Swanne, who was stepping forth, her hands held out in entreaty— Finish him! For the gods”
sakes, finish him! —but just then Tostig heard the distant footfalls of the guards rushing up the stairs and, with a bitter curse, he sheathed the dagger in his belt, stumbled to his feet, and
disappeared out the door.
When Caela arrived with Judith, the bowerthegn and what seemed like an entire company
of guards from Edward‘s palace, it was to find Harold sitting on his bed, one of his guards by his
side holding a thick wad of bedding to Harold‘s chest and belly to staunch bleeding, and Swanne
standing by the window, staring out, her face closed, her arms folded.
―Harold!‖ Caela said and ran to him, pushing away the guard‘s hand so that she could
examine her brother‘s wound. ―Harold? Are you well? Oh, gods, I dreamed of treachery—‖ I
dreamed that Genvissa had set Brutus to your death all over again ―—and came as fast as I
could.‖
―It was Tostig,‖ Harold said, wincing as Caela‘s probing fingers bit a little too deeply.
Caela went very still. ―Tostig?‖ she whispered. ―Oh gods…Tostig…‖
―Tostig was ever the fool,‖ Swanne said in a toneless voice. She still kept her back to
them as she stood by the window.
Harold looked his wife‘s way, and the black hate in his eyes was enough to make Caela
recoil.
―Swanne?‖ she whispered. ― Again?‖
Swanne turned around. ―Me? Nay, Caela. I was as surprised as any by Tostig‘s attack.‖
―She stood back,‖ Harold said. ―She laughed, refusing to aid me.‖
―I was afraid for my own life!‖ Swanne cried, her face now a mask of fright. ―I thought
he would take his blade to me the instant he had done with you!‖
Harold was going to say more, but just then Saeweald pushed his way past the guards,
and the movement was enough to make the bowerthegn spring into action.
―What are you standing about for!‖ he cried, his face purpling. ―Seek out the assassin!
Now!‖
Within three heartbeats the chamber had almost emptied as the bowerthegn hurried the
guards out the door, leaving, for the moment, Harold, Swanne, Saeweald, Judith and Caela.
―Let me see,‖ said Saeweald as he sat on Harold‘s other side. He pushed away Caela‘s
hands, pulled back the wad of bedding that was being used to staunch the bleeding and, with
fingers considerably less gentle than Caela‘s had been, pulled back the flap of skin on the cut that
ran across Harold‘s belly, and then probed the puncture wound in his chest.
Harold cursed, pulling away, but Saeweald would not leave him be until he‘d finished his
examination.
He grunted finally, allowing Caela to wipe away the blood, and sat back. ―You‘re lucky,‖
Saeweald said. ―The chest wound did not go deep enough to reach either your heart or your
lungs. It will be sore enough for a few days, but it will leave you with hardly a scar. The belly
wound I will need to stitch, only because of its length, but it is even less deep than that wound in
your chest.‖
Swanne laughed, harsh and bitter, making everyone jerk their heads towards her. ―Well
now,‖ she said, ―what a scene this is. Is it only someone with my sense of humour who could
possibly enjoy it? Ah, I see no need to pretend, not with who we have here in this chamber.‖
She sauntered forward. ―Lucky, lucky Caela,‖ she said, very low, her eyes vicious, ―isn‘t
this just what you always wanted? Sitting on a bed next to your naked lover—only this time he
has survived the assassin‘s knife. Tell me, should we leave you in peace so you and your lover
can consummate your love? I‘m sure those wounds won‘t stop him.‖
Caela‘s face hardened as she opened her mouth to speak, but Harold forestalled her. He
pushed aside Saeweald‘s hands, strode over to his wife and grabbed her arm in a tight hand.
―Get you gone from here, you snake-tongued bitch,‖ he said and, despite her protests,
pushed her through the door and slammed it shut after her. Then Harold turned, his face more
determined now than angry, and walked over to where Caela sat, leaned down, and kissed her
hard on the mouth.
