Death of Kings_ A Novel - Bernard Cornwell [64]
‘A wise Roman, Lord Uhtred, who said that money is the sinews of war.’
‘He knew what he was talking about, lord.’
Alfred closed his eyes and I could see the pain cross his face again. His mouth tightened as he suppressed a groan. The smell in the room grew ranker. ‘There is a lump in my belly,’ he said, ‘like a stone.’ He paused and again tried to stifle a groan. A single tear escaped. ‘I watch the candle clocks,’ he said, ‘and wonder how many bands will burn before,’ he hesitated. ‘I measure my life by inches. You will come back tomorrow, Lord Uhtred.’
‘Yes, lord.’
‘I have given my,’ he paused, then patted Osferth’s hand, ‘my son,’ he said, ‘a charge.’ He opened his eyes and looked at me. ‘My son is charged with converting you to the true faith.’
‘Yes, lord,’ I said, not knowing what else to say. I saw the tears on Osferth’s face.
Alfred looked at the great leather panel that showed the crucifixion. ‘Do you notice anything strange about that painting?’ he asked me.
I stared at it. Jesus hung from the cross, blood streaked, the sinews in his arms stretching against the dark sky behind. ‘No, lord,’ I said.
‘He’s dying,’ Alfred said. That seemed obvious and so I said nothing. ‘In every other depiction I have seen of our Lord’s death,’ the king went on, ‘he is smiling on the cross, but not in this one. In this painting his head is hanging, he is in pain.’
‘Yes, lord.’
‘Archbishop Plegmund reproved the painter,’ Alfred said, ‘because he believes our Lord conquered pain and so would have smiled to the end, but I like the painting. It reminds me that my pain is as nothing compared to his.’
‘I would you had no pain, lord,’ I said awkwardly.
He ignored that. He still gazed at the agonised Christ, then grimaced. ‘He wore a crown of thorns,’ he said in a tone of wonderment. ‘Men want to be king,’ he went on, ‘but every crown has thorns. I told Edward that wearing the crown is hard, so hard. One last thing,’ he turned his head from the painting and raised his left hand, and I saw what an effort it took to lift that pathetic hand from the gospel book. ‘I would have you swear an oath of loyalty to Edward. That way I can die in the knowledge that you will fight for us.’
‘I will fight for Wessex,’ I said.
‘The oath,’ he said sternly.
‘And I will give an oath,’ I said. His shrewd eyes stared at me.
‘To my daughter?’ he asked, and I saw Osferth stiffen.
‘To your daughter, lord,’ I agreed.
He seemed to shudder. ‘In my laws, Lord Uhtred, adultery is not just a sin, but a crime.’
‘You would make criminals of all mankind, lord.’
He half smiled at that. ‘I love Æthelflaed,’ he said, ‘she was always the liveliest of my children, but not the most obedient.’ His hand dropped back onto the gospel book. ‘Leave me now, Lord Uhtred. Come back tomorrow.’
If he was still alive, I thought. I knelt to him, then Osferth and I left. We walked in silence to a cloistered courtyard where the last roses of summer had dropped their petals on the damp grass. We sat on a stone bench and listened to the mournful chants echoing from the passageway. ‘The archbishop wanted me dead,’ I said.
‘I know,’ Osferth said, ‘so I went to my father.’
‘I’m surprised they let you see him.’
‘I had to argue with the priests who guard him,’ he said with a half-smile, ‘but he heard the argument.’
‘And called you to see him?’
‘He sent a priest to summon me.’
‘And you told him what was happening to me?’
‘Yes, lord.’
‘Thank you,’ I said. ‘And you made your peace with Alfred?’
Osferth gazed unseeing into the dark. ‘He said he was sorry, lord, that I am what I am, and that it was his fault, and that he would intervene for me in heaven.’
‘I’m glad,’ I said, not sure how else to respond to such nonsense.
‘And I told him, lord, that if Edward were to rule, then Edward needed you.’
‘Edward will rule,’ I said, then I told him about the Lady Ecgwynn and the twin babies hidden away in the nunnery. ‘Edward was only doing what his father did,’ I said, ‘but it will cause problems.’
‘Problems?’
‘Are the babies legitimate?’ I asked. ‘Alfred says not, but once Alfred