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CHAPTER NINE – DEATH’S SUDDEN SCYTHE

(Norwich, England, May 22, 1066)

Gritting her teeth in pain and shame as her brother-in-law the exiled Earl Tosti ravished her in a degenerate fashion from behind as she lay splayed face-down upon the bed she shared with her husband Earl Gyrth, Lady Tilaflaed, Countess of East Anglia burned with bitter hatred for Tosti as she gasped and groaned involuntarily from her extortionate kinsman’s rough commerce with her, keeping her eyes shut tight as Earl Tosti rammed himself with relentless ferocity inside her and slapped her upraised rump like Tilaflaed was but some merry strumpet bought and paid for, which Tilaflaed realized to her mortification her own past folly had alas indeed so rendered her. Shedding hot tears of profound self-recrimination and an indescribable loathing Lady Tilaflaed waited for her rapacious relation to finish, determined to exact a due vengeance upon Tosti for imposing such outrageous indignity upon her. In a few moments the Earl’s body shuddered as he spent himself profusely within Tilaflaed’s aching orifice, sweating and panting as he rested himself upon Tilaflaed’s glistening back while he recovered himself. Tosti smiled and bent to whisper a galling remark of admiration in Tilaflaed’s ear.

“Ah, Madam, that was one of the better episodes of Greek pleasure I have had of late, as the wenches of Flanders and Normandy are more adept regarding and inclined toward the French art than the classical vices, and Lady Judith displays none of your stamina and restraint during our vigorous couplings. By now Judith would’ve been sobbing copiously and imploring my mercy like the mewling cunt she is, but you’ve not begged uselessly for such indulgence and kept the weeping my rod’s lash inspires to a respectable minimum without further disgracing yourself by a pathetic petition’s shrieking supplication. I’m impressed, Lady, truly. I can see why the late Earl Gospatric fancied you, Tila. Though I hope you are somewhat more demonstrative when my brother Gyrth plows your fair furrows, yes, ma cher soeur?” Lady Tilaflaed flushed at the crude jibe and attempted to push Tosti off but the Earl seized her right arm and twisted it hard behind Tilaflaed’s back, forcing Tilaflaed to cry out in anguish and heed Tosti’s command for her to ask him to release her in a meek and servile tone. Tilaflaed’s heart swelled with hate at this deliberate added humiliation, but the agony of Tosti’s cruel imparting compelled her.

“What’s this, slut, tired of fucking already? And here I thought we were only getting started, by Goliath’s incomparable cock! Well, Tila, if you need to rest a little before we renew sporting, that’s fine. So long as you ask me to desist from plumbing your sweet arse’s delights in a proper manner of humility befitting a whore to her favorite client. Go on, Madam. Ask me not to fuck you again until you’re ready, come on, you pretentious tart, tender me your modest request that I refrain from riding you awhile and that the next time I transit your most delectable cunt with my manly iron’s thrust, go on, Lady Tilaflaed, ask me to let you up a bit before we tryst anew, come on, sister-in-law! Ask me!” As Earl Tosti excruciated her by her limb’s savage contorting Lady Tilaflaed screamed, and exhorted him to grant her brief respite from his exhaustive acquaintance. Tosti exulted in Lady Tilaflaed’s brutal subordination, applying pressure to wring the abasement his bestial appetite desired.

“I humbly beseech you, good brother-in-law, to permit your servant temporary rest from your noble phallus’s fervent plunging, my lord Tosti, that I may restore my strength for the purpose of entertaining your manhood further as you please within the sex and other physical apertures God has deigned to endow your carnal slave with to encompass my lord Tosti’s complete satisfaction. Might I rise from this bed of pleasure to provide us both refreshment, my lord, and to stretch my legs ere you see fit to fuck me further?” Earl Tosti smiled and released Tilaflaed, the Countess’s arm falling limp as she moaned in pain and groped to sit up, cradling her injured limb delicately as she glared at Tosti, vowing inwardly to repay her suffering a thousand fold. Tosti arose from the bed and yawned, stretching his arms above his head as he turned to redress and ordered Lady Tilaflaed to cover herself and fetch them some wine to share from her nearby wardrobe.

“Since you’ve asked so politely, Madam, so be it. I’m parched, Tila, aren’t you? Why don’t you get us some spirits from your dressing chamber yonder, and throw on a light gown to cover the nakedness belonging to my brother. We ought honor the dictate of Leviticus as best we can, after all, oughtn’t we?” Lady Tilaflaed sighed, frowning, and entered a large chamber through an unlocked iron door where her clothing, and Earl Gyrth’s hung upon rows of hooks from the ceiling. Wooden and metal chests containing precious valuables belonging to the couple were gathered along the sides of the wardrobe, and a polished oak bureau rested in the center of the chamber before a large mirror where Lady Tilaflaed inspected her appearance with scrupulous care. The bureau boasted several drawers, some of which required a private key to be opened. Sitting down upon the bench stationed at the bureau Lady Tilaflaed gazed wanly into the glass and hung her head, her hand pressed over her mouth as she vented her sorrow at allowing Earl Tosti leave to ply her unwilling adulterous submission to his vile cravings. Donning a robe of dark crimson silk Tilaflaed then paced about the wardrobe, trying to conjure a means by which she might extract herself from Tosti’s nefarious grasp and turn his most unwelcome and illegal presence within her house to her profitable advantage and England’s.

