Godiva Read Online Free PDF Page B

the stables. “It was foolish of me to confess anything to you. You are not the proper partner for this conversation.”
    â€œI agree,” Godiva said, rushing to walk beside her still. “Shall I fetch Sweyn instead?”
    The abbess’s face reddened all the more. “I must keep a distance from him until I am able to return to Leominster,” she said. “Will you help me with that?”
    â€œWould you not rather I spend my energies convincing the lords to condemn the heregeld?” Godiva said.
    Edgiva, failing to find levity in any of this, fretted thoughtfully. “The heregeld is most important,” she declared in her mellifluous, omnipotent voice, composed again.
    â€œWell,” said Godiva. “Since you say so, I’ll get right to it.”

CHAPTER 4
    G odiva had arrived here with three goals, all of which she had accomplished to Leofric’s satisfaction.
    First, she had elicited Sweyn’s promise to contain his “poachers.”
    Next, she had convinced the thane of Hedingelei to send his son to Abingdon for fosterage, so that the boy’s travel would all be through Mercia, although Hedingelei was under Siward and Abingdon under Godwin. Both households would want passage to be safe, and so they would be friendly toward Leofric and encourage their overlords to be so too.
    Finally, there was upset between an abbot and a noblewoman, both Mercian; each intended to use the occasion of the Council to appeal their case to Leofric behind the other’s back. Godiva had subtly mediated their argument without either of them realizing it, and as soon as they were feeling generous toward each other, she sent Leofric’s son Alfgar to adjudicate their argument. They resolved their differences; Alfgar was honored to have had a chance to play his father’s deputy; and Leofric was relieved to be excused from dealing with the problem himself.
    S o she was free now, on this final night before the lords and ladies of the land disassembled, to pursue Edgiva’s project: the petition to abolish the heregeld. There were dozens of lords she could charm, but that was inefficient. So after parting from Edgiva in the courtyard, she did not go out to the green in search of Leofric, but rather returned to the manor hall.
    It was emptier in here than she had seen it since their arrival. Some household servants were taking advantage of the quiet to mend benches broken by the collective weight of all those noble buttocks; other servants were bringing in wood. Countess Godiva regarded the room for a moment, then walked straight toward a familiar figure in the king’s livery.
    â€œHow does one obtain a private audience with His Majesty?” she asked Alden, royal chamberlain.
    She had known Alden for years. They were fond of each other. Not given to women himself, he knew her behavior for what it was and occasionally placed wagers with select friends as to her success in certain enterprises.
    Alden asked her to wait and efficiently scurried to the far end of the hall, disappearing through a curtain covering a bolted door. A moment later, he appeared and gestured for her to join him.
    He led her through the door into the royal bedchamber where Edward and his bride, Edith, were resting before supper. Edith was dressed in layers of pink silk that Godiva found unfortunate for her complexion. Standing around the periphery of the room, bored but obsequious, were several of His Majesty’s favorite housecarls; the thane who guarded the royal wardrobe; His Majesty’s treasurer, Odo of Winchester; a bishop she did not know; and two hooded ladies in blue waiting upon Her Majesty.
    Gloucester being an infrequent stop on Edward’s circuit, the room lacked the ravishing adornments Godiva expected; indeed, it was plainer than Leofric’s chambers in Brom Legge. A crucifix mounted on one wall and painted eggs along the one windowsill were the only decoration in an otherwise