While everyone else cheered the joyous prospect of her upcoming marriage to Harald Bluetooth’s Danish jarl, Elfi silently sipped her golden mead and inwardly cursed her impending doom.
Chapter 4
Fortifying Étretat
After Richard the Fearless sent the messenger to Alberic, the Frankish Count of Soissons, Elfi anxiously awaited the arrival of her intended betrothed and his Viking fleet from Denmark. She was profoundly grateful thatSkårde the Scourge—the Count of thePays de Cauxonce known as theDragon of Denmarkwho was now married to Jarl Rikard’s daughter Ylva—had arrived fromChâteaufortin nearby Dieppe with an impressive army of two hundred Viking warriors and Norman knights. Along withJarl Rikard’s men from Fécamp, the warriors fromChâteaufortwere now residing in tents, longhouses, and huts atle Château Blancto help fortify the castle and restore the decimated city of Étretat.
Hundreds of men in the village had perished during the battle against the invading Franks, leaving behind homeless widows and hungry children. Theenceintedefensive barrier which sheltered the walled section of the city had been heavily damaged, and several portions of the outer curtain wall protecting the castle had also been destroyed. The attack by the ruthless Count of Soissons had been both demoralizing and devastating.
But now that reinforcements from Count Skårde and Duke Richard had arrived, stone masons were repairing the surrounding wall which encircledleChâteau Blanc. Woodcutters chopped timber, roofers thatched huts, and while some carpenters repaired or replaced damaged homes in the village, others constructed newlonghouses and huts near the castle to provide lodging for the expected Danish army of Elfi’s anticipated betrothed.
Elfi was thankful that Harald Bluetooth’s Viking soldiers would help fortify the castle, rebuild the city, and defend Étretat. She was also hopeful that the Danish warriors would provide husbands for the countless widows who now struggled to maintain households and feed fatherless children. Since so many men had perished in the recent Frankish attack, more were desperately needed to raise families, harvest the autumn crop, tend livestock, and operate vacant, useless merchant shops.
Oda—who had managed the castle for years after the death of her son Thorfinn’s wife and Elfi’s mother Dúva—took care of domestic duties withinle Château Blanc, such as the supervision of servants, the preparation and serving of meals, the cooking, cleaning, and storing of supplies. Although Elfi knew her father, the lofty Count of Étretat, would not want his noble daughter performing lowly tasks like a thrall, she nevertheless worked alongside the women of the village, weaving willow baskets, combing, cleaning, and spinning wool, harvesting beechnuts and acorns, and tying sheaves of wheat in the fields for threshing and milling into grain.
This afternoon, as she labored with a scythe, back bent in the fields of wheat, a sentinel shouted from the watchtower overlooking the cliff. “Drakkarships in the harbor. Twenty vessels!”
Elfi dashed to the edge of the bluff where the square sails and fearsome dragon prows of the Danish Viking ships approached the sheltered harbor of Étretat.
Jarl Rikard, upon hearing the shout, halted repair work of the damaged curtain wall. He hollered commands to a few of his men from Fécamp, who dashed across the castle bailey, headed toward the area of the cliff where a steep, grassy path led to the sandy beach far below.
Count Skårde, working alongside the castle carpenters who were building wooden huts for new lodging, looked out at thearrivingdrakkarships, then rushed toward Richard near the curtain wall.
Bjarke, who had been working on the stone wall as well, wiped his sweaty brow with the sleeve of his tunic. He joined Richard, Varg, and Skårde, the four men striding briskly across the heathered meadow to Elfi’s side.
“We’ll go down to the shore and greet the Danish jarl,” Richard informed Elfi. “We’ll help the men secure and unload their ships…bring supplies up to the castle and stock the storehouses.” He surveyed the assemblage of Viking longhouses and huts on the outskirts of the castle grounds. “Since there aren’t enough accommodations to house all of the Danes, we’ll set up tents for temporary lodging. With their additional manpower, we’ll be able to quickly finish the new construction near the castle—and build additional homes in the village.”
Elfi gazed out at the Narrow Sea, overwhelmed by the number of warriors she and Oda would need to feed. She glanced down at her grimy gown and muddy hands. “I cannot greet my intended husband and his Danish army in this condition, dressed like a filthy peasant. I’ll bathe quickly, don a clean dress, and come down to the shore to join you.”
Richard hollered as he, Bjarke, Skårde, and Varg raced toward the edge of the cliff.. “Tell your grandmother that the Danes have arrived. Prepare a welcoming feast!”
She watched them descend the beaten path which led from the plateau at the top of the cliff to the smooth white sand two hundred feet below, lost in thought as she mentally prepared the menu. Beef, boar, fresh fish, and fowl. Vegetables…apples and berries for tarts. Plenty of mead and ale. We’ll set up banquet tables in the Great Hall. The celebration can spill out onto the castle grounds. A bonfire… musicians for dancing… skalds to entertain the guests.
A group of giddy women gathered around, interrupting Elfi’s calculations. As they gaped at the sleek ships sliding up onto the beach and the hundreds of Viking warriors swarming the shore, Elfi heardrelief, joy, and hope in the exuberant voices of several young widows whose small children tugged at their worn, stained skirts.
“Odin be praised! Warriors to defend the castle!”
“Men to help with the harvest and rebuild the village!”
“Husbands for widows with hungry mouths to feed!”
“And empty beds to warm!”
Elfi shouted over the ebullient chatter. “The Danes will be ravenous. We must prepare a feast! Gather baskets of these vegetables,” she said, pointing to the rows of carrots, peas, pumpkins, and beans. “Take them quickly into the castle kitchens. I must hurry—to bathe and dress properly to greet the new Viking jarl. Thank you all—see you tonight in the Great Hall!” With a wave goodbye, she ran across the castle bailey, through the enormous wooden entrance doors which servants opened at her rapid approach.
Keys to cupboards and storehouses jingling at her waist, a startled Oda jumped when Elfi burst into the entry hall.
Gasping and winded, Elfi bent forward to clutch her knees and catch her breath. “The Danes have arrived. We must prepare a feast!”
Oda scoffed at Elfi’s appalling appearance. “For the love of Freyja! You’re filthy! Quickly—up to your chamber. I’ll send thralls with hot water for your bath. AschâtelaineofleChâteau Blanc, you must be appropriately attired to greet our guests. And meet your intended betrothed!”
Elfi scurried up the stairs, dashed down the hall, and disappeared into her room. While servants bustled about, fetching soap, scented oils, a drying cloth and antler comb for her hair, she peered out the window, wondering if she might catch a glimpse of the intriguing Danish jarl.
At the base of the cliff, where the grassy plain sloped down to the shore far below, an enormous Viking, clad in a white wolfskin over glistening chain mail armor, disembarked from a magnificent dragon ship beached upon the smooth sand. He was undoubtedly the Viking chieftain, for his men bowed their heads and parted as he passed through the milling throng.
Jarl Rikard hailed the ominously lupine Danish jarl in amiable greeting. Elfi gasped at the size of her hulking future husband, for he was half a head taller and considerably bulkier than the towering, brawny duke.
When the Dane pushed back the wolf head portion of his cloak and removed his chain mail coif to clasp Richard’s outstretched hand, a wild, untamed mane of long, dark hair tumbled over the white fur draped across his armored shoulders. His heavy beard was braided, and the glistening hilt of his sheathed sword glinted in the golden sun. With a wolfish grin, he scanned the surroundings, looking up from the beach to the castle perched atop the craggy cliff.
