Summer 924
Osthryth waited in the hall as the lady of Bebbanburg set to work to help with the stricken survivors of the Norse attack. She waited as the men were brought in, fed and the fires banked to stave off hypothermia. The fortress, Osthryth's old home, became full of the busyness that she remembered when she was small, when her mother and Aelfric prepared for guests. She was forgotten, which was exactly what Osthryth wanted. For she had felt awkward enough riding over to see the lady Eadith, and now she had hospitality to offer.
Osthryth watched as her brother strode in, organising the men, and stood by the window in the alcove, where she and Wihtgar had once sat, watching.
It was only when Sihtric, Uhtred's man, noticed she was there that there was a change in the feel of the room. "Lady Osthryth!" he exclaimed, when he saw her standing out of the way by the window.
"What help is needed?" Osthryth asked.
"A lot of the crew only speak Gaelish," Sihtric told her. And she followed him over to where the crew, battered and bruised, with possible fractures, were being treated, Eadith, of course, organising Bebbanburg's hall as if it were a hospital.
"Which men need help?" Osthryth asked, and Osferth tentatively escorted her to two men with head injuries.
"What happened?" she asked, "And what help do you need?"
"Uisge," he said, and raised a hand to his head. "The jibboom caught my head."
"Osferth, both of those men need water, Osferth," Osthryth told him. And she moved to another man. He was coughing, and when he looked up, Osthryth realised she was looking up into a face she knew.
"Finan beag!" she exclaimed, and knelt to hug her son
"Mhathair!" he replied, and asked her why she was there.
"To pay my neighbourly respects," she told him, and then watched him glance to the far wall. It was Domnall, and she kissed her son's head before pacing over to him.
"What happened?" Osthryth asked. "Well, I saw," she added.
"Two Norse, acting together, I think," Domnall told her, as she sat beside him. "We all got away." He looked back to young Finan and they watched as he received a stone beaker, which might have contained, "uisge" but, from the smell, more likely contained, "uisge beatha".
"Go to him," Domnall told her. "I am well," he added, and took her hand in his for a moment and squeezed it gently.
"I was coming to you, mhathair," Finan beag told her, and they continued in Gaelish, as she asked about Aedre and about his studies at the monastery before choosing to learn to sail in Domnall's fleet.
"Your own choice? Constantine has not sent you away?" she asked.
"Oh no!" young Finan exclaimed, in the same bright, confident tone of Aedre. "I have learned to fight better, I wanted to show you. Domnall said he could drop anchor and row me to Berric, but we were attacked."
"She listens, then," Uhtred said, when his friend's surprised eyes rested on Osthryth. "Eadith tells me that she came this morning to simply do as you asked."
"To be neighbourly," Finan told him, glancing as the servants brought up food. And then he crossed to Osthryth, who smiled in astonishment when before her was her husband.
"Son," he said to young Finan, who smiled to his father. "I would just like some company with your mother." He held out a hand and Osthryth took it, and they went into the hallway, and out, by the stair, and made Osthryth's heart jump when he pulled her to him and began to kiss her.
"I love you," he told her. "And I thank you for coming, but - " he broke off and looked out to the sea. The tide was coming in and the grey sea was inching closer. "Why are you here?"
"Because you asked me to come to be neighbourly with the Lady of Bebbanbuth, and I came." She looked at his dark brown eyes, and added, cautiously, "Why?"
"Because there is now a lot of things going on that are dangerous," Finan told her. "Aethelstan will be crowned and he will rule Northumbria. And we were going to Mercia." Osthryth gave him a look, and Finan added, sheepishly, "I was going to ride to yer and tell yer," he insisted. Osthryth smiled, and put her hands on his body. If they were not at Bebbanburg, and there was not a rescue party being helped, Osthryth might have slid herself down Finan's body, his breeches coming with her, held onto his buttocks and blown him until he came. Instead, she put her head to his chest.
"But he's going? Because Aethelstan cannot get into Bebbanburg," Osthryth pointed out.
"Uhtred's oath," Finan said, simply. "He believes himself to be the rightful king of not only Mercia, but Wessex, and by default Cent and East Anglia," Finan told her. "He has declared Northumbria, and is overlord to Strathclyde - "
- my Strathclyde, if Aedre is to be believed, Osthryth thought -
"'And you think next is, where?" Finan did not answer. Instead, he told her about Aethestan's piety and his gifts to Saint Cuthbert at Dunholm. A little Northumbrian respect and he would be winning with the Christian Saxons.
