The Betrothed Sister by Carol McGrath Read Free Book Online Page B

her way. The eldest of them said, ‘She speaks. Well, Thea, he will seek a rich dowry.’
    â€˜I doubt you have a dowry,’ Ingegerd said, throwing a supercilious glance in her direction. ‘Any silver your grandmother possesses will go to my father as payment for your brothers’ ships. Much good has that done them.’
    â€˜My brothers will reclaim our kingdom,’ Thea said, trying hard to swallow her fury. She decided impulsively that she wanted this prince. He was young and he would without doubt be handsome. Elizaveta, who was his aunt, was a very handsome woman. So it went without saying the family were too. Aloud she remarked quietly, ‘It is just a matter of time. My brothers intend to capture the north.’
    â€˜So I hear,’ said the Danish princess. ‘But if my father helps them he will expect the crown of England for one of my brothers or maybe for the English Aetheling, Prince Edgar, as my father’s under-king. So you see, we have great wealth and shall marry well.’
    â€˜Of course, maybe Prince Edgar would have you to wife, Thea,’ the second eldest princess added. ‘He is as penniless as you are. You could live on gruel in the Scottish hills.’
    â€˜Is that so?’ Thea said, remembering the gangly prince from Uncle Edward’s days, a pasty looking boy with little to say. ‘I have no doubt that the English will not accept a young man with no fighting skills, one with no experience of government and who hardly speaks English, a prince who has lived most of his life in exile.’ She made one more careful stitch, looked up and added, ‘My brother would be a competent king, like my father was.’
    The princess shrugged. ‘Godwin has experience, does he? I doubt that. Besides, I don’t think the Prince Vsevolod of Kiev will want an impoverished exiled princess for his son. He will choose one of us .’
    Thea bit back her retort. She had been ordered by her grandmother not to speak of their treasure coffers. She had overheard Godwin whisper to Countess Gytha, ‘Our goods, including my sister’s third portion, are stored away in a safe building with strong doors, a guard and secure locks.’ Padar and Gytha were not alone in their mistrust of King Sweyn.
    â€˜Good,’ Gytha had whispered back. ‘I do not know my nephew’s mind yet. It is for the best he does not know our wealth. Godwin, bring me a golden cup as a gift for him. There is a ruby-studded chalice in my chest, find it, and a psalter too, the one with St Luke’s gospel. Its cover is emerald-studded. You will discover that amongst your father’s collection of books on hawking. I shall present it to Bishop Vilhelm when we remove to Roskilde for the winter. Oh, and, Godwin, bring me a jewelled arm bracelet for Queen Elizaveta. Choose that gift well. It is a peace offering. Harold was responsible for the death of her first husband.’
    â€˜She deserves nothing. Her first husband attacked my father’s kingdom,’ Godwin had retorted, then reconsidered, adding, ‘Grandmother, consider it done.’
    Ingegerd was saying, ‘My uncle, Vsevolod of Pereiaslavl, and his two brothers, my other uncles, are the richest princes in Christendom. They will choose appropriately for their sons.’ Taking Thea by surprise, she rose from her sewing chair, glided like a swan to the widow seat, lifted Thea’s embroidery, and cast a sharp eye over a line of uneven red stitches. Holding it up, she spun around with it for the others to see. They raised four pairs of eyebrows. ‘I think you must unpick that, Thea, my dear,’ Ingegerd said, turning back. ‘Your cross-hatching work is wanting.’ Thea felt her face colour when Ingegerd dropped the sewing back into her lap and handed her a small pair of silver scissors. ‘Keep them. I have others. You will have need of them here.’
    At those words the four Danish