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"But suppose that he thanks the king for the gift. Both he and the king will be wroth with me." "Not Curan, when he has once got the things on; and as for Alsi, he will take the thanks to himself, and chuckle to think that the mistake has gained him credit for a good deed that he never did." "Hush, comrade, hush!" said Berthun quickly; "naught but good of the king!" "I said naught ill.
Then they asked the king to find a good husband for the princess as soon as might be, so that he was not against her liking. "Well," said Alsi, "it is a hard task for a man who has no wife to help him; but we will trust to the good sense of my niece. Now, I had thought of Ragnar of Norwich; but it is in my mind that the old laws of near kin are somewhat against this."
Nor would he be slow to use it. Then the nurse said that he need have no surprise, for Goldberga was ever gentle and willing to be led, though sometimes the pride of her race came uppermost for a time. And then she asked if a certain priest of the faith might come and speak with her. Now, Alsi knew that only one could be meant namely, the hermit who bided at Cabourn.
"O fool, and doubly fool!" cries Griffin; "now have you outdone yourself. Was it not plain to you that the man could be no thrall? Even Ragnar looks mean beside him, and I hate Ragnar, so that I know well how goodly he is." Now Alsi grows uneasy, knowing that this had become plainer and plainer to him as the wedding went on. "Why, what do you know of this knave of mine?" he asks.
And thereupon that old warrior who had bidden Havelok sound the horn said, "We have heard of Ethelwald the good king, and of this Alsi moreover, and we know men who have seen both, and also Orwenna, the mother of our own queen here. I followed your father across the seas in the old days, and I seem to hear his voice again as you speak to us.
Arngeir held out his hand, and on it was the ring of Orwenna the queen, which Alsi had last seen here on the high place. "There is the token, King Alsi, and it is one which you know well," he answered. "Ay, I know it," answered the king with a grin that was not pleasant.
It is certain that his sister Orwenna, who married Ethelwald of East Anglia, was one, but I have seen Alsi the king at the feasts of the Asir at Thor's Way when Yuletide was kept, so it is not so certain about him.
Now Alsi the king went from the feast with a new and cruel thought in his mind under the smiling face that he wore, and long he sat in his own chamber, chin on hand and eyes far off, thinking; and at last he called Berthun. "What is the name of this big knave of yours?" he asked, when the steward stood before him. "He calls himself Curan, lord." "Calls himself.
They came to the step, and Berthun stood aside to let Havelok pass, and then Alsi held out his hand to raise my brother to the high place. But Havelok seemed not to see that, stepping up by himself as the king bade him come. Then the women who were in the hall spoke to one another in a murmur that seemed of praise; but whiter and more white grew the princess, so that I feared that she would faint.
"If there are other thanes who should have had a word in the matter, they are not here because, knowing more than we, they would not fight for Alsi in this quarrel. If there is any other man to be thought of, he cannot go against the word of the host." "I have my kingdom in Denmark," said Havelok, "and my wife has hers in Anglia. How should we take this?
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