What can I do, pray, what? Dear Lord, I beg you, please enlighten me in the name of human decency! Tosti has me in his evil power, leaving me little option but to free myself by whatever method is most effective and expedient! If it were to become known Tosti is here I would swift find myself accused for harboring a fugitive and Tosti wouldn’t hesitate to divulge the secret I was fool enough to expose unto his vicious awareness out of dreadful unthinking panic! I never should’ve turned to Tosti of all people when my idle flirtation with Earl Gospatric turned deadly and I required assistance distancing myself from his accidental slaying, and I ought never have entrusted Tosti with the task of retrieving my indiscreet letters to Gospatric after that lord had passed tragically to his eternal judgment. I should’ve known Tosti would betray my ill-placed confidence and pursue my illicit manipulation for his own sinister ends, but what else could I have done, I know not, truly! I couldn’t risk having my fleeting affair with Gospatric prove a terrible lingering scandal for my entire house, breaking my poor Gyrth’s good trusting heart in the bargain, and there was no one else of my acquaintance versed in the sordid practices of covert purloining and the disposal of troublesome corpses! Tosti’s self-serving charity has preserved my reputation, and the place of honored respectability it maintains, but to need be Tosti’s helpless harlot until death releases me from the sore shame of such an awful duty, I cannot, I would go mad, or else choose the damning embrace of self-destruction if madness failed to relieve my unbearable burden of panging conscience and perpetual self-despising! There’s no other choice, it’s either my life and liberty, or … Lady Tilaflaed halted, peering intensely into her mirror’s unsparing reflection as she arrived at her final decision with the irrevocable resolve of mortal desperation. Opening one of her bureau’s drawers, Tilaflaed removed a long curved dagger and practiced in awkward fashion the action of delivering a quick fatal thrust. Nausea welled in her churning stomach at the contemplation of outright slaughter and Tilaflaed had to wipe the sudden wave of cold perspiration from her face the prospect of plain murder however justified inspired. Tilaflaed then retrieved a flagon of wine from one of the chests and opening it took a deep swig to steady her taut nerves, addressing her image in the mirror to further steel herself for her scarlet necessity’s efficient encompassment.

“It has to be done. There is no other way. Tosti is an outlaw who’s made himself the enemy of my family and my country, and therefore I’m well within legal and moral right to bring him to proper justice. He’s earned his fate through plying a long and odious career of treachery, cruelty, and degeneracy of the most abhorrent character, and it’s my duty to bring his evil to a conclusion befitting its mortal nature. It’s my duty, and God’s supreme will as well! I’m His servant in this I’m certain and my unavoidable and appropriate action shall prove sanctified in His sight, it must be, it simply must!” Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes to clear her mind, Lady Tilaflaed hid the dagger within the right pocket of her gown and flashed a beguiling smile at the mirror as practice for her intended victim’s distraction. Upon exiting her wardrobe Tilaflaed found Tosti seated at the table near the bed, a smug grin on his face as he winked lasciviously at her. Sitting across from the Earl with casual deliberation Tilaflaed pushed the flagon toward Tosti, who then chided her in light fashion concerning the paucity of her accommodation.

“What, Madam, no cups? No matter. I’ve no trouble drinking from the bottle, as you know. And I wouldn’t want you to empty your purse and my good brother’s on my account. After all, I’m sure the feast Gyrth’s preparing for your annual wedding anniversary celebration’s costing a considerable sum, isn’t it, my lady? It always does, as I remember from days past. Harold shall be in attendance, of course, won’t he, Tilaflaed? Excellent! I timed my visit here just right as I anticipated. The feast shall prove the perfect instrument to smooth the way for my return home just in time to spare my beloved country the dire consequences attending Harold’s recent follies, political and private. England shall have much to thank you for, dear sister-in-law, as much as I will, Tila, mark me.” Lady Tilaflaed shrugged, smiling, and feigned acceptance of Earl Tosti’s gloating assessment. Tosti then pushed the flagon at the Countess, bidding her drink as he kept close eye upon her to Tilaflaed’s inward unease.

“Drink, Madam, if you please. Your wine remains manifique as ever, and I like company in my cups. Oh, and lest I forget, happy anniversary. And if I am not mistaken, Lady, didn’t you also observe a birthday not long past? You look well for a gentlewoman of thirty-nine, Tila. I can discern some modest streaks of gray within your auburn hair, but your complexion remains unblemished by age’s callous effects and your lovely dark eyes still sparkle like flaming jewels, ma cher soeur. Yes, Gyrth is a fortunate man to have a fine and luscious rose like you to savor, in bed and out, as am I, fair Tilaflaed.” The Countess reddened at Tosti’s erroneous calculation of her years and his caustic compliments, setting down the flagon to issue a polite correction of his over-estimation regarding her span and inquiring about his larger purpose in frequenting her home, her tone amiable and her expression carefully inscrutable. Earl Tosti smiled in predatory fashion, or so it seemed, his small porcine eyes agleam with lurking malice.

“With respect to your computation of my age, my lord, I fear you’re mistaken. I’m thirty-six as of a few weeks ago, not thirty-nine. I appreciate your kind felicitations all the same, however, gray hairs notwithstanding. If it’s not held as being too forward, Tosti, may I ask why you have come to see me, pray? I mean, I daresay you didn’t deign to stop here during what I imagine to be a mission of utmost critical urgency at serious, indeed, perhaps mortal risk just to indulge in some nostalgic carnal adventurism. Did you?” Tosti laughed in a cold mirthless manner that left Lady Tilaflaed shivering inside, though she reined her whelming anxiety to prevent Earl Tosti’s insight regarding her dreadful predicament. Taking another long swig from the flagon the Earl deflected Tilaflaed’s query, soliciting her report instead on recent developments that Tosti had heard of concerning the growing political and domestic troubles confronting King Harold.

