XV. The Most Loyal and Illustrious Family of Percy
Arranging Ecgwynn’s marriage had not been easy for Hlothere King of England. He had already seen Uhtred married to Haeddewide Percy (she herself used the more modern spelling of Hawise) to make better ties with her father, his friend and distant relation Eardulf Percy, Earl Exeter, but he had not been satisfied with any of the suitors that had come for Ecgwynn’s hand. There was one, Tryggve of Languedoc, who had offered on four different occasions but had been refused each time. Hlothere wanted his daughter to stay in Essex, though it was Golbahar who wisely ended up securing her position there, by appointing her successor. Saelred Percy, son of Oshere Percy, would be both Chancellor to England and the husband of England’s first daughter.
Hlothere felt he owed a lot to the Percy family – they had stood fervently by him while others among his nobles balked at the Delacueva affair. Fernando Delacueva, like his father Fruela, had proven extraordinarily rebellious – he had declared independence twice and been allowed to rejoin the English kingdom after it became clear he could not fend for himself in lands still largely Saracen. After Fernando Delacueva declared independence the third time in the early months of 1202, Hlothere renewed his claims on the Earldoms of Yazd and Gorgan and declared war. Fernando Delacueva was defeated and executed, replaced in his title by Aubrey Abolhassan, henceforth Earl of Yazd. This cost him immensely in the eyes of many of his vassals (especially the other Delacuevas), who thought such heavy-handedness unbecoming a king famed for his fair-mindedness. It was lucky the Percys had been on hand to pick up the pieces and, in the case of Eardulf of Exeter, offer their alliance in defending his realm against further rebellion. He was reluctant to give his beloved daughter away to any man, but he felt Saelred, scion of this most loyal and illustrious family, to be the most worthy.
The wedding was to be held at the newly-constructed Palace in Thorney Island, which had been built near the site of the home of St. Eadweard III the Confessor. Much effort and ceremony had been put into the celebration – His Excellency the Bishop Svein of Westminster had come himself to bless the union, and relatives from all over had arrived. Wiglaf, Hlothere’s second son and heir by consanguine law, had been given leave by the monks at St. Peter’s to attend the ceremony. Uhtred and Haeddewide would be there to congratulate his younger sister, and they had invited Earl Exeter himself, along with his eleven other children. Eardulf’s first son, Eanfrith, had already taken a wife while his second, Cynewulf, had taken the tonsure. His second-eldest daughter, Ealhwyn (who went by the more modern-sounding Ela), had not yet married, which had surprised him, given her age of twenty. He’d seen the girl, and she was neither unskilled nor unattractive (she even had the high Percy nose), though she did have a free tongue and a fondness for drink which might be considered unbecoming.
The day came, and Hlothere found himself looking on with a mixture of pride and sadness as he saw his young daughter on Saelred Percy’s arm, taking her vows before Bishop Svein. He looked on, blinking back tears, holding his own wife’s hand tightly. On his other side stood Wiglaf, though his eyes were not on his sister and her groom. Only Oshere, the father of the groom, caught the look that passed between Wiglaf and Ealhwyn Percy, and realised its meaning. He said nothing, but realised grimly that his work as England’s spymaster would be cut out for him for the next couple of days.
Oshere took care to place himself well that night near the guest chamber where Ealhwyn should be sleeping, and also not to be seen by the visitor he knew for the young crown prince. It was not long before he had something to report – their wordless voices and the rhythmic straining of their bedstead spoke eloquently enough.
Hlothere was surprised the next morning to see Oshere marching before him his own son and Ealhwyn Percy. Both children looked quite shame-faced as Oshere began speaking, a tone of ironic amusement in his voice.
‘I don’t know what it is with your sons, your Grace, but they both seem to prefer sampling Percy women to the exclusion of other dishes. Perhaps you can tell your father, Wiglaf, just what you and Mistress Percy were about last night when you came by the guest chambers.’
Wiglaf bowed his head and began making his apologies. ‘I’m sorry, Father, I’m to blame…’
Ealhwyn shook her golden head at him. ‘Oh no, Wiglaf, don’t go taking all the credit. I seduced him, your Grace. I don’t pride myself on it, but I did it.’
Hlothere placed a hand on his forehead. ‘Oshere, you would be the cause of a headache so early. Well, I’d say you both have some explaining to do.’
Though it might be a source of embarrassment to Earl Exeter, Hlothere was quite glad of Ealhwyn’s forthrightness now. ‘Much as I adore her, I envied my sister, your Grace, on the day of her marriage to your elder son. I wanted to know what it was that she felt, so I approached Wiglaf. It went… a little farther than I’d originally planned, as you can tell. I trust you know that Wiglaf often left his studies to visit Rougemont. Well, those visits were not only to Father, but to me as well.’
‘Wiglaf?’
‘Ela speaks the truth, Father.’
Ealhwyn looked at the same time embarrassed and defiant and Wiglaf looked as though he wanted to slip through a crack in the floor. Hlothere was silent for a long time before he finally spoke. ‘Well, there’s no reason to wantonly ruin Mistress Percy’s reputation, especially now that we are so closely tied to her family. But that depends on you, my boy. How honourable are your intentions?’
‘I can’t abandon you now, Ela,’ Wiglaf told his mistress. ‘I will wed you.’
‘There, Mistress Percy, you’ve won the prize you sought. Oshere,’ Hlothere told his spymaster, ‘this is your kin we are discussing. Since company inevitably breeds gossip, I’m sure by now you’re not the only one who knows about this little tryst. Can I trust you to remedy this?’
‘It shall be done, your Grace.’
‘But be sure to tell Eardulf all, Oshere. He’s a man of gracious temper; I’m sure he won’t grudge his daughter this folly any more than I grudge it my son. And I do need his approval for this match.’
‘Your Grace.’ Oshere excused himself and went to meet his cousin.
Ealhwyn and Wiglaf still stood there, both relieved, if slightly dazed. ‘Well, be off!’ Hlothere shooed them off. ‘I’ve got your wedding to plan. Just got done with my daughter’s, you know, and it’s not as though I don’t have anything else to do around here!’