“You will have to excuse these heathen boys,” Egelric said with regards to the two elf boys who played noisily before the fire. “It’s the bachelor life out here. It’s all I can do to get them to shave once in a while and change their socks.”
“You don’t shave any more often,” Alred noted.
“I trim my beard!”
“I suppose you do it yourself, too. Still won’t have a valet?”
“Any man who puts his hand on my cheek will immediately find my fist on his.”
“So let it be written!” Alred laughed. “I wouldn’t mind living the bachelor life myself, but I have to keep myself presentable for the benefit of my daughters and yours.”
“Your daughters wouldn’t care if you grew a little shaggy. I know mine wouldn’t.”
“I don’t know about Gwynn. She has some rather clear ideas about how an ideal knight should look. And behave, thanks to that scoundrel Baldwin.”
“She has an ancestral longing to be carried off as her grandmother was.”
“And her father was!”
Egelric laughed.
“Fortunately her ideal knight has violet eyes,” Alred said, “so I think there’s little danger.”
“Don’t be so certain. We know of at least one woman who does.”
“Her dream of violet eyes was no doubt inspired by Lady Judith, but since she could not acquire violet eyes of her own, she has transferred her desire to the man of her dreams.”
“In a few years, when word of the beauty of the Lady Gwynn has spread far and wide, you will learn just how many knights with violet eyes there are.”
“Jupiter!” Alred sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. “Why must you speak with the voice of prophecy, old man? She’s only nine.”
“You will feel the same way when she’s ‘only thirteen,’ believe me.”
“Ah, yes. I notice that word of the beauty of the fair Iylaine has spread at least as far as Dyrnemoras. Eadwyn’s brother has invited himself to visit twice since he met her at Theobald’s wedding.”
“What does Malcolm have to say to that?”
“I don’t know about Malcolm, but young Ceolwulf has already made an enemy of Stein.”
“Stein? What does Stein have to do with anything?”
“You miss a lot, living the bachelor life out here, old man.”
“Just what have I missed?”
“I am not in the young Viking’s confidence, but my opinion is that Stein does not think Iylaine quite won.”
“I hope not,” Egelric said dryly.
“He is as subtle as Sir Brede, and more to the point, he has the sensitivity to discern the many shades of leave-me-alone in her. Whereas Malcolm cannot seem to detect this elusive substance at all.”
“If Stein’s only talent is that he knows when to leave my daughter alone, I don’t see how he will ever get anywhere with her.”
“If she ever realizes how finely attuned to her leave-me-alone he is, she might want to find out how sensitive he is to her come-to-me.”
Egelric grunted. “You are not reassuring.”
“Who said I came to reassure you?” Alred laughed. “Call it a warning.”
“I should go see her,” Egelric sighed.
“I hope you will. I came to invite you, not reassure you. I hope you will come to stay with us over Christmas.”
“Christmas?” Egelric scowled.
“Egelric…”
“God damn Christmas.”
“For the boys’ sake. They are two. For Iylaine’s sake. I happen to be in her confidence far enough to know that she has a very fine gift planned for you.”
Egelric snorted.
“I don’t want you here living the bachelor life over Christmas. I can make it a command.”
“You cannot command me to be merry.”
“I shall not. But I hope you will come. I hope you will come see Gunnilda as well. It will be difficult for her, too. Alwy was always like a boy at Christmas.”
Alred leaned forward to get a better look at Egelric’s face in the firelight, but it had not changed since he had begun to scowl at the mention of Christmas. He realized too late that it had not been wise to mention Gunnilda immediately after reminding Egelric of his wife’s death. He knew himself even less skilled at meddling in other people’s lives than his own wife had been, but he was compelled to try.
Egelric was silent long enough that Alred had begun to suspect that he hadn’t been listening at all. But at last he asked, “How is she?”
“She’s strong. She soldiers on. And Alwy worked so hard this year that she’ll have one of the few farms with enough to eat this winter, I think. It’s next year that worries me.”
Egelric did not reply, so Alred continued after a moment. “I’ve sent a few men up to help. I calculate that Alwy did the work of two-and-a-half men, so I went ahead and gave her three. And Ethelmund has been coming up quite often to make certain she’s well and doesn’t need anything.”
Egelric’s face did not change. Alred admitted himself disappointed.
“They used to be neighbors, you know,” he said. “When they still lived down at the crossroads. Of course, you were her neighbor then, too. Closer, I think. I suppose that – ”
“You cannot command me to marry, either, Alred,” Egelric said coldly.
“I… shall not…”
“It is what you have in mind, is it not? You are less subtle than Stein. I must speak my leave-me-alone with you.”
“It wasn’t what I meant…”
“Then I apologize for misunderstanding. I should have known you would not ask a man to remarry when his wife has been dead less than a year, when you yourself have not, two years after the death of your own.”
It was precisely the thing to say to silence any argument Alred might have found. Two years later, his first thought was still that he should ask Matilda’s advice when he returned home.
Chapters
But still, he and Gunnilda have loved each other so long, this is the perfect time... If only he would see!