“I’ll get to my purpose, Madam, soon enough, and indeed I’ve already hinted at it, Tilaflaed. First, I want you to tell me about everything that has occurred here in recent weeks concerning what I’ve discerned from other sources to be the increasing difficulties of my good brother the King in maintaining his purloined royal position. I didn’t think Harold’s recklessness could’ve surpassed his witless imprisonment of our sister Edith, or his tactless betrayal of that old villain the Archbishop of Canterbury. Since then he’s imprisoned Lady Agathe and her family after a fruitless bid to secure alliance with the Aetheling’s faction, and discovered to his dismay Edith has gone even further in her campaign to bar him from her husband’s throne than he’d assumed. And this is only the tip of Harold’s troubles, isn’t it, Tila? After that debacle at Corfe castle the King had to endure the scandal of Lady Ealdgyth’s most sensational interview with Stigand and its aftermath of her colorful skin’s naked march through Canterbury’s staid and gawking streets, along with the threat of our mother’s potential exposure as a murdering adulteress who bore His Majesty and our kinswoman Edith in wanton illegitimacy. And we can’t forget the spectacle at the Easter feast, can we? Lady Ealdgyth barging in to flaunt herself anew while taunting Queen Aldgyth in the royal palace before the assembled nobility of England, accompanied by a wench who proceeded to impugn her own mother and proclaim Aldgyth a dissembling bastard-bearing whore straight to her face, this extraordinary incident being followed by what I hear was a brief but ferocious tete-a-tete between our family and the house of Leofric highlighted by the mutual imperiling at dagger-point of the lives of Queen Aldgyth and my sweet younger sister Aelfgyva. Your comments, Madam Countess?” Tilaflaed frowned and lifted the flagon to her lips, careful to limit her intake. After a moment of sober reflection Tilaflaed confirmed the information Earl Tosti had accrued with rueful regret.

“As usual, Tosti, your sources are impeccable. Harold did attempt to conclude some sort of political arrangement with Lady Agathe, but thanks to Edith’s action against him he now faces the prospect of young Edgar Aetheling being acclaimed as King Edward’s legitimate successor by Rome. Harold hasn’t offered many details concerning what occurred at Corfe, but tales are circulating that something strange happened there to cause Harold considerable upset although the precise nature of this incident remains unclear. Lady Ealdgyth doubtless met with Stigand in an effort to help Harold by repairing his damaged relations with the Archbishop, but that malign serpent proved himself treacherous according to my understanding and attempted to extort Lady Ealdgyth to give false testimony against her husband. In wake of Ealdgyth’s spectacular refusal to betray Harold, the Archbishop began spreading vicious rumors at Queen Aldgyth’s instigating regarding an alleged testament in his possession that denounces Lady Gytha as an adulteress and murderess of Prince Alfred Aetheling, who is credited with the illicit siring of Harold and Edith. This outrageous maneuver resulted in Lady Ealdgyth’s counterstroke at Easter, the consequence of which has cast serious aspersions upon Lady Aldgyth’s purported royal maternity and left her daughter Princess Gwendolyn the ward of my protection and Earl Gyrth’s at Harold’s command. In addition, young Gytha’s been ordered to marry the Emperor Henry in Gwendolyn’s place, an arbitrary decree that pleases neither the proposed bride nor her mother, as you can well imagine.

Young Gytha is so distraught I hear she’s taken quite ill, requiring constant attendance by Lady Ealdgyth at Bosham. That’s all I can tell you, Tosti. Now, you can tell me, perhaps, regarding developments at the court of Caen if it doesn’t constitute of a breach of your mission’s security.”

Earl Tosti shrugged, taking another deep swig from the flagon. Contemplating Lady Tilaflaed with malevolent amusement the Earl reciprocated his kinswoman’s candor.

“Not at all, Madam. My mission is to test Harold’s defenses and foment discontent against him by all means possible, that is no great secret of state. Things at Caen aren’t much changed from what they’ve been the last few months. Lady Agatha still pines in vain for my brother at Fecamp abbey, the object of a fierce contention between her parents regarding her disposition. Duke William still wants the wench wed to France while Matilda sulks and plots to provoke a war with Paris and encompass her daughter’s acceptance by Harold to preserve peace. When I left the Duchess was agitated by the apparent disappearance of her attendant Godeleva and had sent Lady Agatha’s soeur de coeur Katerine La Fidele on the sly to Fecamp, probably to relate the details of her latest cunning inspiration for salvaging the poor girl’s future from her lustful cousin’s rapacity. Meanwhile the Duke’s now aware of the possible complication to his royal claim presented by the machinations of my sister on Edgar Aetheling’s behalf, but he remains confident that the judgment of Rome will turn in his favor owing to his ally Robert Guiscard’s formidable shadow over the papacy. For obvious reasons Duke William is reluctant to make too much of an issue out the alleged illegitimacy of Harold, but he has the damning testimony of my good wife Lady Judith and our daughter Gundred to aid in blackening Harold’s character before His Holiness to compensate for such extending practical charity. Judith and Countess Adelaide are still wrangling over who should inherit Northumbria in event of William’s victory in combat over my brother, and proving themselves consistent sore thorns in Duchess Matilda’s tranquility.

Preparation for the anticipated expedition against this fair realm by Duke William proceeds at a brisk pace, and hence my brother-in-law’s current dispatch of me hence to report on the state of Harold’s readiness to receive him. Of course, what truly intrigues you, Tila, is why I’m here in your presence amidst the execution of my vital military commission. It’s simple. I desire to be an instrument of lasting peace’s establishment and I will require your assistance to achieve such a lofty ambition. I know a devout Christian woman who loves her family and our beloved land must unconditionally support such a noble agenda’s accomplishment, at any cost, correct, Lady Tilaflaed?” An intense current of dread shot up Tilaflaed’s spine at Tosti’s sinister implication, causing her to gasp and lean back from him, her heart pounding within her breast from a surge of dire anticipation. Slipping a hand into her pocket Tilaflaed fingered the blade she held occulted within it, deriving comfort from its possession and the capacity for decisive action it afforded to her. Adopting an air of impassive curiosity Tilaflaed invited Tosti to unveil his strategy for her proper consideration.

“Oh? And what might this doubtless clever notion of yours entail, pray, my lord? I’m sure there’s precious little I can do to help in its successful execution. As you know, Tosti, I don’t tend to involve myself in politics if I can avoid it. I leave all matters of state to the crown and content myself with attending to my sundry duties as a wife and mother, being pleased to lend modest support to my husband in the administration of East Anglia at rare intervals when it is absolutely necessary, and even then with no great aptitude, truly, as honesty demands I admit. So I don’t know what it is you expect from me but it’s likely to be beyond my meager capabilities, I should warn you.” Earl Tosti made a sarcastic sound with his lips to Lady Tilaflaed’s irritation, disputing her convenient self-deprecation in forceful fashion. Tilaflaed frowned, not wanting to be drawn into Tosti’s web of certain criminality, but knowing his awareness of her extramarital indulgence would leave her little choice but to pretend his momentary accommodation.

