my sword instead,’ Æthelred said belligerently.
‘They wanted your daughter?’ I asked, amazed.
‘They asked,’ Alfred said, ‘because they knew I would not grant their request, and because they wished to insult me.’ He shrugged, as if to suggest that the insult was as feeble as it was puerile. ‘So if the Thurgilson brothers are to be thrown out of Lundene, then you must do it. Tell me how.’
I pretended to gather my thoughts. ‘Sigefrid does not have sufficient men to guard the whole circuit of the city walls,’ I said, ‘so we send a large attack against the western gate, and then launch the real assault from the north.’
Alfred frowned and sifted through the parchments piled on the windowsill. He found the page he wanted and peered at the writing. ‘The old city, as I understand it,’ he said, ‘has six gates. To which do you refer?’
‘In the west,’ I said, ‘the gate nearest the river. The local folk call it Ludd’s Gate.’
‘And on the northern side?’
‘There are two gates,’ I said, ‘one leads directly into the old Roman fort, the other goes to the market place.’
‘The forum,’ Alfred corrected me.
‘We take the one that leads to the market,’ I said.
‘Not the fort?’
‘The fort is part of the walls,’ I explained, ‘so capture that gate and we still have to cross the fort’s southern wall. But capture the market place and our men have cut off Sigefrid’s retreat.’
I was talking nonsense for a reason, though it was plausible nonsense. Launching an attack from the new Saxon town across the River Fleot onto the old city’s walls would draw defenders to Ludd’s Gate, and if a smaller, better-trained force could then attack from the north they might find those walls lightly guarded. Once inside the city that second force could assault Sigefrid’s men from the rear and open Ludd’s Gate to let in the rest of the army. It was, in truth, the obvious way to assault the city, indeed it was so obvious that I was sure Sigefrid would be guarding against it.
Alfred pondered the idea.
Æthelred said nothing. He was waiting for his father-in-law’s opinion.
‘The river,’ Alfred said in a hesitant tone, then shook his head as though his thought was leading nowhere.
‘The river, lord?’
‘An approach by ship?’ Alfred suggested, still hesitant.
I let the idea hang, and it was like dangling a piece of gristle in front of an unschooled puppy.
And the puppy duly pounced. ‘An assault by ship is frankly a better idea,’ Æthelred said confidently. ‘Four or five ships? Travelling with the current? We can land on the wharves and attack the walls from behind.’
‘An attack by land will be hazardous,’ Alfred said dubiously, though the question suggested he was supporting his son-in-law’s ideas.
‘And probably doomed,’ Æthelred contributed confidently. He was not trying to hide his scorn of my plan.
‘You considered a shipborne assault?’ Alfred asked me.
‘I did, lord.’
‘It seems a very good idea to me!’ Æthelred said firmly.
So now I gave the puppy the whipping it deserved. ‘There’s a river wall, lord,’ I said. ‘We can land on the wharves, but we still have a wall to cross.’ The wall was built just behind the wharves. It was another piece of Roman work, all masonry, brick and studded with circular bastions.
‘Ah,’ Alfred said.
‘But of course, lord, if my cousin wishes to lead an attack on the river wall?’
Æthelred was silent.
‘The river wall,’ Alfred said, ‘it’s high?’
‘High enough, and newly repaired,’ I said, ‘but of course, I defer to your son-in-law’s experience.’
Alfred knew I did no such thing and gave me an irritable look before deciding to slap me down as I had slapped Æthelred. ‘Father Beocca tells me you took Brother Osferth into your service.’
‘I did, lord,’ I said.
‘It is not what I wish for Brother Osferth,’ Alfred said firmly, ‘so you will send him back.’
‘Of course, lord.’
‘He is called to serve the church,’ Alfred said, suspicious of my ready agreement. He turned and stared out of his small window. ‘I cannot endure Sigefrid’s presence,’ he said. ‘We need to open the river passage to shipping, and we need to do it soon.’ His ink-smeared hands were clasped behind his back and I could see the fingers clenching and unclenching. ‘I want it done before the first cuckoo sounds. Lord Æthelred will command the forces.’
‘Thank you, lord,’ Æthelred said and dropped to one knee.
‘But you will take Lord Uhtred’s advice,’ the king insisted, turning on his son-in-law.
‘Of course, lord,’Æthelred agreed untruthfully.
‘Lord Uhtred is more experienced in war than you,’ the king explained.
‘I shall value his assistance, lord,’ Æthelred lied very convincingly.
‘And I want the city taken before the first cuckoo sounds!’ the king reiterated.
Which meant we had perhaps six weeks. ‘You will summon men now?’ I asked Alfred.
‘I shall,’ he said, ‘and you will each see to your provisions.’
‘And I shall give you Lundene,’ Æthelred said enthusiastically. ‘What good prayers ask, lord, meek faith receives!’
‘I don’t want Lundene,’ Alfred retorted with some asperity, ‘it belongs to Mercia, to you,’ he gave a slight inclination of his head to Æthelred, ‘but perhaps you will allow me to appoint a bishop and a city governor?’
‘Of course, lord,’ Æthelred said.
I was dismissed, leaving father and son-in-law with the sour-faced Asser. I stood in the sunshine outside and thought about how I was to take Lundene, for I knew that I would have to do it, and do it without Æthelred ever suspecting my plans. And it could be done, I thought, but only by stealth and with good fortune. Wyrd bið ful ãræd.
I went to find Gisela. I crossed the outer courtyard to see a knot of women beside one of the doors. Eanflæd was among them and I turned to greet her. She had been a whore once, then she had become Leofric’s lover, and now she was a companion to Alfred’s wife. I doubted that Ælswith knew her companion had once been a whore, though perhaps she did and did not care because the bond between the two women was a shared bitterness. Ælswith resented that Wessex would not call the
