The Temporal Knights (67 page)

At Shaftesbury the reception was quite different, since the Americans and Lady Æthelf
læ
d had traveled through just a few days prior. People, noblemen and peasants alike, lined the streets and cheered King Alfred, the Lady Æthelf
læ
d and the Americans, all with equal enthusiasm. They stopped to lunch and Æthelf
læ
d took a moment alone to search out her reserved father. She was afraid his silence would offend the Americans, which caused her stomach to heave with dread.

“Wot be yor thoughts father?” She asked after they’d eaten in the largest tavern in the town, much to the satisfaction of the proprietor. They were now resting on the lawn of the Magistrate’s house, since the day was clear and warm. The meal went well, though the King continued to remain distant and terse, much to the dismay of Peebles and Lemay.

“Methinks, much must be learned of these...Ammericaans and their strange ways, before our trust should be given,” he replied, his voice carrying just a hint of scorn for his daughter. But F
læ
d was now a strong, independent leader, nearly a queen in her own right. She ruled a vast land and an army of her own and though Alfred was her father, and she loved him, she realized that like any man, he could err. She remembered how shocked she’d been as a young girl the first time she truly realized her father was not all wise and powerful. The revelation had shaken her worldview to its core. She hadn’t liked it, but she’d come to accept it.

‘He’s just a man, trying to find his way,’
she thought and gave her father a smile of exasperation. Alfred knew his daughter well and he was well familiar with the look on her face and was irritated by it.

“Bygods woman!
Wold ye hand them the entire country? Wot do we know of these men who destroy such armies with ease? Ye wold turn yor back on them with trust, but not I. Vikings, Anglish, could be all the same to these men.”

But the Lady Æthelf
læ
d would have none of it. “Front or back, ye really think it wold matter,” she answered, growing angry. “This land be theirs for the taking, and depends na on us handing it to them. Ye be bringin’ danger to us father. The Ammericaans already destroyed Lord Eadwulf. Killed him in his vary castle...in one day, and without the loss of a single man. How many Danes faced ye on the fields at Exeter…six, seven thousand? Ye wold be just so much fertilizer without these men ye hold so suspiciously.”

Alfred fumed.
‘More likely ten thousand,’
he thought.
‘God’s blood, wot an army!’
Yet he did not reveal such thoughts to his overly trusting daughter. “Na F
læ
d, tis na a lowly way I be holdin’ these men, but I whilst know something of any man I wold call friend. It may be as ye say, and friends they be, but if na I will fight them, though they kill me and all in a day.”

Æthelf
læ
d smiled at her father’s pragmatism and bravery. “Ye h’ve always been cautious and sure, but da’, be na too cautious or callous with these men...they be good men,” she added passionately. She knew her father would come around soon enough. He was wise, and wise to the ways of the world. She just hoped it wouldn’t be too late.

“Come we go to Cheltenham, and then home to Winchester,” she said, taking his hand in hers. She led him back to the waiting humming beast. Three hours later they were home.

§

“We may have been better off with Lord Eadwulf,” Colonel Lemay grudgingly admitted from the General’s private room.

“Bite your tongue,” Peebles replied. He stood, back straight, before a large fire which the servants faithfully built every morning and every evening since he’d moved in. It was the middle of May, but there was still a chill to the air that the large rooms of Maiden Castle did little to dispel on their own. Colonel Lemay occupied the room next door and Dr. Rice, who was now famous throughout the land, was across the hall. Once Sir Ordmere was stable enough to travel, Peebles ordered Rice to bring him and Leoforic out to Winchester. It was his hope that their two staunchest allies would help sway the King in their favor. In fact, Alfred had assigned this entire wing of the castle to the Americans, including a barracks large enough to house fifty men. The barracks, really just a large room filled with cots and trunks, was located at the end of the hall, just inside the great stairway that led down to the courtyard.

“Alfred’s ignored us for five days now,” Lemay responded. “Tyrant though he was, at least we knew what Eadwulf was about.”

“Yes, he was about death and deceit,” Rice replied, coming to the cautious monarch’s defense, “and he’s not exactly ignoring us. Sir Wulfhere has come to us twice to beg our pardon while the King brings in people from around the land to testify for us. Alfred must be given time. He’s the ruler of this land, and must be given a little leeway to make decisions. Remember things move a little slower in the ninth century than we’re accustomed to. The Ealdorman Æthelnoth and the Lady Æthelf
læ
d are clearly on our side, and I think in the end F
læ
d may be able to sway her reluctant father. We have strong allies among the English.”

“Yes, she’s on our side, but his Chancellor...that Helmstan fellow, he’s clearly antagonistic,” Lemay replied with a frown. “He’s a greasy man, and something about him isn’t right. I’d swear he is just biding his time waiting to challenge the lot of us.”

“Yes, Ædwin has warned that’s what he’s about, fighting and furthering his own reputation,” Peebles commented, mostly content to let his two top advisors hash out the opposing viewpoints.

“Now Master Ædwin, he is definitely with us,” Rice added with a smile. “I’ve not met a more enthusiastic local since Leoforic.”

“Or Sir Elid,” Lemay said with his own smile, “that man’s a born soldier and has taken to his training with a lot of determination. He rarely leaves Sadao’s side when they are off duty. It would be comical if he wasn’t so absolutely serious. As for Ædwin, I’m not sure how much influence he has with the King, but the scuttlebutt is he may be the Queen’s lover.”

“Oh,” Peebles said, and raised an eyebrow.

“That’s the talk among the peasants,” Rice confirmed. “Ealhswith sure did take to flying though didn’t she?” He added referring to the queen’s flight in the Bot the previous day.

“Yes,” Peebles answered still bothered by talk of the queen’s secret love life. “She wants to go back up just as soon as we’ll let her.”

