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“He was. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of his son, Wulfhere.”

The king stopped so suddenly, Brecc all but ran into him. “What has Wulfhere done?”

Brecc steadied himself with the crutch. There was no point in dissembling. He had promised to be concise. “He has made an alliance with the Viking chieftain, Rangvald. Not only will he refuse to call up the Wiltshire fyrd when you issue the order, but he will also inform Rangvald of your intentions.”

For the length of three heartbeats, there was total silence. A muscle in King Alfred’s jaw twitched. “How sure are you that Kendryek’s daughter tells the truth?”

“Completely sure.”

Color flooded the king’s face. “He swore allegiance to me! He accepted the ring-giver’s gift no more than three months ago.” The king’s voice rose. “Has he no honor? This is a complete betrayal.”

Brecc waited, knowing the king desired no response from him. He simply needed to release his fury.

With a muttered curse, King Alfred paced eight steps, swiveled, and paced back. “Mark my words, Brecc.” His complexion remained mottled, but already, he had his temper in check, and his icy calm was far more unnerving than a shouted tirade would have been. “That blackhearted thegn will pay dearly for his actions. He will rue the day that he broke his oath to the Saxon king, and it will serve as an example to any other thegn who considers aligning himself with the Vikings.”

As far as Brecc was concerned, Wulfhere deserved whatever fate the king meted out. His anxiety was not centered on the outcome for the deceitful, grasping ealdorman. “What of his family, Sire?”

“Each person will learn a necessary lesson.” Anger laced his words, and Brecc’s tension increased.

“If I may be so bold, it would seem to me that Aisley deserves commendation for bringing us the news rather than censure for her role in this affair. Like her father before her, she risked everything for Wessex and the crown.”

Thankfully, his comment appeared to offer the king pause for thought. “Does her brother know what she has done?”

“No, Sire. To the best of my knowledge, he is ignorant of her whereabouts. If he had known her destination, he surely would have stopped her.”

“Hm. Methinks I should hear from the young lady herself before I make any determination. If she is truly her father’s daughter, in every sense of the word, I shall know it forthwith.” He waved his hand toward the door. “Fetch her. You have ensured that I shall be granted no sleep even if I were to lie down. I will speak with her now.”

CHAPTER 28

AISLEY AND RHEGED HAD COMPLETED a full circuit of the small island and were now watching the horses in the small enclosure. Throughout their walk, Rheged had done his best to entertain her with humorous stories about the men’s misadventures when initially setting up camp on the island, but Aisley was quite certain she had been a poor audience. Rather than giving Rheged her full attention, she’d had her ears constantly tuned for the echo of angry words coming from the cottage, and the longer Brecc’s lack of appearance dragged on, the more concerned she became that his conversation with the king had gone badly.

“What did you name Bracken when you had her?” Rheged asked.

Aisley tore her gaze away from the cottage and attempted to focus on the mare nuzzling Rheged’s hand. “I did not give her a name,” she said. “It never felt quite right. She went by ‘lady’ or ‘girl’ when I spoke to her.”

“A sound solution,” he said.

At the click of a door latch opening, Aisley tensed, her eyes turning back to the cottage. Others had exited earlier, but this time, it was Brecc who appeared in the doorway. He tucked his crutch beneath his arm and began limping toward them. “Brecc is coming.”

“So, I see.” Rheged gave the horse’s nose a final rub, and they started across the grass toward Brecc. “What news?”

“The king would like to speak with Aisley,” Brecc said. His face was grave but offered no further clue as to how his interaction with the king had gone or what the king’s current mind-set might be.

Rheged raised his eyebrows. “It appears that you have been summoned, so I shall hand you off to Brecc. He is better at dealing with orders of execution than I am.” Aisley felt her face blanche, and the humor in Rheged’s eyes evaporated. “That was meant as a joke.”

“It was in poor taste,” Brecc said tightly.

“Aisley, you must know that King Alfred is a good and noble ruler. None of us would be here if that were not the case,” Rheged said.

“True,” she said, summoning a halfhearted smile. “I shall try to be brave.”

Rheged gave Brecc a puzzled look. “Something untoward is in the air, and I should like to know what it is.”

“You shall,” Brecc said. “As soon as the king deems the time right.” He inclined his head. “I think it likely that you will learn the whole of it before day’s end.”

“Very well.” He took a step back. “I shall not delay you further.”

“I thank you, Rheged,” Aisley said. “For your patience with me and this difficult situation.”