"But," he said, "there is one thing to come before that. The Witan must know who your husband shall be. And that is reasonable, for he will have a share in ruling the kingdom."
Then said Goldberga, "They need have no fear in that matter, for I will wed none but a king or the heir of a king."
"Well," said Alsi, dryly enough, "they are not so plentiful as are blackberries, and there may be two words to that."
"I am not anxious to be wedded," answered the princess, "and I can wait. It is, as you say, a matter that is much to the country."
Then Alsi tried another plan, seeing that Goldberga was not at all put out by this. So he forced a cunning smile that was meant to be pleasant, and said, "I had thought that your mind ran somewhat on Ragnar."
He looked to see the lady change colour, but she did not.
"Ragnar is my cousin," she said, "or a good brother to me, if you will. Moreover, until the other day when he met me in London by some good fortune, I had hardly seen him since my father died."
"What think you of Griffin?"
"Nothing at all, for nidring he is," answered Goldberga with curling lip.
Now that angered Alsi, for he had so much to do with that business; and if Griffin was to be called thus by his fault, he was likely to lose a friend.
"I would have you remember," he said, "that in all this choosing it remains for me to give consent or withhold it."
"I shall only ask your consent to my wedding such a man as I have told you of, uncle -- a king or a king"s son."
"So," said Alsi, "you would choose first, and ask me afterwards, forsooth! That is not the way that things are to be between us. It is for me to choose, and that according to the oath which I took when your father made me guardian of you and his realm."
"Yet," said Goldberga very gently, "I think that my father would not have meant that I should be the only one not to be asked."
"I can only go by what I swore, and that I will carry out. I promised to see you married to the most goodly and mightiest man in the land."
"That can be none but a king, as I think."
Now Alsi grew impatient, for he meant to settle one matter before he went much farther.
"I will say at once that I can have no king over the East Anglian kingdom. It is not to be thought of that after all these years I should have to take second place there. You will hold the kingdom from me, and I shall be overlord there. I will send you some atheling who can keep the land in order for you, but there shall be no king to bring that land under the power of his own kingdom."
That was plain speaking, and it roused Goldberga.
"Never have you been overlord of my kingdom," she said. "Well have you ruled it for me while I could not rule it myself, and for that I thank you heartily. But it is not right that I should seem to hold it from you."
"That is to be seen," sneered Alsi, "for it lies with me to say what marriage you make, and on that depends whether the Witan, in its wisdom, sees fit to hail you as queen. Not until you are married will you take the kingdom at all."
"Then," said the princess, growing pale, "I will speak to the Witan myself, and learn their will."
"The Witan has broken up," answered Alsi, "and the good thanes are miles on their way homewards by this time. You are too late."
"I will call them up again."
"Certainly -- that is, if I let my men run hither and thither to fetch them. But after all, in this matter I am master. Whom you wed lies with me."
Goldberga saw that she was in the hands of the king, and maybe as much a prisoner as at Dover. So her spirits fled, and she asked what the king willed.
Alsi knew now that nothing but his utmost plan would be of any avail to save that kingdom for himself, and so he broke out into wrath, working up his fury that he might not go back.
"My will is that you obey me in this carrying out of the oath I took on the holy ring, 10 and on the Gospels also to please your mother. You shall marry the man whom I choose, so that he be according to the words of that oath."
"So that he be king or son of a king, I will obey you," answered Goldberga.
"Then you defy me. For that I have told you that I will not have. Now shall we see who is master. You mind yon kitchen knave of last night? There can be none in all England mightier or more goodly than he is to look on, and him shall you wed. So will my oath be well kept. Then if your precious Witan will have him, well and good, for his master shall I be."
Thereat the princess said that it were better that she should die; but now Alsi had set out all his plan to her, and he did not mean to flinch from carrying it out. There was no doubt that the Norfolk people would hold that she had disgraced herself by the marriage, and so would refuse to have her as queen. And that was all he needed.
