The Betrothed Sister (40 page)

31

Summer 1078

Thea was overjoyed when, just before midsummer, Edmund rode to the estate with news from England. Earl Waltheof, the last English earl in England, and two Breton earls had rebelled and had attempted to destroy William's hold on England.

‘What?' Thea said astounded, gripping the arms of her garden chair. So they could talk privately she had swept him out into the pear orchard, her sanctuary.

‘But it was not to be. The plot was foiled. Earl Waltheof has been executed for his pains, one of the rebellious Breton earls is held prisoner in a dark dungeon. The other has fled to Brittany.' For a moment she listened to bees buzzing and a finch singing above in a pear tree.

‘The thanes will never rebel again,' she said at last.

‘Best look to the future. Our sister has. She is with that Breton, Alain of Brittany. And I heard she has done rather well for herself; a castle in Brittany and another in Yorkshire.'

Thea shrugged. ‘Good for her. I wish her well of him. He is after our mother's properties again.'

Edmund nodded. ‘Afraid so, but poor Godwin. Let us hope he finds some happiness too now he has given up rebellions. I heard that he will marry an Irish noblewoman. It will bring our brother a new life,' he said to Thea.

‘I hope he marries soon. The Irish king still holds much of my father's wealth. Our brother should get himself a great estate.'

‘If our silver has not all disappeared into thwarted rebellions, he might. We should have used our wealth in a different way and offered a ransom for Ulf instead,' Edmund said bitterly.

‘It is doubtful that a ransom would be acceptable to William. Vladimir tried to get Ulf back and was refused. Maybe Ulf is happy where he is. He must be nearly eighteen years old now. Normandy is his home. He has forgotten us.' She swiped at a bee. ‘Go back to your queen, bee.'

‘I shall never forget Ulf,' Edmund said with sadness in his voice.

‘You hardly knew him and nor did I. Now, come inside and enjoy supper. We have strawberries tonight and cream and as much of last year's pear cider as you can drink. And I think our Katya will be pleased to see you.'

She noticed he had the grace to blush when she mentioned Katya.

On Midsummer's Day, the prince organised a hunting expedition. He was proud of his roosts. Vladimir, as Harold, Thea's father had done, kept hawks, goshawks and even a golden eagle that he had recently procured from a territory far to the east. This was the bird he wanted most of all to fly. When he mentioned a hunt on Midsummer's Day, Thea said she would come too. ‘I want to fly Juno,' she said.

‘My dear, really you should not. Not now that you are with child again. What if the excitement caused us to lose him?'

‘Him? I hope
this
baby is a daughter,' she said, ‘Nonsense, my mother often rode out with my father when he flew his hawks. Edmund will remember it if you do not believe
me
.'

‘This is Rus, Thea, not England. Ladies here …'

‘Do not fly hawks. Well I do, which is precisely why I have Juno. You have taken me out hawking before and you shall now,' she insisted, arguing back and even sulking. As she knew he eventually would, he gave in.

‘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.'