Call of the Kings by Chris Page Page A

the meaning of some of those words as well,’ she said, sticking her tongue out at him impishly.
    He went back to Swein.
    ‘I have come to get Edgiva, the Abbess of Leominster,’ the old wizard said when the earl finally realized that screaming abuse only got him silenced again and actually listened.
    ‘Over my dead body,’ spat Swein.
    ‘So be it,’ said Twilight. ‘I will also be taking all the money you have extracted from the good Baron Tennant de Corbierre here and giving it back to him.’
    A look of fear flitted briefly across Swein’s face. For the first time he was beginning to understand that this old man, with the long silver and black hair and the blackest eyes he had ever seen, actually exercised a complete control over him and his actions, and there was nothing all his bullying, intimidation, and manpower could do about it.
    ‘What will it take to make you change your mind?’
    ‘You leave this man, his sons, and lands in peace and only levy the geld on them that is fair and equitable. As regards the abbess, I will only leave her with you if that is her own wish.’
    ‘She won’t want to leave me . . . ever,’ sneered Swein.
    ‘We’ll see. Where are you keeping her?’
    Leaving all of them still frozen and only the baron and his two sons with speech, sight, and hearing so they could converse, Twilight and Tara transformed to the locked chamber in Hereford Castle where Edgiva was being held captive. Once the abbess had got over the shock of the sudden arrival of the pair in her chamber, Twilight explained the situation, including the fact that they were here at the request of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
    ‘As God is my witness, Swein is holding me here against my will,’ Edgiva said quietly, tears flowing freely down her cheeks. She was a tall, willowy woman with dark brown hair, a most attractive face and demeanour. Her long, simple cotton robe reached to the floor, and she had braided her hair into a knot on the top of her head, accentuating her height.
    Out of deference to her plight and position, Twilight refrained from exploring her mind.
    ‘Swein said you’d never want to leave him.’
    ‘He’s totally wrong about that. He has abused me beyond all reason, such that I can never again enter the service of the Christian Church as before. My future in service of my faith has been taken from me by that cruel and depraved ogre.’
    ‘What would you like us to do with him?’
    She thought about this for a while in silence.
    ‘I don’t honestly know,’ she said finally. ‘Every part of me wants him dead, yet my beliefs forbid such an action.’
    ‘Okay. Leave that to us. In the meantime let’s get you out of here. Take our hands.’
    They deposited the abbess in the private chambers of Robert of Jumieges, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop, who was at Mass, was sent for and arrived red-faced and full of gratitude. Making their excuses, Twilight and Tara left them both and returned to the manor house of the Baron Tennant de Corbierre.
    ‘What are we going to do with Swein and his soldiers?’ Tara said, walking around the frozen men. ‘If we leave him here he’ll be back to his old ways as soon as we’re gone, and the baron and his two sons here will be the first to feel the heavy hand of his revenge.’
    ‘Exile,’ said Twilight emphatically.
    ‘Where to?’
    ‘I thought Denmark. Swein and his men are acting with the brutality and savagery of the Viking so why don’t we arrange it so they live with them?’
    ‘What about Swein’s father, Godwine, and his brothers. Won’t they object?’
    ‘Probably,’ said the old wizard gleefully. ‘But they can go as well if they like!’
     
    Two weeks after the abbess was rescued, the archbishop invited Twilight and Tara to London to meet the king. It was the anniversary of Edward’s coronation and would be marked by a grand dinner.
    Katre decided that Tara needed a proper dress. A grand dinner with the king and queen and