“We’ve burned nearly sixty percent of our fuel reserves,” the Colonel reported crisply.

“Robertson has found several promising sights. There’s one out west where oil is bubbling to the surface,” Rice said. “Plus he has several more possibilities closer to Rochester he wants to check out. He’s having a bit of difficulty matching the local topography to the old maps from British Petroleum.”

“In any case, for now the Colonel is correct,” the General said. “We’ll have to go on strict rationing.”

“If the King turns against us, we won’t have enough gas to carry out a major offensive,” Lemay added.

“The King is here. Let’s have faith in him. No long offensive will be needed, and Robertson will find and refine oil in time. The oil company maps are very specific, plus the locals seem to know where to find it. Oil was still quite useful in these times. We’ll have additional fuel before the year is out.”

“Speaking of Robertson, I think we need to assign a detachment of soldiers to him as guard. I’d hate for any accidents to happen to him in his wanderings. He’s too important to lose,” the Colonel suggested.

Peebles nodded. “See to it.”

“Major Thane reports that all is ready and the ship is fit for travel at any time,” Lemay continued moving on to the next topic, wondering slightly what his commander would do.

At first the General said nothing. Then he looked at Rice and gave a curt nod. Their decision was made and they would have to live with it now, succeed or fail.

“Tell him to stand-by and be ready. I think we may have to use him and the ship here in Winchester before all this is over. We’ll delay the launch for two months while we instruct and train the women who will accompany the Major and Captain Giles.”

Lemay raised an eyebrow. “Provided there are volunteers. The locals are a superstitious lot.”

“Yes, but I can think of a few who might want to go,” Peebles replied and finally sat heavily in a chair by the fire. “Plus I think the ship might have other uses.”

“You have some idea in mind?” Rice asked.

Peebles nodded. “If we cannot convince the King that we are what we say we are, perhaps Matt and the alien ship can.”

“The King should have time to decide on his own,” Rice repeated, sure that with enough time, Alfred would come around. He was an extraordinarily intelligent and worldly man, a visionary in his time. As a boy Alfred’s father even took him on a pilgrimage to Rome. He spoke five languages and was very determined to educate his people in the ways of the enlightened east Arabic countries.” If the King was allowed to make up his own mind, Gordon was convinced that Alfred would decide in their favor.

“Time is one thing we can give him at the moment,” Peebles conceded, “though even that is not unlimited. But F
læ
d tells me her father will hold a conference in three weeks with his Ealdormen. He must make a decision by then, I would think.”

“So what do we do in the mean time?” Lemay asked.

The General smiled at him. “Relax. Let’s get to know the people of Winchester, and let them get to know us. But we stay on alert, no more than a quarter of the men on furlough at any one time. Tell them to keep it sharp until we have King Alfred’s answer.”

Lemay nodded. He would like to go on full alert, but he knew that might make the King suspicious, and perhaps more inclined to decide against them.

§

“Tis na me decision, Dottir,” Sir Oldalf said hoping to calm his youngest child. “The King has asked me to stay on at court until after the great conference,” he explained, watching her very closely. He was instantly struck by her simple beauty. She had something of her mother about her, but something else as well. She was truly striking and he understood well why many of the young nobles around Winchester were vying for her attentions. She was truly the loveliest of the young ladies, though he suspected he saw her through a father’s eyes. Today she was dressed in a dark green gown sewn intermittently with white lace. Her shoulders were impossibly small and her waist even more so. Her fair hair was partially down, a bit scandalous really, but it was the fashion at court this year for the younger ladies. It framed her clear, white skin and set off her dark, pleading eyes.

“But father please. I must go to him. I canna’ wait another day,” she insisted, holding Matt’s letter tightly in her left hand. She’d memorized his words long ago and recited it to herself every night before she slept and again the moment she woke the next morning. “Docktor Rice says the ship be repaired and that Matt could leave at any minute,” she fibbed. “Father, wot if he decides to leave me. He has na seen me for many a day...wot if he forgets me?” she said in a rush, voicing every desperate fear she felt.

“Child, he’d
na forget ye so easily,” Oldalf said with an reassuring smile. “And ye talk to him every day on that...raydiio. Fear na dottir, ye have bewitched him. I can tell, havin’ been bewitched meself by yor lovely mother.”

“Do ye really think so father?” She asked and gave him a quick hug. Small as she was, her arms did not meet behind his large torso, but he was happy to see the sparkle come back into her eyes.

“Truly I do. Now come let us get out of these rooms. Sir Wulfhere is going to work one of his best falcons this morn. Wold ye like to get out and watch?”

Ellyn had always liked falcons and hawkin’. Her father was an expert with the birds, having trained several falcons on his own. Such dedication was rare among nobles; most did not have the patience for it, and instead left the actual training to others. Today however, Ellyn’s mind was on her absent love, and she did not feel all that festive, wanting instead to be alone with her thoughts. She’d chased Trudy off earlier and found the task quite easy.
“Na, father. Ye go and I’ll...”

“Docktor Rice and Genaral Peebles are sportin’ along,” he interrupted, and could tell she was immediately reconsidering. He suppressed a smile and patiently waited.

“All right father. I’ll go with ye,” she finally replied and took his hand. “Come let’s walk along the creek,” she added. They both left the room, happy to be free of the confines of the castle grounds. Ellyn grinned at her father, glad for her change of heart as they moved through the massive gates of Maiden Castle. Once outside she released his hand and skipped away from him, laughing. Oldalf just smiled and shook his head at the quick change in her moods. In that, at least, she was like her mother.

The day was lovely, warm and cloudless, and a large crowd of nobles and common folk were already making their way down to the lower fields. Most of the nobles rode in fine open air carriages but a few walked down to a group of colorful tents where many of the birds waited to show off their skill.