Death of Kings_ A Novel - Bernard Cornwell [62]
‘Your son Edward will rule, lord,’ I repeated.
He nodded slowly, believing me. ‘He’s a good son,’ Alfred said, almost as if he were trying to persuade himself of that.
‘He fought well at Beamfleot. You would have been proud of him, lord.’
Alfred nodded tiredly. ‘So much is expected of a king,’ he said. ‘He must be brave in battle, wise in council, just in judgement.’
‘You have been all those things, lord,’ I said, not flattering him, but telling the truth.
‘I tried,’ he said, ‘God knows I did try.’ He closed his eyes and was silent for so long that I wondered if he had fallen asleep and whether I should leave, but then his eyes opened and he gazed at the smoke-darkened ceiling. Somewhere deep in the palace a hound barked shrilly, then suddenly stopped. Alfred frowned in thought, then turned his head to look at me. ‘You spent time with Edward last summer,’ he said.
‘I did, lord.’
‘Is he wise?’
‘He’s clever, lord,’ I said.
‘Many folk are clever, Lord Uhtred, but very few are wise.’
‘Men learn wisdom through experience, lord,’ I said.
‘Some do,’ Alfred said tartly, ‘but will Edward learn?’ I shrugged because it was not a question I could answer. ‘I worry,’ Alfred said, ‘that his passions will rule him.’
I glanced at Osferth. ‘As yours ruled you, lord, once.’
‘Omnes enim peccaverunt,’ Alfred said softly.
‘All have sinned,’ Osferth translated and received a smile from his father.
‘I worry that he is headstrong,’ Alfred said, talking of Edward again. I was surprised that he talked so openly of his heir, but of course it was the one thing that preyed on his mind in those last days. Alfred had dedicated his life to the preservation of Wessex, and he desperately wanted reassurance that all his achievements would not be thrown away by his successor, and so deep was that worry that he could not let the subject alone. He wanted that reassurance so badly.
‘You leave him with good counsel, lord,’ I said, not because I believed it, but because he wanted to hear it. Many men of the Witan were indeed good counsellors, but there were too many churchmen like Plegmund, whose advice I would never trust.
‘And a king can reject all counsel,’ Alfred said, ‘because in the end it is always the king’s decision, it is the king’s responsibility, it is the king who is wise or foolish. And if the king is foolish, what will happen to the kingdom?’
‘You worry, lord,’ I said, ‘because Edward did what all young men do.’
‘He is not like other young men,’ Alfred said sternly, ‘but born to privilege and duty.’
‘And a girl’s smile,’ I said, ‘can erode duty faster than flame melts frost.’
He stared at me. ‘So you know?’ he said, after a long while.
‘Yes, lord, I know.’
Alfred sighed. ‘He said it was passion, that it was love. Kings don’t marry for love, Lord Uhtred, they marry to make their kingdom safe. And she wasn’t right,’ he said firmly, ‘she was brazen! She was shameless!’
‘Then I wish I’d known her, lord,’ I said, and Alfred laughed, though the effort hurt him and the laugh turned to a groan. Osferth had no idea what we talked about and I gave him the slightest shake of my head to show that he should not ask, and then I thought of the words that would give Alfred the reassurance he wanted. ‘At Beamfleot, lord,’ I said, ‘I stood beside Edward in a shield wall and a man cannot hide his character in a shield wall, and I learned that your son is a good man. I promise you, he is a man to be proud of,’ I hesitated, then nodded at Osferth, ‘as are all your sons.’
I saw the king’s hand tighten on Osferth’s fingers. ‘Osferth is a good man,’ Alfred said, ‘and I am proud of him.’ Alfred patted his bastard son’s hand and looked back to me. ‘And what else will happen?’ he asked.
‘Æthelwold will make an attempt to take the throne,’ I said.
‘He swears not.’
‘He swears easily, lord. You should have cut his throat twenty years ago.’
‘People said the same about you, Lord Uhtred.