“That’s plain merde, my lady, and we both know it. Everyone knows that whenever Gyrth is occupied in service to the crown your running of East Anglia in his absence is a model of expert efficiency, and I can’t recall a time when your considered perspective wasn’t solicited during all family councils. You’re no innocent amateur when it comes to political participation, Madam, I know, so please don’t insult my intelligence again or I fear I’ll have to chastise you rather badly for such misjudgment. Besides, Tila, I won’t truly be asking much of you. All you’ll need to do is alter the nature of the lavish feast now being prepared for your anniversary feast a bit, and be prepared to deflect liability for what follows upon a foreign scapegoat of close proximity. That pretty Norman maidservant of yours comes to mind. What was her name again, my dear sister?” Tilaflaed started, appalled at Tosti’s insinuation. Her apprehension was at once augmented by the Earl’s removal of a medium-sized vial from his tunic’s pocket containing a black substance Tilaflaed would’ve discerned as toxic even without the etching of a leering skull imposed upon its receptacle. When Tosti set it before Tilaflaed she flinched with involuntary revulsion to the Earl’s malicious chuckling.

“What the hell is this, Tosti? Do you mean to tell me I should be prepared to ply poison at a feast held in my and Gyrth’s honor within my own house, with our own family in attendance as our trusting guests? You must be mad to believe I’d prove your accomplice in such a despicable plot’s awful undertaking, Tosti, quite mad indeed!” Tilaflaed’s indignant response earned her a hard slap across the face from Tosti, who seized her by the wrist and pulled her over to his side of the table, forcing Tilaflaed to kneel at his feet, her face thrust close to his groin to Tilaflaed’s disgust. Grabbing her hair the Earl forced Tilaflaed’s head up with a harsh yank, the Countess glaring at Tosti with bitter hateful defiance and despising.

“Listen to me, you pretentious harlot. My silence concerning your adulterous sporting with Lord Gospatric and your culpability for the vanished gentleman’s covert slaying is all that now keeps you from plunging headlong into the bottomless pit of everlasting infamy, Madam, so it behooves you to treat me with the utmost respect and consideration, Lady Tilaflaed. Or else I may be tempted to expose you as the murdering slut you are, and abandon you to a fate worse than that imposed by my cock’s ardent reaming. Do we quite understand one another, Madam, do we? If so, Tila, undo my trousers please, and take my rod within that pretty mouth of yours. Do it, cunt! Suckle me, wench, like a fine Southwark strumpet, ah yes, Tilaflaed, like that, oh yes, you sweet God-cursed whore, that’s it, take it deep, deeper, bitch, now, lash me to ecstasy, harder, faster, ah, ah yes, yes, yes, you damned skillful tart!” Lady Tilaflaed’s eyes watered as she stroked Tosti’s engorged phallus with her tongue, shedding tears of fury and loathing at the atrocious debasement the Earl inflicted upon her. Tosti held Tilaflaed’s head firm to ensure his eruption would be received entire by his unwilling partner, Tilaflaed struggling in vain as Tosti ejaculated within her mouth in a thick salty stream, choking her with his defiling effusion as he cackled at Tilaflaed’s abject humiliation. Tilaflaed was let go to collapse on the floor, heaving and spitting, her face grossly contorted and her senses outraged. Earl Tosti placed a foot upon Tilaflaed’s neck, grinning as the degraded noblewoman writhed beneath his press weeping and cursing as she pounded the floor with her fists and feet.

“God damn you to eternal hellfire’s blazing conflagration, I pray your wretched soul will be roasted to a crisp upon Satan’s spit by leering demons for all time, Tosti, you vile raping scum, let me up, let me up! Villainous blackguard, I’ll tear out your filthy beast’s evil heart with my own hands and consume it raw before your dying eyes, I swear upon the lives and souls of my children, you foul stinking bastard, let me up, in the name of mercy, Tosti, let me up and leave me be, please, please, I implore you!” Tosti lifted his foot and reached down to raise Tilaflaed to her feet, regarding her with smug contemptuous superiority as she struggled to regain emotional control, daubing at her eyes with her trembling hands and taking a long draught of wine to wash away the repugnant residue of the Earl’s splattered seed. When Tilaflaed was seen as recovered Earl Tosti returned to the subject of enlisting her in his plot to dispose of King Harold, his voice stern and uncompromising.

“No, Tila, I am afraid I need your help in this most delicate matter, and as you’ve learned to appreciate and accept anew you are in my debt and therefore in no position to refuse me. Now, Madam, let us attend to business. What I’ve placed before you is a vial of moonsbane which I know you’re aware is not lethal ingested moderately but can be so administered in larger doses. What I want you to do, Tilaflaed, is to lace the food and drink of Harold and Earl Leofwine so my good brothers will alas expire in a relatively quick, if not entirely painless fashion. I need to be rid of them both to clear the way to my succession to leadership of our family, a mantle I’ll be assuming upon notification of their tragic mortality. Thankfully, theirs shall be the only deaths I shall require to begin with. Regarding yourself, Earl Gyrth, and the rest of our family, Tilaflaed, you may apply a far more conservative measure of moonsbane, sufficient to induce no more than serious but passing illness upon your part and those of our surviving kin. This way, it’ll be easy for you to assign the blame for the mass poisoning of our noble house to its chosen culprit. The pretty maidservant mentioned earlier, that sweet Norman girl. Rosamund de Roet. Comprenez, Madame?” Lady Tilaflaed shuddered at Tosti’s horrid proposal, shaking her head and rising to her feet in nauseated agitation. The Earl’s face darkened and he stood up to confront Tilaflaed, determined to enforce her submission to his dictate.

