Dark Under the Cover of Night (The Kingdom of the East Angles Book 1)
Read Dark Under the Cover of Night (The Kingdom of the East Angles Book 1) Online
Authors: Jayne Castel
Dark Under the Cover of Night
A Historical Romance set in Anglo-Saxon England
Book One
The Kingdom of the East Angles
Jayne Castel
Historical
romances by Jayne Castel
The Kingdom of the East Angles series
Night Shadows (prequel novella)
Dark Under the Cover of Night (Book One)
Nightfall till Daybreak (Book Two)
The Deepening Night (Book Three)
The Kingdom of the East Angles: the complete series
The Kingdom of Mercia series
The Breaking Dawn (Book One)
Darkest before Dawn (Book Two)
Dawn of Wolves (Book Three)
All
characters and situations in this publication are fictitious and any
resemblance to living persons is purely coincidental.
Dark
Under the Cover of Night
by Jayne Castel
Copyright
© 2012 Jayne Castel. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written
permission of the author.
Cover
photography courtesy of
www.istockphotos.com
.
Visit
Jayne’s website and blog:
www.jaynecastel.com
Follow
Jayne on Twitter @JayneCastel
Historical
Note
Although
Dark Under the Cover of Night
is a work of fiction, the historical
figure, King Raedwald of the East Angles, did exist. We have few details about
Raedwald’s life, but he is thought to have ruled from 593 A.D. to approximately
625 A.D. Many historians also believe that Raedwald was the king buried in the
famous Sutton Hoo burial. Sutton Hoo sits on the bank of the River Deben near Woodbridge, Suffolk; a Saxon long ship filled with treasures, including the famous Sutton
Hoo warrior helmet. Using Raedwald and his family as inspiration, I created a
story based around his daughter, Raedwyn. Despite that some historical figures
used in the story are based on real figures, and some actual historical events
are mentioned, this tale is entirely a work of fiction. I have also used two
pieces of famous Anglo-Saxon poetry, written in old English; an excerpt from
The
Wanderer
and an excerpt from
Beowulf
. I have used a few words of old
English throughout the story, and have provided translations where necessary.
Jayne Castel,
August 2012
Dark Under the
Cover of Night
was a
Quarter Finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough
Novel Awards 2013
– Romance Category!
***
Reviews
on Goodreads for
Dark Under the Cover of Night
.
“This
book is beautifully crafted and expertly edited. It’s tight and streamlined.
There is not a word out of place and not a hint of anything extraneous. The
plot is such that I literally couldn’t put the book down. I finished it in one
afternoon and evening, and I loved it every moment of it. ”
“I
really enjoyed this novel. The story was very well written and historically
sound. I am particularly interested in the history of the early Britain and
Castel's story, pulled from a few lines in the Anglo Saxon Chronicle, rang
true. I am looking forward to more of the series. ”
“Wow....I
loved it!!! This was an excellent read from beginning to end .The story
revolves around Raedwyn beloved daughter to King of the East Angles. Raedwyn
never loses her will and is strong and brave even when her own father loses
faith in her. I enjoyed every part of this story and will be reading the next
book in this series.”
Contents
Hwær cwom mearg?
Hwær cwom mago?
Hwær cwom
maþþumgyfa?
Hwær cwom symbla
gesetu?
Hwær sindon
seledreamas?
Eafa beorht bune!
Eafa byrnwiga!
Eafa þeodnes þrym!
Hu seo þrag gewat,
genap under
nihthelm,
swa heo no wære.
Where is the horse
gone? Where the rider?
Where the giver of
treasure?
Where are the
seats at the feast?
Where are the
revels in the hall?
Alas for the
bright cup!
Alas for the
mailed warrior!
Alas for the
splendour of the prince!
How that time has
passed away,
dark under the
cover of night,
as if it had never
been.
Excerpt from ‘The
Wanderer’
Translated from
Old English
Prologue
Rendlaesham – Kingdom of the East Angles, Britannia
608 A.D.
“Come, Wuffa.
Come!”
The
child’s voice echoed out across the stableyard. The object of her attention – a
tiny puppy with floppy ears, a soft brown coat and mischievous eyes – glanced
back at his mistress. Then, willfully ignoring her, he put his head down and
barreled towards the gates.
“Wuffa!”
The little girl raced down the steps leading from her father’s hall and tore
across the wide expanse after her puppy. Her blonde curls flew out behind her
as she ran, dodging men and horses, over hard-packed earth and through the
gates that led out into Rendlaesham. Ahead, she caught sight of a scrap of
brown heading straight towards the rear town gates.
“Wuffa,
no! Bad puppy! Come back here!”
The girl
picked up her skirts and dashed after her birthday gift. Ahead, the town gates
loomed. It was nearing dusk and the gates were still open, allowing in folk
returning from the orchards and fields behind the Great Hall. Her parents would
be annoyed if she left the confines of the town without an adult present, but
the fear of losing Wuffa was greater than that of a growling from her father.