So there is going to be a civil war in Wessex and Mercia," Osthryth concluded.
"And two young princes, involved," Finan told her, kissing her forehead.
"I will take Young Finan home. He needs to be kept out of this." She felt her husband's deep intake of breath and then nod.
"We can go now," Osthryth told him. "Give me two horses and we will leave."
"Good," Finan told her, and he took her body close to his, and pressed his lips to hers. There was no mistaking that just her kiss was turning him on.
But then they broke off, for there was clamouring in the hall, discordant voices talking over one another. And at the centre of the commotion was coming Domnall's voice. Finan stepped from Osthryth to find Uhtred.
Who was standing in the middle of his own hall arguing with the commander of the ship whose crew he had just saved.
"Lord Uhtred," Domnall was saying, "Perhaps we can come to an arrangement suitable for my king and yourself? There was once a time when Bebbanburg and Alba were allied.
"That was an arrangement held with my cunt of a cousin," Uhtred shot back. "What are you to me anyway? What are you to my sister?" At this, her brother had turned, and noticed Osthryth. He pointed a finger to her.
"I am Osthryth's family by her choice," Domnall said, carefully.
"And Finan here is my brother through marriage, and I say I trust him more than I trust you, you Gaelish bastard. But," Uhtred continued, arms folded, "I am willing to let you go, once you are supped, and you can take one of my ships." Domnall nodded, and praised him for his generosity.
"Osthryth!" the lady of Bebbanburg exclaimed, and when the turned she saw Eadith swoop over to her. "Please, sit with us. We are to feed our guests." And Osthryth sat beside her, in silence borne of lack of things to say, watching the crew eat and recover.
"Lord Domnall, I am sorry to hear about your lossin Eireann," Finan told him. Domnall turned, and nodded to Finan.
"Murchada is now High King," he told Finan.
And the afternoon was spent organising the crew to sail a new ship, extracing a promise that it should be send it back when they had got home.
"Then it is agreed, my nephew will accompany you, and bring back the ship with one of Constantine's own."
When all had been consumed and the crew were ready, Uhtred led the Alba sailors out by the sea gate passage and over the sand. Two ships were indeed waiting, one of them being the "Sparrowhawk," Uhtred's own ship. The other, presumably the one which he was gifting to Domnall, was displaying a wolf's head, Uhtred's standard.
It was Osthryth who noticed first that the second ship was the Trinity. She was in front, near her brother, when she noticed the small cross nailed to the prow of the ship. It was an Eireann cross. She turned to Uhtred.
"By what authority are you in the sea?" Osthryth's demanded to know.
"When my fishing fleets go missing, and yours do not," he told her, irritatedly.
"Perhaps mine know the sea better." He gave her a foul look.
"I had a man, a good man, who had been killed and was ashore. It was clear he had been tortured before being killed." Uhtred turned to Domnall, who was close behind them.
"Your work?" he asked. "The dismemberment of one of my fishermen?"
"No Lord Uhtred," Domnall said, eyes widening to this hostility when they had spent a good few hours being treated as guests. Osthryth watched the wind blow against her friend's damp hair.
"Or your king?"
"No, Lord Uhtred." Domnall repeated.
"No, Lord Uhtred," Uhtred imitated. "So I set out to trap for those responsible, and who do I find it is behind it? The lord Aethelhelm." Uhtred told them .
"Surely - " began Domnall.
"Not Aethelhelm himself, you fool," Uhtred snapped.
"Our attack was somewhat different," Domnall pointed out. "We had Norse." But Uhtred was striding over the sand to him, and leaned close to him.
"No," he told Domnall, "we found that he sent a trusted warrior by the name of Waormund, and it turns out he wanted to capture me." Domnall looked at him. It was clear to Osthryth he knew the name Waormund. "He hacked out Gech's eyes, and his tongue, and cut each of his fingers and toes off before he died." He paced around Domnall, his eyes never leaving his face. "So you will tell your king this attack did not work and that any alliance he has made with Aethelhelm wil fail."