“I’m not extending you any choice in this instance, woman. Be grateful my purpose doesn’t require the additional sacrificing of your beloved husband and children along with others of our distinguished lineage. It’s enough that the throne shall be left vacant for the taking and that one of the twin sons breached by Lady Gytha after Harold and me should accompany His Majesty’s unexpected departure from this wicked world. Don’t worry, my lady, if you execute my orders properly no one will ever suspect you of the crime. All you’ll have to do is point the finger of responsibility at a convenient Norman dupe who’ll be ill-prepared to defend herself from what follows once the mortal moonsbane is found in dear sweet Rosamund’s possession as you’ll be so kind to arrange, sister-in-law. The resulting firestorm unleashed by popular anger upon the Norman colony shall provide me the opportunity I need to stage a critical and I daresay rather welcomed return to this troubled realm, where I’ll claim not only the estate of command that Harold’s death bequeaths me concerning our family’s governance, but the sovereignty of this land as well. And as repayment for your assisting me to such an exalted status’s fair embrace, Tilaflaed, I’ll forget what I know of your past trespasses, and allow you to remain my brother Gyrth’s untarnished pride and joy. Agreed, my lady? Or would you rather I informed Gyrth of your favor’s sharing with the late Gospatric and present him with all the torrid correspondences you deigned shower your lover with ere the affair soured and Gospatric’s passion was abruptly terminated at the point of a dagger’s panicked thrust?” Earl Tosti’s allusion to Earl Gospatric’s slaying reminded Tilaflaed of the deadly weapon secreted in her pocket, and encouraged her to feign resigned acquiescence to Tosti’s odious ultimatum to lull him until she was ready to deal her despicable kinsman the decisive blow. Approaching Tosti with a wan expression of regret Tilaflaed bowed her head in apparent yield to his pleasure, her mind inflamed by the vision of Tosti’s scarlet streaming forth at the deliverance of her intended death-stroke.

“I … I understand, my lord, truly. Of course I’ll do whatever you say, just so long as I have your assurance of protection afterward, and that only Harold and Earl Leofwine need perish by my covert service to you. I thank you for your consideration in sparing my lord Gyrth’s life in this instance, Tosti, and for your continued discretion where my unfortunate involvement with Earl Gospatric is concerned. Tell me, how do you propose to encompass your glorious return to England, given your present non-status as a hunted outlaw? And how on earth can you expect to claim the crown, Tosti, when thanks to our kinswoman Edith it seems likely the succession shall be adjudged as having been usurped from Edgar Aetheling by Rome and ordered bestowed upon the boy by His Holiness henceforth with due haste? And what of the royal claim of your brother-in-law Duke William? Don’t your fear the Norman’s wrath at your betrayal or have you perhaps forgotten about the family you left behind at Caen in his clutches?” Earl Tosti laughed in a cruel fashion, raising the flagon to his mouth to drain its last remnants. Tosti then gestured in cunning confidence for Tilaflaed to draw near so he might impart some secret intelligence for her benefit, the savage glint in the Earl’s eyes informing Tilaflaed of the doubtless disreputable nature of his calculated revelation.

“I don’t have to fear retaliation against my family in Normandy, Tilaflaed. Matilda will serve to defend Judith and the children against any harmful impulses my actions may inspire upon her bastard husband’s part, never fear. And when my sister Edith is liberated from her confinement at Dover to declare before the world her late lord Edward’s final wish that I succeed him as king on the condition of wedding a sister of Edgar Aetheling and providing the boy with fitting estate, Wessex, for example, I don’t believe Duke William or anyone else will be left with any capacity to menace me without courting grave repercussions.” Lady Tilaflaed paled, unable to credit the stunning claim of Tosti. The Earl relished Tilaflaed’s shocked reaction, winking at her with an unnerving appetite.

“You … you can’t be serious, Tosti! You, succeed Harold as sovereign, and wed one of the Aetheling’s sisters? No! No, this can’t be true, I don’t believe Lady Edith would ever sanction leaving a degenerate and tyrannical rogue like you in possession of England’s crown, she’s not a fool, she’s a decent person at heart, and a proud Englishwoman! Filial affection would not blind the former Queen of this land to the utter folly of placing a dastardly knave like you on the seat of royal power and besides, she’s already sent word to Rome declaring Edgar Aetheling to have been Edward’s nominated heir so why, how then could she expect to turn about and state you to be her late husband’s choice of a successor, it doesn’t make any sense, Tosti, it doesn’t … Wait! What are you telling me, truly? Are you implying your malign purpose in visiting me here was somehow approved by Edith, are you trying to tell me the respected Queen consort of this land, my own good and trusted sister-in-law, that Lady Edith Godwine’s-Daughter, she … she knows what you have planned, Tosti, and has given her … her blessing to it? You’re saying then Edith has knowledge concerning our … regarding my … secret? No, no, it can’t be, Tosti, how could you betray me like this? What in Christ’s holy name have you done to me, you God-cursed dog, how could you stoop to reveal my confidences to Edith, Tosti, how, pray?” Earl Tosti shrugged with casual indifference, sitting on Tilaflaed’s bed and patting the space next to him with a cold grin. Tilaflaed sighed, wringing her hands and feeling an immense tension well within her chest as she sat beside Tosti, unable to look at him without wanting to murder her abusive extortionist with extreme prejudice.

