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‘Is your world always so black and white?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Many of the men who died were good men. They had a bad leader. There is a difference.’ She concentrated, trying to pick the right words. ‘I’m not seeking to excuse Egbert, but do you seriously think the men who followed him had a choice, once he’d decided on treachery?’
He shook his head. ‘I don’t see the difference. Many of them stood by and allowed him to treat you horribly.’
‘You wouldn’t.’ Edith stood up. It did her heart good to know that he remained outraged at her treatment, but what sort of man interferes when a man chastises his wife, particularly when the man in question is the master? ‘There is little point in discussing this as it is something which won’t happen. They all died. A dead man’s reputation means nothing to a corpse.’
‘That’s obvious.’
Edith stopped. Her entire being trembled. She suddenly realised that she might have found a solution to her problem. So simple. If everyone believed that Athelstan was dead then he could take another name. As quickly as the thought came, she rejected it. Such deceptions were always found out. Her best course remained convincing Athelstan to leave before he was discovered.
‘Searching for dead men is a waste of time.’
Brand stroked his chin. ‘Are you trying to tell me something? Should I be hunting for ghosts?’
‘No!’ Edith regarded her hands. This was much harder than playing tafl. Real lives were at stake. ‘I simply wondered why Halfdan had sent the message.’
‘He likes to be thorough. After your husband’s rebellion, he refuses to take any more chances. He also requests my presence in Jorvik.’
‘So you will be leaving.’
Brand placed his hand on her shoulder. ‘I thought to take you with me. You should see the city now that it has been rebuilt.’
Edith’s heart knocked against her chest. He wanted her to go to Jorvik with him. ‘You want me to go with you?’
‘I can leave Starkad in charge for the few weeks in which we will be gone.’
‘When do you want to depart?’
‘In a few days, once the planting is well under way. Halfdan can wait for a bit, but kings grow restless if they think their wishes are being ignored. I want you with me, Edith. You may look on it as an order or an invitation, whichever you prefer, but you will be coming with me.’
Edith frowned. This time she wasn’t going to spin dreams. He wasn’t offering marriage or anything permanent, simply an excursion to Jorvik. But it was hard to stop her heart from leaping. He wanted her with him, rather than finding an excuse to leave her behind. She just wished that the offer had come after she sorted Athelstan out, rather than before. Without her here, the possibilities that Athelstan would be discovered increased. She had only a few days to solve the problem.
‘Why are you telling me this now? Instead of when we bathed?’ she asked.
‘I had other things on my mind.’ His hand went down her back. ‘Is it so wrong of me to want you by my side? You are far from indispensable here.’
‘You keep reminding me of that.’ She looked up at him and put all her worries to one side. Anything that happened she would find a way of dealing with—right now she wanted to be with him. ‘I am happy to go. Delighted to be asked. The last time I was in Jorvik was before the Norsemen arrived.’
He gave an amused laugh.
‘What is so funny about that?’
‘You called it Jorvik.’ He gave a crooked smile. ‘Progress.’
‘I am being practical. The name has changed. Everything has changed. There is little point living in the past.’ She had to hope that the shadows from the past didn’t reach out and spoil this happiness. ‘Did the king say why he wished to see you?’
Brand rested his chin on the top of her head. ‘He will make his wishes known in due course, but it is never good to keep a king waiting.’
A distinct chill went through her. She wanted to ask if the reason he was being summoned had to do with his unmarried state, but she also remembered the row. She’d accepted that he wasn’t going to marry her, but she knew if he had to marry anyone else, she’d be desolate. She wasn’t ready for things to end. ‘Did he mention me?’
‘Why would he?’
‘No reason. I merely wondered.’ The words stuck in her throat.
Brand’s gaze narrowed. ‘Halfdan has set ideas about things. I doubt your paths will cross.’
