltham to thank for my recovery. They took such excellent care of me. They think it’s a miracle I survived.’

  Godwin’s face paled. ‘Was it so serious?’ he asked.

  ‘Yes, it was.’

  ‘Well, we must indeed thank the monks of Waltham, then.’

  ‘And Edyth, we must thank her too.’

  ‘Edyth? Who is Edyth?’ asked Godwin in a wary tone.

  ‘Oh, haven’t I told you about her?’

  ‘No, I don’t believe you have,’ replied Godwin.

  ‘Well, she’s a remarkable girl,’ continued Harold, with as big a smile as he could manage, ‘and she did as much as the monks to save me.’

  Godwin looked thoughtful and a silence descended on the room. Over the years he had learned to be on his guard at the sight of Harold’s huge grin; it was genuine enough most of the time but his son had learned how to use it to disarm any reaction to bad news. Godwin expected an announcement any moment. ‘Who is this wench?’ he asked.

  ‘She’s the daughter of Alwine Egwinson, Thane of Wickham. Her name is Edyth but all over East Anglia she is known as Swan-neck for her elegance, her great beauty and the delicate colour of her skin.’

  ‘You always were a fool for a pretty face.’

  ‘She has more than a pretty face; she’s educated and refined.’

  ‘And what about her family, are they of any importance?’

  ‘Her parents are dead but you
know her uncle, who took her in when she was a child. He is Magnus Egwinson, Thane of Fulbourn.’

  ‘Magnus! He fought alongside me in Denmark, with Knut. I saw him at Edward’s wedding. Ah, I remember now. He came with his niece. Was she the girl with the chestnut hair and bright blue eyes?’

  Harold nodded.

  ‘Mmm… her family’s quite wealthy, I believe? Well known and respected in half a dozen counties.’ Godwin slipped into quiet thought for a moment. ‘And?’

  ‘And, what?’

  ‘And are you serious about this Edyth Swan-neck?’

  ‘Very. We wish to marry straight away.’

  Godwin was amused by Harold’s impatience; he suppressed a laugh but not a smile. ‘I can see why you find her attractive and ordinarily I might think it a good match but why the hurry to marry her?’ For an instant Godwin froze in his movements as the answer to his own question flashed through his mind.

  ‘She’s with child, that’s it! That’s it, isn’t it? She’s with child,’ his piercing grey eyes cutting into Harold.

  ‘Yes, and we are to be married. Will you offer us your congratulations?’

  Godwin looked aghast; his face turned white with rage.

  Harold continued before his father could speak, ‘Have no fear; we’re to have a handfast wedding, and so a Christian marriage, at some time in the future, will still be possible.’

  ‘Have you gone mad?’

  ‘I’ve met the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. I want her to feel sure of that, to know I’m serious about her.’

  ‘Tell me, exactly what is it I’m to say to Count Baldwin?’

  ‘Can you not tell him you’ve changed your mind?’

  ‘Don’t be a fool!’

  ‘Not about the marriage; about the groom.’

  ‘What?’ seethed Godwin.

  ‘Well, none of my brothers is married.’

  Godwin took a deep breath. ‘You don’t seem to realise the importance of this, Harold. The family needs to consolidate its position, not just for itself but also for the country. Sometime soon Edith must produce an heir. That future king will be a part of our family. Imagine the power we will have then. You will be the King’s uncle. If you marry Judith, England will in good part be tied to Flanders. Between the two of us, we will control the English Channel. Eventually, if Edward and Edith’s son were to marry a Danish princess, we could dominate the North Sea. We already have a family link with the Danish royal house but Edward refuses to acknowledge it, let alone exploit it. Can’t you see my frustration, Harold? I have great plans for all of us but I’m being thwarted at every turn.’