“Fear not, dear Tila. As a matter of fact, I didn’t say anything about your predicament to Her Majesty. Edith’s always been a learning girl, as they say in Caen. How she came to intuit your situation I don’t know but when my wife Judith appealed to the Queen for intercession after my sentence of exile by Harold, she returned to inform me how Edith had bid her bring charges of rape against my brother abroad, and to give me a written message from my royal sister. Lady Edith told me how she anticipated treachery from Harold and revealed an audacious design for frustrating his ambitions of sovereignty even more so than she’d already managed. That secret testament she arranged to have sent to Rome, allegedly declaring Edgar Aetheling old Edward’s heir? Well, it was under a formal seal my sister explained to an eager Lady Agathe that mustn’t be broken until presented to His Holiness, to guarantee its authenticity. What a great surprise it shall be when the exact terms of Edward’s succession are read out, I can tell you. Lady Agathe won’t have any choice but to ally her faction to me to preserve her son’s future good standing in this country, and Judith will be glad to divorce me so long as I accede to granting Northumbria’s estate to a son of hers while providing generously for the others of our begetting. The Normans will prove so vilified in the wake of the mass poisoning of our house that Duke William’s claim to our throne shall be instantly and forever nullified by popular opinion, and I can always reach a reasonable understanding with my old friend Harald Hardrada regarding adequate compensation for his royal claim’s practical abandonment. I’ll be King, and Edith shall be at liberty to savor a final enduring triumph over Harold and our father, one I must admit is very long in coming after much arduous efforts upon her part, with no small assistance from her favorite brother, of course. And you and I shall continue close friends, Madam, provided that you continue to afford me the public and private homage my imperial position and personal kindness towards you merit, Lady.

I trust we now have perfect understanding between us, Tilaflaed, yes?” Speechless at the extent of the collusion between Tosti and Edith at not only Harold and England’s expense but her own, Lady Tilaflaed just shook her head in sheer dispirited disgust, unable to fathom how Edith could become so twisted in character and perspective by such a bitterly vengeful hatred of her own kin. Gazing at the Earl in forlorn brooding Tilaflaed questioned the malign working of fate, mourning the evil ends its merciless unfolding had encompassed.

“I can’t understand this, Tosti. How could a good Christian woman like Queen Edith permit herself to grow so terribly preoccupied with personal vengeance against her own brother that all sense of moral perspective and responsibility could be dispensed with for sake of its petty sating at such dire potential cost to the whole of England? How can any presumably just and merciful God allow fortune to take such a cruel and perilous turn as this, pray? How can it be the will of heaven that our noble house ought prove so irreparably divided against itself, a woeful miniature of the realm at large, shorn by adversarial factions bickering in the most petty and selfish fashion in face of its greatest threat from abroad to date? You tell me, Tosti, as one who truly knows evil more intimately than any other entity I’ve encountered. How can Almighty God allow calamity to visit us like this, in light of the general piety and dignity of our people, His faithful followers? How could such a deplorable situation arise and persist amongst kindred with such continuously awful consequences?” Earl Tosti pondered the earnest vexing query for a moment, a wry smile of cynical humor on his face. Tilaflaed awaited his reply in genuine anticipation of illumination, certain a villain like Tosti must have some particular insight concerning the nature of evil and its malignant manifestations.

“With all respect, Tilaflaed, you might as well ask me to explain why rain’s wet and fire’s hot as demand an enlightenment regarding the peculiar motivation behind evil’s inclusion in Deity’s grand schematic. I can speak with far greater perspective concerning what inspires Lady Edith’s consistent and insatiable animus. It’s quite simple, truly. Edith once knew love, and entertained a cherished dream of sharing the sundry joys of sweet romance and a family life of her own with her chosen beau. The political ambition of our father and Harold deprived Edith of that precious sentiment, and its vision of warm domestic bliss, and Edith has never forgiven either for her loss, nor can she, God help her. All that my sister has lived for since the unhappy hour she was thrust unwilling into Edward’s bed and then kept there miserably without hope of affection or maternal compensation is to exact the most encompassing revenge she can against those she holds in hate as the callous architects of her living’s ruinous deprivation. With the death of Earl Godwine and the mortal betrayal of her lover Osgot Clapa by Harold, the latter’s garnered the brunt of Edith’s fermented fury and Harold’s only begun to pay the price of having earned Her Majesty’s enmity, mark me. Edith won’t be appeased until Harold’s deposed in utter and irredeemable disgrace or dust beneath her feet. If she has to sunder the earth and smash its sections together, she’ll do so, without the slightest qualm, if it advances her obsessive agenda for retribution she counts as her absolute right as an outraged woman. There’s no dissuading her at this point, if that’s what you would seek to pursue, Madam, trust me. The most prudent course for us both is to serve Edith’s purpose, and our own in the process. After all, it’s not like Harold wasn’t warned against folly, true? There’s none so deaf and dumb as a man who will not hear, as my sire often used to say. Don’t you agree, my lady?” Tilaflaed said nothing, lost in melancholy reflection. After a few moments the sullen noblewoman inquired if Edith’s design of vengeance extended to Harold’s immediate family, inciting Earl Tosti’s suspicion.

“Tosti, what of Lady Ealdgyth and her children? Surely Edith’s bitterness against Harold is not to be exercised to their detriment as well, is it? I mean, Edith isn’t intent on harming Swan and her innocent progeny by your brother just to sweeten the taste of vengeance’s cold crimson feast, is she?” The Earl studied Lady Tilaflaed close, making her squirm in discomfort by such intense scrutiny. Tosti countered by asking Tilaflaed to elaborate regarding the impetus for her concern, seizing her wrist and applying panging pressure to ensure her answer’s candor.

“I wonder what moves you to articulate such a noble Christian regard for Ealdgyth’s security, Madam. I’ve had a sense there’s something you haven’t deigned tell me about events here, Tila. Might that something have to do with our dear sister the Lady Swanneshalles, perhaps? Please, Tilaflaed, be frank with me. Tell me, you conniving cunt, or else I fear I might need break your fragile bones to extract the entire truth from your sucking lips!” Lady Tilaflaed winced in pain as Tosti’s vise forced her onto her knees at his feet, the anguish he imposed demanding her full disclosure despite her better discretion.

