Conquest

Harold took a gamble. ‘Sire, would you like to retire to the Chapter House? You can sit there and talk a little more with Torfida.’

The King seemed to recognize the Earl of Wessex’s ploy, but agreed anyway. Leaving his entourage, the King withdrew to the Chapter House with Torfida a pace behind. Harold kept the King’s retinue at a distance, so that Torfida could speak to him in private. Edward’s sour demeanour sweetened a little; his deathly pallor became brighter.

‘Your father had such wisdom and knowledge, he inspired me. I could have prevented his banishment, but he bore a huge burden of guilt about his fall from grace and refused all help from me or the Queen.’ Edward looked at Torfida with a hint of a smile. ‘Your mother was very beautiful, you know. I’m sorry she died bringing you into the world.’

‘My father raised me and gave me his knowledge. My Lord King, I have been blessed; I may even have acquired a little of his wisdom.’

‘Perhaps, but your choice of husband, this renegade Hereward, says little for your wisdom.’

‘My King, I do not wish to vex you.’

‘That is a risk you will have to take if we are to continue our discourse.’

‘Sire, my father spent a long time with Hereward in the wildwood. My father helped him come to terms with his past and to find his destiny. Knowing that Hereward and I were destined to meet, he asked Hereward to be the bearer of a talisman and sent him to me. We now carry that talisman together on a journey to find the man who is destined to wear it.’ Torfida reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out the Talisman.

‘I wondered if that trinket might reappear some day. Your father was always fond of the mysterious ways of the past. My mother told me she had given it to Walthoef. She recounted its legends many times and tried to convince me of its power.’

‘Sire, it has guided me to you.’

‘Madam, it is a pagan amulet of no consequence.’

‘Sire, I beg you to let me contradict you. It will be of no consequence only when men understand how to govern themselves without resort to violence. Whether it be a holy relic, an amulet or a cross, as a symbol of faith and truth it can help people make decisions about right and wrong. When we know how to make those decisions without symbols, we will discard them; until then, we need them.’

The King’s voice rose. ‘You sound like your father. His views came close to heresy; so do yours.’

‘My words do not deny God. They reinforce the teaching of the Church, but place the onus of responsibility on our actions and our choices.’

Edward stared up at the ceiling of his Chapter House. ‘As my reign was about to begin, my mother asked me to wear your Talisman. She said it would help me understand myself and give me the wisdom to solve the problems I would confront.’

‘But you chose not to, Sire?’

‘Yes. For me it was very simple; I knew what I wanted to do. My life in Normandy taught me many things. The Saxons are brave and noble people; I am one of them, of Cerdician blood, but they can be brutish and insular and I am determined to direct their future towards Europe. I am also of Norman blood and I can see how the two traditions can complement one another.’

‘Sire, I too have lived with the Normans; there is much about them that is brutal.’

‘Certainly. They were Vikings once, but they have lived on the European mainland for several generations and they have changed, as the Saxons must change.’

This was Torfida’s moment. ‘Is that why you want Duke William to succeed you, my Lord King?’

‘Yes.’

‘Do you know what kind of man he is, sire?’

‘I remember him when he was a boy in Normandy. He was a strong and forceful child and had all the makings of a leader of men.’

‘Oh, he is that, sire. You talk of Saxon brutes, but he is a brute beyond mercy; a tyrant beyond all others in a tyrannical world.’

‘I have heard all the accounts, and I know he has a dark side; as do we all. But there is much Saxon propaganda about William that emanates from the Godwinsons. You are now in the lien of the Earl of Wessex, and Harold is ambitious to be king. Do you speak for him now?’

‘I do not, sire; I speak for England. I plead for a tradition and a way of life. You speak of the value of European culture, but is that what the Saxons want?’

The King’s mood darkened. ‘What the Saxons want is what I say they ought to have!’

Torfida was alarmed by the King’s sudden change of mood. His considered and balanced tone had been replaced by the ferocity of a tyrant.

‘Does that shock you, Torfida? My conviction explains why I don’t need amulets to help me decide what to do.’ Edward glanced towards his retinue. ‘I will not favour Harold. He is neither a Saxon of the royal blood, nor a man who would move England into a new age. He is a fine warrior who would have been a magnificent king of an ancient tribe. But I do not want England to be a tribal kingdom; I want it to be a part of the new order of Europe.’