‘We knew that,’ I said, though in truth I had not heard that Æthelstan had purchased horses.
‘And almost all of those spears and shields,’ Egil went on, ‘are being sent to Lindcolne.’
I frowned, not sure I believed what Egil had said. ‘I heard they were going to Mameceaster.’
‘Some, yes. Most? Lindcolne.’
‘How can they know that?’
Egil gave me a pitying look. ‘If you were Constantine how much silver would you pay to get reliable news from Æthelstan’s court?’
‘More than I pay.’
‘Æthelstan has sent spears to Mameceaster,’ Egil said, ‘and made sure folk saw the packhorses. But he’s sent far more to Lindcolne, and they went by ship.’
‘Up the rivers,’ I said.
‘And folk don’t see what’s in a cargo. Cover it with sailcloth and it could be anything! Could be turnips! And those ships are waiting in the pool at Lindcolne. Twelve of them.’
‘And Æthelstan is building a fleet,’ I muttered.
‘Two fleets,’ Egil went on remorselessly, ‘one in the Mærse, the other in the Temes. But Eochaid believes that his best shipwrights were sent to the Temes.’
‘And Troels told you all this?’
‘And more. Æthelstan sent troops to help Hugh of Frankia, and they’ve been summoned home.’
‘So there will be war?’ Alaina asked excitedly.
‘But where?’ I asked. Egil said nothing. ‘And Troels’s message?’
‘That Eochaid would welcome an alliance.’
So here it was again, the same offer that Domnall had brought down from Scotland. I had never answered Constantine formally, but nor did I need to. Silence was refusal, but it seemed Constantine had not abandoned hope of bringing Bebbanburg onto his side. ‘We fight for Eochaid?’ I asked. ‘And he fights for us?’
‘Not just Eochaid. Constantine fights. Owain fights. It would be a northern alliance. Alba, Strath Clota, Cumbria, the Isles.’ He counted off the nations by holding his fingers up one by one.
I raised my spread hand. ‘And Bebbanburg.’
‘And Bebbanburg,’ Egil said.
I stared at him. He was a clever man and as good a friend as I ever had, yet there were times when he was a mystery to me. He was a Norseman, a pagan. So did he want me to join that northern alliance? Did I want to? I wanted Bebbanburg, I wanted to hand Bebbanburg to my son who was sitting beside me and listening anxiously.
‘I can ride a horse,’ Alaina said brightly. ‘Finan’s teaching me.’
‘Hush, little one,’ Egil said.
‘You have an opinion?’ I asked my son.
He shrugged. ‘It depends whether Æthelstan plans to attack us or not.’
‘And Eochaid insists you must make your decision before Æthelstan marches,’ Egil added.
‘If he marches,’ my son said.
I ignored that. Æthelstan was going to war, I knew it, but against which enemy? Was I his enemy? And Constantine was readying for war and wanted the fortress of Bebbanburg on his side, but he was demanding that I declare that allegiance before Æthelstan marched. And why should he help me if I did not declare for him? If Æthelstan besieged Bebbanburg then Constantine would be free to make more mischief in Cumbria, or even to go further south into Mercia where he might expect allies from the smaller Welsh kingdoms.
‘Whatever I decide,’ I told Egil, ‘you are free to make your own choice.’
He smiled at that. ‘I’m your man, lord.’
‘I’m freeing you from that oath.’
‘The hound likes the leash,’ he said with another smile.
‘I do not understand,’ Benedetta had been listening with a frown, ‘what is so important about Lindcolne or Mameceaster?’
‘Everything,’ Egil said softly.
‘There are two roads into Scotland,’ I explained. ‘On the western coast you go through Mameceaster then up through Cumbria. On this coast you go from Lindcolne to Eoferwic, Eoferwic past this fortress, then on up into Constantine’s land.’
‘And if Æthelstan cares about the troubles in Cumbria,’ Egil took up the explanation, ‘he’ll take the western road. He has a claim over Cumbria. He can drive Eochaid back into Scotland easily enough, but if he takes this road? The one past Bebbanburg? Who is he fighting? Not Eochaid.’
‘He is your friend!’ Benedetta protested.
‘He was,’ I said.
There was silence. I thought back to an evening when Æthelflaed, dear Æthelflaed, had asked me to swear an oath to protect her nephew. And I had protected him, while he had broken an oath by claiming I had not killed his enemy, which was true, except I had caused that enemy’s death and lost good men in doing so. My honour was intact, but his? ‘I won’t break an oath,’ I said.
‘The hound loves the leash,’ Egil murmured.
‘No northern alliance?’ my son asked, and I saw he thought that was the safest choice.
‘I do not believe,’ I said firmly, ‘that Æthelstan means me harm. He owes me too much. If Constantine’s spies tell him that weapons are being stored on the eastern road then he is being misled by Æthelstan. Æthelstan is clever! He’s making Constantine believe he’ll attack up this side of Britain, and he won’t! He’ll strike Cumbria like the lightning bolt on his shield.’ I looked at Egil. ‘Tell Troels I say no.’
‘I will tell him,’ Egil said quietly.
‘Father …’ my son began, then paused when I glared at him. He took a breath and went on. ‘Æthelstan wants Bebbanburg, we know that! And yes, he wants to drive the Scots out of Cumbria, but he wants to control all of Northumbria! Where better to start than here?’
‘Æthelstan will drive the damned Scots out of Cumbria,’ I insisted firmly. ‘He’ll take the western road.’
Five weeks later Æthelstan marched. His fleet sailed up the coast and his army followed the Roman road north. And as my son had feared, he took the eastern road. At Lindcolne, which Æthelstan’s troops had garrisoned after the meeting at Burgham, they were issued with new, bright-painted shields and long, steel-bladed spears. Then they kept marching.
To Bebbanburg.
Nine
The ships came first.
Six the first day. They were typical West Saxon ships with their