―I am no longer ashamed of what I feel for you,‖ he said, standing upright again. ―On the
night that my brother tried to murder me, and my wife begged him to success, I have no
reluctance in admitting before all present,‖ his eyes swept over Saeweald and Judith, ―that I love
you more than any other woman, more than life itself.‖
Caela rose slowly, her eyes riveted on Harold‘s. ―Harold…‖ She sighed, closed her eyes
briefly, then leaned forward and kissed him very softly on the mouth. ―We cannot. We each have
different paths to travel. If we were to act on this love it would destroy this realm. What we feel
for each other would be used against us, and this land and its people would be the ones to suffer.
We cannot, and I, for one, am most sorry for it.‖
She turned away, and, her head bowed, left the chamber.
TEN
CAELA SPEAKS
Harold came to see me the day after Tostig‘s vile treachery. It was in the late afternoon,
and many among the court, my husband included, had gone to vespers services within the abbey church. Edward had only shrugged when told of the drama within Harold‘s bedchamber the
previous night, and commented: ―I‘d thought Tostig was a better huntsman than that.‖
I was seated before the fire in the Lesser Hall that Edward and I used for our smaller
courts when Harold arrived. He nodded away Judith and the two other ladies who were seated
with me as I rose to greet him.
Under normal circumstances I would have kissed him on the mouth—that was normal
greeting between close relatives—but ―normal circumstance‖ between us had been shattered the
previous night. I took his hands between mine, and pressed them, then let them go and silently
cursed the awkwardness between us.
―Harold…are you well? Your wounds?‖
―They sting a little,‖ he said, and I could see it was so in the stiffness of his movement as
he lowered himself into the chair, ―but they shall be no more trouble. Saeweald has done well.‖
―And Tostig has done badly,‖ I said. ―Oh, Harold, I cannot believe that our brother—‖
―Leave Tostig for the moment,‖ he said. ―Caela, what happened last night, what I said—‖
―What you said was truth, and best spoken,‖ I said. ―Do I feel this pull between us? Yes,
of course I do. But we cannot act on it, Harold. We cannot. We are each more than just a man
and a woman unhappily yearning each for the other. What each of us does affects an entire realm
and its people. We cannot.‖
I cannot kill you again through my ill-considered passions, Coel. Please understand that.
Please.
His mouth twisted wryly. ―You state your case as clearly as you did last night. I am sorry
that I have so discomforted you.‖
―You comfort me through all my lives, Harold,‖ I said as softly and lovingly as I could.
He looked away, overcome, I think, with emotion, and for long moments we were silent.
Finally, unable to bear it any longer, I said, ―Tostig?‖
He sighed. ―Last night‘s debacle was my own fault. You remember that when we sat in
court in the evening, I mentioned that I‘d heard that Hardrada had agents within Westminster,
and I had the means to shortly discover them, and their purpose?‖
I nodded.
His mouth twisted wryly. ―Even then I suspected Tostig. I had thought to goad him into
action…but I had no idea how deadly that action might be.‖
I closed my eyes momentarily, unable to bear the thought that Tostig might have
succeeded. ―Have you found him?‖
―No. He slipped away.‖
Aided, no doubt, by Swanne”s witchcraft, I thought. How she must have enjoyed last
night.
He reached a hand out and took one of mine. I tensed, but then relaxed. A hand was not
much. ―You aided me,‖ he said. ―I am not sure how, but I know it was you. My men said they
were roused by the sound of your voice screaming in their heads, screaming that an assassin was
upon me.‖
I said nothing, but my eyes filled with tears. All I could think of was how Brutus had torn
him from me, and ripped out his throat. To have that happen again…
―Ah,‖ he said, very softly, ―you do not deny it. Then I do owe you my life.‖
―You are very beloved, Harold,‖ I whispered.
He smiled, and it contained no demands, nor hurt. Nothing but love.
―Swanne,‖ I said, wanting to distract both him and myself.
―Ah. Swanne. After Saeweald attended me last night I returned with him to his own