“Please, please, Tosti, stop, stop, you don’t have to hurt me, I’ll tell you, I will tell you it all! There … there was a public assault upon Lady Ealdgyth and Belgifu less than a fortnight ago, in Bosham. The attendant of Lady Torfrida, hitherto a cherished intimate of Ealdgyth, attempted to murder our kinswoman with a dagger in the plain light of day and the sight of multiple witnesses. Upon being promptly arrested for questioning this woman, a certain Laura de Fiennes, a Norman in the employ of Lady Torfrida, whom you know was once the bosom companion of the Duchess Matilda, declared her mistress to be in league against Harold and our house at Matilda’s direction with that fawning and unscrupulous courtier Robert FitzWymara. Madame de Fiennes has stated Torfrida has been engaged in flagrant adultery with said FitzWymara and also is guilty of slaying her first husband by poison so she could marry Lord Hereward.” Intuiting Tilaflaed’s account to be incomplete Earl Tosti twisted Tilaflaed’s arm as he had earlier, holding it taut until he forced a shriek of agony from her trembling lips, Tilaflaed gritting her teeth and panting heavily under the onus of Tosti’s renewed mistreatment. The Earl insisted his victim reveal what he perceived as withheld, certain Tilaflaed harbored additional vital intelligence.

“Well, Madam, allow me to congratulate you upon proving so well-informed regarding events at some distance from this vicinity. However, I must add I believe you haven’t said all you could about Ealdgyth and Torfrida, Lady. Tell me, how has Ealdgyth chosen to react privately to what occurred? Does she truly believe Matilda sought her death with Torfrida’s willful accomplice or does she perhaps entertain some skepticism her rival in Normandy would indeed resort to such a brazen frontal attack and that her own trusted friend and fellow Englishwoman would consent to participate in an act of such dreadful treason? And what’s since become of Torfrida in the wake of Laura de Fiennes’s scandalous report? Has she been arrested or fled the country? I would’ve heard already if she’d done the latter, I think. I imagine the impact of Torfrida’s abrupt disgrace upon her doting husband and my royal brother must be immense. How are they taking it, poorly, I presume? You may extend both my sincerest condolences, Tila. I’d always liked Torfrida and it’s a pity for Lord Hereward she’s turned out to be such a faithless liability. You’ve fallen quiet, my lady. Please exercise that lovely tongue of yours in verity’s indulgence, or you’ll be made to converse intimately with Lord Dick again to your extended labor. Speak, you slut! What else do you know, say it now, Madam, or would you prefer to confess yourself to my stiffened cock, my noble harlot?” Lady Tilaflaed cried out as Tosti twisted her arm, the tears falling down her face from her excruciating ordeal. Reluctantly Tilaflaed concluded her revelations with what Tosti’s crooked mind regarded as the most crucial information of her imparting.

“Lady Torfrida has issued a strict formal denial of all the charges as has Robert FitzWymara.

According to them, Laura de Fiennes is a lying would-extortionist in the secret employ of Lady Matilda who was responsible for bringing that woman you’d mentioned earlier, Godeleva, into Torfrida’s house without her mistress’s permission to advance some nefarious action involving Lady Ealdgyth after Torfrida had refused to meet with Matilda’s agent. When Torfrida decreed Godeleva’s arrest by the visiting FitzWymara, Laura de Fiennes threatened to spread the rumor of an alleged affair between the half-Breton and Torfrida. When such threat failed to sway her mistress to acquiesce unto Matilda’s will Laura de Fiennes fled from Witham, and it’s assumed attacked Ealdgyth and Belgifu to incriminate Torfrida as retaliation for her defiance of Duchess Matilda. Laura de Fiennes insists Lady Torfrida and FitzWymara are in Matilda’s employ, and the Duchess’s attendant stands mute, refusing to confirm or deny anything even under torture’s awful stimulus. Lady Ealdgyth hasn’t deigned make any public comment, at least none I heard.

However, whispers have reached me that some sort of private contact and arrangement between Ealdgyth and Lady Matilda may well have been made. I’ve written to Ealdgyth for more details, and await her reply. The only other fact of note I can relate is that another servant of Torfrida’s, Aelffrid, disappeared from Witham immediately after Godeleva’s appearance and arrest, being seen thereafter traveling in Bosham manor’s direction bearing what may be a gift from Matilda to Ealdgyth. That’s all I know, my lord, I promise.” Earl Tosti released Tilaflaed and arose to pace about the bedchamber, his expression black with fierce indignation. Tilaflaed sat on the bed rubbing her arm in apprehension, knowing the moment of mortal action drew near.

“That devious little dwarf, I should’ve known the lengths Matilda would stoop to in order to secure her agenda’s accomplishment! No doubt my sister-in-law thinks she can frustrate Duke William’s intention to invade England by somehow managing to join our houses in wedlock so that an expedition would be rendered politically unfeasible. If the nobles of Normandy hear of such a marriage they’ll be more inclined to press the invasion’s abandonment, Maud calculates, and the likelihood Rome will declare against her husband’s claim only strengthens the cunning Duchess’s hand, or so I’m sure Maud anticipates. They don’t refer to Matilda as being mighty Charlemagne reborn to a kirtle for naught, God curse her to eternal perdition! So, Ealdgyth’s going or gone to Normandy, has she? She resents Harold for ordering young Gytha to marry Emperor Henry for political ends, but she’ll thrust her fair daughter into bed with a son of her husband’s greatest rival to save Hal from the consequences of his many missteps of late. As it has been often noted, moral hypocrisy is always the primary mortar upon which the edifice of propriety’s illusion’s erected, isn’t it, my dear Tilaflaed? And if the son Matilda seeks to wed to young Gytha is who I think it is, Maud’s audacity must be held as incomparable, truly. I wonder if the proposed meeting between Maud and Ealdgyth’s to be in Caen or is Matilda being prudent enough not to flaunt the presence of her surprise guests beneath Duke William’s nose as I would presume? I imagine Fecamp abbey would provide the most convenient venue for such a delicate discussion, as it is the securest – “ The sudden sounds of a door downstairs opening and shutting caused Earl Tosti to tense in alertness, turning to a frightened Tilaflaed and demanding to know why they were being intruded upon against his strict orders. Footsteps echoed upon the staircase leading up to the bedchamber as Tilaflaed stood and grasped the blade in her pocket, prepared to strike. Princess Gwendolyn then entered the bedchamber unsuspecting of Earl Tosti’s presence, gasping in shock and terror on discovering him and being left frozen in mute stunning, her lush mouth agape and her eyes wide in staring disbelief. Tilaflaed recognized she must act at once to spare her ward Tosti’s vicious attention and drawing the dagger leapt at the Earl while exhorting Gwendolyn to run and gather support for their mutual redemption.

