‘Why not?’ I asked belligerently.
‘He would see it as a betrayal.’
I let that remark rest for a moment, then looked at my companions. ‘He won’t hear it from us,’ I said, and Finan, Egil and Thorolf all nodded. ‘A betrayal of what?’ I asked, though in a more kindly tone.
‘There are times,’ Oswald said, his voice still hesitant, ‘when a king’s counsellor must do what he thinks is right, not what the king wants.’
‘And that’s betrayal?’
‘In a small sense, yes, in the larger? No. It is loyalty.’
‘And what does the king want?’ Finan asked quietly.
‘Bebbanburg.’
‘He told me as much this afternoon,’ I said dismissively, ‘but if I don’t want him to have it then he’ll have to fight over my walls.’
‘The king believes otherwise.’
‘Otherwise?’ I asked.
‘Where force might fail,’ Oswald said, ‘guile might succeed.’
I thought how cleverly Æthelstan had captured Eoferwic, putting Guthfrith to panicked flight, and I felt a chill of fear. ‘Go on,’ I said.
‘The king is persuaded you have an agreement with Constantine,’ Oswald said, ‘and he is determined to thwart that agreement. He has invited you to a feast tomorrow. While you are eating and drinking, Lord Ealdred will lead two hundred men across Northumbria.’ He spoke flatly, as if reluctant. ‘And Ealdred will carry a letter to my brother, a letter from the king. King Æthelstan and my brother are friends and my brother will believe the letter and welcome the king’s men into the fortress, and Ealdred will then be the Lord of Bebbanburg.’
Finan swore quietly, then threw another length of firewood into the flames. Egil leaned forward. ‘Why does the king believe a lie?’ he asked.
‘Because his advisers have convinced him that Constantine and my father are allied.’
‘Advisers,’ I growled, ‘Ingilmundr and Ealdred?’
Oswald nodded. ‘He was reluctant to believe them, but today you said nothing of meeting Constantine’s men in Bebbanburg and that convinced him.’
‘Because there was nothing to say!’ I said angrily, and again thought what a fool I had been to say nothing. ‘There was a meeting, but no agreement. There is no alliance. I sent his men away with a gift of goat’s cheese. That’s all.’
‘The king believes otherwise.’
‘Then the king …’ I began and checked the insult. ‘You say he’s sending Ealdred?’
‘Lord Ealdred and two hundred men.’
‘And Ealdred,’ I guessed, ‘has been named Ealdorman of Bebbanburg?’
The dark cowl nodded. ‘He has.’
‘Even before I talked to the king?’
‘The king was confident you would accept his offer. It was generous, was it not?’
‘Very,’ I admitted grudgingly.
‘You could go to him tonight,’ Oswald suggested, ‘and accept?’
‘And Ealdred becomes Lord of Bebbanburg?’
‘Better him than Ingilmundr,’ Oswald said.
‘Better me than either!’ I said angrily.
‘I agree,’ Oswald said, surprising me.
There was silence for a short moment, then Finan poked at the fire. ‘Ingilmundr holds land in Wirhealum, yes?’
‘He does.’
‘Which is in your diocese, bishop, yes?’
‘Yes.’ Curtly.
‘And?’
Oswald stood. ‘I believe he is a deceiver. I pray to God I am wrong, but with all charity, I cannot trust him.’
‘And the king does.’
‘The king does,’ he said flatly. ‘You will know what to do, father,’ he said, then turned abruptly and walked away.
‘Thank you!’ I called after him. There was no reply. ‘Oswald!’ Again no reply. I stood. ‘Uhtred!’ That had been his name before I disowned him, and the sound of it made him turn. I walked to him. ‘Why?’ I asked.
To my surprise he pushed back the big dark cowl and in the firelight I saw his face was drawn and pale. Old too. His short hair and clipped beard were grey. I wanted to say something to acknowledge our past, to seek his forgiveness. But the words would not come. ‘Why?’ I asked again.
‘The king,’ he said, ‘fears that the Scots will capture Northumbria.’
‘Bebbanburg has always resisted them. Always will.’
‘Always?’ he asked. ‘The only thing that lasts for ever is God’s mercy. Our family once ruled all the land to the Foirthe, now the Scots claim all of it north of the Tuede. They want the rest.’
‘And he thinks I won’t fight them?’ I protested. ‘I took an oath to protect Æthelstan and I’ve kept that oath!’
‘But he no longer needs your protection. He’s the strongest king in Britain, and his advisers are poisoning him, telling him you can no longer be trusted. And he wants his flag on the ramparts of Bebbanburg.’
‘And you don’t want that?’ I asked.
He paused, gathering his thoughts. ‘Bebbanburg is ours,’ he finally said, ‘and though I deplore your religion I believe you will defend it more savagely than any troops Æthelstan posts on its walls. Besides, his troops will be wasted there.’
‘Wasted?’
‘The king believes that if his plan for peace doesn’t work then the island of Britain will have to endure the most terrible war in its history and, if that happens, father, it won’t be fought at Bebbanburg.’
‘No?’
‘The Scots can only defeat us if the pagans join them, and the strongest pagans are the Norsemen of Ireland. We know Constantine has sent gifts to Anlaf. He sent a stallion, a sword and a golden dish. Why? Because he seeks an alliance, and if the Irish Norse come with all their power they will take the shortest route. They’ll land in the west.’ He paused. ‘You fought at Ethandun, father?’
‘I did.’
‘Where Guthrum led the Northmen?’
‘Yes.’
‘And Alfred the Christians?’
‘I fought for him too,’ I said.
He ignored that. ‘So if Anlaf comes, father, it will be a war of grandsons. Guthrum’s grandson against Alfred’s grandson, and that war will be fought far from Bebbanburg.’
‘You’re saying I should go home and protect that home.’
‘I’m saying you will know best what you should do.’ He nodded abruptly and pulled the cowl over his head. ‘Good night, father.’
‘Uhtred!’ I called as he turned away.
‘My name is Oswald.’ He kept walking and I let him go.
And for a moment I just stood in the lonely darkness, overwhelmed by feelings that I did not want. There was guilt about the son I had rejected and an anger for what he had revealed