She ran
across the wide road that circuited the town walls, and into the apple orchard.
The orchard was vast; a wide swath of leafy trees that covered one side of the
shallow valley behind Rendlaesham.
Close to
tears, for she could no longer see her quarry, the girl called out as she
wandered down the narrow lanes between the trees.
“Wuffa,
where are you? Wuffa, please come here. Wuffa!”
Eventually,
distraught and frightened, the girl began to cry. Wuffa had only been hers a
day, but she already loved him so. The thought that she had lost him made the
little girl’s heart feel as if it were breaking.
“Are you
looking for this?”
A boy, a
few years older than her, stepped out from behind an apple tree. He was thin
and sharp-featured with a mop of dark hair that flopped over his eyes. In one
hand, he held an apple with a bite out of it, and in the other, he held her
precious puppy.
“Yes!” The
girl rushed forward and the boy released Wuffa into her arms. The puppy eagerly
licked her tear-streaked face and wriggled excitedly. He liked this game.
“Naughty,
naughty Wuffa!” she chastised him as he wriggled into her neck.
“Thank
you.” She looked across at the boy, who had taken a bite of his apple and was
watching her thoughtfully. “He was my birthday present.”
“You
called him Wuffa?” The boy took another bite of his apple. “Doesn’t look much
like a wolf to me.”
“He will
be.” The girl lifted her chin haughtily. “When he is grown, he will be
ferocious!”
“So
today’s your birthday,” the boy replied with a shrug. “How old are you?”
“I’m
four,” she announced proudly, her cheeks coloring when he laughed.
“Four!
You’re a baby. I’m much older than you, I’m nine. I’m Caelin by the way, and
you must be Raedwyn.”
“How do
you know my name?” The girl wiped away any remaining tears with the back of her
arm and struggled to keep ahold of Wuffa, who was now trying to wriggle out of
her grasp.
“I’ve seen
you about – the king only has one daughter,” Caelin replied, watching with
amusement as Raedwyn tried to keep hold of her puppy. “If you’re not careful
you’re going to lose him again. Here, I’ll hold Wuffa for a while.”
Caelin
threw aside the half-eaten apple and relieved Raedwyn of the wriggling pup.
“Come on,
I’ll take you back to the Great Hall. Your parents will be wondering where
you’ve gone.”
“I’m not
allowed to stray from the town,” Raedwyn informed her new friend, falling in
step beside him. “
Mōder
says I’m too little.”
“You are,”
the boy replied with the air of knowledge that only children possess. “I told
you, you’re a baby.”
“I’m not a
baby!” Raedwyn drew herself up, her tiny hands balling into fists. “I’ll tell
my brothers you said that!”
Caelin
laughed at that. “And they’ll agree with me. Come now, hurry up a bit. They’ll
be closing the gates soon.”
The two
children slipped inside the town gates and made their way along the dusty
street that led up to the Great Hall. Dusk was settling over the town and amber
streaked the pale sky. It had been a hot day, one of the most beautiful of the
summer.
Caelin and
Raedwyn entered the stableyard and stopped in their tracks as a tall, handsome
man with a mane of golden hair and dark blue eyes strode towards them.
“Raedwyn!”
he boomed. “Where have you been?”
“I’m sorry
fæder
.”
Raedwyn rushed forward. “Wuffa ran off and I had to find
him. Caelin helped me.”
“Did he?”
Raedwald, King of the East Angles, scooped his daughter up into his arms and
looked down at the boy holding Raedwyn’s birthday gift. “Well done Caelin.
You’re Ceolwulf’s boy are you not?”
Caelin
nodded, seemingly struck mute in front of his king.
“I thank
you for bringing Raedwyn back safely.” The king’s gaze settled on the puppy in
Caelin’s arms. “And for rescuing the dog – although I can see I’m going to
regret my choice of gift.”
“Don’t
take Wuffa away from me
fæder
,” Raedwyn squealed, wriggling free of the
king’s embrace and gently taking the puppy from Caelin. “I promise I won’t let
him run away again, I promise!”
King
Raedwald sighed and smiled down at his young daughter.
“No one is
going to take Wuffa away from you my love,” he rumbled. “Run along now and see
your mother.”
Raedwyn
clutched her precious puppy to her flat chest and, with a darting glance of
thanks to Caelin, took off up the steps towards the Great Hall. Raedwald
watched her go before turning back to the boy before him and grinning.
“Only four
years old and already able to twist men around her little finger,” he observed
dryly. “You wait till she grows up.”
When
Caelin merely stared back at him, uncomprehending, the king shook his head.
“Never
mind.” He reached down and ruffled the boy’s hair. “You’ll understand one day.
Now off you go, back to your father’s hall before he tans your backside for
idling!”