“Flee, Gwendolyn, run, girl, and arouse whomever’s about to fly hither and assist us against this exiled beast returned illicitly to ply further treachery and malice among us, run, Gwendolyn, now, and scream the fact of Earl Tosti’s illegal and unwelcome presence here, go, child, while I hold the varlet at bay as best I can! Hurry, girl, run now, before the villain can escape justice as he has before, get out of here, Gwen, please, ere this evil dog deigns to rend you with his scarlet teeth, run, Princess, fly, I said, fly!” Tilaflaed hacked at Tosti in wild desperation, her blows alas blocked with ease by the Earl’s superior strength and agile maneuvering. With ruthless brutality Tosti smashed his fist into Tilaflaed’s stomach, dropping her onto her knees in winded disability. Tosti then grabbed the stricken noblewoman’s wrist and forced the dagger from Tilaflaed’s grip, ere he punched her in the face to knock her backwards in an insensible sprawl, Tilaflaed’s nose and mouth spewing crimson. As a petrified Princess Gwendolyn observed in helpless appalling Earl Tosti reached down and grabbed Tilaflaed by the hair to force her into a kneeling position, then lifted her up to her feet with an arm locked firm around her throat. Tosti was content just to hold Tilaflaed thus within a choking posture briefly, grinning and laughing at her efforts to draw breath as her face turned blue and her eyes bulged in panicked dread of mortality. Releasing her the Earl allowed Tilaflaed to gasp for air as she fell to her hands and knees before him, but then seized her by the back of the neck to raise her again, placing the dagger against her throat so he could caress Tilaflaed’s soft pulsing flesh with its cold lethal edge.

“It’s a pity you’ve displayed yourself to be such a treacherous fool, Madam. I hadn’t planned on spilling any blood here but you know what Scripture advises us, Lady. Live every day like it was to be the last of your fleeting existence, Tilaflaed, my darling cunt, for one may never know when death’s sudden scythe shall sweep down to reap your mortal soul for its eternal Judgment. Adieu, ma cher soeur. You’ll be so kind as to tender Lord Lucifer my sincerest regards, won’t you?” Princess Gwendolyn regained her voice at last to issue a screeching wail of pure horror as Tosti slashed Lady Tilaflaed’s throat from ear to ear, an awful gurgling sound escaping the lips of the savaged noblewoman as a thick torrent of scarlet gushed from her severed veins and she pitched forward groping at her shorn gullet to writhe in agonized contortions upon the floor of her bedchamber, her frantic twitching motions gradually declining in mechanical fashion until Tilaflaed lay silent and still, her arms outstretched and her dull sightless eyes peering up at the aghast Princess Gwendolyn. The latter turned with shock-restored mobility, and attempted to escape from the gory scene of barbaric slaughter. Tosti caught the hapless witness to his vile crime, however, and held the dagger under a shaking, weeping Gwendolyn’s chin, balancing the pale and trembling Princess’s life upon the blade’s deadly point.

“Well, my pretty one, it seems I’ll need a new instrument to execute my design for achieving sovereignty, won’t I? I had been relating my ingenious concept to become king through poison’s convenience courtesy of your late hostess’s kind cooperation, Gwendolyn, but there’s no reason you and I can’t undertake the same sort of mutually profitable partnership, I daresay. All you’ll have to do is act as my agent of dispatch, Princess, and I promise you the rewards for your wise accomplice shall be lavish. You’ll never need fear your family’s vengeance or submit to being a mere pawn in Harold’s self-serving chess games, I promise. So long as you please me, my gifts to you will prove manifold and magnificent. What say you to my most generous of propositions, pray?” To Earl Tosti’s irate surprise and annoyance, Princess Gwendolyn spat in his face with a defiant snarl, her eyes ablaze with scornful abhorrence. Demonstrating a courage beyond fragile femininity’s usual presumption, and her own, for only the second time in her young life, Princess Gwendolyn denounced the murderous Tosti in adamant despising, her retort cold and tart.

“Va te faire foutre, Monsieur! Keep your favors, dog, and bestow their meager mettle upon a bitch accustomed to the pitiful entertainment of your boastful pleasure’s flaccid performance, for I require a man to mount, not a cowardly jackal with shriveled stones and a stunted shaft, wretch! You can go straight to hell, Earl Tosti Godwinesson, and I pray with all my heart when you’re in Satan’s realm forever and suffering all the tortures of the damned his infernal minions can devise over the length of an agonizing eternity, Lady Tilaflaed will look down from heaven upon you in your just perpetual ordeal and when you cry out to her for succor perhaps prove gracious enough to extend you her flow of warm bitter piss to sate your permanently parched palate!” Earl Tosti reddened at Gwendolyn’s denunciation, and with a casual flick of his wrist laid open her throat as he had Tilaflaed’s, the Princess emitting a final lingering sigh as she clutched at the fatal cut, her life’s-blood spurting forth in a vivid stream as Gwendolyn’s eyes glazed and she sank to her knees, her eyes locked upon those of her slayer’s as death claimed her. Earl Tosti studied Lady Tilaflaed and Princess Gwendolyn’s blood-splashed corpses for a few minutes, quite morbidly fascinated by his malign handiwork. Then, without a moment’s twinge of remorse or anxiety, Earl Tosti made an expedient departure from the manor he had forever tainted with murder’s violent spectre, whistling a Norse sailing tune as he leisurely bestrode his waiting steed to go back to his war-fleet established upon the nearby River Humber, his appetite for destruction whetted but by no means exhausted.

CHAPTER TEN