But Goldberga had no more to say, for she was past speaking, and the king was fain to call her ladies. And when they came he went away quickly, and gave orders for the safe keeping of the princess, lest she should try to fly, or to get any message to Ragnar or other of the Norfolk thanes.
Now he must go through with this marriage, for he had shown himself too plainly, and never would the princess trust him again. I have heard that he sent for Griffin at this time; but, as I found, he was gone; and if the king thought that perhaps the princess would wed him now to escape from the kitchen knave, he had no chance to bring him forward. I suppose he could have made out that Griffin, or for that matter any one else he chose, was such a one as his oath to Ethelwald demanded.
Sore wept Goldberga when she was back in her own place, and at first it was hard for her to believe that Alsi could mean what he had threatened. But then she could not forget her dream, and in that she had most certainly seen the very form of him who stood before her at the high place last night; and that perhaps troubled her more than aught, for it seemed to say that him she must wed. But no king"s son could he be, so that there must be yet such another mighty man to be found.
And then in her heart she knew that there could not be two such men, both alike in all points to him of the vision. And she knew also, though maybe she would not own it, that if this Curan had been but a thane of little estate, she could have had naught to say against the matter.
And so at last she found that in her trouble and doubt and wish for peace she was thinking, "Would that he were not the kitchen knave!"
Now, it chanced that the old nurse had gone out into the town, and was away all this while, so that she knew nothing of this new trouble; and presently she was coming back with her arms full of what she had bought, and there met her Havelok and Withelm, who had been to the widow"s, and were on their way to find me at the gate.
"Mother," said Havelok, "let me help you up with these things."
That frightened the old lady, for she had been looking at him, and had made up her mind that he was some mighty n.o.ble, as did most strangers.
"Nay, lord," she said; "that is not fitting for you."
"Less fitting is it that a strong man should see you thus burdened and not help. No lord am I, but only the cook"s man. So I am going to the palace."
But this she would not believe at first, and still refused. However, Lincoln Hill is very steep, and she was not sorry when Havelok laughed and took the things from her so soon as she had to halt for breath.
"Curan will carry you up also, if you will, mother," said Withelm.
The nurse tossed her head at him and made no answer, being on her dignity at once. Moreover, she had heard of Curan by this time, though she had not seen him before. So she said no more, and went on proudly enough, with her mighty attendant after her; but all the while it was in her mind that there was some jest, or maybe wager, between the two.
Now Withelm stopped at the gate; but I was not there, for I had been sent to the palace, where guards were to be at each door. The word was that some plot had been found out against the princess, and that therefore we had to be careful. One easily believed that with all the talk about the attack made on her party that was flying about. So he came on to the palace kitchens, for Berthun knew him well, having so often bought fish from him in the market; and there he sat down to talk with the steward, for there was nothing much going on at the time, and I was on guard.
Now, the old nurse went to her mistress; and Goldberga sat in the shadow, and was weeping no longer, seeing that it would not help at all.
"There is a wonder down yonder," said the old lady, not seeing that there had been any trouble yet -- "such a man as I never saw in all my days; and he even carried my goods up all the hill for me, old and ugly as I am. That is not what every young man would do nowadays. Maybe it was different when I was young, or else my being young made the difference. The youth with him called him Curan, which is the name of the strong porter they prate of, but doubtless that was a jest. This is the most kingly man that could be; and I ween that those two made a wager that he dared not carry a bundle up to the palace, whereby I was the gainer, for breath grows short up that pitch. And when I thanked him he bowed in that wise that can only come of being rightly taught when one is young. Now, I am going to ask Berthun who he is, for he spoke to him when he saw him, and that humbly, as it seemed."
So talked the nurse, and to all Goldberga answered never a word, for all the trouble came back again, and with it the thought that she hated, that if only --
Then, as the nurse was leaving her, she called her back.
"Nurse," she said, "I am in sore trouble about the dream. It bides with me, and will not cease to puzzle me until I weary for some one to read it plainly. I would that Queen Bertha"s good chaplain were here, for I might have been helped by him."