To Love Again

together by a happily married matron who would be our pronuba. She would join our hands before ten formal witnesses, although actually all our guests would be present.'

'Why ten?' he asked her.

'Ten for the ten original patrician families of Rome,' she answered him, and then continued, 'I would then say the ancient words of my consent to our marriage. 'When-and where-you are Gaius, I then-and there-am Gaia.' We would then move to the left of the family altar and face it, sitting on stools covered with the skin of sheep sacrificed for the occasion. My father would then offer a cake of spelt to Jupiter. We would eat the cake, while my father prayed aloud to Juno, who is Goddess of Marriage. He would pray to Nodens, and to other gods of the land, both Roman and Celtic. Afterward we would be considered truly wed. There are other forms of the marriage ceremony, but this was the one always used by my family.

'My parents would then host a great feast which would last the entire day. At the end of it pieces of our wedding cake would be distributed to our guests for luck. Then I would be formally escorted to my husband's home. You would seize me from the shelter of my mother's arms, and I would take my place in the procession. We would be led by torch bearers, and musicians, and anyone along the way might join in the parade. Indeed, this procession was considered the final stamp of validity to a marriage in the old days.

'It is customary for a bride to be attended by three young boys whose parents are both living. Two would walk next to me and hold my hands, while the third would go before me carrying a branch of hawthorn. Behind me would be carried a spindle and distaff. I would have three coins of silver; one I would offer to the gods of the Crossroads, the second I would give to you, representing my dowry, and the third I would offer to your household gods.'

'And would I do nothing except stride proudly along?' he said.

'Oh, no,' Cailin told him. 'You would scatter sesame cakes, nuts, and other sweetmeats among the bystanders. When we reached your house, I would decorate the door posts with colored wool, and anoint the door with precious oils. Then you would lift me up and carry me across the threshold. It is considered bad luck if a bride's foot should slip while entering her new home.'

'I would not let you slip,' he promised, and lifting his head up, he kissed her lips. 'Is that all?'

'No,' Cailin said with a little laugh. 'There is more. As you carried me into the house, I would repeat the same words I had said to you at our marriage ceremony. Then the door would be closed to the crowds outside.'

'And we would be alone at last!' Wulf Ironfist said.

'No,' Cailin answered, giggling. 'We would have certain invited guests with us. You would put me upon my feet and offer me fire and water as a token of the life we would share, and as symbols of my duty in our home. There would be wood and kindling already set in the hearth, which I would light with the marriage torch. Then I would toss the torch among our guests. It is considered very lucky to gain possession of a marriage torch.'

'Then our guests would go home, and we would finally be alone,' he said. 'Am I right, Cailin Drusus?'

She chuckled. 'No.'

'No?' he said in exaggerated tones of outrage.

'I would have to recite a prayer first,' she said.

'A long prayer?' He pretended to look aggrieved.

'Not too long,' she replied, 'and afterward the pronuba would lead me to our marriage couch, which would be placed in the center of the atrium on the first night of our marriage. It would always remain in its original position as a symbol of our union.'

' 'Tis a long day for a bride and groom,' he said.

'How do the Saxons celebrate their marriages?' she asked him.

'A man buys his wife,' Wulf Ironfist replied. 'Of course he usually makes certain first that the maid is of a similar frame of mind. Then he approaches her family-through an intermediary, of course-to see what and how much they will take for the girl. Then the offer is formally made. Perhaps it is accepted, or perhaps a little more dickering goes on. Once the bride price is agreed upon and exchanged, a feast is held, and afterward the happy couple go home-without their guests, I might add,' he concluded.

Then he took her chin between his thumb and forefinger. 'Say your words to me, Cailin Drusus.' His voice was soft, his tone caressing, his manhood beginning to stir once again. 'Say your words to me, lambkin. I will be a good husband to you, I swear by all the gods, both yours and mine.'

'When-and where-you are Gaius, I then-and there-am Gaia,' Cailin told him. How odd, she thought. I waited all my life for the right man to say those words to, but never did I think to say them, stark naked, in a bed space in a Dobunni village to a Saxon. Still, Cailin decided she was fortunate. She sensed that Wulf Ironfist was an honorable and a good man. She needed his protection, for without her family she had no one. Ceara and Maeve did the best they could for her, but they had gone away, and she had found herself at the mercy of Berikos and his vicious Catuvellauni wife. It would not happen again. Then she heard the Saxon's voice, strong and sure, and she looked into his blue eyes.

'I, Wulf Ironfist, son of Orm, take you, Cailin Drusus, for my wife. I will provide for you, and protect you. This I swear by the great god Woden, and by the god Thor, my patron.'

'I will be a good wife to you,' Cailin promised him.

'I know,' he told her. Then he chuckled. 'I wonder what your grandfather, and that witch Brigit, will think of this turn of events?'

'He will ask payment of you for me, I am certain. Give him nothing!' Cailin said. 'He deserves nothing.'

'That for which we pay nothing is worth nothing, lambkin,' Wulf told her. 'I value you above all women. I will give him a fair price of which you need not be ashamed.'

'You are too good,' she said. 'How can I repay you for your kindness to me? You might have had a night's sport, and then sent me away. If you had, however, I know I ought not have been shamed, for it is the Dobunni way, but I would have been shamed in my heart nevertheless.'

A slow, mischievous grin lit his strong, handsome features. 'I know just how you may begin your repayment, lambkin,' he said, and he brought her hand to his manroot, which was again in a state of eager readiness. 'I intend to exact full payment, lambkin, not just this night, but in the nights to come.'

Her young face took on a seductive look he had not seen before. 'It is fair, my husband,' she agreed. 'You will hear no complaint from me in this matter. My family always taught me to repay my debts.' Then she pulled his face back to hers, her lips ready and eager for his kisses.

Chapter 6

Berikos looked at his guest. 'You slept well?' he asked. 'You have reconsidered our conversation of yesterday?'

'Your granddaughter is a charming companion,' Wulf Ironfist replied, and gulped down a draught of brown ale. 'I am honored to have had her first-night rights, Berikos. You have made it plain how much you desire my aid, but I, in turn, still believe your idea is doomed to failure. You cannot turn back time. No one ever has, my friend.'

'I will meet your price,' Berikos said desperately.

'Land?' The Saxon raised an eyebrow questioningly.

Berikos nodded bleakly.

'You would make a bad neighbor, feeling as you do,' Wulf told the old man. 'I would never really be able to trust you… unless…'

'Unless what?' Berikos pounced upon the small thread of hope.

'Assign me a portion of land for security now. When I have trained your men, I will exchange it with another Celt living on the Saxon shore,' Wulf Ironfist said. 'I will have my land, and the land you give me will belong to another of your race. Perhaps not of your own tribe, but you Celts can work that out amongst you.'