For he knew where the Alba ships went - they treated with Aethelhelm. Agreements that Alba would be an ally of Wessex, possibly even sub-regulus. And for this, Aethelhelm's ships would have safe passage, as would Constantine's.
Which is why Uhtred had given money to Berg Skallargrimmson. "This should be more than enough blood money, when you take it to them," Uhtred hs he glanced at the sea where, rather than being sink the Trinity was being brought to Bebbanburg's harbour. "Tell them my sister's debt to your family has been paid by me."
"So we are borrowing Constantine's flagship," he had told Finan, earlier that day, dropping a friendly arm around his Irishman's shoulder.
"And the crew?" Finan had asked.
"They can bloody we'll walk back, for all I care," Uhtred retorted, and then glanced back to the bedraggled Domnall. "That captain, is he one of Constantine's men? The cousin?"
"He is surely," Finan replied, "He knew Osthryth well when he was young."
"What?!" Uhtred had exclaimed. "He's the bastard Irishman who once humped my sister?"
"Not humped," Finan corrected him.
"Alright then," Uhtred conceded, shrugging. "Not humped. He could come to an accident off the top of the cliffs." Finan smiled.
"Not today," he told Uhtred, "But keep him away from me or I will be skewering the bastard."
And now the bastard stood there, watching his crew board. Uhtred watched as he held back, allowing his men to board first.
"And you," Uhtred urged young Finan. "And you?" he said to Osthryth. "You will need to go back to Berric?"
It happened so fast after that, that Osthryth could not believe her eyes. Finan and Uhtred jumped in with them, and Sihtric let go of the painter, while one of the Pictlanders steered.
"Uhtred!" Osthryth exclaimed. "What are you doing?" She looked to the beach, where Domnall was breaking into a run. But one of Uhtred's men, Hereward, tore after him. He caught him in a hold and put his sword to Domnall's throat. The crew were staring, in silence.
"Please no!" Osthryth begged, pushing past Finan and standing next to Uhtred. "Brother, do not kill him!"
"No, Uhtred, I ask you for little, do not kill that man," Finan also put in. But he ignored his friend and looked down to Osthryth.
"Is he dear to you?" Uhtred asked, mockingly.
"He is," Osthryth admitted refusing to look at Finan. Silence followed, where no-one moved or spoke, and she watched as Uhtred raised a hand. Then, he withdrew it.
"Oh, alright," Uhtred said with a laugh, showing it was a game was up. Behind her, Berg was raising the red hand of Ulster, Domnall's standard, which he had liberated from the Trinity after the crew were safely inside Bebbanburg.
It was to be their foil, their trick, Osthryth realised. For, if what her brother said was true, and Constantine had entered into an alliance with Aethelhelm then disguising their flags would mean safe passage to wherever they were going.
But, it wss not over yet. Hereward was saying something to Domnall, who kept glancing over to Uhtred. Then, he left his armour, his sword and his mail on the beach. A few moments later, under the encouragement of sword-point and another glance, off came his shirt and boots. Hereward was laughing and gestured to his breeches.
"You are a complete cunt, you know that!" Osthryth shouted angrily as Domnall stood on the beach stark naked.
"Good, I like cunts," he told Osthryth, gleefully. "There," he told Finan as Osthryth glanced to Domnall. He was big, Osthryth thought, long, and broad, like Constantine, Iike Finan. "Look, she is surprised at what she sees."
"Uhtred," groaned Finan, and Osthryth turned to her brother, feeling an idiot to think she might be ble to start to trust him.
"I saw you look," Uhtred accused Osthryth.
"If you make a man strip naked in your beach without warning, of course I will see!" Uhtred turned to Finan.
"Your wife has never seen that cock before," he concluded, clearly enjoying himself. "You had nothing to worry about my friend. Ha, not even his red hand will help him," Uhtred added, and Osthryth looked up, to see the wolf banner had been replaced with Ulster's ancient symbol.
"Ah I am disappointed. I thought he would be blue," Uhtred continued. And when the usual quip from Finan did not come, Uhtred filled the silence, "I suppose he will go blue with cold before long."
"And now you are imprisoning him?" Osthryth asked as Domnall's naked back view retreated over the beach.
"No," Uhtred her cheerfully. "Hereward will be pointing out which way it is to Alba and his bastard king. He can walk"